A53-D User Guide

Transcription

A53-D User Guide

Video Systems, Inc.
A53-D SPORT® for DOS
A53-D
®
User Guide
A53-D SPORT®
USER GUIDE
MANUAL PART NUMBER: 9100-0063-01
THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO SOFTWARE VERSION 3.85
COPYRIGHT  SEPTEMBER 1990
REVISED JULY 1993
ABEKAS VIDEO SYSTEMS, INC.
Video Systems, Inc.
ABEKAS VIDEO SYSTEMS, INC.
101 GALVESTON DRIVE
REDWOOD CITY, CA 94063
(415) 369-5111
ABEKAS VIDEO SYSTEMS, LTD.
12 PORTMAN ROAD
READING, BERKSHIRE
RG3 1EA, ENGLAND
0734-585421
COPYRIGHT  1990 ABEKAS VIDEO SYSTEMS, INC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION
MAY BE REPRODUCED OR USED IN ANY FORM BY ANY
MEANS WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE
PUBLISHE R.
SPORT® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABEKAS
VIDEO SYSTEMS, INC.
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to
distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where
those designations appear in this manual, and Abekas was
aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed
in initial caps or all caps.
A53-D
User Guide
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
1
Corner Pinning
1
Solid Builder
2
Prism ....................................................................... 2
Pyramid.................................................................... 2
Regular Polyhedra .................................................... 2
About This Manual
3
Getting Started
4
Software ................................................................... 4
Hardware ................................................................. 4
Options .................................................................... 4
Organizing Your Disks.............................................. 5
Installing SPORT on a Hard Disk Drive..................... 5
Installing SPORT for a Floppy Disk Drive System...... 7
Connecting Your PC to the A53-D............................. 8
Configuring Your A53-D ........................................... 9
CORNER PINNING
11
What Is Corner Pinning?
11
How Does Corner Pinning Work?
11
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Starting Corner Pinning
12
From a Hard Disk .................................................. 12
From a Floppy Disk................................................ 12
Acquainting Yourself with the Menus
13
Communication Errors
15
How to Corner Pin a Picture
17
Using the Mouse .................................................... 17
Using the Arrow Buttons........................................ 18
Creating an Effect
19
Copying an Effect
21
Building a Solid from a Corner Pinned Picture
21
To Return To Main Menu
SOLID BUILDER
24
25
What Is the Solid Builder Program?
25
Edit Suite Requirements
26
Recommended Equipment for Building Solids ........ 26
Starting the Solid Builder Program
27
From a Hard Disk .................................................. 27
From a Floppy Disk................................................ 27
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Acquainting Yourself with Main Menu
28
Submenu Controls
30
Creating a Solid Object
33
Using the A62......................................................... 35
Using the A64......................................................... 39
Using a Conventional Editing System ..................... 42
44
PRISMS
46
What Is a Prism? .................................................... 46
Acquainting Yourself with the Prism Menu ............. 46
Prism Display Submenus ....................................... 48
About Prism Effects ................................................ 50
PYRAMIDS
51
What Is a Pyramid? ................................................ 51
Acquainting Yourself with the Pyramid Menu ......... 51
Pyramid Display Submenus.................................... 53
About Pyramid Effects ............................................ 54
REGULAR POLYHEDRON
55
What Is a Regular Polyhedron? ............................... 55
Acquainting Yourself with the Polyhedron Menu ..... 60
Polyhedron Display Submenus ............................... 61
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RECTANGULAR & SKEWED SOLIDS
63
Acquainting Yourself with the Rectangular and
Skewed Solids Menu .............................................. 63
Rectangular & Skewed Solids Display Submenu .... 66
APPENDIX A: Pyramid Building
A-1
Overview
A-1
The Hole Cutter
A-3
Pyramid Effects
A-6
Function Parameters
A-13
The Hole Cutter Effect ......................................... A-13
The Base Pass Effect ........................................... A-14
The Side Pass Effects .......................................... A-15
APPENDIX B: Program Enhancements
B-1
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Abekas A53-D SPORT® (Special Programs
On Remote Terminal) programs. These programs run on an
IBM® PC or compatible and enhance A53-D operations.
SPORT is made possible by the A53-D external RS-232 port.
With the published RS-232 external protocol, you can control
the A53-D from an external device, such as a personal
computer (PC).
The package you have received contains a disk with two
SPORT programs. One is Corner Pinning and the other is
Solid Builder.
Corner Pinning
Select the corner to be
pinned.
Corner Pinning lets you pick up any
corner of a compressed image and,
without moving any other, tack it to
any point on the screen. Corner Pinning is most often used to tack a compressed image into a four cornered
shape that does not conform to the
normal 4 x 3 box created by a digital
effects device.
After pinning the image in the new
location, you can return to the A53-D
Control Panel for more operations, or
edit keyframes from the PC.
Release the corner.
You can delete Move the corner to the
new location.
all keyframes,
modify a keyframe, copy all keyframes
to an effect location, and create a solid
from the PC. The "create solid" part of
this program lets you place a three
dimensional cube or slab on or in the
shape created by the Corner Pinning
operation.
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Solid Builder
The Solid Builder program lets you create 4-sided (3 sides
plus base) to 10,000-sided solid geometric objects. Using
menus displayed on your PC, you define the number of sides,
size, and shape of the object. The program performs threedimensional calculations to produce the solid. It converts this
information into A53-D effects and sends them to the A53-D
via the RS-232 serial port. Once the effects are in the A53-D,
you can build the solid and use Globals to program its
motion.
Creating the shape involves joining the solid’s faces with
multiple edit passes. The Solid Builder also creates a key
mask used as the "hole cutter" needed to make the face’s
shape. Generally, this key mask is created as a single frame
with multiple edit passes. The mask is frozen into the A53-D’s
Key Channel and manipulated as you create the solid.
These are the available shapes:
Prism
You can define a prism’s height, depth, and number of sides
(up to 10,000).
Pyramid
A pyramid’s height, width, and number of sides (up to 10,000)
may be specified.
Regular Polyhedra
There are 5 types of regular polyhedra:
Tetrahedron
Hexahedron
Octahedron
Dodecahedron
Icosahedron
4-sided
6-sided
8-sided
12-sided
20-sided
You can specify the face height of the regular polyhedra.
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NOTE:
The Solid Builder requires multiple passes to create
a solid. If you have an Abekas A62 or A64 Digital Disk
Recorder, you can take full advantage of the power
of this program. Without a Digital Disk Recorder you
will be able to produce objects with a limited number
of passes, depending on your system’s capability.
Remember, if you use Solid Builder in a purely analog environment (analog switcher and analog VTRs [C
format, Beta or equivalent]), the number of faces you
can use is very limited compared to what this program can produce.
About this Manual
This manual covers all the information you need to use the
SPORT programs on the disk in this package. It has the
following sections:
Intorduction
All users should read this section. It covers connecting your
PC to the A53-D. Details about configuring your A53-D and
PC to run the programs are included.
Corner Pinning
This section covers running and using the Corner Pinning
program.
Solid Builder
This section explains how to run and use the Solid Builder
program.
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User Guide
Getting Started
Software
Your A53-D SPORT package includes this manual and either
a 31/2-inch or 51/4-inch disk. You will use four programs on
this disk:
cpin.exe
solid.exe
nansi.sys
readme.bat
readme.txt
the Corner Pinning program
the Solid Builder program
a screen device driver required by the
SPORT programs
the batch file used to bring up the
readme.txt file
the readme file details setting up the
system and making interconnections.
To view it, type README at the disk
prompt.
Hardware
To run the SPORT programs in this package you must have
the following:
❑ IBM PC/XT/AT or 100% compatible computer
with a minimum of 100K of RAM.
❑ DOS 3.0 or later.
❑ Serial Port capable of RS-232.
Options
These options make Corner Pinning easier to use.
❑ A mouse, bus or serial. If you use a serial mouse,
there MUST be a second serial port to allow
communications with the A53-D.
❑ Due to the complex calculations required in
Corner Pinning, the lag time between the
movement of the cursor arrows/mouse and the
image depends on the PC’s speed. For optimum
performance we recommend a PC/AT(286)
compatible with a math coprocessor.
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User Guide
Organizing Your disks
It is assumed that you know how to format disks, copy disks,
delete files, copy files from one location to another, and edit
*.sys (system) and *.bat (batch) files. If you do not, consult
the DOS documentation that came with your computer before
going any further.
The first thing you should do is to make one or more working
copies of your SPORT disk. Use the DOS "diskcopy" command
to copy the original program disk. Use the copies and put the
original in a safe place.
If you are going to use a mouse, check that the mouse is
properly connected to your computer and the mouse device
driver (software) is installed. Also check that the program
provided by the mouse manufacturer, typically called
MOUSE.COM, is running. Often, this is part of the power up
sequence and is in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT
files.
Installing SPORT on a Hard Disk Drive
A. Setting Screen Driver
A suitable screen driver (software) must be installed to
display the SPORT program’s menus on your computer
monitor. The required device driver is ANSI.SYS or an
equivalent. The SPORT disk contains a copy of a public
domain equivalent, NANSI.SYS. If your system already has
this device type installed, skip the first three steps. If this
device type is not resident on your PC, proceed as follows:
STEP 1
Place a working copy of your SPORT disk in
drive A:
STEP 2
At the C: prompt type
copy A:\NANSI.SYS C:\
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NOTE
If your copy of the SPORT disk is not in the A: drive,
or the boot drive is not C:, type the appropriate
drive/directory locations.
