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Lost in Space trick question

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Jim Yeh

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Nov 17, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/17/98
to
I just saw Lost In Space and I am amazed at the number of 3D effects in
this movie. I know part (if not all) of the effects were made with Max
and it's quite glad to know that Max can achieve such result. The
question is, during the hypergate(or whatever that is) travel, all the
people and objects were freeze in their position while the camera angle
orbits around, how did they do that? Did they models everything and
animated it in Max? The same effect is seen in many recent car
commercials and I would like to know how to achieve that.
any idea?

Jim

Jade Ohlhauser

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Nov 17, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/17/98
to
The effect of having an object seemingly "frozen" in time and then the view
rotated is achieved by a circular array of film cameras. A whole bunch tiny
cameras are arranged in a semi circle and all take a picture at the same
time. By showing those pictures one after another camera motion is
simulated.

Jade Ohlhauser
president

----------------------
A B S O L U T E 3 D
computer graphics inc.
www.absolute3d.com
----------------------


Jim Yeh wrote in message <3651BA15...@ix.netcom.com>...

Orion

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Nov 17, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/17/98
to
Oh that's what they want you to believe.. but actually it's done by
feeding some desperate student runner they have hanging around the set a
bottle full of pro plus and getting him to run around the studio at the
speed of light holding a camera.. :)

Smeggy

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Nov 17, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/17/98
to
HAHAHA :)

--

Smeggy
Better Smeg than dead :]
www.mindspring.com/~orsino/
GWB3d - Freelance 3d artist for hire.


Orion wrote in message <36524090...@fizzybean.demon.co.uk>...

Ian Skinner

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Nov 17, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/17/98
to
there's actaully a SW solution out there ( don't know what it is ..)
that allows for the use of two world cameras at the start and finish of
the plate , and thers one motion cam . this is much cheaper to do then
the cam array that is/was used for the GAP shoot . if you want to know
more ,go to the comp.graphics.animation NG and do a search for the "gap
commercial" thread

Jade Ohlhauser wrote:
>
> The effect of having an object seemingly "frozen" in time and then the view
> rotated is achieved by a circular array of film cameras. A whole bunch tiny
> cameras are arranged in a semi circle and all take a picture at the same
> time. By showing those pictures one after another camera motion is
> simulated.
>
> Jade Ohlhauser
> president
>
> ----------------------
> A B S O L U T E 3 D
> computer graphics inc.
> www.absolute3d.com
> ----------------------
>

> Jim Yeh wrote in message <3651BA15...@ix.netcom.com>...
> >I just saw Lost In Space and I am amazed at the number of 3D effects in
> >this movie. I know part (if not all) of the effects were made with Max
> >and it's quite glad to know that Max can achieve such result. The
> >question is, during the hypergate(or whatever that is) travel, all the
> >people and objects were freeze in their position while the camera angle
> >orbits around, how did they do that? Did they models everything and
> >animated it in Max? The same effect is seen in many recent car
> >commercials and I would like to know how to achieve that.
> >any idea?
> >
> >Jim

--
...IAN SKINNER
...EGO A.D.
...ON. CAN.
...Animation & Post Production
...Output services available
...egoad.on.ca
**************************************************
...NOTICE TO BULK EMAILER(S) and Chiba Monkeys:
...Pursuant to US Code,
...Title 47, Chapter 5,
...Subchapter II, 227, any and all unsolicited
...commercial e-mail & useless drivel sent to
...this address is subject to a download and
...archival fee in the amount
...of $500 US(yeah like that will ever happen)
...a boot to the head
...caber in the skull
...and other sundrie nasties.....

Jade Ohlhauser

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Nov 18, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/18/98
to
Cheaper? Do you have any info on this because sure there are a lot of
cameras involved but they are just cheap ones and the equipment would be
rented anyway. Also you know the cameras will produce real results at any
arc length while a SW solution sounds like the results would be less
reliable as the angle between the two cameras increases.

You may be referring to the software technique of view morphing which now
that I think about it would work. Of course the above still applies, it is
hard to fake reality especially when there are details like mud and hair
involved like in the Chevy and Subaru commercials. I would use the camera
array.

