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Real-time, in-camera background compositing in The Mandalorian

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Re: Real-time, in-camera background compositing in The Mandalorian

#22
I don't care how "groundbreaking" the graphics pipeline. I watched couple of episodes and I had to force myself to keep watching to, I don't know, give it a chance?

I wonder when The Industry figures out the story is more important than the graphics. You don't buy books for beautiful cover and typesetting... at least not most you and not most of the time.

Re: Real-time, in-camera background compositing in The Mandalorian

#23
post #15
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's perspective corrected for the camera, it would probably look very distorted for anyone else on set -- whether there's depth or not And that's certainly not the goal with this. Something along those lines has been around for a while ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_automatic_virtual_environ... ). This system seems specifically targeted for solving challenges for film production, as it probably should be. I…

From the video posted upthread, around 3:40 it looks like they're doing just that: https://youtu.be/gUnxzVOs3rk?t=220

Look at the ceiling, you can see it moving.

Re: Real-time, in-camera background compositing in The Mandalorian

#24
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's perspective corrected for the camera, it would probably look very distorted for anyone else on set -- whether there's depth or not And that's certainly not the goal with this. Something along those lines has been around for a while ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_automatic_virtual_environ... ). This system seems specifically targeted for solving challenges for film production, as it probably should be. I…

They mention they cannot push enough GPU juice to the screens, so they only render the camera focus area in full resolution. Also there is 12 frame lag which prevents moving camera too fast.

> they cannot push enough GPU juice to the screens

...yet. That's just a matter of waiting a few more years.

I wonder if most of the next Star Wars movies will be shot with this tech.

Re: Real-time, in-camera background compositing in The Mandalorian

#25
This technique will produce potentially significant rendering artifacts in the final image. The backdrop is correct only from the position of the camera. A reflection from any surface will not be geometrically correct (as seen by the image from the article) I think that even ambient lighting would contain noticable deformations.

Re: Real-time, in-camera background compositing in The Mandalorian

#26
post #14

I think the demise of Lytro was a huge missed opportunity for the film industry. They had this and a number of other features in their cinema camera before they became defunct a few years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qXE4sA-hLQ

I watched that video, it doesn't really seem like the same thing in this article (although it's very cool). This is a real screen behind the actors rendering the scene from the perspective of the camera

Re: Real-time, in-camera background compositing in The Mandalorian

#27
post #4
post #2

"The solution was ... a dynamic, real-time, photo-real background played back on a massive LED video wall and ceiling ... rendered with correct camera positional data." Gee, that sounds a lot like a holodeck. We've come a long way from using Wii Sensor Bars[0] for position tracking. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC_KKxAuLQw

For the VFX industry, the tracking had already been solved for ages, with those reflective little balls on suits etc. in a mocap system. The Wii sensor bar's thing was that it was really cheap. But yes, damn close to a holodeck. But you can't see depth in this setup, right?

It won't trick anyone with stereo vision, but the perspective correction provides all the depth cues needed to create a convincing 3D visual for pirates and non-stereo cameras.

Re: Real-time, in-camera background compositing in The Mandalorian

#29
I wonder how the photogrammetry aspect will intersect with intellectual property laws. The example used - scanning in a Santa Monica bar so that you can do reshoots without revisiting the location - would be an obvious example that might raise someone's hackles ("because it's our bar you're using to make your money" for instance). If you add that bar to your digital library, do you have to pay them royalties each time you use it? Is it any different to constructing a practical replica of a real-life location?

Can someone wearing a few cameras walk through a building and digitise it completely without getting the owner's permission? Here in Australia, "copyright in a building or a model of a building is not infringed by the making of a painting, drawing, engraving or photograph of the building or model or by the inclusion of the building or model in a cinematograph film or in a television broadcast," for instance. (Copyright Act 1968 §66)

Re: Real-time, in-camera background compositing in The Mandalorian

#30
post #2

"The solution was ... a dynamic, real-time, photo-real background played back on a massive LED video wall and ceiling ... rendered with correct camera positional data." Gee, that sounds a lot like a holodeck. We've come a long way from using Wii Sensor Bars[0] for position tracking. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC_KKxAuLQw

Speaking of the Wii, does anyone else wish that motion controls could just be removed from its existing library? Not only has it just a major annoyance in most games, but its basically locked into that hardware now.
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