STEP 3
Edit your CONFIG.SYS file to include the
following line:
device=nansi.sys
NOTE
Before using the SPORT programs you must reboot
your computer to install the device drivers.
B. Installing the SPORT Programs
STEP 1
Make a directory for the SPORT programs: at
the C: prompt type
md \sport
STEP 2
Insert the SPORT disk in your PC’s A: drive. At
the C: prompt type
copy A:\*.* c:\sport
NOTE
If your copy of the SPORT disk is not in the A: drive,
or the directory for SPORT is not C:\SPORT, type in
the appropriate drive/directory locations.
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Installing SPORT for a Floppy Disk Drive
System
A. Setting Screen Driver
A suitable screen driver (software) must be installed to
display the SPORT program’s menus on your computer
monitor. The required device driver is ANSI.SYS or an
equivalent. The SPORT disk contains a copy of a public
domain equivalent, NANSI.SYS. If your system already has
this device type installed, skip the first three steps. If this
device type is not resident on your PC, proceed as follows:
STEP 1
Boot the computer with DOS. At the A: prompt,
insert a working copy of your SPORT program
disk into the B: drive.
STEP 2
At the A: prompt type
copy B:\NANSI.SYS A:\
NOTE
If your copy of the SPORT disk is not in the B: drive,
or the boot drive is not A:, type in the appropriate
drive locations.
STEP 3:
Edit your CONFIG.SYS file on your BOOT disk
(in drive A:) to include the following line:
device=nansi.sys
NOTE
Before using the SPORT programs you must reboot
your computer to install the device drivers.
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Connecting your PC to the A53-D
The SPORT programs communicate with the A53-D via a
cable connecting the PC’s RS-232 port to the A53-D’s RS-232
port. The cable should have a female 25-pin D connector on
the PC end, and a male 25-pin D connector on the A53-D
end.
Signal
IBM
(Female)
A53-D
(Male)
Signal
Chassis
Ground
TxD
RxD
RTS
CTS
DSR
1
1
Chassis
Ground
RxD
TxD
CTS
RTS
DTR
Circuit
Ground
2
3
3
2
4
5
5
4
6
n.c
(Jump to pin 20)
20
n.c
(Jump to pin 6)
7
7
Circuit
Ground
NOTE
This cable does not have pin-to-pin connections. There
are four cross connections and a link. A standard 25pin male-to-female cable will not work. It is essential
that you have the correct cable made.
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For details about the A53-D’s RS-232 port and its location
refer to the A53-D Technical Manual, vol. 1, "Installation
Section."
For details on your PC’s serial port, refer to the manual that
came with the PC.
Configuring your A53-D
Some setup procedures must be followed to allow communications with your A53-D.
A. Set the RS-232 communications to 38,400
baud.
To do this, set the Computer board switch 12H position 8
to the ON position. For details on this switch’s location and
settings see the A53-D Technical Manual, vol. 1, "Installation
Section."
NOTE
If you have used the Solid Builder program supplied
with the A53-D Operations Manual, the baud rate is
9600. Switch 12H is set to the OFF position for this
version.
B. The A53-D must have the correct software
version installed.
At the A53-D Control Panel, press the SETUP button to
display the Setup menu.
1[ w ]
1
setup
input
remote
phase
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Press the remote softkey to display the Remote menu.
KEY 1.5
SMPTE
HLC 1.5
A-62
LLC 1.5
I-sqrd
emem
RMT 1.7
rs232
1[ w ]
SONY
Check the top line of the menu. It should appear as above.
If your A53-D does not have these versions installed, call
your Abekas Video Systems regional office or Abekas Video
Systems Technical Support.
C. Select RS-232 as the Remote Port.
Press the SETUP button and the remote softkey to display
the Setup-Remote menu.
KEY 1.5
SMPTE
HLC 1.5
A-62
LLC 1.5
I-sqrd
emem
RMT 1.7
rs232
1[ w ]
SONY
Press the rs232 softkey to highlight it.
D. Enable the A53-D’s Remote Port.
Press the REMOTE ENABLE button to light its LED.
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CORNER PINNING
What Is Corner Pinning?
Corner Pinning lets you "pick up" and "paste" any corner of
a picture without moving the other corners. This means you
can "tack" a compressed picture in a four-cornered position
that does not conform to the standard 4-by-3 television
picture.
Here is an example:
You are looking at a wide shot of a highway. On the side of
the highway is a billboard. Your client wants to put some
different video in the billboard. Because of the camera angle,
the billboard is at some angle that a DVE can not match. You
could try sending the shot to the Paintbox, filling the board
with green, and doing a chroma key. Even if you have the
equipment, chances are the perspective of the new video will
not match the perspective of the billboard. And because it is
a chroma key, the new video is cut in with a mask rather than
compressed in to fit, which means that some of the new video
will be cut away and lost.
With Corner Pinning, you can pick up each corner of the new
video and place it onto each individual corner of the billboard.
In just a few minutes, the new video is perfectly in place, the
perspective is correct, and all the new video is in the shot.
How Does Corner Pinning Work?
Corner Pinning changes the Aspect, Skew, Global Locate, and
Global Rotate parameters as you manipulate the picture. The
advantage of using Globals to do Corner Pinning is that you
can then use Function 1 Locate and Rotate to manipulate the
solid without disturbing the shape as created with the program. Because Globals are downstream, the Function 1
parameters work as you expect them to.
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Starting Corner Pinning
Before using the Corner Pinning program read the "Getting
Started" section. Your A53-D must be configured correctly
and a RS-232 cable must connect your PC to the A53-D.
Check that RS232 in the Setup-Remote menu is highlighted,
and that the LED in the REMOTE ENABLE button is lit.
From a Hard Disk
STEP 1
At the C:\ prompt, type cd\sport.
The prompt is now C:\SPORT.
If you loaded the SPORT program to a directory other than
C:\SPORT during program initialization, type the appropriate directory at the C:\ prompt.
STEP 2
Type cpin.
The Corner Pinning program boots up.
From a Floppy Disk
STEP 1
Place the SPORT disk in the disk drive.
STEP 2
If your system has a hard disk, type A: at the
C:\ prompt.
If you do not have a hard disk, go to Step 3.
STEP 3
Type cpin at the A:\ prompt.
The Corner Pinning program boots up.
NOTE
If you are using the B drive, substitute B: in the above
instructions.
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Acquainting Yourself with the Menus
When you run the Corner Pinning program the following
menu appears on your computer monitor.
Active Corner
This indicates the corner you select to move with the mouse
or the arrows. Select the active corner with the right mouse
button or F1.
F1 Change Active Corner
Use this button to select the corner you want to move. Each
press changes the active corner from top left to top right,
bottom right, and bottom left. This function is duplicated by
the right mouse button.
Use the F2, F3, F4, and F5 buttons to edit effects. Pressing
these buttons brings up a prompt at the bottom of the
monitor. Refer to the "Creating an Effect" section for details
about using these function buttons. The functions are as
follows:
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User Guide
F2 Delete All
Pressing F2 sends a "Delete All Enter" command to the
A53-D.
F3 Modify Keyframe (1)
Pressing F3 sends a "Modify Keyframe Number" command to
the A53-D.
F4 Copy All To Effect (1)
Pressing F4 sends a "Copy All to Effect Number" command
to the A53-D.
F5 Initialize To Start Position
Pressing F5 is the same as pressing CENTER - CENTER on
the A53-D Control Panel. The difference is that the picture is
one quarter size. The Aspect H and V values change to
produce this size. This function lets you see the entire source
picture and is ideal for beginning Corner Pinning.
F6 Create Solid
This button accesses the Create Solid submenu. In this menu
you can build a six-sided solid from a "pinned" picture. See
the section "Building a Solid from a Corner Pinned Picture."
F7 Change Serial Port
Use this button to select the communication port used with
the A53-D. The default is COM1. Pressing F7 changes the
port to COM2.
Shift F10
Hold SHIFT down and press F10 to exit the Corner Pinning
program and return to DOS.
The lower third of the display gives instructions for using the
arrows and mouse to "pin" the corners of the picture. Prompts
requiring responses also display in this area.
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User Guide
If you perform any operation requiring communication with
the A53-D when a problem exists, this prompt comes up on
the monitor:
=== ERROR TRANSMITTING TO A53-D ===
NOTE
The Corner Pinning program only looks for a device
on the selected COM PORT. It recognizes any device,
such as a mouse.
If the A53-D does not respond when you send commands or
you get the error message, check for these possible transmission error causes:
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User Guide
CAUSE
FIX
REMOTE ENABLE OFF
Turn ON the A53-D’s
REMOTE ENABLE
RS-232 not selected as
Remote menu
Select RS232 in the
A53-D’s Setup remote
protocol.
Incorrect baud rate setting
Set switch 12H-8, on the
A53-D’s Computer Board,
to the ON position. See
the "Getting Started"
section for details.
Wrong software version
The A53-D SPORT
program only works with
A53-D software version
HLC 1.5 and REMOTE
1.7, or later.
Wrong COM port
Check the Communication
port connecting your PC
to the A53-D. If necessary,
change the port with F7.
Faulty cable
Check the cable connecting
the PC to the A53-D. See
the "Getting Started" section
for cable connection details.
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User Guide
How to Corner Pin a Picture
Using the Mouse
If your PC has a mouse, you can use it to select the active
corner and manipulate the A53-D’s picture. The mouse
buttons control the Corner Pinning.
Right Button: selects the corner of the picture you want to
move.
Left Button: "picks up" and moves the corner in relation to
the mouse movement.
