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VRML
Chapter 10
Using Apple's QuickTime VR
-by Kelly Murdock
CONTENTS
]In the chapters so far, you've seen a lot of image-creating techniques,
from static images to dynamic animations. Before you're introduced
to the promised land, where worlds update in real-time, it's time
for a short field trip to look at a technology that falls somewhere
in between.
Apple's QuickTime VR technology is an extension of their video
technology, which enables users to rotate an object or spin about
a panoramic scene. The view changes as you move the cursor about
the scene, resulting in (for you, the viewer) a feeling of standing
in one spot and panning your head back and forth (or even all
the way around). How is this done? This chapter answers that question
in detail, explaining the following topics:
- QuickTime VR-what it is and how it works
- Where to get images to use in creating a QuickTime VR environment
- How to combine several images to create a panoramic view by
stitching images together
- How to use hotspots to link to other images, sounds, or scenes
- How to use Strata's Studio Pro to render images to be used
as QuickTime VR movies
- How QuickTime VR files can be embedded in your Web pages
Although QuickTime VR is somewhere between 3D graphics and VRML,
it definitely can be considered as 3D graphics and it exists all
over the Web, so it really belongs in this book.
Stop for a second and turn your head to the left. What do you
see? Now look up. Is the view different? Unless you're in a padded
room, your view changes as you move your head.
Now try picking up an object and turning it over. The object probably
looks different from different angles. QuickTime VR takes images
shot from several different positions and combines them to create
a file that displays the correct view as you move around the scene.
There are actually two different types of QuickTime VR environments
that you can create-panoramic movies and object movies. The first
acts like a background and the second like an object you hold
in your hand. These two environment types can be combined into
one scene.
Apple's Look at 3D: Panoramic Style
Have you ever been so captivated by scenery on vacation that you
tried to capture the panoramic view by taking several pictures
while rotating? You were probably disappointed that those pictures,
when placed side-by-side, didn't quite capture what you saw. QuickTime
VR can capture the pictures and give you that panoramic view.
To create the images, you can use a regular old 35mm film camera,
a video camera, or any 3D RMA package. If you use a camera, a
tripod helps line up the images. Simply take a picture and rotate
the camera, then take another, and another, until you've captured
a full revolution. Be sure to overlap the images so that the entire
scene is captured without gaps.
Once you have the images, you need to digitize them into the computer.
Users of 3D packages simply need to render and save the various
images. Once all the images are ready, you can use the Dicer tool,
part of the QuickTime VR Authoring Tools Suite, to stitch the
images into a 360-degree environment. The results can be included
on your Web page, like the one shown in Figure 10.1.
Figure 10.1: Lightscape created these 3D scenes as an example fo QuickTime VR technology.
The QuickTime VR Authoring Tools Suite is currently available
only for the Macintosh, but QuickTime VR runtime plug-ins are
available for both Macintosh and Windows platforms.
The view changes as you move the mouse around the image. The view
can move left, right, up, or down. The Shift and Ctrl keys can
be used to zoom into and out of a scene. Several views of the
same room are shown in Figure 10.2.
Figure 10.2: By moving the cursor to the left of the window, the view updates in realtime.
Apple's Look at 3D: Object Style
QuickTime VR objects can be manipulated and rotated by moving
the mouse, much like picking up a cantaloupe in the supermarket
and turning it over to check for soft spots.
To capture images as QuickTime VR objects, you need to capture
pictures of the object from several angles-around, above, and
below the object. The best way to do this is to take pictures,
starting at the top of the object and continuing all the way around
until you get back to the top. Repeat the process around the equator
of the object.
Once you have photographed the images, use the Dicer tool to stitch
them together. A sample QuickTime VR object can be seen in Figure
10.3.
Figure 10.3: The View360 Web site has many QuickTime VR movies, including these two object movies of a speaker's internals and a Raiders football helmet.
Moving QuickTime VR objects is very natural. The cursor changes
to a hand and when the left mouse button is clicked, the object
rotates in the direction you move the mouse. In Figure 10.4, the
helmet spins to the left as you drag the cursor to the left, and
it spins to the right as you drag the cursor to the right.
Figure 10.4: This QuickTime VR object enables you to view this Raiders helmet from all angles.
A Dicer tool is based on the Macintosh Programming Workshop and
used to stitch images together and compress the final file. It
does this by matching the various features in adjacent images.
Many 3D packages offer panoramic rendering, which means you don't
have to stitch images together. The final stitched image, or rendered
image, is output as a simple PICT file. This file can be loaded
into an image editor, such as Photoshop, for some touch-up work
before you create the finished QuickTime VR movie.
Figure 10.5 shows an example of a finished rendered image. Notice
how the lines in the images bend and warp. This is necessary to
map correctly to the 360-degree environment.
Figure 10.5: The top of this Web page shows the finished image before becoming a QuickTime VR movie.
When the image is loaded into the QuickTime viewer over the Web,
the warp is removed, and the image appears as it would if you
looked at it straight on.
QuickTime VR also enables you to specify hotspots throughout the
environment. These hotspots let you activate audio clips, display
text or images, or even launch another QuickTime VR file. By using
hotspots, you can build connected environments called multi-node
scenes.
Within a scene, you can detect a hotspot by watching how the cursor
changes. Double-clicking on such spots loads the associated file.
In May, Apple announced QuickTime VR 2.0, scheduled to be released
in August. You can check Apple's QuickTime VR Web site for the
latest information and information for developers:
http://qtvr.quicktime.apple.com/Home.htm
The 2.0 version adds the ability to program how QuickTime VR files
play and are controlled. You'll be able to make composite images,
such as 3D sprites, so that you can have 3D characters fly around
QuickTime VR scenes with 3D sound. You'll also be able to add
URL hotspots that link to other Web pages.
