Post 17: Working on the "3D Artista Somnia"

     I started reworking last years show to make it 3D Red/Cyan Anaglyph, to be seen using the geeky cardboard glasses. I can't wait to shoot a picture of the public wearing a thousand of those...
    I started with the "Brick Drawers" sequence because it had a lot of depth already built in, and it works well with minor adjustments. The camera I used was fairly wide angle to increase the depth effect, so I just duplicated it twice, moved one left and the other right, and called them Right Camera and Left Camera.
    I adjusted the convergence of the cameras to a point on the facade itself, so both images would fit the building as best as possible, protruding blocks would appear in front, and receding blocks behind. 
   I rendered the right and left movies separately in After Effects, and combined them into a single Anaglyph movie using Anaglyph Workshop Movie Edition for Mac. 
  The resulting movie tends to be dull looking, so I ran it through Premiere and applied curves and saturation effects to "ZAP" it. It now really looks pretty good, almost "straight out of the box". But I have time to tinker with it and make it better.
   Put on your Anaglyph glasses and check it out on YouTube.
   Next, I will do in 3D the third sequence with the Tarot Cards and the Asteroids flying around.

Post 16: Moving the Water Sprayer

    I moved the water sprayer to a place at the bottom of my driveway where it is totally free standing and can be seen from both sides. I set up the projector about 20 ft away behind:

    I tested it last night, but the jet force of the top sprayers caused the very flexible top arch to turn down,  producing a very thick wall of water. It showed some interesting almost 3D effects, but I could not get a good focused image. 
   So I used nylon fishing line to tie it in place. I will test it again as soon as I get a chance. 

Post 15: 3D within 3D?

   The problem at this stage with the ground projection is that my objects look flat within the 3D space. I sure would like them to look 3D, without using full 3D software. It may actually be possible, so I tried using some of my Red/Cyan Phantograms in After Effects. It does work, but a lot of distortion has to be applied to make the 3D effect look realistic, and to have the objects appear like they stand on the ground. For some reason, it is easier to make them look like they are below ground level. The bigger the object, the more difficult.

   Next test was to use different left and right images in the separate left and right camera final renderings of the sequence in After Effects.

Post 14: Monitors Setup

  I couldn't keep the projector and the 4 sheets of tile board out because of the rain, so I am testing as best as I can with my big 30" Apple monitor laid flat on boxes next to me, for which I made a black foam core hood:

Post 13: Full Scale Ground Projection Test

   I finally did a full size ground projection test last night. 
 The original small scale test in the driveway had shown that the texture of the concrete destroyed the 3D effect, so I bought 4 sheets of 4'x8' white tile board, de glossed them, and gave them a coat of 1-2-3 Primer(it's supposed to stick to everything, but unlike Kilz, it's water base, so you don't get high on fumes...). I laid them down flat on the courtyard ground with a slight overlap, so the joints would not be visible.
  I mounted the projector on a 10 ft pole sitting on a concrete ledge 9ft above, so it ended up about 20 ft above the ground:

    Since I was using the wide angle adapter, it turned out almost too high, and I had to zoom into fit the image to the 8ftx 16ft "ground screen". I will use a shorter pole next time, which will make things easier...
    I had a selection of images made especially to test the 3D Ground Projection Concept, with an underground space underneath the "street" level, and also objects on the ground and flying above the ground. 
  The results were satisfying, but showed just how tricky it is to create the illusion, working so to speak "in the dark" in After Effects (distorting the images and moving them in space with a 30 to 45 degrees backward slant), and having to render the Left and Right images and combining them in an Anaglyph to actually see the final 3D image from the spectator vantage point. Also, at this point, I am using mostly 2D objects which appear as cutouts. The challenge will be to replace them with either real modeled full 3D objects(very difficult), or at least use 3D pictures of objects(more feasible). I am actually starting to shoot a collection of those.
   There is definitely a sweet spot in the middle. When one moves sideways, the objects slant sideways, when one is too close, the objects slant back, when one is too far, the objects slant forward. The height of the viewer also affects the perspective: taller viewers see objects taller and see more depth.
    This means the viewing space will have to be clearly marked, and the rest roped off. The actual public would ideally be limited to about 6 spectators at a time, the shorter ones up front, the taller ones behind.
   That means that "the Show" has to be short,  around 3 minutes, and repeat in a loop with may be a 30 seconds blank countdown in between for the spectators to move out and others in place.

