sports replay - 3d rotation of the field

[corvee]

So watching some football and they interpolate a 3d spin to different camera angles when doing some analytical breakdowns of plays. Found one company called Vizrt that does it, and this is a good example: https://vimeo.com/58623456#



I was wondering if anyone knew how to do something like this using After Effects? I have HD footage of multiple angles of a play, and am currently "building" a 3d space from a frozen moment in order to achieve a rudimentary rotation. I don't need anything like live feed... this is using packaged multiangle highlight footage for in-house analysis.

But any help getting into this would be fantastic! Of course, alternative programs would be helpful too!





Thanks!

 

[arco1]

We have 'played' with this type of effect inside of AE. There are at least three different effects to consider: the graphics/animation (arrows, walls, circles, etc) to accompany the video, the mapping of cameras (in 3D space), and the transitions between the cameras.

Of course, all the effects occur using still frames from each camera, synchronized in time. The graphics were straight-forward for me, using combinations of brush or even text. Figuring out where the cameras are in 3D space was a bit tedious, but can be done trial-and-error since there is no need for extreme precision. The transitions between cameras required that I 'take-apart' the end and beginning still-frame and separate the various planes of the image. I did this in Photoshop using the vanishing-point effect, but you might be able to do it using various masks in AE. In many cases, the virtual camera in the transition does not travel in a straight line, but arcs or even moves along a complicated path. You'll need to build a 'virtual camera rig' to handle that movement.

This is tedious work at best. I think the networks use a pricey commercial system that actually maps the live cameras in 3D space and automatically builds the animations.

You might want to download the vimeo footage and play it through several time and one frame at a time to get a better understanding of what is actually happening. Very educational.


Jim