Cinematographic and geometric criteria for virtual camera path generation for the visualization of shipwreck data

Abstract

This paper presents the use of cinematographic and geometric measures for determining the path of a virtual camera for the generation of computer graphics video sequences focused on showing an underwater shipwreck. This work rises from the applied challenge of mapping underwater shipwrecks, reconstructing a computer graphics model then creating an educational visualization of the wreck. The primary algorithm presented in this work computes the optimal camera pitch and height along a path utilizing a probabilistic roadmap (PRM) that weights nodes using a computational models of cinematographic and geometric principles. These principles were used to evaluate potential viewpoints and influence whether or not a view is used in the final path. Specifically, the algorithm uses a computational evaluation of the cinematographic ‘rule of thirds’ and a geometric evaluation of the model normals relative to the camera viewpoint. A user study of video output from the system suggests that our computed paths are ranked higher than simple circular or random paths and that the ‘rule of thirds’ is a more important criteria than the geometric principle explored.