   I also tested some Phantograms which I did several years ago. More about those in my dedicated blog:
           ANAGLYPHS and PHANTOGRAMS
   They were quite effective, and that was actually the first time I saw them on that scale. 

   There could possibly be two Shows playing alternately:
    1. "The Virtual Sink Hole", with the street caving in revealing the underground, and stuff flying in and out.
    2.  "Ghost Phantasms", with objects or people appearing to stand above the ground, even float in the air. Obviously, I would create images "a little less challenging" for the Alys Stephens public...

Post 12: Something Interesting

     I ran across this image of an interactive game "hallway" installation that looked real nice:

   Not sure how it works, but I love the setup. Unfortunately, that would take 8 projectors and a Pandora box to connect them... I guess it's not for this year...

Post 11: Large Scale Water Projection

   Another thing I have been working on is a larger spraying frame for next years water projection. I would like to use a 5K projector, which should be able to cover an area about 10 ft x 18 ft. I also want the frame to be free standing, more rigid, and vertical so it can be seen from the distance.
   I am using as a base a 10 ft PVC 1" pipe with two horizontal T's and four 2ft flat "legs":

    Three of the ends are capped, the fourth is fitted with a garden hose connector. The two vertical T's are fitted with 3/4" PVC pipe with a slip connector so the direction of the spray can be adjusted:

   The nozzles are 90 degree fan screwed into holes drilled 18 to 24" apart in the side of the PVC pipes and tapped 8-32:

    Two 1/2" beige 10 ft PVC pipes are screweed at the top of the 3/4" vertical pipes, curved inward to meet at the top of the arch and are connected with a slip joint.
   I set up the sprayer for a test in my back patio. It is actually more flimsy than I expected once put together because of the height,  and will require some kind of metal support to be solid enough to stand in the middle of the street. In the meantime, I supported it with a few sticks tying it to the house. It ended up 10 ft wide and almost 18 ft tall:

    I tested the spray, and it seems OK, but I won't be able to tell till I test it tonight. The light wall and the door right behind are going to interfere with the projection,  so I need to get a black drop cloth to hang on the wall. 
    Well, even with the black drop cloth behind, it didn't work at all...I could see a dim image on the black backdrop, but couldn't get the water spray to catch it. Bummer... I suppose I need to project from the back side, with empty space behind and in front. I will set up the sprayer in another spot where I can test that Monday.

Post 10: Using the Underground Space for the Ground Projection

   In my last Ground projection Test, I used a slanted 2D image of an underground metro tunnel, and it kinda worked. But I want to try to use a real 3D underground space. The problem is that it has to be somehow slanted and distorted to be seen by the camera and rendered properly as an Anaglyph from the spectator oblique point of view.
  So I created an underground floor, added 3 columns, a dragonfly, another green frog , work signs, a compass, a coke bottle(antique), "the eye", and a wooden ladder. I had to fiddle back and forth between camera view, and Anaglyph view from an oblique angle on a flat monitor, adjusting angles, size, position, and amount of anamorphic distortion until the image looked convincing enough from the "sweet spot". This actually is the biggest problem with this kind of 3D anamorphic illusion, it can only be made perfect from one spot. Moving forward, backward or sideways alters the perspective and the illusion. 
   This is what I have now(version 9). Click for full size image, and to see it properly, wear anaglyph glasses, lay your monitor down, and look at a low angle:

     All I have left to do now is make everything move and fly around!

    But first, I want to do a full size ground projection test to determine the best position for the spectators, and choose the "sweet spot". I am afraid actual concrete is going to be too dark, too textured, and too uneven to get a bright sharp image. So I want to lay on the ground 4 sheets of masonite painted flat white. The seams can be taped with white gaffers tape. The projector will have to be way up in the air, unless I can figure out how to use a wide angle adaptor...

