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mcjVooDooDaz - MatchMoving / Camera Tracking in Daz Studio ( update )

mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607
edited February 2013 in Freebies

download it from my pop-up-free google site
https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcjvoodoodaz-for-ds1-2-3-4

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Introduction
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It was written for Daz Studio 1, 2, 3, 4

it requires data from the free-for-non-commercial-use Camera tracker named VooDoo
http://www.viscoda.com/index.php/en/

or the non-free but better, faster, mac-compatible camera tracker named VooCat
http://www.viscoda.com/index.php/en/products/voocat

Mac people please :
On scenespector's site, there's sample videos and "text export files". You should get those and try them with mcjVooDooDaz, this way you can make sure it works before purchasing VooCat. Then please tell me if it works, cause i dont have a Mac.

To sum it up, you process your video through Voodoo, save the tracking data in a text file, then use mcjVooDooDaz to import the animated camera and the feature point markers in Daz Studio.

────────────────────────────────────────────────
version history
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Feb 21 2013 - Blender compatibility mode. Vertex clouds
Feb 15, 2013 - Easy selection of the backdrop images
Sep 30, 2011 - Fixed issue wherein shaders interrupted automated renders
Sep 30, 2011 - Supports VooCat ( which supports MACs ), and errors in camera animation were fixed
Sep 27 2011 - Initial release

────────────────────────────────────────────────
Examples
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fi 1. : logos
fig 2. : this is actually happening in Daz Studio!
fig 3. : VooCat compatibility test
fig 4,. : Voocat compatibility test 2
fig 5 : adding a shadow catcher improves credibility

dont miss Carnite's video-tutorials about shadow catching in Daz Studio
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo2OVy9tf8E and www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrWtXnijQ_k


────────────────────────────────────────────────
mcjVooDooDaz's excessively cool demonstration videos:
────────────────────────────────────────────────
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnu6czjuIyk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5s7R98SDgs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRfK-Iezypg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKYg1Ejs6Eg

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Post edited by mCasual on

Comments

  • mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607
    edited December 1969

    in daz studio, adding an alien

    the camera tracking footage / background / shows the university where VooDoo was developed ... i think

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  • richardgaray_c9b7eb2acbrichardgaray_c9b7eb2acb Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    I perform all of the steps (Win 7 64bit, Daz 4.5.0.114), but when I click "Set Backdrop For Current Frame" nothing happens.. any ideas what I may be missing?

  • mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607
    edited February 2013

    ragaray said:
    I perform all of the steps (Win 7 64bit, Daz 4.5.0.114), but when I click "Set Backdrop For Current Frame" nothing happens.. any ideas what I may be missing?

    a typical example would be, i have my images named


    hardknock000.png hardknock001.png ..... hardknock119.png

    make sure you have the latest version of mcjVooDooDaz

    then you click on "Select First Backdrop"

    and you browse to, and select, hardknock000.png

    now there's the part that may be why it didn't work

    if your image is a .png image, make sure the second "file type" selected is PNG

    ----

    also, since i only have 120 images in this set of images, i must be at a frame between 0 and 119 on the timeline

    for mcjVooDooDaz's preview button to work

    --

    update: i did more tests recently and under some circumstances,
    the "Set Backdrop For Current Frame" button's effect only takes place
    after closing the script or when moving the script panel over Studio's 3D View

    a new version of mcjVooDooDaz will be published very soon and will include a fix

    that new version will also include compatibility with Blender

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    Post edited by mCasual on
  • mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607
    edited February 2013

    ~ New ~ Update ~ ~ New ~ Update ~ ~ New ~ Update ~ ~ New ~ Update ~ ~ New ~ Update ~

    new version with new functionality

    - backdrop updates more responsive

    - markers (point clouds) are 'painted' bright red upon loading

    - new types of markers called "vertex clouds" can be visualized using a D-Form
    or the mcjTracer plugin ( available for DS3 and soon DS4 )