Jade Ohlhauser
president

----------------------
A B S O L U T E 3 D
computer graphics inc.
www.absolute3d.com
----------------------

Ian Skinner wrote in message <3651DBF0...@csolve.net>...

Ian Skinner

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Nov 18, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/18/98
to
take a look at the string that i mentioned , it will tell you all you
want to know i was just doing a bit of a condensed version for the sake
of all . From what i've read the software that is involved is (
incompareison to the camera way ) much cheaper and eaiser to change if
the effect is not quite right ... it's there , just read the NG thread .
that type of post prod. has not hit my area but i am trying to find out
more ....

Tuomo Kulomaa

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Nov 18, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/18/98
to
Jim Yeh wrote:
>
> ...objects were freeze in their position while the camera angle
> orbits around, how did they do that?...


Go to news://alt.movies.visual-effects and search for thread(s)
named Freeze and Pan. (You'll see it, trust me!)


___________________________
Tuomo Kulomaa
http://www.piirtek.fi/tuomo

Ian Skinner

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Nov 18, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/18/98
to
here's the article :

Article taken from Post magazine Oct. 15 issue page 20.

"Gap's voyage through space and time"
By Charlie White

LOS ANGELES - How do you traverse space while time stands still? In the
real
universe, you don't unless you're traveling at the speed of light. But
BUF
Compagnie, an LA- and Paris- based post production facility goes where
few
have gone before, producing Khakis Swing for Gap inc. The spot contains
effects that stop time by freezing jumping dancers in mid-air, while the
camera appears to arc around them. Called a steroscopic freeze, it's a
remarkable effect that thrusts viewers into a dimension where time and
space
are dissconnected.
BUF is not the only company to accomplish this technique, but it's
approach is distinctive in that it's post production intensive. Unlike
Dayton Taylor, another time/space specialist who uses arrays of cameras
with
80 or more lenses to accomplish this visual miracle, BUF has developed
custom UNIX software that accomplishes the same task by digitally
manipulating shots from just 2two motion picture or still cameras, "I've
seen effects that are shot with arrays of lenses, like what Dayton
Taylor is
doing, and they look great," says BUF spokesman Gilles de Bonfilhs. "But
it's never as perfect as what we can do with post production software."
For the Gap spot, BUF produced two different effects shots, totaling
four seconds of finished video. The idea for the production, depicting a
group of khaki-clad young people gleefully jitterbugging to the vintage
swing music of Louis Prima, was developed by Gap's in-house creative
department. Directed by fashion photographer and music video director
Matthew Ralston, the spot was filmed using two 35mm notion picture
cameras
set up in a triangular arrangement, with the dancers at the top of the
triangle and the two cameras at its base.
After principle photography was complete, it was time for BUF's
vidual
effects producer Francesco Grisi, to work his magic. First a
D - 1 telecine of each camera's shot was fed into an SGI O2 workstation.
Then two effects teams of six artists went to work. The first team
busied
themselves with the stereoscopic freeze, with the software calculating
the
differences between the two camera shots and simulating a camera move
bewtween them. "Basically the idea is to record different sides of the
subject, then extrapolate the missing frames in the middle," Bonfilhs
says.
It's not an effect that requires enormous horsepower, either - the
stereoscopic freeze was rendered on the tiny O2 workstation at a rate of
30
minutes a frame. Next, the other three artists rotoscoped mattes,
cutting
out each of the dancers and subtituting white for the original
background.
For this they used a custom-written software package similar to Adobe
Photoshop that works specifally with animations.
BUF's custom software has been evolving for a long time. Pierre
Buffin,
BUF's founder, along with Michel Gondry, came up with the idea of
software
capable of building stereoscopic freeze about five years ago, in the era
when morphing was in its heyday. But the software takes morphing a step
further, combining it with
in-betweening to create the mind-bending effect. After a year and a half
of
trial and error, BUF's R&D team of 10 developers and artists were
finally
satisfied with the technique. But don't expect to pick up a copy of this
software at your neighborhood software any time soon. Understandably,
BUF
keeps the programs's interface and routines a closely guarded secret.

