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eZedia Resources
eZedia Tips & Tricks
 You Spin Me Round, Round:
A Guide to Creating QuickTime VR
By Mike Berg
Manager, Multimedia Development
eZedia Inc.
QuickTime VR is Apple's award-winning photorealistic
cross-platform virtual reality technology that makes it possible to
explore places as if you were really there. QTVR allows the viewer to
explore and examine detailed virtual worlds using a computer and mouse,
not goggles, headsets or gloves.
QuickTime VR is created by
mounting a camera on a tripod and taking several pictures in 360 degrees
from the same location. These pictures are then "stitched" by a computer
to create a single image, a 360 degree panorama.
 The panorama is then wrapped into a cylinder shape.
The user is then placed "inside" the cylinder, with the ability to look
left, right, up and down just by dragging the mouse.
Now you can create QuickTime Virtual Reality movies yourself! The easiest way
to create QTVR is by using a Canon digital camera (visit http://www.powershot.com/ for more
information). Almost all of Canon's digital cameras have a mode called
Stitch Assist. Using this mode, anyone can shoot a VR in a few minutes by
taking several pictures in a circle from one tripod position. Once the
pictures are taken, Canon's stitching program creates the VR for you. Each
VR created in this way is called a Node.
If you want to create
several nodes and link them together, you'll need to use a QuickTime VR
software package. For more information on these types of packages, visit
http://www.jmadden.info/vr_software.htm
Creating a multi-node VR allows the user to travel between the virtual
spaces you have captured as VR's. This is achieved by creating hotspots on
the surface of each node and linking them to other nodes.
When nodes and hotspots are created, they are given an ID number. When
you add a VR with multiple hotspots and/or nodes to your eZediaMX project,
you can track which node the user is in and which hotspot they have
clicked on. This allows you to take the user to another frame or provide
other information in the form of text, sound, graphics or
movies.
To do this, link the VR to a Container Object. Double click
the container and set the Type to VR Node Collector or
VR Hotspot Collector . Now when the user moves around in
the VR, the node and/or hotspot is displayed in the container. Use a
Branch Object to evaluate the contents of the container and activate other
Objects.
You can also use a
Control Object to create custom controls for a VR. If you want to create
your own controls for pan and zoom, just create Control Objects and link
them to the VR. Set their Actions to the appropriate VR controls, as
shown.
As you can see, creating Virtual Reality
movies and using them in an eZediaMX project is a breeze! So give your
audience a 360 degree perspective of their new building; or send distant
relatives a guided tour of your new cabin.
With eZediaMX, it's easy to show the world who you are.
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