[Hilary Tsai]

Thank you both! I tried the spline wrap but ended up using bend with the strength connected to sound through expresso to get it to be really fast. I will try adding the motion blur channel like you suggested.

[Hilary Tsai]

Thanks Walter!

I am now looking to using Perception Neuron trackers instead of AR. I hadn’t even realized that in a dark setting, the camera wouldn’t recognize the markers. I’m so glad you caught that before I wasted a lot of time!

[Hilary Tsai]

Do you have any 3D skills? You could model that pretty easily in Cinema4D or another 3D software, then texture your image/video onto the model. Then you just project that model onto the castle.

[Hilary Tsai]

Thanks Matt! Regarding Blacktrax tho, I see it costs thousands of dollars and is more geared towards big events. I’m looking for a much smaller scale solution, for personal use and smaller venues. Is there something similar to blacktrax that costs less?

[Hilary Tsai]

This is insanely helpful–thank you, Steve! I’ve downloaded the free version of Unity and am following tutorials to start learning it. Can’t wait to try the 3D sprite particles, and also give IR sensitive tracking points on the instruments a try– it sounds like a smart idea. I’m sure that the musicians I work with in future would be willing to put them on for the sake of accuracy. Now if I may just ask a complete beginner question: What version of Kinect do you use, and do you happen to know which to buy for Mac? I have a MacBook Pro 15″ (OS X Sierra) with thunderbolt 3 output, and it’s been hard to find information on compatibility. Some people say to get Version 2 and buy the power supply separately, and others say that Kinect for Mac is actually just a software that mimics Kinect (not sure how this possible). But there’s so much conflicting info that I thought I’d ask users directly. I know that I don’t want to use it in conjunction with Xbox, so I need the standalone version. But other than that, I’m a little unsure. Thank you so much for the time and patience you put in to your answers! I keep referring back as needed, and it’s helping me a lot in narrowing down strategies and tools.

[Hilary Tsai]

Thank you for your answer, Steve! Yes I do mean real-time, like a situation where there is no script, per se–but perhaps some predictable/repetitive types of motion. Ultimately, my goal is to do music-based visuals for bands. Things like music notes/particles exploding out of guitars, in a way that follows the guitarist as he moves around. The particle programming you mentioned sounds extremely interesting, and I’d aim for a toned down and simpler version of that in my own work. Actually, much of my needs for this could be covered by 2D–so maybe it’s not important that I use Unity or c4d for now; although I might try some canned 3d effects too. To make things simpler, I’d like to follow the method with the least amount of coding. I’m still new to it, but do aim to delve deeper into it in future projects. It’s not important that the tracking be accurate to the second, and I’m also open to all solutions that are a compromise between canned stuff and motion tracking. I would love to hear more on the live generated system you suggest. Any detail you can provide is immensely helpful to me in researching the possibilities. Thank you again for your informative reply!!

[Hilary Tsai]

Thank you for these further suggestions! I agree about the “CC gods”. This exchange has given me lots to work from.. Will certainly import C4D camera and null groups for better control in AE. Very glad to know the precision is not of huge importance unless mapping architecture; I’d antagonized over that part so much that I think it overshadowed everything.

Steve, if there is a way to rate you as “best answer” or boost you in this forum somehow, please let me know. You have been very generous with your time and guidance and I truly appreciate it.

P.S. about the auditorium POV, those chairs are just always there by default. For the actual event, I will be able to customize the seating and move them further away.

Thanks!

[Hilary Tsai]

Oops, it looks I didn’t attach my images correctly that time, so I’ll send them here.

Auditorium:

Panel set-up:

[Hilary Tsai]

Thank you Steve! Absolutely, I will try to explain more on what I’m projecting on. It’s complicated, so I’m sorry if this gets long-winded:

The entire show is interior mapping, in an auditorium with very little ambient light. (auditorium w/ projector throw jpeg attached below) It would use a single 4k lumen projector mounted from an A/V booth in the back, about 15 feet off the ground and aimed at the set-up. There will be no difficult architecture like columns, just three large planar surfaces set up like a folding panel, and some geometric shapes in front, arranged in a way where all planes are visible from a front angle. Materials are yet to be decided; it’s a separate area I’m still doing research on. The screenshot attached here is a very crude representation of panels I made in C4D, just to show what I mean. Onto the planes, I’m projecting imagery of rock performers with a variety of effects like silhouettes, glowing outlines and trap code form. The whole thing is supposed to be a mock concert. Realism is definitely not the goal; it will be abstract, and a degree of “flat-lookingness” for the performers can’t be avoided, since it’s just roto-ed footage w/effects. The background behind the performers will, though, suggest some depth and play with lighting in a way that evokes a concert environment.

In front of and around the edges of the two outer panels will be geometric objects that I’ll map with more dimension than the rest. This is where the C4D stuff comes in. They’ll be designed w/ music iconography. For example, rectangular object might be mapped as a speaker that blares particles, and those particles would fall onto other geometry and appear to collide with the surface. To some extent, the elements would seem to interact with one another. I’m going mainly with rectangular shapes, since they’re simple and versatile–can be mapped like amps and piano keys, too. Then the center panel would have a stage-like structure in front of it. The panel behind it would be where the drummer is, and the stage might do some sort of distortion as though the drums were affecting it. All of this sounds overly-hopeful, but it’s only a student thesis project where all that’s expected is my best shot and willingness to experiment. I suspect that I will keep simplifying until I get something realistically doable by end of december.

The big thing I kept getting stuck on at the start, was how to export the C4D stuff as a sequence that could be played back in AE but also have all the layers of the C4D project. Last week, someone suggested Cineware for this. As for matching RWG, I used to away with just tracing shapes in MM with quads and exporting that outline as a guide for AE. Then, as long as resolution stayed the same, I could just export a single .mov out of AE, load into MM and it would fit the geometry perfectly. In that way, my use of MM was unconventional since most people have a bunch of quads in their output window. Projector and RWG didn’t move in the past, but that may not be the case this time. C4D was the extra challenge that threw off my workflow. I’m sure most of my issues are due to just not being familiar enough with the way C4D mapping works to anticipate problems, but things are indeed coming together and clicking much more as I read more of your helpful posts. The bit about double distortion does makes sense now; after hearing an expert explain it, I realize how in the dark I was on lots of things.

Right now, I am re-reading and ‘digesting’ your post again to make sure I do fully get it. But I wanted to go ahead and explain what exactly, I was mapping, since I left that out last time. Thank you again! I really appreciate you putting up with all of this long explanation.

[Hilary Tsai]

Sorry for yet another post! (wish they’d let us edit)

Anyway, in my above posts, it hadn’t hit me yet exactly what Uvw was all about, but now I understand better. I’m used to 2D software, where it’s not such an issue–so I must’ve confused you terribly by thinking I needed to calibrate a 2D trace of my RWG. My mind was stuck on my old workflow, where I’d trace objects in full screen mode in MM and then load it as a png into AE so I could see my outlines; .but I do realize now that With C4D it’s more complicated, as I have to think about how 3D translates in 2D application. With that said, the sequence of C4D to AE and finally to MM for warping should be okay?