This application allows you to create a QuickTime VR object from a linear QuickTime movie. The frames in the QuickTime movie can be views of an object captured with a film, digital, or video camera, or they can be rendered.
Some graphics and CAD applications allow you to create linear QuickTime movies directly; for others, you will need to save a series of images, then combine them into a linear QuickTime movie using a utility such as ConvertToMovie. ConvertToMovie is included in the QuickTime Software Development Kit.
ABOUT THIS VERSION
This version contains a new "Save as Cross Platform" option. This option allows you to create cross-platform ("flattened") QTVR objects for playback on both Macintosh and Windows computers.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
• QuickTime 2.0 or later
• System 7
• 2 MB RAM
CONVERTING A LINEAR QUICKTIME MOVIE TO A QUICKTIME VR OBJECT
In this process you enter the data needed for object manipulation. You can import existing object data from another QTVR object by choosing "Load from Object Movie," or enter new data.
1. Start Make QTVR Object and open the movie you wish to convert.
2. From the Edit menu, choose Add Object Data.
3. Choose Scene, Object, or Object in Scene.
• Scene converts old navigable movies of scenes to the QuickTime VR format. (This option is provided for converting old content; you're not likely to need it.)
• Object creates an object with the standard QTVR Object interface, in which the user rotates the object with hand or arrow pointers.
• Object in Scene creates a joystick-style interface that simulates movement around the object. Experiment with this option if you have a large object such as a house, or if the object is displayed against a scenic background.
4. If you chose Object, enter a Field of View. (If not, disregard this setting.)
This setting affects the rate of object rotation. The initial default (180 degrees) generally works best.
5. Enter the number of rows in the object movie.
This is the number of vertical pan positions you photographed or created. Initial default: 1, for a single row of photographs.
6. Enter the number of columns in the object movie.
This is the number of horizontal pan positions you photographed or created. Initial default: 36, for a complete set of photographs taken all around the object at 10 degree increments.
If your object contains a looping movie, complete steps 7 and 8. Otherwise, skip to step 9. (Looping movies allow you to create animation effects such as blinking lights, spinning parts, etc.)
7. Enter the number of frames in the animation loop at each position.
Initial default: 1, for no looping movie.
8. Specify the number of loop ticks, in 60ths of a second.
This is the rate at which the movie will cycle to the next frame.
• A value of 0 (initial default) displays the next frame at that position as quickly as possible.
• A positive value sets the speed at which the player will cycle through the frames.
• A negative value allows the player to display the next frame in the loop only after the absolute value of the specified time has elapsed.
9. In Start HPan and End HPan, enter the starting and ending horizontal pan positions.
Initial defaults: 0 degrees and 360 degrees, to indicate that the input frames make up a complete circle around the object, and that the first frame in the linear QuickTime movie will be the first one shown when the QuickTime VR object is displayed. Note: This setting also affects the rate of object rotation.
10. In Start VPan and End VPan, enter the starting and ending vertical pan positions.
Initial defaults: 0.0 degrees, to indicate that the input frames were all taken in a single horizontal circle around the object. For example, if you started photographing with the camera directly above the object, you would set Start VPan at 90.0. If you finished with the camera directly below the object, you would set End VPan at -90.0.
11. Choose OK.
The movie is saved as a QuickTime VR object.
Next you’ll set the poster view. The poster view is the frame displayed when the object first appears in the Player window. Initial default: First frame. Change this setting to create an initial view that best displays the object.
12. Rotate the object to the view you want to use as the poster view.
A three-quarter view (such as from above left) highlights an object's three-dimensionality.
If possible, orient the object so it points to the right. This improves disk access time when the object is manipulated, because movement from right to left can be played faster than movement from left to right. (This speed difference is insignificant if the object is played from a hard disk.)
13. Select Set Poster View from the Edit menu.
The view you selected is saved as the poster view.
CROSS-PLATFORM COMPATIBILITY
To make the object playable on Windows computers, complete the following steps. (This procedure "flattens" the file.)
1. From the File menu, choose Save as Cross Platform.
2. Enter a name for the Cross-Platform version and choose Save.
Note: The object must have the suffix .mov (e.g. vrobject.mov). For compatibility with Windows 3.1, use the 8.3 file naming convention.
CHANGING THE DEFAULT SETTINGS
To change the defaults, choose Set Preferences from the File menu.
CONVERTING QTVR OBJECTS TO LINEAR QUICKTIME MOVIES
1. Open the object in Make QTVR Object.
2. From the Edit menu, choose Delete Object Data.
The QTVR object is saved as a QuickTime movie.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Here are solutions to common problems:
• The object does not turn properly in the vertical direction.
Most likely, the value specified in # of Columns is incorrect.
• Only the top few vertical positions of the object can be seen.
The value specified in # of Rows is probably less than the actual number of rows.
• The object can’t be turned up or down even though the value in # of Rows is greater than 1.
Make sure the values for Start VPan and End VPan are different.
• The object "slips" under the cursor, spoiling the impression of direct manipulation.
The Player rotates an object 180° when the pointer is dragged across the width of the window. This mouse scaling is affected by the values for Start HPan, End HPan, Start VPan, and End VPan. In general, the smaller the range of Start and End Pan values, the faster the object will rotate.
• Only part of the frame is displayed when the object is rotated.
Check for frame differencing in the linear movie used to create the object. In a linear movie for a non-looping object, each frame should be a key frame. In a linear movie for a looping object, specify the key frame every N frames, where N is the Loop Size.
• All of the settings seem to be correct, but the object still doesn’t behave properly.
Check the frame rate in the linear movie used to create the object. All of the frames must have the same duration. This is equivalent to specifying a fixed frame rate for the entire movie. You can use any frame rate.
