Friday, December 7, 2007

Motion Tracking Research

One thing I know I need to work on in doing much of the effects for Monster Cops is the Motion Tracking.

What is motion tracking?Motion tracking is also known as Match moving. Here's Wikipedia's Definition.

In cinematography, match moving is a special effects technology to allow the insertion of virtual objects into real footage with the correct position, scale, orientation and motion in relation to the photographed objects in the scene. The term is used loosely to refer to several different ways of extracting motion information from a motion picture, particularly camera movement. Match moving is related to rotoscoping and photogrammetry. It is sometimes referred to as motion tracking.

Some of the more popular programs being used for Motion Tracking are:
3DEqualizer
Voodoo Camera Tracker
Maya
RealViz MatchMover
Icarus (I hear it's discontinued, but still floating around out there)
After Effects

After Effects seems to be fairly popular, and is what I will be using the most for specific effects. Here are just a few videos from YouTube on the subject of Motion Tracking mainly with After Effects.

EDIT: Instead of posting every video, I've compiled them into one vodpod. Click on a thumbnail to view a vid. So much more convenient.


get your vodpod

I'll update more info as I come across it.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Live for something rather than die for nothing.

Many many things to juggle and sort through, doesn't help that I'm battling a sinus infection, not to mention the day jobs. But at least I like these problems. In the end it helps to look positively at the fact that it's often not about what you don't have, but about what it is you should be happy you don't have. I'm quite happy I'm getting so much response to the casting and crew call. I just hope I can use all of these resources to the best of my ability, and that I can keep on this streak of being contacted by people who want to help.

Knowing that there is support in this area is comforting. Keeps me sane, along with looking at catalogues and listening to Def Leppard. There's alot of downtime at work, which is sometimes excruciating, and since I don't have a working computer at the moment at the day job, I've been looking at gift catalogues, sharper image catalogues, ikea catalogues, etc. Not that I can afford much of the stuff I keep looking at. I just like seeing what's new in the world of technology and consumerism. And since I'm gearing up for a bit of a fight in continuing to make Monster Cops, I've been brushing up on my Miyamoto Musashi. The Book Of Five Rings.

It's amazing how much of what can be learned about Martial Arts, Military Science, Strategy, and Combat can be applied to not only business and life, but to making a movie as well. Particularily from The Earth Scroll where Musashi lists his rules to learning his art. This is from a translation by Thomas Cleary.

1. Think of what is right and true.
2. Practice and cultivate the science.
3. Become acquainted with the arts.
4. Know the principals of the crafts.
5. Understand the harm and benefit in everything.
6. Learn to see everything accurately.
7. Become aware of what is not obvious.
8. Be careful even in small matters.
9. Do not do aything useless.

It's good to look to the past to have advice for the future. But you don't live by advice, you take it with a grain of salt, you let it help you, guide you to make your own decision rather than have it make the decision for you. That's definitely something that needed to be said this week, this year, this life. I feel like I'm in a fight right now, and when I battle I make strategies, I plan, I research, then I strike.

I hope to strike soon. I hope to have something to show for it all. It's a heck of a thing to have this vision in your head you want to show people. It does no good to tell people about it. We're moviemakers dammit! We're made to show you. And I shall, we shall. I'm fighting to get there again.

"A Roman general in the time of Caesar had a motto - "If it is possible, it is done. If it is impossible... it will be done." And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I live by."

That was from a movie called EVEL KNIEVEL (1971). Not exactly a great movie, but certainly about a great man, and certainly a great quote.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to do my best to get over this distracting sickness, get back to sorting through details, and continue my quest to improve upon Musashi's rules specifically 2,4, and 9.


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