Because QuickTime VR authoring is presently available only on
the Macintosh, the only 3D packages that offer support for QuickTime
VR are Macintosh products. One such product is Strata's Studio
Pro.
Studio Pro is one of the first 3D RMA packages to include output
options for QuickTime VR. It's a powerful piece of software. Though
Studio Pro is currently available only on the Macintosh platform,
Strata is working to have a Windows version out by the end of
1996.
One of Studio Pro's chief benefits is the ability to create scripts
that automate certain functions. Included in Studio Pro is a scripted
camera that creates images that can easily be made into QuickTime
VR movies. The following steps show you how Studio Pro can be
used to create a QuickTime VR object movie:
- Start by opening Studio Pro and loading a prescripted camera
called "Studio Pro QuickTime VR Object Camera" from
the Stationary folder. This camera is programmed to render the
object at every 10 degrees, producing 684 frames.
- This scripted camera file places a cube in the center of the
window defining the boundaries of the object movie. Place a model
in the cube. Anything outside the cube isn't rendered.
- Next, add any light sources you want to illuminate the scene
and hide the cube by using the Edit | Select | Hide Selected command.
- Finally, select the camera and open the Render Dialog Box
with the Rendering | Render command. Give the file a name and
choose QuickTime Movie File as the file format. Figure 10.6 shows
the Studio Pro environment with a rendered basketball object file.
Figure 10.6: Studio Pro can be used to create images for QuickTime VR object movies and panoramic scenes.
- Studio Pro creates all the frames you need. To finish the
process, you need to open the file in Apple's Navigable Movie
Player, which is part of the QuickTime VR Authoring Tools Suite,
and choose the Edit | Add Navigable Data command.
- This command opens a Navigable Data dialog box. Select Object
and 180 as the Field of View. Enter 19
for the Number of Rows, enter 36
for the Number of Columns, and click OK.
The resulting QuickTime VR object movie is ready to be displayed
on your Web page.
Note |
Studio Pro also can be used to create QuickTime VR panoramic scenes. Select a camera. In the Render Dialog Box, choose QuickTime VR Panoramic as the Renderer setting and either QuickTime VR or QuickTime VR Large as the Size. The rendered PICT file can then be converted into a QuickTime VR movie with the Dicer tool.
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Once you've got the QuickTime VR file finished and you're ready
to embed it into your HTML file, you'll need to get the QuickTime
VR plug-in, available at the Apple QuickTime site:
http://qtvr.quicktime.apple.com/Install.htm
- You need to install the video format version of QuickTime
first, available for both Windows and Macintosh.
- Once QuickTime is installed on your system, download the QuickTime
VR Player. This player is a plug-in for Netscape Navigator 2.0
or greater. There is no word yet on support for Microsoft's Internet
Explorer. The plug-in file should be saved to your Windows directory.
- You also need to set up a MIME type for the QuickTime files.
Select Options | General Preferences, then select the Helpers
tab.
- Click the Create New Type button and enter video
as the MIME type and QuickTime
as the MIME subtype. Enter MOV
and QT as the File
Extensions, then select the Launch the Application radio button
and browse to the PLAYER.EXE helper application, located in the
C:\Windows directory.
- The QuickTime VR Authoring Tools outputs your stitched image
as a MOV file. These files can be loaded into the QuickTime helper
application by using a standard <A>
tag:
<A HREF="filename.mov"> QuickTime VR scene</A>
When a Web surfer with the QuickTime VR plug-in installed comes
to your site and clicks on this link, the file downloads and plays
in the helper application.
Caution |
The QuickTime VR file must download in its entirety before the movie can be viewed. This can take a long time for large files on computers with low bandwidth connections.
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This detour into Apple's technology has shown you a valuable technology.
QuickTime VR is appearing on many commercial CD products and popping
up all over the Web. A natural fit for 3D software packages, it
represents yet another way you can display your 3D content on
the Web.
Next Steps
Though you need to get back on the beaten path to continue your
trip, this section, as always, offers the proverbial fork in the
road:
- Chapter 11, "Using Microsoft's
ActiveVRML,"presents another technology. It's not the official
VRML, but Microsoft's ActiveVRML adds several interesting capabilities.
- After a look at ActiveVRML, Chapter 12,
"Real-Life Examples: Creating a MYST-like Adventure on the
Web," wraps up this part with a real-life example that ties
the advanced section together.
- Just beyond is the VRML world you've been waiting for. Skip
over to Chapter 13, "Exploring VRML
Browsers and Development Tools."
Q&A
Q: | Is there any way to embed the QuickTime VR files right in my Web page without relying on a helper application?
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A: | Apple has teamed up with Netscape to build QuickTime functionality into Navigator 3. This will allow both QuickTime videos and QuickTime VR scenes to be displayed within Navigator without loading the helper application. You'll still need to download the QuickTime VR plug-in, however.
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Q: | I really like what QuickTime VR can do, but I'm running Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser. Is there any way to access QuickTime VR scenes in Internet Explorer?
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A: | There has been no official word on support for QuickTime VR for Internet Explorer from either Apple or Microsoft. However, as a helper application, you can set up Internet Explorer to load QuickTime VR programs, just as you would any other helper application. Using helper applications makes them independent of the browser.
You can assume that Microsoft or a third-party company will eventually create an ActiveX control to handle QuickTime VR scenes.
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Q: | Which 3D packages can I use to create QuickTime VR scenes?
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A: | The two packages that have been the tools of choice for working with QuickTime VR scenes are Strata's Studio Pro and Specular's Infini-D. Check out these two products if you plan on creating QuickTime VR scenes from 3D-rendered images.
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