I will be capping my feature with 6 PS3 cams and the room that I will be doing this in is 13.5 feet wide by 18.5 feet long (approx 4m by 6m). Since the room is longer than it is wide, I figure I have these two options:

1. Place a cam in each corner of the room with one cam between them, (Basically three cams on either side of the room. forming two semi circles)

or

2. All 6 cams in a semi circle at the far end of the room.

Also, in most volumes, black is used for the backdrop. Since IPI is sensitive to shadows, is black not a good choice? I am fabricating a custom capping suit using chroma blue, red and green, (blue for the torso, red for green for the arms, red for the legs) for contrast against the background. Or, should I stick with white?

Ideas?

Thanks :)

Pat

If you can do a full circle, I say go for it. The important thing is that you have enough 'overlap' between the FOV of each camera so that iPi Studio doesn't lose track of the performer at any time. FWIW, I use a semi circle, but mostly because my capture space isn't big enough for a full circle, and the data has been pretty good for 360 action.


It will probably work but it also sounds like a lot of extra work. The recommended jeans + t-shirt + long sleeves actually works quite well for iPi Studio. The main issue with using a solid black background might be that if any shadows are cast on your body (like from your arms,) the shadow area may become confused as 'background', affecting the software's ability to track accurately. BTW, the reason black is normally used as the short sleeved t-shirt color, is to hide the shadows cast by the arms and torso. Using any other color for the torso may actually make shadows more visible on the performer. (Naturally, you don't want a black shirt against a black background either.)

FWIW, I use a solid green BG...the color doesn't really matter so long as it contrasts with the performer. But in general, a normal room background is fine so long as there aren't any exceptionally bright or large reflective surfaces (like windows or a shiny refrigerator door,) that may confuse the tracker. Also, less clutter in the BG certainly helps.

IMO, I would use the tried and proven standards first, and if that's inadequate for your purpose, then start the experimental stuff.

Hope this info helps.

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

Hey thanks! I don't care what method I use as long as I can get good capping. Hell, I'll wear a loin cloth if I have to! So I'll keep it simple then and not make more work for myself. Lighting won't be an issue since Ill be using soft boxes (from when I was making 2D movies) set up around the volume. The area that I'm using is the entry room into my home. Again, it's about 18.5 ft x 13.5 ft and not really being used for anything. I would use my garage but since I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, the garage can heat up real quick.

Thanks again!

Pat

Just to clarify why a 'normal' room background is okay: if I correctly understand what iPi Studio is doing, it's applying the few seconds of 'empty' background you set at the beginning the timeline as a difference matte, which effectively separates the performer from the background. Where this technique may fail is if the background and the performer share similar colors, in which case parts of the performer may get 'removed'.

In other words, almost anything is fine in the background as long as the colors are different from the performer and nothing else moves or appears to move in the background (i.e., a reflection of the performer or somebody offstage.) Now realistically it's not always possible to remove everything but if you minimize obvious problems, Studio can get a good track. Usually, once Studio 'locks in' on the performer, it's less likely to be distracted by things in the background.

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

Oh, I completely understand where you're coming from :). I've been playing with the program for a few weeks now, but when my other cameras show up (Thanks Josh!) I'll be in a better position to do more complex captures. My intent was to make sure that I had a clean neutral BG and that my clothes would contrast enough in order to make it easier on the software, and frankly, have clothing that would be lightweight and cool due to the heat out here. Also, my skin tone is within the same range as the paint on the wall, so I just want to make sure that nothing will throw the tracking off.

Pat