PAN2MIME

History: Pre-visualization, “Pre-Viz”, is a technique used in the motion picture industry to emulate camera movement, lens angles, and character movements as a computer animation before a single frame of film has been shot. Even though it saves thousands in potential production cost, the current methods of pre-visualization are cumbersome and very labor-intensive. Even with its awkward implementation, pre-visualization is still widely used and will soon receive high publicity with the release of the new film Polar Express. Director Robert Zemeckis has merged the world of live action directing and pre-visualization. The publicity on this new technology that will follow the release of this movie makes it a good time for both the University of the Pacific and SWE to be involved with this project. Objective: The objective of this project is to create a full pre-visualization system centered around the Maya® platform. Alias System\u27s Maya® software, well known as an industry standard, lets a user create digital imagery, 3D animation and visual effects. The system we will develop, code named pan2mime, will have three major components spanning four engineering disciplines: mechanical, electrical, computer science, and computer engineering. The pre- visualization system will replace the cumbersome user interface that now exists with more intuitive input devices, making it much easier for a director to use as well as providing quicker turn-around time

PAN2MIME

History: Pre-visualization, “Pre-Viz”, is a technique used in the motion picture industry to emulate camera movement, lens angles, and character movements as a computer animation before a single frame of film has been shot. Even though it saves thousands in potential production cost, the current methods of pre-visualization are cumbersome and very labor-intensive. Even with its awkward implementation, pre-visualization is still widely used and will soon receive high publicity with the release of the new film Polar Express. Director Robert Zemeckis has merged the world of live action directing and pre-visualization. The publicity on this new technology that will follow the release of this movie makes it a good time for both the University of the Pacific and SWE to be involved with this project. Objective: The objective of this project is to create a full pre-visualization system centered around the Maya® platform. Alias System\u27s Maya® software, well known as an industry standard, lets a user create digital imagery, 3D animation and visual effects. The system we will develop, code named pan2mime, will have three major components spanning four engineering disciplines: mechanical, electrical, computer science, and computer engineering. The pre- visualization system will replace the cumbersome user interface that now exists with more intuitive input devices, making it much easier for a director to use as well as providing quicker turn-around time