< Previous | Contents | Manuals Home | Boris FX | Next >
Controlling ViewShift with Meshes
What if the object you'd like to remove is one that you've 3D modeled into your scene? For example, a distracting telephone post occludes the scenic view. If you've got a 3D model (or primitive) for it, why set up a spline?
You can use the mesh to define an area to be replaced (instead of a spline) by selecting the mesh and then clicking the Set removal meshes button. In effect, the outline of the removal mesh will be used as a viewing spline, and pixels will be shifted only within the removal mesh (and any other removal meshes or viewing splines).
Tip: If you have many removal meshes set up, or at least ones with names that are too long to fit, you can right-click the set removal meshes button, and the relevant meshes will be selected in the scene.
Warning: Don't have removal meshes extend past the edge of the reflector meshes (especially if the reflector's edge is not straight). The extending portion will be simplified to a straight line—it won't pick up the shape of the
reflector's edge. That can result in some pixels not being removed that you might have expected to be removed. Make the reflector mesh bigger!
Note that you'll still have to have suitable reflector meshes behind the removal mesh(es). For a distant scenic view, that might be a "Far" mesh parented to the camera, or even a sphere surrounding it for tripod shots.
Tip : ViewShift pays attention to the Back Faces and Invert Normals settings— if you put the camera inside a sphere, be sure to turn on Invert Normals or Back Faces, or the sphere will be invisible!
When using removal meshes, you'll need to pay close attention to the tracking accuracy and mesh accuracy, at penalty of having a thin outline around the removal mesh. (See the next section for information on controlling the edge). For complex effects on an automobile in a tighter shot, the mesh boundary will typically be important, and an actual car mesh may be needed.
The Ignore meshes on the panel do just that, cause specific meshes to be ignored as if they are hidden, so that they are not used as reflector meshes. (If you don't want them used as Removal meshes, don't select them as such.)
Ignore meshes are not "garbage meshes"... there is no such thing as garbage meshes. Ignored meshes are ignored, whereas garbage meshes would knock actual holes in the set of pixels being shifted. There doesn't seem to be any actual use case for garbage meshes.
Similarly, there is no mesh version of source splines: any mesh that should be a "source mesh" should be used it as a regular reflector mesh where it it more useful and informative.
©2024 Boris FX, Inc. — UNOFFICIAL — Converted from original PDF.