Corner pin the picture with the mouse as follows:
STEP 1
Press F5 to produce the default one quarter size
picture.
STEP 2
Select the first corner to move by pressing the
right mouse button. The current selection
displays at the top of the menu.
STEP 3
Hold down the left mouse button and move the
mouse. Notice that the selected picture corner
moves in direct relation to the mouse
movement. When the corner is where you want
it, release the left mouse button. The corner is
now "pinned" to this position.
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STEP 4
User Guide
Press the right mouse button again to select the
next corner you want to move. Hold the left
mouse button as you move the mouse to
position this corner.
Repeat step 4 for the remaining two corners.
Using the Arrow Buttons
If your PC does not have a mouse, you can use the cursor
arrows on the keyboard to move the selected corner.
Corner pin the picture with the arrow buttons as follows:
STEP 1
Press F5 to produce the default one quarter size
picture.
STEP 2
Press F1 to select the first corner you want to
move. The selection displays at the top of the
menu.
STEP 3
Use the arrows to move the corner. To move the
corner in smaller increments, hold down SHIFT
while pressing the arrow buttons.
STEP 4
Select the next corner you want to move with
F1. Use the arrows to position this corner.
Repeat step 4 for the remaining two corners.
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Creating an Effect
Use F2 and F3 to change the effect in the A53-D’s workspace.
This saves you from having to go to the A53-D’s Control Panel
to store keyframes needed later.
Corner Pinning in the A53-D is not intended to be a "transforming" parameter. It is most often used to create static
shapes or an effect that moves without transformations, i.e.,
frame by frame editing or transitions using the Hold parameter. There are two reasons for this. First, the A53-D uses a
combination of nine parameters simultaneously to achieve
Corner Pinning. Also, the A53-D interpolates all parameters
simultaneously when running an effect.
When you run an effect that transitions between two keyframes with different corner pinned corners, the corners may
not move from corner position-to-corner position as you
might expect. Instead, they move with a transformation that
may not appear to be relevant to the corner pinned keyframes. The start and end corner positions are correct, but the
transformation from keyframe to keyframe is curious. This is
because the A53-D must interpolate though all the numbers
of the nine parameters used to create the corner pinned
keyframes. Depending on how the image is placed, the interpolation of the nine parameters used to create the pinned
image may produce an odd transformation.
NOTE
Remember, this applies only when Corner Pinning has
been used to move the corner positions from one
keyframe to another. If you use Corner Pinning to
create a shape on a keyframe, then use some other
parameter (Target, Source, Local Rotate, etc.) to move
the image, the A53-D’s transfomation will act just as
it does without a corner pinned keyframe.
A quick note about pinning video onto a moving background
shape, such as a moving truck. This is where you would
probably need to use frame-by-frame editing, unless someone has done some pretty fancy choreography with the
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truck/camera movement, or you just get lucky. The chances
of any DVE exactly matching the motion of another image is
pretty remote. Because the motions of the two moving images
(the truck and the DVE) are not exactly the same, they will
most likely look "disconnected" and the effect may not be
believable. The only way around this is frame-by-frame (fieldby-field) editing. Cue up the first frame of the truck, pin the
A53-D to it, record the frame, cue up the next frame, and so
on. With this method each frame has the new video "locked"
onto it, making the scene much more believable.
Create an effect as follows:
STEP 1
Press F2. The prompt
Press ENTER To Delete All Keyframes >
appears at the bottom of the menu display.
STEP 2
Press ENTER on the keyboard. This sends a
"DELETE ALL ENTER" command to the A53-D.
STEP 3
Use the mouse or arrows to position the corners
of the picture as outlined on pages 17 and 18.
STEP 4
Press F3. This brings up the prompt
Modify Keyframe Number (1) >
The number in the parentheses is the keyframe
you want to modify. If you want to modify
keyframe 1, press ENTER. If you want to modify
a different keyframe, enter that number on the
keyboard and press ENTER.
NOTE
Each time you perform this operation, the number in
the parentheses increments.
To create the next keyframe, repeat steps 3 and 4.
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Copying an Effect
This feature lets you copy the effect in the A53-D’s workspace
to one of the 24 on-line effects. This is useful if you need to
use more than the 16 keyframes in the workspace. By copying
the keyframes in the workspace to an on-line effect, you can
now create another 16 keyframes. You can store 384 individually "pinned" pictures in the 24 on-line effects.
Building a Solid from a Corner Pinned Picture
The Corner Pinning program lets you build a solid from a
corner pinned picture. This means that a solid can be created
from any picture created with Corner Pinning.
An example of this is creating a solid to add to a row of books
on a book shelf. The created solid could then be "flown" off
the bookshelf.
Press the F6 button to display the Corner Pinning Solid
Builder submenu on your computer monitor.
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The functions in this menu are as follows:
F1 Change Reference Face (FRONT)
Pressing F1 toggles the reference face from FRONT to BACK.
This defines the face from which the solid is created. Use
FRONT to build the solid from the front to the back. If you
choose BACK, the solid builds from the back to the front,
toward the eye point.
Normally when you build a solid in the A53-D, it grows from
the center. The position of the front and back faces change,
depending on the solid’s depth. This program assumes that
you want the face you just corner pinned for the front or back
face. Use F1 to set it as the front or back, and define the
direction for the solid building.
F2 Change Reference Face Depth (0.7500)
Pressing F2 brings up the prompt
Enter Reference Depth >
at the bottom of the menu.
Here you can enter a value for the depth of the solid. To
change the depth from its default of 0.75, enter the value and
press ENTER.
When setting the depth of the solid remember that Corner
Pinning changes the picture’s Aspect values. The depth value
you choose must be proportional to this change in screen
value units. For example, if the horizontal Aspect value is 0.5,
the depth value you enter must be half the screen unit value
you want.
F3 Change Back/Front Face Generation (ASPECT)
Pressing F3 toggles the face generation between ASPECT and
CROP. This determines if the face is created by changing the
dimensions using Aspect or Crop values.
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NOTE
Corner Pinning uses Aspect to change the picture
dimensions. In the Solid Builder, you can select
whether the change is with Aspect or Crop.
F4 Change Right/Left Face Generation (ASPECT)
F5 Change Top/Bottom Face Generation (ASPECT)
F6 Change Solid Starting Effect (1)
The F6 button assigns the first of the three on-line effects
needed to create the solid. The default is 1, as shown in the
parentheses. When you press F6 the following prompt appears at the bottom of the monitor:
Enter Solid Starting Number >
Enter a number from 1 to 22 and press ENTER. This specifies
the effect that will contain the Front/Back face values for the
solid. The Right/Left face values go to the next effect number
and the Top/Bottom into the next.
F7 Change Solid Keyframe Count (2)
The F7 button lets you change the number of keyframes
assigned to the faces stored as on-line effects. The default is
2, as shown in the parenthesis. Pressing F7 brings up the
following prompt at the bottom of the monitor:
Enter Solid Keyframe Count >
Enter a number from 2 to 16 and press ENTER. This sets the
number of keyframes used to produce the face. Remember
that you must have enough keyframes to produce the Global
moves needed to move the solid. In the A53-D, you cannot
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have more Global keyframes than Local keyframes.
F8 Send Solid To A53-D
After you specify all the required values for the solid you can
send the three effects, calculated by the PC, to the A53-D.
Pressing F8 brings up the following prompt at the bottom of
the monitor:
Press ENTER To Send Solid To A53-D >
To send the solid to the A53-D press ENTER on the PC’s
keyboard. As the PC sends the effects the following prompt
appears on the monitor:
= MAKING SOLID =
If there is a problem with sending the effects to the A53-D,
this prompt appears:
See the "Communication Errors" section on page 15 for
details on correcting the problem.
To Return To Main Menu
In the Solid Builder submenu you can press the ESC button
to return to the Corner Pinning menu.
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SOLID BUILDER
What Is the Solid Builder Program?
The Solid Builder program lets you build multisided geometric objects. The program offers prisms, pyramids, regular
polyhedra, and rectangular skewed solids. First, you define
the number of sides, size, and shape of the object. The
program then performs the calculations needed to produce
the spatially related effects to create the solid. The program
also creates an effect that makes the hi-con, or hole cutter,
required to build solids with nonparallel sides. The effects,
calculated by the program, are down-loaded to the A53-D.
You can now use the A53-D and multiple edit passes to create
the solid.
For an insight into how the Solid Builder program works see
"Appendix A, Pyramid Building." It outlines the procedures
for building a pyramid "manually." The Solid Builder program
performs all the calculations for you.
NOTE
Building a solid requires multiple passes. The number
of sides your solid can have is limited by your system.
If you have an Abekas A62 or A64 Digital Disk Recorder the full power of the program is available to
you; you can build solids with up to 10,000 sides.
With any other system, understand that there will be
a loss of quality with each layer, due to multigeneration recording. When planning to build a solid, keep
the generation loss in mind. Creating multisided
solids in an analog edit suite is possible if you record
matte and source reels and combine them in your
switcher.
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Edit Suite Requirements
The Solid Builder program creates effects for the solid’s faces
and the hi-con (high contrast) key signal, or hole cutter,
needed for the face shape. The hi-con is created with a full
width white border (in the A53-D), followed by keyframes with
a full width black border positioned to create the required
shape. This requires multiple pass edits and is best created
as a single frame multi-layered recording using an A62 or
A64. An alternate method is to use the compose mode in an
Abekas A42 Digital Still Store, or multigeneration techniques.
You must manipulate this key signal with the face to create
the solid. This is best done with an A53-D Key Channel. If
you do not have a Key Channel but have a Dual Channel
A53-D, you can use one channel for the key signal. The key
signal need only be a frame frozen in the appropriate channel.
