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First published in New Zealand Macguide Magazine - Issue 17

Review
Installation & Documentation
Ease of use
Value for money
Price approx.	$99.95 USD
Software/Hardware Requirements	Mac OS X 10.2+
Available from	kaidan.com

Sometimes the most effective multimedia presentations can be produced with the simplest of setups, leaving the hard work to the software. Philip Roy investigates a low-tech approach to high tech QuickTime VR, thanks to the help of some simple-to-use software.

QuickTime VR is a great technology that has never really taken off as much as you might expect. Apple's VR authoring software has not been updated for some time and Version Tracker only lists half a dozen programs available to author with (Search for "QTVR" at www.versiontracker.com/macosx/ and you'll even come across a couple of freeware programs). That said, it's still widely used and promoted by fans of the technology. The recent Macworld Boston 2004 included a booth displaying images by members of the International QuickTimeVR Association (http://www.iqtvra.org/).

Most people associate the use of QTVR with those cool movie files where a whole panoramic landscape is laid out in front of you and you 'click and spin' the movie around as though you are actually in the midst of it. But QTVR is also capable of creating VR objects that you can pick up and rotate, viewing all sides of an object and sometimes even being able to look at both the top and bottom of the object. To see great QTVR objects in action, check out the Hardware Gallery at the Apple site (http://www.apple.com/hardware/gallery/).

The downside is that developing these QTVR objects often needs precise lighting, complex studio shots and equipment or multiple digital photos all 'stitched' together. So when I spotted PiXimation (http://www.kaidan.com/piximation/), curiosity got the better of me.

PiXimation allows you to import either live footage from a camera (iSight and many digital video cameras work with it) or a movie file, of an object being rotated. It analyses the footage and creates a QTVR object movie, removing any imperfections within the continuous footage. At $99.95 USD the software isn't cheap, but for what it does and because it is so embarrassing easy, it's well worth it.

I was intent on sticking with a low-tech approach, so I decided to borrow an old two-tier circular rotating cake tray to use as my base (some refer to these as a 'lazy Susan'). I then placed a large flat piece of card tucked inside a dark pillowcase on the top so that the objects would be seen more easily. The cake tray was then placed on the ground outside for best lighting (it was a very sunny day), string was attached to help with spinning it slowly and the top of a table tipped on its side provided an effective backdrop.

The process

Step 1 - Import movie Launch PiXimation and choose to open a movie file (I had filmed my objects being spun around outside and then exported a clip from iMovie).

Step 2 - Set Points Your movie is now imported and you can set the start and end points that PiXimation is to analyze. Once you are happy with the start and end point settings, just click the Analyze button.

3 - Analyse PiXimation will then start looking at each frame of the movie, analysing it and creating a QTVR object.

Step 4 - Preview and set PiXimation shows you the object it has created. You have the option at this stage to increase the number of frames that will make up the final movie. This setting (called 'Views Around') is important. The higher this number is, the smoother your QTVR movie is likely to be. Unfortunately, it will also increase the size of the final file. You can also set the default start frame of the movie here, which is great to make sure the object starts off facing the right way. Finally, you can choose from a range of compression settings and then tell the program to compress the file.

Step 5 - Save and spin If you would like your object to spin automatically when loaded, you can choose that here. Then, just save your finished file.

The program is designed to pick up and fix any variation in the rotation speed of the object. It's recommended that the best approach to take is to use a motorised rotating tray of some sort, but winding a piece of string around the tray and pulling it slowly got me a reasonably consistent spin. PiXimation is a program that you could easily make use of. From selling products online or having school kids show off their models on the Internet, all you have to do is film, analyze and convert. Embarrassingly simple, but incredibly effective.

And what about Panoramic VR movies?
Having set up a very quick test to film objects, I was curious to see how the program might handle a panoramic shot. Nothing in the documentation suggests that Piximation is designed for panoramas, but I placed the camera on the tray, set it running and turned the tray slowly around. I was very surprised to find it dealt with the movie easily, although it's important to increase the 'Views Around' setting to a high number to make a smooth movie.

Published by kind permission NZ Macguide - © Parkside Media

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