    - Blender compatibility mode to facilitate the exchange of camera tracking data between Studio and Blender

    ---------

    fig 1 the new vertex-clouds visualized using a D-Form
    fig 2 the new vertex-clouds visualized using mcjTracer
    fig 3 The new GUI

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    Post edited by mCasual on
  • mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607
    edited December 2015

    i did some testing to see if my mcjVooDooDaz script for Daz Studio still works in Daz Studio 4.8


    The answer seems to be Yes, but you need to manually enable the "Backdrop" type in 
    Daz Studio's "Environment" Pane/Tab to get the Preview and animated backdrop renders to work

    IMPORTANT : when the Environment Backdrop is ON, this may block light from the iRAY Environment

    so if you do an iRay render and just cant figure  why oh why is it all black !!!?

    then you'll need to return to the Environment Pane/Tab and turn the Type from Backdrop to None


    also, i did my tests with data from the 2010 version of VooDoo ( 1.0.0 Beta) 

    there's a new version of VooDoo ( 1.2.0 ) so i'll see if it still produces (text format) data compatible with my script

    note that i also have scripts on my web site to transfer the animated VooDoo Camera to Poser and Carrara and Blender

    today's test in Daz Studio 4.8 using Data from 2011

     

    Post edited by mCasual on
  • mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607
    edited December 2015

    Good News

    i can report that mcjVooDooDaz works fine with valid Text-format Data from VooDoo 1.2 ( 2015 )

    same results as with the 2010 VooDoo 1.0 Beta

     

    For greater precision you probably have to study closely the new camera parameter named "Frame Width mm", which was introduced in DS 4.5

    i think in DS 1,2,3,4.0 it was 35mm, but the default value for Daz Studio cameras is 36mm .... so ... try setting that to 35mm and see if the tracking dots fit better

    and really, you cant escape it, read the mcjVooDooDaz manual carefully

    it includes valuable info like " if you try to process too many frames VooDoo may crash"

     

     

    Post edited by mCasual on
  • mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607
    edited December 2015

    UPDATE FOR DS 4 ( versions after DS4.5 ) 

    By default DS 4.8 has the backdrop turned off

    ( Environment Pane/Tab, Backdrop is set to None )

    This new version of mcjVooDooDaz will turn the Backdrop ON each time you use mcjVooDooDaz's preview and render modes

    still there https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcjvoodoodaz-for-ds1-2-3-4

    note that this week i tested mcjVooDooDaz with the latest version of the camera tracker VooDoo 1.2 and it worked fine

    as you can see here

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNkFwkkH3uw

     

     

    Post edited by mCasual on
  • WayOfTheSwordWayOfTheSword Posts: 32

    @mCasual Thank you so much! I've been looking for a way to get a camera solve into Daz. I recently got a new camera (Blackmagic URSA Mini) for the purpose of having a higher fidelity image without rolling shutter or too much lens blur that I could easily composite animation into.  Your plugin and Voocat are exactly what I've been looking for.  Here's my first VFX test composite:

    Shot with ProRES HQ 3840x2160p // Rokinon 14mm T3.1 CineLens

  • mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607
    edited March 2016

    Your results look good  

    i didnt try it with non-fixed cameras, but yours seems ok!

    the paid version, uhhh VooCat has masking, which in this scene,

    i supposed could be used to get the minotaur to come out of a side door or from the building corner

    in case you didnt see them, my test videos can all be found here

    https://www.youtube.com/user/mcasual/search?query=voodoo

    like

     

    oops actually this is an example where the camera was not on a fixed tripod !