   Well, it works! I just stuck the wide angle adaptor for my canon G12:

in front of the projector lens, and boom, the image on the screen gets almost twice as big, with no noticeable loss of sharpness. All I have left to do is a figure out a way to hold it in place(besides duct tape...).

     That's done too, with just a few screws and two pieces of aluminum:

Post 9: Modifying the Existing Subterranian Space for Better 3D

    My first attempt was to replace the brick slices by black and white striped slices from a checkerboard pattern, but the columns came out looking 36 sided, not perfectly round.
    So I used a picture from the house downtown I did the PTTR Projection on, cut out the four top columns and used them to build a simple square column in After Effects. I found a concrete texture I repeated over and over to match the existing floor size, and placed it in the existing AE composition, as well as side walls:

   I made the Anaglyph, which looked a little washed out, so I darkened it and increased contrast and saturation with curves. It looks much better than the brick space with 3D glasses:

Post 8: Creating 3D Round Red Brick Columns in 3D Space in After Effects

   So far, in After Effects 3D space,  I have only created cubes, drawers, angular stages and square columns, which I used in both the PTTR and the Alys Stephens Architectural Mapping Shows.
   I have create textured spheres(like planets) in Photoshop CS5 and used them in After Effects CS5, and that kinda works. But but they lose their 3D quality in AE 3D space and become flat objects as far as stereoscopic 3D viewing with 2 cameras is concerned.
   CS6 and CC got rid of that function, but CC introduced a 3D plugin that included a lite version of Maxxon Cinema 4D. I was excited at first and thought my problems were solved... I have been struggling in the last few weeks to create cylinders, spheres and other non rectangular objects in Cinema 4D, and hate the software. It is the most counter intuitive interface I have ever worked with, and when I finally figured out how to make simple 3D shapes, I realized that these actually didn't appear as a full 3D layer in After Effects 3D space either, so my efforts were pretty much a waste. That was a huge disappointment. All Cinema 4D is good for really is extruded titles and 3D shapes working on their own. Back to square one!
    So I decided to forget Cinema 4D, and just try to use After Effects to create cylinders and spheres.
    I chose a weathered brick texture:

   I cut it up in 36 narrow strips, and assembled them in a circle in After Effects  3D space(x,y,z) rotating them in 10 degrees increments. It worked, and looked like a real brick column:

   So I created a very long underground room with a very large brick floor, walls, an arched ceiling made the same way of 30 long slices, and a sewer trough. I duplicated the columns in two rows. Finally, I made a brick sphere by stacking disks(basically one brick high columns) made of 36, 30 and 20 slices and top and bottom disks cut from the pattern. The disks were rotated so there would be no noticeable repeat pattern :

   I added lights and cameras, and a street sign. I am  a little puzzled by the fact that the scene takes for ever to render at full resolution, when the Activity Monitor doesn't show the processors doing much... But then again, it's an awful lots of slices and planes in a brick textured space over 15 000 pixels deep... 
   Anyhow, I was well pleased with the result for a first try, though it looks a little too much like a "virtual" video game space:

   Keep in mind that, even though the camera window is only 1920 x 1080 pixels, this is in fact a huge fully three dimensional space built within After Effect, about 2000 pixels high, 4000 pixels wide, and 17,000 pixels deep, with two receding rows of 24 columns casting shadows, an arched ceiling, and a complex brick ball.
   Stuff can be placed and moved, and the camera moved and rotated within this space. Here is another camera angle:

   OK, now how does that big 3D sewer space look in stereoscopic 3D Anaglyph with the Red/Cyan glasses? I created a 3D rig in After Effect, but for some stupid reason only Adobe knows, the only Anaglyph options available are Red/Blue, and Red/Green, which don't exist in the real world, the choice of glasses being Red/Cyan, Magenta/Green, or Blue/Amber...
   No problem, mister dummy Adobe, I will create my very own 3D rig. Anyhow, all said and done, the result looks pretty good:

    But the color is toned down because the bricks are of a reddish orange color, which is not a very good choice for Red/Cyan Anaglyph. Neutrals, yellows, purples and bright greens work best.

