Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/18322
OptiTrack Offers Insight VCS Filmmakers and game cinematographers are increasingly turning to real-time virtual production technologies to blend real-world tools with their virtual world. At the heart of this development is the virtual camera, and OptiTrack is capital- izing on this revolution with its affordable Insight VCS. To ensure compatibility with a variety of production pipe- lines, the Insight VCS has been engineered for interoperabil- ity with any existing optical motion-capture system—includ- ing those from OptiTrack, Vicon, and Motion Analysis—that can track marker-based rigid bodies and stream data to Autodesk’s MotionBuilder or Maya software. Insight VCS puts fi lm directors and directors of photog- raphy in a virtual world they closely understand: They can walk out into a space and explore a virtual world by physically controlling a camera, fi nding the perfect angles, and then shooting multiple takes. All this is achieved in a fraction of the time it takes to keyframe a single camera take, and the results are more natural. Developed in collaboration with previsualization company Halon Entertainment, the Insight VCS can be used for a broad range of applications, from fi lm and commercial previs to digital fi lmmaking. The Insight VCS is a two-part system, consisting of a hardware camera rig and software interface. As the hardware rig is tracked throughout the motion-capture volume, absolute six-degree-of-freedom position and orientation data is streamed live via the software plug-in to either MotionBuilder or Maya to drive the virtual camera within the 3D application. Real-time reference video is streamed out of MotionBuilder or Maya back to the VCS display, creating a low-latency, visual feedback loop, akin to the viewfi nder in an actual digital camera. Different versions of both the hardware rig and software plug-in are available to fi t a variety of existing pipelines and production requirements. Insight VCS offers two different hardware rigs for control- ling the virtual camera. VCS:Pro, designed for professional production work, replicates the organic cinematographer’s experience with high fi delity. The professional model includes a 1280x768 HD LCD display for real-time feedback, mappa- ble buttons and joysticks for extensive camera control, and a shoulder-mount kit. Markers and posts are included for a variety of marker confi gurations. The VCS:Mini, meanwhile, provides low-cost, lightweight, and fl exible access to the virtual camera pipeline. The kit includes an anodized alumi- num mount pre-installed on a wireless Xbox 360 game pad, as well as markers and posts. Pricing for the camera rig ranges from $199 to $5000. Software plug-ins to MotionBuilder and Maya for OptiTrack systems cost $1000, while universal plug-ins for other motion-capture systems are priced at $2000. PRODUCT: PRODUCTION Pixel Farm Unveils PFMatchit The Pixel Farm is offering PFMatchit, a new 2D/3D camera- tracking/matchmoving software that aims to make the tech- nology available to facilities of all sizes. According to the company, the product is part of wider realignment of The Pixel Farm’s core VFX product range, including PFTrack. PFMatchit, released in response to customer demand for a lower entry point to The Pixel Farm’s technology, is the fi rst product to harness the fi rm’s new 64-bit, node- based fl owgraph architecture. This approach dramatically improves the core processes involved in camera tracking, one of the most critical aspects of successful VFX creation. The new architecture gives users a logical, visual overview of tracking workfl ows and a procedural, nonlinear environ- ment in which to work. Digital artists have full control over every aspect of each individual operation within a work- fl ow, and can experiment non-destructively with different approaches to a shot, to achieve the best result. Moreover, the new architecture facilitates shared data manipulation, greater fl exibility, and, ultimately, richer creative options for the digital artist. Optimized as a GPU-accelerated, 64-bit application, and running natively on OS X, Windows, and Linux, the new architecture is underpinned with metadata management, fully integrated Python scripting, workfl ow customization, and a host of other features, such as in-built rolling shutter correction and image-distortion tools. PFMatchit can solve an unlimited number of camera and object motions per shot, with each contributing to another, and then export the data as a single fi le. It can also solve for lens distortion, when no grid or alignment data exists, and save this lens profi le as a preset for automatic use within the workfl ow. The Edit Camera node provides manual controls, enabling the user to animate the position of a camera in 3D space over time. It allows previous camera solves to be edited, and can generate hints to infl uence how a 3D camera moves, resulting in solves for shots previously considered untrackable. PFMatchit is priced at $700. PRODUCT: TRACKING October 2010 5