| Quicktime
VR object movies allow the viewer to rotate an object to see all
sides and to zoom in or out at will. In it's simplest form a QTVR
object movie is made up of several still frames of the object,
shot on a turntable, at equal increments of rotation. For example,
you might create a web-friendly object movie by shooting 18 still
frames, one for every 20 degrees of rotation. Or you might create
a larger version of that same object movie for CD use by shooting
36 still frames, one for every 10 degrees of rotation. (If you
shoot 36 frames up front, you can create larger and smaller versions
from the same set of original images). A QTVR object movie shot
as described above is called a single row object, that
is, the rotation occurs only in one plane.
More
complex objects can be created by shooting multiple rows,
that is, moving the camera position up or down between rows
(around an imaginary circle surrounding the object). If
you shoot multiple row objects on a regular basis, you'll want
to own a specialized computer controlled rig to facilitate the
intricate camera movements required. Two suppliers of specialized
rigs for this purpose are Kaidan
and Peace
River Studios. You can see a 3-row object movie I produced
for Eastman Kodak Company by following this link:
3-Row
Object Movie
Once
you produce a few QTVR object movies, you'll realize that it's
a special form of stop action animation. That can lead to some
fun experimentation such as this object movie I did for a pitch
to Fisher Price:
Stop
Action Animation as an Object Movie
The
skill set required to produce professional level object movies
is that of a studio photographer. Although object movies certainly
can be produced by amateur photographers without professional
equipment, if you do them on a regular basis, you'll want to
have professional lighting gear and, ideally, a single lens
reflex style digital camera with a macro lens.
Whether
you produce single row objects, multiple row objects, or stop
action objects, realize that a high level of attention to detail
is called for to produce successful object movies.
Feel
free to call or email if you have questions on object movie
production.
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