Post 7: New Ideas

   I spent a good while today surfing the Net for interesting 3D videos. mapping, etc... And I did find several interesting and inspiring ideas.
    The most exciting is probably the series of 4 videos made for Sony as part of the "Great Films Fill Rooms" advertising campaign for the X-Box:
           Part1         Part 2        Part 3      Making Of

   It's a collaboration between two extremely creative British Studios,  MARSHMALLOW LASER FEAST , and 
THE FOUND COLLECTIVE. 
    These guys are incredible, and collaborated on several other inspiring and "Beyond State of the Art" projects, like  "Mc Laren vs Aerodynamics".

    Other fascinating projects involving light by the Found Collective were LISTEN WATCH, PLAY, also for Sony Entertainment(using a gazillion fluorescent tubes, and dozens of monitors):

 and SHAKIRA'S CONCERT VISUALS:

    Another great clip I ran across was a 3D introduction to Michael Jackson's Thriller song for his stage show, where he is actually playing most of the ghouls... 

    Even though I am not so crazy about the result, I was also very interested and inspired by the concept of this Gloria 3D Music Video. A similar "room"(use 3D glasses) could be recessed into the facade of Alys, with hopefully better visual and sound(the song is really pretty awful...):

Post 6: Various Failed Tests

    The 3D effect I got by using a pair of stereo cameras in After Effects placed at a location straight above the center of the projected image is reasonably effective, but the problem is that the images have to be slanted at a roughly 45 degrees angle to be seen by the vertical cameras:

So the space they move in is not a true square x,y,z 3D space, the z axis is slanted, and that makes it impossible to visualize what the spectator will see while working within After Effects. The two camera views have to be rendered, assembled as an Anaglyph, and viewed at an angle from the narrow end on a horizontal monitor with cardboard glasses in order to know what the spectator will see:

          This makes it very slow to work because of the necessary back and forth adjustments.

    Also, "not quite 3d objects" created in Photoshop 5 (like the globe) look fine, but true 3D objects like the  cube cannot be used because their perspective ends up wrong, the cameras and the spectator being in different locations and viewing at a different angle:

     I tried to use the stereo rig built in After Effects CC so I could visualize the final anaglyph directly in AE as I worked, but it is set up in a horizontal format, and the anaglyph I need has to be in a vertical format, so I ended up with a cropped partial image:

    I tried to place the cameras at the spectator location, and got a great 3D  effect:

    I suppose I could project from that angle, and get a more or less oblong and rectangular image on the ground, but the projector would be behind the spectators, so they would cast a shadow, and I doubt the depth of field would be enough to get the image in focus front to back. Not to mention the light fall off front to back and the parallax concerns. 
   To project from above, I have to distort the images both in perspective and anamorphically into a rectangular vertical 1920x1080 format . The final anaglyph looks 3D alright, but the ground appears slanted down(you need to look at this image with the glasses and the monitor laid down flat):

   So, unless I get a new better idea, looks like I am pretty much stuck with my original imperfect hybrid slanted flat object perspective... Even if I could easily make 3D objects with Leonar3do, I couldn't use them in a ground projection. Bummer!

Post 5: Leonardo, Hope for Easy 3D?

    I discovered an interesting new gizmo a couple of days ago, one that gives me hope for an easier way to work in 3D. But It doesn't seem to be quite yet available for sale. 
    It's called Leonar3do. Looks like it makes it possible to skip learning Maya or Cinema 4D, and manipulate a 3D blob into something just by pulling and pushing at it with the weird BIRD input device:

    The demos are quite amazing, and I would love to play with it. There is no price list out yet, but I heard talk of about $500 for the hardware and drivers. Then they have several levels of Software depending on needs, and a Home Edition is supposed to be available soon. Can't wait!

