Mo-Sys Engineering will present their pioneering camera tracking system, StarTracker, made available for VFX workflows, at Cine Gear Expo in Las Angeles 2 to 5 June 2016.
Mo-Sys Engineering, known for manufacturing robotics for high-end movie productions – Gravity used Mo-Sys remote heads for the entire production – will showcase hand-held camera tracking for the first time at Cine Gear Expo. Their versatile StarTracker studio camera tracking system uses a single optical sensor per camera, and retro-reflective stickers – or stars – on the studio ceiling, making it an inexpensive and robust system already used by the likes of ESPN and the BBC.
In a studio environment, StarTracker places no restrictions on where the camera can go and what it can do, since it does not interfere with the set or lighting. The camera can do 360 degree pans, and move to anywhere in the studio as long as enough stars remain in sight of the tracking camera.
StarTracker offers a solution for large tracking spaces, with ceilings up to 15 meters, as only one upwards-looking tracking camera is required and the tracking map can easily be extended by adding stars to the ceiling. Over the last two years it has reportedly proven to be the most robust tracking system for broadcast because of the simple setup procedure and the un-intrusive nature of the tracking system, with no daily calibration or operator. It is independent of what happens in front of the camera, like set changes, light changes, shiny floors, water surfaces, objects and actors obstructing the camera. As long as the StarTracker camera sees enough stars, accurate tracking data is provided. StarTracker is versatile and can be mounted to any camera support or used on hand-held.
Therefore Mo-Sys opened their StarTracker interface to VFX tools used by the film industry (e.g. MotionBuilder, QTake, Film Engine). The broadcast-proven system offers a light-weight solution for previz and on-set visualisation for greenscreen filming and augmented CG elements. StarTracker allows filmmakers to visualise set extensions, framing shots with CG elements, providing eyelines for actors and generally giving a more immediate and immersive filming experience. The captured tracking data can be used for post-production, eliminating up to 70 per cent of post-tracking and matchmoving, a laborious and time-consuming process. StarTracker data can be easily integrated into existing VFX workflows.
For more information visit the Mo-Sys website.