Recommended Equipment for Building Solids
❑ Abekas A53-D Digital Special Effects System with
Key Channel Option
❑ Abekas A62 or A64 Digital Disk Recorder.
With these units the full power of the Solid Builder program
is available to you. It is possible to create the entire solid with
these units and appropriate source material. This manual
was written with the assumption that you are using this kind
of system.
You can use the program without this system, but remember
the limitations of multigeneration recording. There are also
difficulties in building the key hi-con. For example, if you do
not have a Key Channel, you have to build the hi-con, create
a matte reel, then play the matte signal into your switcher’s
downstream keyer as you make the pass of the solid’s face.
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Starting the Solid Builder Program
Before using the Solid Builder program read the "Getting
Started" section. Your A53-D must be configured correctly
and a RS-232 cable must connect your PC to the A53-D.
Check that RS232 in the Setup-Remote menu is highlighted,
and that the LED in the REMOTE ENABLE button is lit.
From a Hard Disk
STEP 1
At the C:\ prompt type cd\sport.
The prompt is now C:\SPORT.
If you loaded the SPORT program to a directory other than
C:\SPORT during program initialization, type the appropriate directory at the C:\ prompt.
STEP 2
Type solid.
The Solid Parameter Generation program boots
up.
From a Floppy Disk
STEP 1
Place the SPORT disk in the disk drive.
STEP 2
If your system has a hard disk, type A: at the
C:\ prompt.
If you do not have a hard disk, go to Step 3.
STEP 3
Type solid at the A:\ prompt.
The Solid Builder program boots up.
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NOTE
If you are using the B drive, substitute B: in the above
instructions.
Acquainting Yourself with the Main Menu
When you run the Solid Builder program, the following menu
appears on your computer monitor.
This menu lets you access the submenus for building the
following types of solids:
❑ Prism - a solid with a polygon as the front and
back, and rectangular sides.
❑ Pyramid - a solid with a polygon as its base and
triangular sides that meet at a vertex.
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❑ Regular Polyhedra - a solid bounded by
polygons. There are five types of regular
polyhedra:
Tetrahedron
Hexahedron
Octahedron
Dodecahedron
Icosahedron
4-sided
6-sided
8-sided
12-sided
20-sided
❑ Rectangular Skewed Solids - cubes and slabs
that may be skewed.
Use F1, F2, F3, and F4 to display the submenus. For details
on building each solid, see the appropriate section of this
manual.
Use F5 to select the RS-232 serial communication port (COM
port) that connects your PC to the A53-D. The choice is COM1
or COM2.
Use SHIFT F10 to exit the program and return to DOS.
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Submenu Controls
Shown above is the Prism submenu. In all menus the function keys on your computer keyboard are used to specify
various parameters of the solid. The keys D, P, and S are the
same for all menus.
D To Display Output
Pressing D displays the submenus that show the parameters
and values the Solid Builder program creates to build the
solid. This allows you to look at the values before you send
them to the A53-D.
P To Print Output
Press P to print the parameters and values of the solid. When
you press P, this prompt appears at the bottom of the screen:
Enter Name Of Solid >
Type a name for the solid and press ENTER.
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This prompt now appears:
Enter List Device (PRN) >
If you press ENTER, the system will print on the default
printer of your system. To print on a different printer, specify
the device. If you type a name other than a device name, the
solid parameters are stored on the disk under this name.
S To Send Output To A53-D
Pressing S lets you send the solid’s values to the A53-D. When
you press S this prompt comes up at the bottom of the screen:
Enter Starting Effect Number (1 - 23) >
Enter the number you want to load the first effect to and
press ENTER. The other effects will be loaded into the
subsequent effect numbers. Note that the last number given
in parentheses changes, depending on the number of effects
required for the solid.
When you press ENTER, this prompt comes up:
Enter Keyframe Count (2 - 16) >
Enter the number of keyframes you need to move the shape
after you build it. Now press ENTER.
This prompt appears at the bottom of the screen:
= = = MAKING SOLID = = =
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This prompt remains while the program calculates the values
and establishes communication with the A53-D. Once the
solid has been sent to the A53-D, this display comes up:
Note any Global Z Rotate Trim value given, since this must
be applied to the effects as each face is created.
NOTE
Before sending the solid to the A53-D, set the A53-D
as follows:
❏
❏
RS232 selected as remote.
REMOTE ENABLE ON.
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Creating a Solid Object
You use the submenus to define the parameters of the solid
you want to create. For details on each solid type and how to
obtain the required shape, see the appropriate section of this
manual. It is recommended that you composite the effects in
the order that they are downloaded from the PC.
The procedure for creating each solid is the same. Discussed
here are the steps for creating the solid with an Abekas A62
or A64 Digital Disk Recorder. Following that is a brief discussion of the procedure required if you do not have a Digital
Disk Recorder. It is assumed you have the Key Channel
option for your A53-D.
The program creates two types of effects for each solid shape
option:
❑ Effects to produce the hole cutter(s). (The exception
to this is cubes and slabs, where it is not required.)
This effect is single keyframes; you step through
them to create the hole cutter for the faces. This
effect has the number of keyframes required for the
shape. It is assumed this effect is on-line effect 1 in
the A53-D.
❑ The second type is effects with the faces positioned
to create the solid when recorded with multiple
passes. The solid type determines the number of
effects, and any successive Global Rotates, required
to create this shape. You enter the number of
keyframes and assign the location of the effects in
the submenu. We will assume that the first effect
is at on-line effect 2.
Once you down-load the effects to the A53-D, you must create
the solids motion with Global parameters. This discussion
assumes that you have completed this step. If you are
unfamiliar with building solids and using Globals, please
refer to the "Application" section of the A53-D Operations
Manual.
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Using Global Z Trim Values
When a solid requires more than a single side face, rather
than create a separate effect for each face, the Solid Builder
program sends a single face effect and calculates a Global Z
Rotate value to position successive faces. When needed, the
program displays a Global Z Rotate value in the message area
of the computer screen after the "send" is complete. Note this
value, as it is key to completing the solid’s faces.
The original face effect is for the first face. Then, you must
trim the Global Z Rotate value of the original face for all
successive faces. The number of times you must trim the
effect depends on how many faces the solid has. When
compositing the solid, when you come to a side that requires
Global Z Rotates, proceed as follows.
STEP 1.
Lay down the original side face first.
This is the unmodified side face as it was sent
by the PC.
STEP 2.
Recue the record device as needed to prepare
for the next face.
STEP 3.
Recue the A53-D side effect that was previously
recorded.
STEP 4.
Trim in the Global Z Rotate value. trim Z .xxxx - ENTER
This moves the new side to its correct position.
STEP 5.
MODIFY - ALL - ENTER
This adds the new Z value to the rest of the effect
STEP 6.
Record the new face.
Repeat steps 2 through 6 until the entire side has been
completed. Then go on to the next face effect.
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Appendix A illustrates the way a solid is done the hard way
(without Solid Builder). The "Overview" section and Figure
2.0 will give you further insight to the concept of using Global
Z Rotates to position successive side faces.
NOTE
The "D" Display option shows you the Global Z Rotate
trim value and indicates the sides that require the Z
trim.
NOTE
Before proceeding with building a solid, it is essential
that the key timing of the A53-D is set correctly and
that blanking width is correct. If you are unfamiliar
with setting key timing and blanking, refer to the
A53-D Operations Manual. Once they are set they
must not be changed while you build the solid or
edges may not match.
Using the A62
The A62 and A53-D must be connected as follows:
Machine Control
Vid In RS422
A53-D
SMPTE
Vid In Prog Out
A62
Key In Prog Out
A53-D KEY
Input
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NOTE
If you are controlling all the machines from your Edit
Controller, you do not need the RS-422 connection
from the A53-D to the A62.
Making the Hole Cutter
A53-D Configuration
Turn key OFF in the Key menu
A62 Configuration
Record length 1 (one) frame
Play/Record OFF
Key/Matte OFF
Configuration Menu
backgd - vidout
fg/inp - vid in
keysrc - key in
clproc - norm
playch - vidout
output - frame
STEP 1
At the A53-D, select effect 1 (the hole cutter).
Press START to make sure you are on keyframe
1.
STEP 2
At the A62, press 0 - GOTO. This takes you to
0.00 time, where you will record the hole cutter.
If you want to record the hole cutter at another
time GOTO it instead of 0.00.
STEP 3
At the A62, press REC and PLAY→. This
records a frame of the A53-D’s output.
STEP 4
At the A62, press KEY/MATTE to turn it ON.
Press P⇒R to turn it ON. In the Record Setup
menu, now displayed, set the play in time to
0.00 and the record in time to 50.00 (or other
times you want to use).
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STEP 5
At the A53-D, press NXT→ to step to the next
keyframe in the hole cutter effect.
STEP 6
At the A62, press REC and PLAY→.
STEP 7
When the recording is complete, press the swap
softkey in the A62’s Record Setup menu.
Repeat steps 5 through 7 until you reach the last keyframe
in the A53-D’s current effect. The completed hole cutter is at
the last record in point for the A62, either 0.00 or 50.00.
You can now create the solid with the effects in the A53-D.
Making the Solid
A53-D Configuration
In the Setup Remote submenu, press the A62 softkey to
select it. (If you are controlling all machines from your Edit
Controller, leave this as standard setup for your system.)
Press the REMOTE button to turn it on.
A62 Configuration
Record length set to the face effect’s duration.
