Importing camera data from 3dsmax...?

vvvv beta general
1

Hi all
is there a vvvvay to import camera animation from 3dsmax ?

i just have a bunch of tracked camera data and behaviour (hand shot) i would like
to use within vvvv.
Any advice welcome…

2

if 3dsmax has the option to export the cam animation into a file with some position and vector data that you can read in a text editor, you have a good chance … but you have to patch your own importer in vvvv.

3

mmmm… 3dsmax can output ASCII cam data… so i guess i could trick it…
i’ll dive into it an let you know
thx

4

yo, or post the ascii here, i am interested how it looks …

5

would be interesting to have such a module! let me know, when it’s finished!

6

here’s the ascii
…

CAMERA.ASE (3.4 kB)

7

aha, looks good … is the animation duration 4 seconds ?

8

yes, 100 frames @25fps

9

ok, its easy to parse that file. the right interpolation is harder to find. but have a look and say if the cam movement looks similar to the original …

3ds cam module.zip (6.1 kB)

10

hi
heres a maxscript
for exporting camera path from max 7
it writes camera and target position at every frame
not just keyframes
you get an xml file which you can parse
see the help file
if youre into scripting you can customize it easily
ohyea and this one is for target cameras only

viktor,
just having password issues all the time

campath.zip (4.8 kB)

11

–> tonfilm:
it is workin’ , yeah, but the interpolation is not correct (as 3dsmax default interpolation is not linear) and there’s some scaling issues.
but the controls of your module are really interesting.

however, viktor module is working correctly, though 3dsmax z axis seems different than v4’s, the issue is solved with a rotate node.

the main issue is camera’s fov, which is not interpreted the same way under both apps, but i think this can be sorted out.

i attach a zip file for testing, containing:

  • 3dsmax files: with free cam (tonfilm’s module) and with target cam (viktor’s)
  • ASCII file for free cam, XML file for target cam
  • Xfile object exported from 3dsmax file.

CAM-free and target.zip (36.3 kB)

12

and the movie file i’m trying to match (for comparing purposes), rendered @320/240 : 25fps
apple quicktime photojpeg codec

anyway, thanks both for showing me in your module how to interpret ascii/xml data.
this is very valuable

cam target movie.zip (251.6 kB)