     

    WayOfTheSword said:

    @mCasual Thank you so much! I've been looking for a way to get a camera solve into Daz. I recently got a new camera (Blackmagic URSA Mini) for the purpose of having a higher fidelity image without rolling shutter or too much lens blur that I could easily composite animation into.  Your plugin and Voocat are exactly what I've been looking for.  Here's my first VFX test composite:

    Shot with ProRES HQ 3840x2160p // Rokinon 14mm T3.1 CineLens

     

    Post edited by mCasual on
  • WayOfTheSwordWayOfTheSword Posts: 32
    edited March 2016

    I render with Reality/Luxrender and then composite all my videos in HitFilm 4 Pro, which has Mocha planar tracking included with it. So I've always been able to do masking, but I just haven't been able to get a camera solve into Daz until now, something I've really needed to do. I just did this as a short video to test the camera solve. On real projects, I'll add in planes to catch the shadows and refine the materials a little more.  I'm just happy to not be tied down to a tripod anymore!

    Post edited by WayOfTheSword on
  • mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607

    UPDATE UPDATE ( Animated Focal Length / Zoom ) UPDATE UPDATE 

    in the previous version, the script totally ignored the animated focal-length data provided by Voodoo/VooCat

    instead it only used the focal/length for the first frame

    in this new version, by default the animated zoom is read frame by frame

    Just in case i had disabled animated zooms for valid reasons, you also have a checkbox to revert to the fixed-zoom behavior

     

    https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcjvoodoodaz-for-ds1-2-3-4

  • evilkooladeevilkoolade Posts: 114

    Is there any way to get this to work with syntheyes tracking software?

  • mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607

    it relies on very specific format of VooDoo's text-format files so without a substantial re-writing, it cant

    maybe there's tools inside or outside syntheyes to export the camera movements to Poser, which could be imported in Daz Studio

    i see there's a syntheyes for Carrara, maybe there's a solution on that side

    http://direct.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/171/carrara-8-1-1-12-32bit-carrara-8-5-and-syntheyes

    ( maybe maybe someday i'll make a version that can import one of syntheye's formats )

    something i made with voodoodaz recently

     

     

    evilkoolade said:

    Is there any way to get this to work with syntheyes tracking software?

     

  • WayOfTheSwordWayOfTheSword Posts: 32
    edited April 2017

    It's also possible to transfer a Blender camera to Daz, but that's was a little janky last time I tried.

    I've been wanting to get a planar tracker like Mocha to work with Daz.

     

    Here's a second test I did.  I didn't make a proper shadow plane. Messed that up in the compositor. But VooCat/mCasual's script got the track done well.

     

    Post edited by WayOfTheSword on
  • mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607

    actually didnt i make a blender-to-daz camera animation exporter? ... hmm

    YES! i even made a camera prop for the logo ... which i shall put on my web site when i remember 

    https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts2/mcjexportblendercam

    WayOfTheSword said:

    It's also possible to transfer a Blender camera to Daz, but that's was a little janky last time I tried.

    I've been wanting to get a planar tracker like Mocha to work with Daz.

     

    Here's a second test I did.  I didn't make a proper shadow plane. Messed that up in the compositor. But VooCat/mCasual's script got the track done well.

     

     

  • mCasualmCasual Posts: 4,607

    your tracking looks good, though i wonder if a stabilized-image or anti-shake version of that clip wouldnt track better ...probably!

     

     

    WayOfTheSword said:

    It's also possible to transfer a Blender camera to Daz, but that's was a little janky last time I tried.

    I've been wanting to get a planar tracker like Mocha to work with Daz.

     

    Here's a second test I did.  I didn't make a proper shadow plane. Messed that up in the compositor. But VooCat/mCasual's script got the track done well.

     

     

  • Orion_UkOrion_Uk Posts: 231

    evilkoolade said:

    Is there any way to get this to work with syntheyes tracking software?

     I have a Daz/Syntheyes script... not used it in a while but you are wlcome to test it if this is still of interest to you ( i know its been a long time since this post...) I have been away from computing recovering from a motorbike accident and general life issues lol.

  • Orion_UkOrion_Uk Posts: 231
    edited October 7

    Syntheyes/Daz script attched, worked back in the day but not tested since latest updates... finger crossed for you, if you are still around/interested lol

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    Post edited by Orion_Uk on
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