Post Production
Previzion can enable radical speed increases in post production pipelines. With the combination of timecode matched tracking metadata and a timecode matched composited feed, editorial and VFX can both hit the ground running.
Benefits to post production include:
- Reduce or eliminate the need for post production tracking with timecode matched metadata.
- For shots with ground contact that require post tracking, real time data can be used as a seed to dramatically increase tracking speed by 5-10x.
- Keep track of where virtual objects were placed, on a shot by shot basis
- Editorial can start cutting immediately, with a timecode matched composite image
Complete Metadata Recording
Previzion’s complete take recording system brings tracking data cleanly from the stage into post production. For many shots with little ground contact, the data can be used to drive a renderfarm directly.
For shots with considerable ground contact, Lightcraft has created tracking pipelines that dramatically speed up the tracking process using the stage data, going from hours to minutes per shot tracked.
All data is matched to timecode, enabling a seamless match between the live action production and the post production world.
Collada Take File Format
Previzion records all takes in the Collada standard file format used by multiple 3D applications. This uses ASCII text in an XML format to store all of the camera and lens parameters on a frame by frame basis for each take.
The ASCII XML format makes it simple to see if data is correct, and simple to read with standard XML libraries.
Take Converter
Since each post production application has a slightly different preferred tracking data input format, Lightcraft provides a tool called Take Converter.
Take Converter (aptly) converts takes from the original Collada file format into Maya ASCII, Nuke .chan, Syntheyes, 3D Equalizer, and other formats. Additional converters can be added easily.
Take Converter can operate in either GUI or command line form, and extracts a file based on the timecode in/out specified by the user.
Timecode Matched Editorial
Previzion’s real time composited HDSDI output has embedded timecode and audio that are timecode matched to the original greenscreen feed.
This lets editorial start cutting immediately, without waiting for slap comps or any intermediate visual effects work.
High Speed Post Workflows
For shots with intense ground contact, where some post tracking is required, Lightcraft has already worked through high speed tracking pipelines for monoscopic and stereoscopic pipelines.
Syntheyes
The combination of Previzion, Take Converter, and Syntheyes can provide an extraordinary powerful pipeline capable of accelerating the shot tracking speed 5x-10x. The Previzion tracking data is used as a ‘seed’ to lock Syntheyes into the correct camera position, coordinate system, and focal length. Syntheyes is then used to solve for camera rotation and distortion. The result is subpixel tracked shots in a matter of minutes, with accurate floor contact.
The movie at the right shows a shot before and after refinement in Syntheyes; the video showing how rapidly this can be done is located in the user manual.