Play/Record ON
Key/Matte ON
Setup Remote menu
Select A53-D for port A. (If you are controlling all
machines by your edit controller the setup is standard for your system.)
Configuration Menu
backgd - vidout
fg/inp - vid in
keysrc - key in
clproc - norm
playch - vidout
output - field
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At the A53-D, select effect 2 (or the effect
number for the first face). Press START to make
sure you are on keyframe 1.
Go to the time on the A62 of the hole cutter to
put it at the A62’s output.
In the A53-D, press KEY to display the Key
menu. Press the freeze softkey to freeze the
hole cutter in the key channel. Press the fldfrm
softkey to display frame. Press the keyoff
softkey twice so that it says keyon. Press
MODIFY - ALL - ENTER, to ensure that the Key
is frozen and on for all keyframes of the effect.
STEP 2
At the A62, find the background where you
want to record the solid. Enter the timecode in
the Record Setup menu to make it the play in
time. Set a record in time on the other side of
50.00.
STEP 3
records the first face of the solid.
STEP 4
At the A53-D, make the required trim to the
Global Rotate or select effect 3 (or the effect
number for the next face). Press START to make
STEP 5
STEP 6
When the recording is complete, press the swap
Repeat steps 4 through 6 until the solid is built.
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Using the A64
The A64 and A53-D must be connected as follows:
Machine Control
Vid In SMPTE
A53-D
SMPTE
Vid In Prog Out
A64
Key In KeyOut
A53-D KEY
Input
NOTE
If you are controlling all the machines from your Edit
Controller, you do not need the RS-422 connection
from the A53-D to the A64.
A53-D Configuration
Turn key OFF in the Key menu
A64 Configuration
Record length 1 (one) frame.
Play/Record OFF
Key output set to keystr (key store)
Set up a standard luminance key.
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STEP 1
At the A53-D, select effect 1 (the hole cutter).
Press START to make sure you are on keyframe
1.
STEP 2
At the A64, press 0 - GOTO. This takes you to
0.00 time, where you will record the hole cutter.
If you want to record the hole cutter at another
time GOTO it instead of 0.00.
STEP 3
records a frame of the A53-D’s output.
STEP 4
At the A64, press the MIXER SETUP button
and the trans and cut softkeys to turn the
keyer ON. Press P⇒R to turn it ON. In the
Record Setup menu, now displayed, set the play
in time to 0.00 and the record in time to 25.00
(or other times you want to use).
STEP 5
At the A53-D, press NXT→ to step to the next
keyframe in the hole cutter effect.
STEP 6
STEP 7
When the recording is complete press the swap
Repeat steps 5 through 7 until you reach the last keyframe
in the A53-D’s current effect. The completed hole cutter is at
the last record in point in the A64, either 0.00 or 25.00. At
the A64 press the KEYER SETUP button. Press the inp
softkey and use it to select disk as the source. Go to the time
of the last record to put the hole cutter at the A64’s Key
output.
You may now create the solid with the effects in the A53-D.
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Making the Solid
A53-D Configuration
In the Setup Remote submenu, press the A62 softkey to
select it. (If you are controlling all machines from your
Edit Controller, leave this as standard setup for your
system.)
Press the REMOTE button to turn it on.
A64 Configuration
Record length set to the face effect’s duration.
Play/Record ON
Set up a standard Luminance key with the Keyer turned
ON.
Remote submenu
Select A53-D for port A. (If you are controlling all machines by your edit controller, the setup is standard for
your system.)
STEP 1
At the A53-D, select effect 2 (or the effect
number for the first face). Press START to make
Go to the time on the A64 of the hole cutter to
put it at the A64’s output.
In the A53-D, press KEY to display the Key
menu. Press the freeze softkey to freeze the
hole cutter in the key channel. Press the fldfrm
softkey to display frame. Press the keyoff
softkey twice so that it says keyon. Press
MODIFY - ALL - ENTER, to ensure that the Key
is frozen and on for all keyframes of the effect.
At the A64, find the background where you want to record
the solid. Enter the timecode in the Record Setup menu to
make it the play in time. Set a record in time on the other
side of 25.00. In the KEYER SETUP Input submenu, select
EXT as the source.
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STEP 3
records the first face of the solid.
STEP 4
At the A53-D, make the required trim to the
Global Rotate or select effect 3 (or the effect
number for the next face). Press START to make
STEP 5
STEP 6
At the A64’s Record Setup menu, press the
swap softkey.
Repeat steps 4 through 6 until the solid is built.
Using a Conventional Editing System
With a conventional editing system you cannot make a simple
multigeneration recording: each pass must be recorded on a
record reel and used as the source reel for the next pass. Your
switcher’s keyer must key each layer.
STEP 1
At the A53-D, select effect 1 or the effect that is
the hole cutter. Select keyframe 1 by pressing
the START button.
STEP 2
Record the A53-D’s output.
STEP 3
At the A53-D, press the NXT→ button to step
to the next keyframe in the effect. Use the
recording made in step 2 as the background
source and, in your switcher, key the A53-D’s
output over it.
STEP 4
Record your switcher’s output.
To complete the hole cutter repeat steps 3 and 4; the source
for the key’s background is the recording made in step 4.
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Making the Solid
Making the solid involves using the A53-D effects that are the
faces and the hole cutter you just generated. If you have a
Key Channel with your A53-D, freeze a frame of the hole
cutter in the Key Channel. This is manipulated with the face
as the effect runs. If you do not have a Key Channel, record
one pass of the hole cutter to make a Matte reel. Next, make
a pass with keyed video to create the actual face. If you have
a Key Channel, create the solid as follows.
STEP 1
At the A53-D, select effect 2 (or the effect that
is the first face). Key this into the background
in your switcher.
STEP 2
Run the effect in the A53-D and record it.
STEP 3
At the A53-D, make the required Global Rotate
or select the effect that is the next face. Use the
recording made in step 2 as the source for the
background and key the A53-D’s output over it.
STEP 4
Run the effect in the A53-D and record the
keyed output from the switcher.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 to complete the solid, using the recording made in step 4 as the background source to your switcher
for each pass.
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If you perform any operation requiring communication with
the A53-D when a problem exists, the following prompt comes
up on the monitor:
NOTE
The program only looks for a device on the selected
COM PORT. It recognizes any device, such as a mouse.
If the A53-D does not respond when you send commands or
you get the error message, check for these possible transmission error causes:
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CAUSE
REMOTE ENABLE OFF
FIX
Turn ON the A53-D’s
REMOTE ENABLE
RS-232 not selected as
Setup remote protocol
Select RS232 in the
A53-D’s Remote menu.
Incorrect baud rate setting
Set switch 12H-8, on the
A53-D’s Computer Board,
to the ON position. See
the "Getting Started"
section for details.
Wrong software version
The A53-D SPORT
program only works with
A53-D software version
HLC 1.5 and REMOTE
1.7, or later.
Wrong COM port
Check the Communication
port connecting your PC
to the A53-D. If necessary,
change the port with F5.
Faulty cable
Check the cable connecting the PC to the
A53-D. See the "Getting
Started" section for
cable connection
details.
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PRISMS
What Is a Prism?
The prisms created with this program are defined as solid
objects, each with two parallel faces that are congruent,
regular polygons and rectangles for all other faces. (A regular
polygon is a closed figure with three or more straight sides of
equal length and internal angles that are all equal.) The Solid
Builder program creates solids that have from 3 to 10,000
sides; the parallel faces are the front and back.
Acquainting Yourself with the Prism Menu
In the main Solid Builder menu, press F1 to select the menu
for building prisms.
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F1 Change Number Of Sides (4)
The number in parenthesis is the number of sides the prism
will have. The default value is 4. Pressing F1 brings up this
prompt at the bottom of the screen:
Enter Number Of Sides >
Enter the number of sides you want the prism to have, from
3 to 10,000, and press ENTER. This number now appears in
the parentheses.
Remember, the greater the number of sides, the greater the
number of passes you will have to make to produce the
prism.
F2 Change Prism Height (0.7500)
The number in the parentheses is the height of the prism in
screen units. The default value is 0.75, which is equivalent
to the picture height, and is the maximum value for this
parameter. Pressing F2 brings up this prompt at the bottom
of the screen:
Enter Prism Height >
Enter the value you want for the height of the prism, from 0
to 0.75, and press ENTER. This number now appears in the
parentheses.
F3 Change Prism Depth (1.0000)
The number in the parentheses is the depth of the prism in
screen units: the distance between the front and back faces
of the prism. The default value is 1.0000. Pressing F2 brings
up this prompt at the bottom of the screen:
Enter Prism Depth >
Enter the value you want for the depth of the prism, and press
ENTER. This number now appears in the parentheses. Aesthetically, thin prisms are more pleasing than thick ones, so
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you will probably use a small value for depth.
F4 Change Side Face Generation (ASPECT)
Pressing F4 toggles the side face generation between ASPECT
and CROP. This determines if the face is created by changing
the dimensions using Aspect or Crop values.
F5 Change Side Video Orientation (VERTICAL)
Pressing F5 toggles the orientation of the side face video
between VERTICAL and HORIZONTAL.
With vertical orientation, the picture rotates vertically with
the left/right, top/bottom orientation of the picture correct.
With horizontal orientation, the picture rotates horizontally
with left/right, top/bottom orientation of the picture correct.
D To Display Output
Pressing D displays the Prism value submenus. This lets you
look at the parameters and values the A53-D uses to create
the key hole cutter and the faces of the solid.
P To Print Output
Press P to print the Solid parameters to a printer or disk. See
the section on "Printing Parameters" for details.