Post 4:Trying to make it better

   Now that I know I can get real 3D depth to the ground projection, I want to make it better and more exciting. Several things can be improved.
   First, the "collapsed ground" can be more interesting and more realistic, not just a cutout in the ground, but have thickness around the edges with dirt showing, roots hanging, etc... I was on my daily walk this morning in an industrial neighborhood, and found a grungy run down section of asphalt I liked a lot:

To have better detail for a bird's eye view, I shot 3 rows of 6 details holding the camera high above my head. I straightened the perspective and put all those together in the computer to make a detailed bird's eye view of the section of asphalt I called ROAD X that I will import in After Effects to replace the cobblestones:

I then proceeded to cut out the hole for the collapsed road:

   To create a realistic animation of the road falling in, I will have to create a number of frames starting with with a small hole getting bigger and bigger, and pieces of asphalt falling down the hole in 3D, ideally built in 3D and rotating in x,y,z space. It will take time, but I can probably do that. It is easy enough to create simple shapes(boxes, balls, cylinders, flat angular slabs, etc...) and apply the kind of weathered textures I like to them.
   It is much harder to make a realistic frog or dog in 3D. Most of the models I have seen are rather crude and unrealistic. It is certainly possible to create extremely realistic ones, as "Ratatouille" and other animated movies have shown, I just don't have either the skill, the time, nor the team of hundreds of computer geek/artists to do it for me... Bummer!
    So I will have to use a mix of 3D and 2D objects moving in 3D space.

Post 3: Testing the 3D Ground Projection Concept

   I assembled from a texture a bird's eye view of a cobblestone street. I then cut out an irregular opening in it making it look like it fell in. I found a great sepia image of an underground railway tunnel, and imported them all in AfterEffects, as well as my usual bulldog, green snake, green frogs and wax cat. Making things work in 3D was easy, but getting it to work as a 3D anaglyph was a little trickier... After fiddling with the position in space and the angle of the images, it began to look pretty good.
  I added the image of a locomotive on the rails, a coupe of bats(one flying way above the street surface, the other way below in the underground tunnel, it got even better. 
   I am working sideways in After Effects, so to make it work, I had to create my own 3D stereo rig:

    To create the 3D effect, the images of the various objects have to be at about a 30 degrees angle to the horizontal plane of the street, and have to be  stretched anamorphically so the final view from the spectator standpoint is more or less correct. The projected images are distorted.

   To test the 3D effect, I had to render the left and right eye image separately in After Effects, and then put them together as an Anaglyph in Photo Stereo Maker. To see it, you will need red/cyan anaglyph glasses, put your monitor flat on the table, and look at it at a roughly 30 degrees angle:

Post 2: GENERAL IDEAS

     We had a meeting with Jessica, Adam and Randy the other day to brainstorm about the project, review what could be improved, and discuss new ideas and concepts.
    We considered and rejected the idea of moving the main projection surface to face the street. But we retained the idea of expanding the Festival area to include the portion of 10th avenue facing the Alys Stevens Center, since the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts will be opened by then and will be a wonderful backdrop and potential projection surface. This would require asking the city to close the street to traffic and turn off more street lights. That would also expand the Festival Area considerably. 
   We also floated the idea of renting the Red Cross dome for projection and silent disco. 
  I proposed doing as much of the show as possible in 3D, which has not been done yet as far as I know for architectural projection.
   I also proposed a ground projection inspired by a show done in Belgium called "Fiere Margriet". This show was in 2D and gave a great illusion of depth. I would like to push it even further and do it in 3D. I suppose it really could be done anywhere on the grounds of the Festival if we either use a light colored concrete area, or lay down a piece of fabric and set up my 5K projector on a tall pole directly above the middle of one of the long sides, as long as we somehow restrain the viewing public to one narrow end of the rectangle:

  I have done a very preliminary tentative layout on a Google Map:

Post 1: GOING AHEAD WITH LUX SOMNIA 2014

       I have been working on ideas since the beginning   of summer not knowing whether there would be a 2014 edition of Light Dreams. Most of the ideas where presented on a blog called SCAENA LUMINARIA: STAGE LIGHTS .

  The main idea I developed was to bring the "BIG SHOW" indoors, for various reasons I explain in the blog, and create a Stage Show with a set, front and rear projection, EL wire and LED costumes, etc...
  I have also been working on 3D video with a small 3D camcorder, and the possibility to do Architectural Projection in 3D. This research was documented on a dedicated blog called VIDEO-3D, and showed we would likely have to use with Anaglyph 3D.
  Since the decision was made that the Show would instead retain the same outdoors format next year, I am starting this new blog dedicated to the development of ideas and the production of LUX SOMNIA:LIGHT DREAMS 2014.