What you need to know about the workflow between Matchmover and 3ds Max.

Matchmover is available to all subscription customers for 3ds Max 2010 (software to create a 3D configurator) and 3ds Max 2011. This is one of the great benefits of subscribing to 3ds Max.

In this article we would like to show you how Matchmover and 3ds Max work together. You will see how an image sequence can be used to extract 3D information that can be used in 3ds Max to create a perfect match between virtual elements and the 2D image sequence, even if the camera has fast and unstable movements.

The basics.

In this first video we will look at the basic workflow between Matchmover and 3ds Max. We will use Matchmover`s automatic tracking to generate a 3D camera movement and 3D points that we will incorporate into 3ds Max.

Direct manual tracking.

For recordings where you need to track specific points, you should manually assign tracking points in Matchmover. In the following video you will see how maneuverable tracking works and how 3D tracking points in 3ds Max can be used as a modeling reference.

Difficult tracking at the end.

In reality, film shots are difficult to follow and a lot of manual work has to be done. In the following video we follow a difficult shot and solve the shot for a 3D camera and 3D tracking points. Advanced tracking techniques and tips are covered here.

With 3D Tracker you can reconstruct the real world from the image sequence.

In this video, we`ll see how Matchmover`s 3D trackers can be used to add 3D elements in 3ds Max that perfectly match the original image sequence. With the camera exported from Matchmover, the overlap between the rendered 3D scene and the original image sequence becomes seamless even with very difficult camera movements.

Replace reflections.

The following video follows the previous one. This is about adding 3D elements in 3ds Max to reconstruct the real world from the image sequence. In practice, we will replace the reflections in all windows.

Use of Mental Ray mat and Shadow materials.

Here we will fix some of the Issues highlighted in the previous video regarding the recording elements that should be in front of the rendered 3D scene. We`ll see how to use Mental Ray Matte and the Shadow materials to bring background elements to the foreground on the rendered 3D objects.

Capture good shadows for Floor contacts.

This video also follows the previous one. We add a character to the scene to run in front of and behind some of the objects in the sequence. We`ll also see how to capture the shadows of the character and place them on the background so that the Floor Contacts are smooth.

Thanks for reading. In the near future there will be more articles about 3D tracking to follow.