Press S to send the parameters for the solid to selected effects
in the A53-D. See the section on "Sending the Solid Parameters" to the A53-D for details.
Prism Display Submenus
Pressing D in the Prism menu displays the parameters and
values sent to the A53-D. Shown on the next page is the first
submenu; it gives the values for the keyframes used to create
the hole cutter.
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When you press ENTER, the effects needed to create the faces
appear.
Pressing ENTER in the Faces submenu returns you to the
Prism menu.
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About Prism Effects
A four-sided prism (six faces total) is a rectangular solid, and
it is not necessary to produce a hole cutter. The program
therefore produces two effects. The first effect is the front and
back faces. The second effect is for the sides, and requires
three Global Z Rotate trims to produce the side faces.
A prism with any even number of faces (except six) produces
three effects. The front/back faces require a hole cutter,
which is the first effect. The second is the front/back face.
The third is for the sides, and requires Global Z Rotate trims
to produce the sides.
A prism with any odd number of faces produces four effects.
The front and back faces require a hole cutter, which is the
first effect. The second is the front face. The third effect is for
the sides, and requires Global Z Rotate trims to produce the
side faces. The fourth effect is the back face.
When you download the effects from the PC and look at them
on the A53-D without making any Global changes, the first
side you see is the front.
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PYRAMIDS
What Is a Pyramid?
Pyramids built with the Solid Builder program have a regular
polygon base, and all other faces are equilateral triangles with
a common vertex.
Acquainting Yourself with the Pyramid Menu
In the main Solid Builder menu, press F2 to select the menu
for building pyramids.
F1 Change Number Of Sides (4)
The number in the parentheses is the number of sides the
pyramid will have. The default value is 4. Pressing F1 brings
up this prompt at the bottom of the screen:
Enter Number Of Sides >
Enter the number of sides you want the prism to have, from
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3 to 10,000, and press ENTER. This number now appears in
the parentheses.
Remember, the greater the number of sides, the greater the
number of passes you will have to make to produce the
pyramid.
F2 Change Triangle Height (0.7500)
The number in the parentheses is the height of the triangular
sides in screen units. The default value depends on the
number of sides. It is calculated to give an equilateral triangle
from a full-size picture, using the number of sides and the
base length. The maximum value for this parameter is 0.75.
Pressing F2 brings up this prompt at the bottom of the
screen:
Enter Triangle Height (Default=0.6495) >
Enter the value you want for the height of the pyramid, from
0 to 0.75, and press ENTER. Pressing ENTER without first
entering a new value sets the default value. This number now
appears in the parentheses.
F3 Change Base Length (0.7500)
The number in the parentheses is the length of the base in
screen units. The default value is calculated to give a base
from a full-size picture and depends on the number of sides.
screen:
Enter Length Of Base (Default=0.8660) >
Enter the value you want for the length of the base, and press
ENTER. Pressing ENTER without first entering a new value
sets the default value. This number now appears in the
parentheses.
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D To Display Output
Pressing D displays the Pyramid value submenus. This lets
you look at the parameters and values the A53-D uses to
create the key hole cutter and the faces of the solid.
P To Print Output
in the A53-D. See the section on "Sending the Solid Parameters to the A53-D" for details.
Pyramid Display Submenus
Pressing D in the Pyramid menu displays the parameters and
values sent to the A53-D. Shown below is the first submenu;
it gives the values for the keyframes used to create the hole
cutters.
When you press ENTER, the effects needed to create the
faces appear.
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Prism menu.
About Pyramid Effects
A pyramid with any number of sides greater than four
produces four effects. Both the sides and the base require
hole cutters. The first effect is the side hole cutter. The second
is the base hole cutter. The third is for the sides, and requires
Global Z Rotate trims to produce the side faces. The fourth
effect is the base.
A four-sided pyramid produces three effects. The first is the
side hole cutter. The second is for the sides, and requires
Global Z Rotate trims to produce the side faces. The third
effect is the base.
When you download the effects from the PC, remember that
you are viewing the pyramid from a bird’s eye perspective.
The polygon is the base, and, when the pyramid is built, you
will not see it (unless it is rotated). The vertex points to the
viewer.
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REGULAR POLYHEDRON
What Is a Regular Polyhedron?
This section of the Solid Builder program lets you create
common regular polyhedron. A regular polyhedron is a solid
object with regular polygons for sides. The polyhedron that
you can build are as follows.
Tetrahedron
A tetrahedron is made from four
equilateral triangles; it is a three
sided pyramid.
A tetrahedron produces three effects. The first is the hole cutter
used for all the faces. The second
effect is for the sides and requires Global Z Rotate trims to
produce the side faces. The third
effect is the base.
When you download the effects
from the PC and look at them on
the A53-D, you are viewing the tetrahedron from a bird’s eye
perspective. When you build the solid, the base is not visible,
as in the illustration above, unless it is rotated.
Hexahedron
A hexahedron is made of
squares; it is a cube.
A hexahedron produces three effects, and does not require a hole
cutter. The first effect is the
front/back face. The second is
the left/right face, and the third
is the top/bottom face.
When you download the effects
from the PC and begin building
the solid without rotation, you
see only the front face, as in this
illustration.
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Octahedron
An octahedron is made of eight equilateral triangles; it looks like two
four-sided pyramids joined base to
base.
An octahedron produces three effects. The first effect is the hole cutter used for all the faces. The second
is for the front face, the third for the
back. Both the front and back faces
require Global Z Rotate trims.
When you download the effects from
the PC and begin building the solid,
you see only the front sides, as in the illustration above.
Globally rotate the solid to see the other sides.
Dodecahedron
A dodecahedron is made of 12 pentagons (five-sided faces).
A dodecahedron produces five effects. The first effect is the hole cutter used for all the faces. The second
effect is the front face. The third
effect is the front sides and require
Global Z Rotate trims. The fourth is
the back sides and requires an extra
level of Global Z Rotate trim. Unlike
the solids discussed thus far, you
must enter a Global Z Rotate trim of
.1000 before running the fourth effect for the first time. After you complete this first pass, add
the normal Global Z Rotate trims for the other passes. The
fifth effect is for the back face.
When you download the effects from the PC and begin
building the solid, the front sides are visible, as in the
illustration above. To see the other sides, globally rotate the
solid.
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Icosahedron
An icosahedron is made of 20
equilateral triangles.
An icosahedron produces five effects. Global Z Rotate trims are
required for all the faces. The
first effect is the hole cutter used
for all the faces. The second effect is the front face. The third is
for the front sides. The fourth
effect is the back sides, and the
fifth for the back face.
Like the fourth effect in a dodecahedron, the fourth and fifth
effects in an icosahedron require an extra level of Global Z
Rotate trim. Enter a Global Z Rotate trim of .1000 before
running effects four and five for the first time. After you
complete this first pass, add the normal Global Z Rotate trims
for the other passes.
When you download the effects from the PC and begin
building the solid, you see only the front faces. Globally rotate
the solid to see the other faces.
To give you a better idea of the
solid, this illustration shows a
globally rotated icosahedron.
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Acquainting yourself with the Polyhedron Menu
In the main Solid Builder menu press F3 to select the menu
for building regular polyhedra.
The functions in the menu are as follows:
F1 Change Regular Polyhedron Type (Tetrahedron)
Press F1 to select the polyhedron you want to build. The
name in the parentheses is the current polyhedron.
F2 Change Face Height (0.7500)
The number in the parentheses is the height of a face of the
polyhedron. The default value is 0.75, which is equivalent to
the picture height; it is the maximum value for this parameter. Pressing F2 brings up this prompt at the bottom of the
screen:
Enter Height of Face>
Enter the value you want for the height of the faces, from 0
to 0.75, and press ENTER. This number now appears in the
parentheses.
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D To Display Output
Pressing D displays the Polyhedron value submenus. This
lets you to look at the parameters and values the A53-D uses
to create the key hole cutter and the faces of the solid.
P To Print Output
Polyhedron Display Submenus
Pressing D in the Polyhedron menu displays the parameters
and values sent to the A53-D. Shown below is the first
submenu; it gives the values for the keyframes used to create
the hole cutters.
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When you press ENTER, the effects needed to create the faces
appear.
Prism menu.
NOTE
A hexahedron is a cube and it is not necessary to
produce a hole cutter. The program therefore does not
display the Hole Cutter submenu but goes directly to
the Faces submenu.
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RECTANGULAR AND SKEWED SOLIDS
This section of the Solid Builder program lets you build cubes
and slabs and skew them.
Acquainting Yourself with the Rectangular and
Skewed Solids Menu
Press F4 in the main Solid Builder menu to select the
Rectangular and Skewed Solids menu.
F1 Change Back/Front Face Height (0.7500)
The number in the parentheses is the current height of the
front and back faces of the solid. Pressing F1 brings up this
Enter Back/Front Face Height >
Enter the value you want for the height of the solid and press
ENTER. This number now appears in the parentheses.
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F2 Change Back/Front Face Width (1.0000)
The number in the parentheses is the current width of the
front and back faces of the solid. Pressing F2 brings up this
Enter Back/Front Face Width >
Enter the value you want for the width of the solid and press
ENTER. This number now appears in the parentheses.
