Video Panorama

September 30, 2008 9:31 AM

A most unusual panorama: a proof of concept combining 180 degree panorama photography along with camera movement. The camera mounted with a fish-eye lens is placed on a trolley traveling in a circle.
posted by bluedaniel (33 comments total)

What concept did this prove exactly?
posted by zekinskia at 9:37 AM on September 30, 2008

yeah, i'm confused. this is an old trick, and why did the camera have to be mounted on a trolley, and are you sure that happened at all?
posted by shmegegge at 9:46 AM on September 30, 2008

The mouse will move within the one image, it's the arrow keys that expand the perspectives, hence the trolley mount. This is not your usual panorama, at least I've never seen it done this way. Not with stills.
posted by bluedaniel at 9:49 AM on September 30, 2008

Most panoramic shots remain stationary, with the camera (thus the viewer) being pivoted around a central non-moving point. This one moves the camera around during the process allowing you to use the mouse to look about normally and the arrow keys to move the camera position as well.

Quite neat actually.
posted by datter at 9:51 AM on September 30, 2008

What concept did this prove exactly?

That all apartments in Amsterdam look the same?
posted by Dr. Send at 9:52 AM on September 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

it's the arrow keys that expand the perspectives, hence the trolley mount.

huh. I saw the arrow keys instruction but it didn't do anything when i pressed them. clearly that's what I'm missing. stupid mac firefox.
posted by shmegegge at 9:55 AM on September 30, 2008

So the concept is "instead of doing one panoramic shot, lets do many of them in succession?" Well color me impressed!
posted by zekinskia at 9:56 AM on September 30, 2008

oh, now it works! that is really neat. also, it changes to his kitchen when you go all the way left.
posted by shmegegge at 9:57 AM on September 30, 2008

Most panoramic shots remain stationary, with the camera (thus the viewer) being pivoted around a central non-moving point.

OK.

This one moves the camera around during the process...

How do you know that?

...allowing you to use the mouse to look about normally and the arrow keys to move the camera position as well.

I see the image shifting. But when, e.g., "back the camera up" all I get is more distortion in the same static image. I don't see any real movement. Is it just broken?
posted by DU at 9:59 AM on September 30, 2008

OK, I reloaded and it's different. I see different images sometimes, though not always. I guess it's just broken or hammered.
posted by DU at 10:01 AM on September 30, 2008

This is cool.
posted by phrontist at 10:04 AM on September 30, 2008

If you hold down the up- or down-arrows, the universe implodes. Or explodes, depending. Neat!
posted by steef at 10:07 AM on September 30, 2008

Here's something from several years ago (took me a while to find it again) that also takes panorama to another level.
posted by bluedaniel at 10:12 AM on September 30, 2008 [2 favorites]

Click the screen once then left and right arrow to start.
posted by lee at 10:13 AM on September 30, 2008

It's working quite nicely for me and seems to provide a much better (more natural looking) view of the surroundings than other 180 or 360 panoramas that I've seen before.

Also, dude needs a sandwich and a trip to the gym. My mom tells ME to eat more!
posted by no1hatchling at 10:17 AM on September 30, 2008

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, A, B, B, A, start.
posted by loquacious at 10:18 AM on September 30, 2008 [9 favorites]

I like watching the progression of events (kind of like on google maps) of the guy winning at the internet and the other guy cooking something up.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 10:29 AM on September 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

So it's sort of like the hot sexiness of interactive bullet time, but with the exciting content of a guy cooking some food?

That is exactly the subject matter I would have thought of for this technology.

It is actually really neat. I expect we'll be seeing this technique used to sell a bunch of expensive, high end products in the not-too-distant-future; a car going at high speed through a puddle where you can pan the camera all around it? That would be very cool.
posted by quin at 10:35 AM on September 30, 2008

I think I see Schrödinger's cat. It's to the right of Skinny Bum at the stove, poking its nose into something, and it's to the left of Skinny Bum at the stove, sticking its nose in the trash, where there may be poison for all we know.

And was that his pal sitting on the couch?
posted by pracowity at 10:39 AM on September 30, 2008

That's pretty spiffy. I didn't like when the kitchen burst in though.
posted by cashman at 10:45 AM on September 30, 2008

Reminds me of the full-motion panoramic movies we discussed a while back.
posted by MrMoonPie at 10:46 AM on September 30, 2008

So it's actually a bunch of 180 degree panoramas. Interesting. Isn't this already part of Quicktime VR though, where you can click on nodes to move your POV?
posted by smackfu at 10:51 AM on September 30, 2008

This reminds me of the photogrammetry techniques Fincher devised for some of the trickier shots in Fight Club and Panic Room.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:18 AM on September 30, 2008

So I hear that a third of all Europeans are conceived in IKEA furniture.
posted by infinitewindow at 11:24 AM on September 30, 2008

Damn, this guy is really cool... he appears to have both a moog theremin and a pair of KRK studio monitors. He lives in amsterdam, and has a really spare ikea-bedecked apartment.

Stop stealing my future, anonymous dutchman.
posted by phrontist at 12:24 PM on September 30, 2008

up up down down left right left right B A (start), loquacious.
posted by lumensimus at 12:25 PM on September 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

lumensimus, I believe he was switching the letters to make an ABBA joke.
posted by shmegegge at 12:29 PM on September 30, 2008

Ah! The furniture! I thought that the Netherlands was Sweden now, or something.
posted by lumensimus at 1:12 PM on September 30, 2008

Cool. More scenes please.
posted by Liquidwolf at 2:22 PM on September 30, 2008

I also noticed the random appearing and disappearing cat.
posted by riane at 2:22 PM on September 30, 2008

Track 45 left, Stop Enhance 15 to 23 . . . .

A Laurel and Hardy poster! I knew it, skin-job.
posted by The Whelk at 2:44 PM on September 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

I see the image shifting. But when, e.g., "back the camera up" all I get is more distortion in the same static image. I don't see any real movement. Is it just broken?

You're doing it wrong.

I had to expand my browser window so there was no horizontal scrollbar, then the arrow keys moved the camera location.
posted by delmoi at 2:51 PM on September 30, 2008

I totally loved this. I think my favorite part is the time-space distorting apartment that is both kitchen and living room in one.
posted by bookwo3107 at 8:13 AM on October 1, 2008