On 1/29/2003 10:02 PM, Frank van der Pol wrote:
>> (From Scott Highton)
>> I found it was best therefore, to support the camera on a boom arm which
>> comes in through the driver's window. This gives the camera an
>> unobstructed view in every direction in the interior, except for the
>> support arm in the window.
>
>I never shot a car interior, but I've seen this way of working on
>an image that showed the Spheron camera and I can understand that it
>is the best way of working with a scanning camera, since it also puts
>the worst (when it comes to image quality) part of the image at the
>side windows, where it can be replaced by some exterior shot, but:
>
>I've tried this method just out of curiosity using a (digital) slr
>and it appeared to be impossible, since the center of gravity of the
>camera is not at the same spot as the nodal point, which results in
>a camera that simply will not stay in a given position, but simply
>'falls' until the lens is looking up. Adding weight to the front
>(lens side) was practicaly impossible because the weight would have
>to be put in the field of view for a large part.
>
>I can imagin that this problem does hardly exist when using a
>scanning system or a light-weight two/three shot system, but how do
>you cope with this issue when using heavier cameras with such a very
>excentric center of gravity?
>
>Besides, it seems almost impossible to rotate a camera without
>entering the car, which would mean you probably would have to fix
>the car to a certain extent using jacks.
Good points, Frank, which reminded me of further details.
I shot the first automotive VR interiors for Toyota's 1996 and 1997
product lines, and since we were the first to do these, we had to develop
the techniques from scratch. We shot with a Nikon F3 film camera and a
heavy Nikkor 8mm fisheye lens.
The key element in bringing a camera in on a boom arm through the window
is that you shoot the panorama sequence with the camera rotating about a
horizontal axis, rather than the normal vertical one. This also requires
that the pan head be capable of being locked into each detent position so
that the off-axis weight of the camera/lens doesn't keep pulling it out
of position. Unfortunately, most commercial pan heads don't have this
capability, as the manufacturers seem to assume that all panoramas will
be shot with the camera rotating around a vertical axis. This is an
unfortunate oversight in my opinion, but it probably isn't a pressing
concern for the average photographer.
To solve this problem, we simply drilled a small hole through the
rotation collar of the pan head and then drilled matching interior holes
for every detent position we needed. Then, we slipped a small steel pin
through the aligned holes to lock the head in each position as we shot.
The pin kept the head from rotating, even with the off-axis weight of the
camera pulling against it.
You *can* rotate the camera without being inside the car simply by
keeping the driver side window open and reaching through the window to
remove the pin, rotate to the next detent and reinsert the pin again (you
can lift up the diffusion material over the window when you need to reach
in) . Of course, with the larger vehicles, it helps to have long arms
<grin>. However, it is possible to open a passenger or back door in
between each shot to access the camera if you have to. The car will
return to it's original position after you get back out of it and close
the door again. If you do this, make sure you don't adjust or move
anything else inside that might cause other alignment problems. Of
course, you also have to be extremely careful not to bump the boom arm or
stand that it rests on during the process. If you do, it's best to
restart the shooting sequence completely, as you will never be able to
realign everything perfectly.
I found the hardest vehicles to shoot and light properly were the
convertibles, because it was so difficult to keep the soft interior
lighting we wanted without getting significant lens flare from the broad
light sources above. Cars with sunroofs were much easier, particularly
if the sunroof was not too big. The other cars that were most difficult
were the very small sports cars with black interiors, because there was
very little room to get lights positioned properly, and the contrast
range of the scene without supplemental lights went quickly beyond the
ability of the film to capture it.
For general reference, we averaged about two car interiors per shooting
day, and the entire shoot took about 10 days the first year and about a
week the second. The result however, became Toyota's leading advertising
method (via their web site). Toyota tracked that these VR scenes led to
more actual test drives (getting their potential clients in for a test
drive at a dealership is the best way to get them to buy a car) than any
other advertising mechanism Toyota used. This is also why today, almost
every car company uses VR to show its products on their web site. (Most
of the U.S. automotive photography today is done in either Los Angeles or
Detroit, as that's where the major hubs of the automotive industry are
located).
Regards,
Scott Highton
Author, Virtual Reality Photography
E-mail: email@hidden
Web: http://www.vrphotography.comhttp://www.highton.com
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