Jason Ehlebenchaos and little bits of paper

Camera projection (sometimes called “camera mapping”) is the process of transforming a 2D photo or image into a simulated 3D environment by projecting the image across geometry. Really, it’s more of a 2.5D effect than 3D, but the result is very realistic. This is a great way to simulate super slow motion effects without having to buy or rent a $100k slow motion camera to get that 1000fps look. It’s also used to give depth to 2D matte painting for shots that need to bring a landscape to life.

The idea is a little confusing, but think of it in terms of actual physical objects. It’s the same principle as modeling a mountain in clay, then, instead of painting the model the color of a mountain, using a projector to project a photo of a mountain on your model to give it color. Now, because the image being projected from the projector is essentially a 2d image, the depth of the geometry is limited so that the 2d projection doesn’t distort and look weird. If you were to walk around to the back side of your clay mountain, there wouldn’t be any color form the projected image since the projection is linear.

In 3D, the same basic principle holds true, except the “projector” is a camera and another camera is created to change perspective on the scene. This effect is pretty straightforward to produce using Cinema 4D, 3DS Max and Maya since the modeler and scene layout are integrated. If you are using a program with separate modeler and layout programs (Lightwave) there’s not really a good way to model according to the camera projection to align the geometry and 2D image together.

While the capabilities are somewhat limited, you can produce very realistic results without having to construct an entire traditional 3D scene.

Camera projection test from Fredrik Ekholm on Vimeo.

Tutorials

3dS Max - http://www.3dm3.com/tutorials/camera_projection/
3DS Max – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKbd1OZ8T3c&feature=channel
Cinema 4D - http://greyscalegorilla.com/blog/2010/01/camera-projection-in-cinema-4d-part-1/
Cinema 4D - http://www.3dfluff.com/cameramapping/cameramappingtut.htm
Blender – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seuCf3lbBn4
Maya - http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/2004/11/camera_projecti_1.html
After Effects - http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/3d_camera_projection/
After Effects - http://www.digieffects.com/support/tutorial/camera_mapper_intro_san_francisco

*Thanks to Andrew Kramer at VideoCopilot.net for some of the tutorial links.

Author : Jason Ehleben
Creative Director, Endeavour Marketing & Media
jasonehleben.com