Richard Brooks

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Nov 18, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/18/98
to
In article <3651DBF0...@csolve.net>

Ian Skinner <icsk...@csolve.net> writes:
>there's actaully a SW solution out there ( don't know what it is ..)
>that allows for the use of two world cameras at the start and finish of
>the plate , and thers one motion cam . this is much cheaper to do then
>the cam array that is/was used for the GAP shoot . if you want to know
>more ,go to the comp.graphics.animation NG and do a search for the "gap
>commercial" thread

What with the price of small instamatics, it is still quite a cheap
option with advertising companies asking for wads of money from clients.

There is at least one company that makes these camera arrays. Never
mind, it will be short lived like horses and people morphing in material
from glass/water/mercury to their proper materials!

The way to make money is to think up some new effects idea and sell it to
the art director of some company like Sproing, Plonkit and Twat. Don't
get confused and then MLM it though!

As for Lost In Space ideas I can ask speak to one of the 'horses mouths' (Mr.
Ed) as we had just finished working on a joint project for the BBC some
months ago.

Richard.


3D Planes and other all sorts at;
http://members.aol.com/kdbanglia/index.htm
Internet Explorer compliant only!

Richard Brooks

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Nov 18, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/18/98
to
In article <3651DBF0...@csolve.net>
Ian Skinner <icsk...@csolve.net> writes:
>there's actaully a SW solution out there ( don't know what it is ..)
>that allows for the use of two world cameras at the start and finish of
>the plate , and thers one motion cam . this is much cheaper to do then
>the cam array that is/was used for the GAP shoot . if you want to know
>more ,go to the comp.graphics.animation NG and do a search for the "gap
>commercial" thread
>
>Jade Ohlhauser wrote:
>>
>> The effect of having an object seemingly "frozen" in time and then the view
>> rotated is achieved by a circular array of film cameras. A whole bunch tiny
>> cameras are arranged in a semi circle and all take a picture at the same
>> time. By showing those pictures one after another camera motion is
>> simulated.
>>
>> Jade Ohlhauser
>> president
>>
>> ----------------------
>> A B S O L U T E 3 D
>> computer graphics inc.
>> www.absolute3d.com
>> ----------------------
>>
>> Jim Yeh wrote in message <3651BA15...@ix.netcom.com>...
>> >I just saw Lost In Space and I am amazed at the number of 3D effects in
>> >this movie. I know part (if not all) of the effects were made with Max
>> >and it's quite glad to know that Max can achieve such result. The
>> >question is, during the hypergate(or whatever that is) travel, all the
>> >people and objects were freeze in their position while the camera angle
>> >orbits around, how did they do that? Did they models everything and
>> >animated it in Max? The same effect is seen in many recent car
>> >commercials and I would like to know how to achieve that.
>> >any idea?
>> >
>> >Jim
>
>--
>...IAN SKINNER
>...EGO A.D.
>...ON. CAN.
>...Animation & Post Production
>...Output services available
>...egoad.on.ca
>**************************************************
>...NOTICE TO BULK EMAILER(S) and Chiba Monkeys:
>...Pursuant to US Code,
>...Title 47, Chapter 5,
>...Subchapter II, 227, any and all unsolicited
>...commercial e-mail & useless drivel sent to
>...this address is subject to a download and
>...archival fee in the amount
>...of $500 US(yeah like that will ever happen)
>...a boot to the head
>...caber in the skull
>...and other sundrie nasties.....

Glenn Chung

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Nov 19, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/19/98
to Jim Yeh
Go to http://www.virtualcamera.com/invention.html to learn more about the
multicamera array used for these types of effects shots.

Glenn

Priss

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Dec 10, 1998, 3:00:00 AM12/10/98
to
When I saw the subject to this post, i thought it would be something
like...
Major West starts walking towards Will Robinson at two miles per hour
and Wil walks at...you get the picture...har har

Danger!

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