[Sam Poliquin]

Thanks so much for all your help and suggestions. This is really good information. I think I will end up using a combination of both.

One last question:

Do you have any recommendation for a general degree / distance between each camera for twixtor or re:flex to successfully slow down the sequence (maybe to 20%)?

Thanks again.

[Sam Poliquin]

Thanks so much for all your help and suggestions. This is really good information. I think I will end up using a combination of both.

One last question:

Do you have any recommendation for a general degree / distance between each camera for twixtor or re:flex to successfully slow down the sequence (maybe to 20%)?

Thanks again.

[Sam Poliquin]

Hi,

Thank you so much for the thorough response, I really appreciate it. Here are some answers to the things you brought up.

I will not be shooting with still cameras seeing as I have no means of triggering the shutter simultaneously. Instead I am using HDV cameras, stationary fixed to a rig, set to progressive scan mode. I will then extract each frame from each of the 20 cameras to make the sequence.

That’s good advice to arrange 20 cameras around 90 degrees rather than 180. I want to get a significant axis of rotation, but quality is definitely more important.

I’m not using a green screen- I’m planning on using just a dark black background, and just light the subject very well. However, if you think that 3D tracking could be useful, I could illuminate the background so that I could successfully generate a 3D map.

There will be no props around the subject or in the background. It should be just a solid, plain, black background with the single subject in the middle. There will only be one subject performing at a time, so they will be the only layer in front of the black background. At times they will be performing rigorous actions such as jumping and twirling and dancing etc, so I figured that this would be too difficult to try to use mattes and layers with. Do you think these active movements will cause Twixtor that much trouble? Also, you mentioned the possibility of using RE:FLEX; I hadn’t heard about it before, but now that I understand it, it almost seems more suitable for what I am trying to do. I just want to made a slow, smooth transition between these 20 cameras. Which method do you think I should use? Either way, is 3D tracking something that could help?

Unfortunately I have about three days to shoot this entirely, which doesn’t give me much time for testing or trial & error. I’m trying to figure this out as thoroughly as possible before I go to shoot. I could send you some frames from the shoot (which will be in early April) in case you have any suggestions on how I should go about compiling my results in post production, though.

Thanks again for all your help!

[Sam Poliquin]

Hi,

Thank you so much for the thorough response, I really appreciate it. Here are some answers to the things you brought up.

I will not be shooting with still cameras seeing as I have no means of triggering the shutter simultaneously. Instead I am using HDV cameras, stationary fixed to a rig, set to progressive scan mode. I will then extract each frame from each of the 20 cameras to make the sequence.

That’s good advice to arrange 20 cameras around 90 degrees rather than 180. I want to get a significant axis of rotation, but quality is definitely more important.

I’m not using a green screen- I’m planning on using just a dark black background, and just light the subject very well. However, if you think that 3D tracking could be useful, I could illuminate the background so that I could successfully generate a 3D map.

There will be no props around the subject or in the background. It should be just a solid, plain, black background with the single subject in the middle. There will only be one subject performing at a time, so they will be the only layer in front of the black background. At times they will be performing rigorous actions such as jumping and twirling and dancing etc, so I figured that this would be too difficult to try to use mattes and layers with. Do you think these active movements will cause Twixtor that much trouble? Also, you mentioned the possibility of using RE:FLEX; I hadn’t heard about it before, but now that I understand it, it almost seems more suitable for what I am trying to do. I just want to made a slow, smooth transition between these 20 cameras. Which method do you think I should use? Either way, is 3D tracking something that could help?

Unfortunately I have about three days to shoot this entirely, which doesn’t give me much time for testing or trial & error. I’m trying to figure this out as thoroughly as possible before I go to shoot. I could send you some frames from the shoot (which will be in early April) in case you have any suggestions on how I should go about compiling my results in post production, though.

Thanks again for all your help!