F3 Change Right/Left Face Width (0.7500)
The number in the parentheses is the current width of the
right and left faces of the solid, i.e., the depth of the solid.
screen:
Enter Right/Left Face Height >
Enter the value you want for the depth of the solid and press
ENTER. This number now appears in the parentheses
F4 Change Back/Front Face Angle (90.0000 Degrees)
The number in the parentheses is the current angle of the
lower left corner of the solid’s front and back faces. Pressing
F4 brings up this prompt at the bottom of the screen:
Enter Back/Front Face Corner Lower Left Angle (In Degrees) >
F5 Change Right/Left Face Angle (90.0000 Degrees)
Enter the value you want for the skew angle of this face, in
degrees, and press ENTER. The minimum angle is 2 degrees,
the maximum is 178 degrees. The entered number now
lower left corner of the solid’s right and left faces. Pressing
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Enter Right/Left Face Corner Lower Left Angle (In Degrees) >
F6 Change Top/Bottom Face Angle (90.0000 Degrees)
lower left corner of the solid’s top and bottom faces. Pressing
Enter Top/Bottom Face Corner Lower Left Angle (In Degrees) >
F7 Change Front/Back Face Generation (ASPECT)
Pressing F7 lets you select whether the front and back faces
are generated using Aspect or Crop values.
F8 Change Right/Left Face Generation (ASPECT)
Pressing F8 lets you choose whether the right and left faces
F9 Change Top/Bottom Face Generation (ASPECT)
Pressing F9 lets you choose whether the top and bottom faces
D To Display Output
Pressing D displays the Rectangular and Skewed Solids value
submenus. This lets you look at the parameters and values
the A53-D uses to create the solid’s faces.
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E To Display Program Enhancements
Pressing E displays a Readme file of useful information about
the rectangular and skewed solids. Appendix B is a copy of
this file.
P To Print Output
Press P to print the solid parameters to a printer or disk. See
Rectangular & Skewed Solids Display Submenu
Pressing D in the Rectangular and Skewed Solids menu
displays the parameters and values sent to the A53-D. Shown
below is the submenu that gives the values for the keyframes
used to create the solid.
Prism menu.
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Appendix A: Pyramid Building
One of the questions most often asked about solid building
and the A53-D is: how are pyramids
constructed? A pyramid - a five-faced
solid with a square base and four triangular sides - is a beautiful three-dimensional solid (see Figure 1.0). With a little
work, a scientific calculator, and a couple of passes, you can easily build a
pyramid with the A53-D. No paint system or switcher wipe pattern is needed
for the mask or hole cutter. However, as
you will soon see, life will be simpler if
Figure 1.0
your A53-D has the Key Channel option.
The following discussion details pyramid construction. Also
included is a list of the values and keyframes required to
construct one.
Overview
One of the primary considerations you must deal with when
constructing nonrectangular, multifaced solids is the symmetry of the hole cutter. For this example pyramid, the
triangular hole cutter must be equiangular and equilateral
to totally enclose the pyramid. The problem is that most paint
systems have difficulty with polygons. Even paint systems
with polygon programs seem to lack the accuracy needed to
create and exactly position a proper polygon. For our purposes, the solution is to create the polygon hole cutter on the
A53-D to the exact dimensions required by the solid. This
means building a multikeyframe, multipass A53-D effect
that, when assembled and layered, creates a white on black
triangle that meets the needs of the solid. When this is
finished, constructing the solid is more direct and accurate,
as a major variable has been eliminated. Remember that this
hole cutter effect does not run in real-time, but is a series of
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single keyframes keyed and layered one keyframe per pass.
For an example of a hole cutter effect, see Figure 3.0.
After you build the hole cutter, the process of building the
solid begins. Most of the work is in precisely three-dimensionally positioning the solid’s base and side faces with
FUNCTION 1 parameters. The base pass is pretty straightforward, as only one base is required; the four side faces are a
different matter. First you must position the first side face
and feed the hole cutter back into the A53-D Key Channel (or
whatever you use to create a traveling matte). Then you must
trim each subsequent side pass by a 90 degree Global Z
Rotate value to rotate the face to its new position. After five
passes, the solid is complete. Figure 2.0 illustrates this from
a bird’s eye perspective.
Pass 1
Pass 2
Pass 3
Global Rot
Global Rot
Global Rot
Z = 0.00
Z = 0.00
Z = 0.25
Pass 4
Pass 5
Global Rot
Global Rot
Z = 0.50
Z = 0.75
Figure 2.0
Assembling the solid begins by feeding the hole cutter to the
A53-D Key Channel input, and, if necessary, freezing the Key
Channel store. If you do not have the Key Channel option or
the luxury of a A53-D second channel you can use for key
signal manipulation, you must use whatever you currently
use when keying irregularly shaped objects: luminance keying or a traveling matte reel.
Just as with a conventional solid, Global parameters are used
to move the completed solid in three-dimensional space.
Please note: if you use COPY - GLOBAL to transfer Global
effect parameters, you must add the Global Z Rotate trim to
each side-pass after the first one to rotate each pass into
place.
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A final note: for a nonparallel sided solid such as a pyramid
or tetrahedron, auto key is enabled but cube is not. You need
auto key to kill the back side key signal to avoid key priority
problems as the solid rotates. You cannot use cube because
the opposite side of the solid is not parallel and therefore
would be positioned incorrectly when the solid rotates to
reveal the opposing side. So each side of the pyramid requires
a separate pass.
The Hole Cutter
Assembling the hole cutter begins by laying to tape or disk a
full screen white background - keyframe 1. You can do this
by either feeding white from your switcher to the A53-D or by
bringing in a full border width and setting border lum to
100 IRE. Then use keyframes 2, 3, and 4, with luminance at
0.0, to create the triangular shape around the white background (see Figure 3.0). This leaves you with a white-on-black
triangle that exactly fits the solid. Again, this is not an effect
that runs in real-time, but a series of single keyframes that
are keyed and layered one keyframe per pass.
The first step in actually building the hole cutter is establishing the triangle needed for the solid. For this example,
you will use an equilateral triangle, which by definition has
sides of equal length and internal angles of 60 degrees each.
Pass 1
Pass 2
Pass 3
Figure 3.0
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The next step is to establish a value for the height of the
triangle in screen units. Since the maximum height value for
a full screen image on the A53-D is .75 screen units, you need
a value less than that. For
this example, you will use
a triangle height of .7
screen units (see Figure
4.0).
0.7
To build the hole cutter
you must solve X, the geometric center of the triangle (see Figure 5.0). This is
60°
W
the point about which you
will FUNCTION 1 Z rotate
the A53-D to build the
Figure 4.0
hole cutter. For an equilateral triangle, you can
obtain this value by dividing the height of the triangle by
three. Other triangles are not so easy, but you will keep it
simple for now. If you take the given height of .7 and divide
by three, you get a center X value of .2333.
Now you must move the image - using source V - to the point
with a 0.2333 screen unit difference between the A53-D
center axis position and the
top edge of the image. In other
words, rotate the top edge of
the A53-D around the polygon’s geometric center to asX
semble the hole cutter. You
do that with the equation:
source V = - (.375 + X). For
this example, it is source V =
- (.375 + .2333) or - (.6083).
Figure 5.0
You need to solve another
value. If you build the triangle
as is, the top would extend beyond the screen boundaries
because the geometric center of the triangle coincides with
the center of the screen. You must move the triangle down to
center it top to bottom on screen. This downward move
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should be done with FUNCTION 1 V locate to leave the
relationship of the axis to the image top edge intact. The
equation for FUNCTION 1 V locate is:
- [(height of the triangle/ 2) - X]
=
- [(.7/2) - .2333]
=
- [(.35) - .23333]
=
- 0.1167.
Use this for FUNCTION 1 V locate in keyframes 2-4.
The final value you must solve is the amount you need to
rotate the A53-D to complete the triangle in three passes. You
find the Z Rotate value by dividing 1, which is 360 degrees
on the A53-D, by the number of sides: 1/3 or 0.3333. This
value is trimmed into each keyframe for the constructing the
sides. For example, the first side has no Z rotation, the second
0.3333, the third 0.6667.
To recap the equilateral triangle hole cutter effect:
Setup: Blanking flag to normal
Keyframe 1:
Full frame white, with a white input or A53-D border width
at 500, luminance at 100.
background: OFF
Keyframe 2:
Full frame black, with a black input or A53-D border width
at 500, luminance at 0.0 or a chosen black value.
background: OFF
FUNCTION 1 source V: - 0.6083
FUNCTION 1 locate V: - 0.1167
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Keyframe 3:
background: OFF
FUNCTION 1 rotate Z: 0.3333
Keyframe 4:
background: OFF
This completes the hole cutter effect. We are now ready to
start constructing the pyramid itself.
Pyramid Effects
A pyramid takes five passes to complete: one pass for the base
and four for the sides. This assumes that all the solid’s faces
will be seen during the body of the effect. If not, you can trim
the number of passes accordingly. The way you will build the
pyramid is with the top point facing the eye-point of the box
(see Figure 2.0). It is as if you are looking down at the solid
from above. This approach has two advantages: 1) you do not
need to separately calculate all four side faces of the pyramid,
as once one face is correctly placed with FUNCTION 1 parameters, it can be globally Z rotated into position for the next
pass; 2) because you used a Global Z Rotate parameter, and
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Z rotates without affecting the H or V axis positions, you can
globally rotate the solid to its upright position, or any that
suits the effect, and the pyramid will stay intact. Building the
pyramid this way takes the least amount of time and calculation, as you will soon see.
Begin by working on the base. By definition, the base of a
pyramid is a square. However, to calculate the length of its
sides, you need to look at the dimensions of the triangle.
You earlier defined the height of the triangle as 0.7 screen
units, and each internal angle as 60 degrees. From this
information you can determine the length of any side of the
triangle. Since you defined the triangle as equilateral (all
sides are equal in length), this value gives us the length of
one side of the square pyramid base as it is enclosed by four
triangles.
See Figure 4.0. The line representing the 0.7 height value
conveniently breaks it into two right triangles, which you
need to solve for value W. Using the trigonometric relationship for tangent:
tan 60
W
= 0.7/W
= 0.7/tan 60
= .7/1.7321
W
= .40415.
Therefore, 2(W) = .8083. This is the length for one side of the
triangle and therefore the length of all sides of the square
base.
The final value you need for the base pass is a FUNCTION 1
Z Locate value to place the base back in space so that it lines
up edge to edge to the side faces (see Figure 6.0). This is a
two step process. Here you will assume that before positioning the faces and base planes are flat with no rotation, and
lie at the 0.0 positions for Z spacial numbers. You need to
place the base pass back far enough in space to keep the base
coincident with the triangle bottom as you rotate the triangular sides to form the pyramid. This spacial relationship is
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based on the amount of rotation needed for the side faces to
form the pyramid. The closer the angle of rotation is to 90
degrees, the farther back you must place the base to keep the
edges in line. So step 1 is to solve for the rotation angle
necessary for the side faces.
Solve for the side angle of
rotation as follows: If you
+Z
look at the pyramid in its
upright position, you know
the values listed in Figure
7.0. The 0.7 value represents the height of the trianSide View
gle on the left of the figure,
and the 0.4042 value repreFigure 6.0
sents half the length of the
triangle facing us. To solve
for angle X, use the cosine relationship between the adjacent
side - 0.4042 - and the hypotenuse - 0.7. Therefore,
cos X
= 0.4042/0.7
= 0.5774
or, using a trig table or scientific calculator, X = 54.7356
degrees. Step 1 is complete.
Step 2 is to solve for the
FUNCTION 1 Z Locate
value to position the base
in space (see Figure 6.0).
0.7
X
0.4042
Uprighted View
Figure 7.0
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= [Sin X x (geometric center value)]
= [Sin 54.7356 x (0.2333)]
= [0.8165 x (0.2333)]
Z Locate
= 0.1905
This may seem like a lot of work, but all these equations work
for nonequilateral pyramids too, so stay tuned.
Lastly, the front side of the base must be rotated 180 degrees
to position it to the outside of the pyramid rather than toward
the inside. Use autokey to kill the backside key signal only
and eliminate key priority problems as the solid rotates. The
value for the FUNCTION 1 H rotate is 0.5, or 180 degrees.
The final step for the base is complete.
Recapping the base pass:
Keyframes 1 to xxx:
autokey: ON
cube: OFF
border: OFF, unless you need it
background: OFF
FUNCTION 1 aspect H: 0.8083
FUNCTION 1 aspect V: 0.8083
FUNCTION 1 locate Z: 0.1905
FUNCTION 1 rotate H: 0.5000
The remaining steps in constructing the pyramid involve
positioning the side faces. You are building the pyramid with
the apex facing the eye point of the A53-D, so if you position
face 1 with FUNCTION 1 parameters you can easily globally
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Z rotate this single face into place for the remaining faces
(see Figure 2.0). This approach saves a tremendous amount
of work.
To begin positioning the side faces, it might be a good idea to
input the composite triangle to the A53-D’s Key Channel
input. It is easier to visualize the pyramid if you use the hole
cutter.
You repositioned the axis-to-plane relationship down with
FUNCTION 1 V locate to physically center the hole cutter in
the screen. Now that you have created the hole cutter and
the V locate has served its purpose, the first step in positioning the side face for the pyramid is to undo the FUNCTION 1
locate. Do this by entering a 0.1167 value for FUNCTION 1
source V. The triangle now moves up the screen, but more
importantly, rotates about its geometric center again.
The next step is to enter the FUNCTION 1 V rotate value you
just calculated for position of the base pass. The angle you
calculated was 54.7356. The following equation translates
that angle to an A53-D value:
rotate value
= (Angle/360)
= (54.7356/360)
= 0.1520.
Normally, this value can be positive or negative, but since you
pushed the base pass away space, the rotate value’s sign
must be negative to put the flat edge of the triangle back
toward the base.
The final step for the first side face is to vertically reposition
the triangle down in space so the bottom edge coincides with
the base pass. Earlier you pushed the base pass back in
space, but left it center screen. You must now move the
rotated triangle down to join the bottom edge of the triangle
to the bottom edge of the base.
Solve for the FUNCTION 1 V locate value to position the base
in space with the equation:
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User Guide
= [triangle length/2] - [Cos X x (geometric
center value)]
V locate
= [0.8083/2] - [Cos 54.7356 x (0.2333)]
= [0.4042] - [0.5774 x (0.2333)]
= [0.4042] - [0.1347]
V locate
= 0.2695.
Again, this value can be either positive or negative depending
on the base’s position. For your purposes, this value’s sign
also needs to be negative.
The final step for the first side face is less than precise, as it
involves a judgement call for each solid. You used the A53-D
to assemble the hole cutter layer by layer. One of the artifacts
of keying with an anti-aliased key signal is that each time you
key, a few pixels of the foreground image are lost as it becomes
mixed or blended with the background. The net result is that
even after you precisely position and assemble the hole
cutter, it actually winds up being smaller than it needs to be
for the dimensions of the pyramid. The symmetry is perfect,
the size is not.
The number of pixels lost can become even greater if the key’s
clip and gain are not at unity while assembling the triangle.
So we must FUNCTION 1 source size the side passes a very
small amount to compensate for the loss of pixels. The value
varies depending on the clip and gain of your key. A 1.0150
FUNCTION 1 source size is a good place to begin. If you still
have a gap between planes, increase source size and try
again. You can make it perfect, but there are enough variables
that you can simply assemble two passes to check for yourself. You do not need to add this source size value to the
base pass, as it is not subject to the same type of loss.
The rest of the solid effects are simple. For the remaining
three faces we simply globally Z rotate face 1 for the next
pass. The Z rotate trim for the remaining faces is derived by
the following relationship: divide 1, which is 360 degrees on
the A53-D, by the number of sides: 1/4 or 0.25. Trim this
Global Z rotate value into each keyframe for the subsequent
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passes. For example, the first side has no GLOBAL Z rotate
trim, the second 0.25, the third 0.5, and the final pass has a
trim value of 0.75. Again, please note: if you use COPY GLOBAL to transfer Global Effect parameters, add these
GLOBAL Z rotate trims to each side-pass beyond the first
one to rotate each pass into place.
Recapping the side passes:
Effects 2 - 5, Keyframes 1 to xxx.
autokey: ON
cube: OFF
background: OFF
FUNCTION 1 source V: 0.1167
FUNCTION 1 source Z: 1.0150 (or something close)
FUNCTION 1 rotate V: - 0.1520
GLOBAL Z rotate trim for Effects 2-5: 0.25
Constructing the pyramid is now complete.
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Function Parameters
The Hole Cutter Effect:
Keyframe 1:
Full frame white, with a white input or A53-D border width
at 500, luminance at 100.
background: OFF.
Keyframe 2:
at 500, luminance at 0.0 or a black value of your choice.
background: OFF
Keyframe 3:
background: OFF
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Keyframe 4:
background: OFF
This completes the hole cutter effect.
The Base Pass Effect:
Keyframes 1 to xxx:
autokey: ON
cube: OFF
background: OFF
FUNCTION 1 aspect H: 0.8083
FUNCTION 1 aspect V: 0.8083
FUNCTION 1 locate Z: 0.1905
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The Side Pass Effects:
Effects 2 - 5, Keyframes 1 to xxx.
autokey: ON
cube: OFF
background: OFF
FUNCTION 1 source V: 0.1167
FUNCTION 1 source Z: 1.0100 (or something close)
FUNCTION 1 rotate V: - 0.1520
GLOBAL Z rotate trim for Effect 2-5: 0.25
The pyramid is now complete.
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APPENDIX B: Program Enhancements
1
When downloading Solid parameters directly into the
A53-D via the RS-232 port, please note that Cube and
Autokey flags are turned on as part of the default settings.
2
When downloading via the RS-232 port, Border and
Background flags are turned off as part of Solid. This
default setting will yield clean edges if input blanking is
within spec. If input blanking is too wide, adjust Horizontal and Vertical Input Blanking values under the SetupInput menu until the edges of the A53-D are free from
input blanking errors.
3 For creating skewed solids, the internal angle of skew
for each face is measured in degrees. The default setting
for Skew is 0.0000 or 90 degrees (no skew), and the range
of angle entries is from 2.0 degrees to 178.0 degrees. For
each face of a skewed solid, the angle of choice is the lower
left angle, the remaining angles are derived from that
angle. Please note that Solid will calculate degenerated
solids that will have no dimension. A rule of thumb for
solid building is to keep the sum of the two smaller angles
of a skewed solid equal to or greater than the third angle.
4
A skewed solid can be created with only one skewed
face, and this face can be any of three available via this
program. When creating a solid with all three faces
skewed, you may want to try a solid where all three faces
are skewed 45 degrees and begin trimming values from
there. Please note that the range of values for face 3 of a
solid where all faces are skewed and face 1 is less than 90
degrees is from 2.0 degrees to 88.0 degrees.
5 For skewed transitions within the same face of a solid,
there are two things to bear in mind. 1) the Linear flag
must be set for all active parameters of the effect. 2) if the
variance in the skew angle exceeds ten degrees, there is
no guarantee that all sides of the skewed solid will track
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during the entire effect. If, by creating additional keyframes, the overall transition is broken into increments
smaller than ten degrees, the faces will track.
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Transcription

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