A Navigable Movie is a QuickTime movie that offers a user-controllable view of an object or environment from a fixed point in space. A user is able to control the view of such a movie by click-dragging the mouse in the movie’s window; when viewing Navigable Movies of environments in this way, the experience is that of peering around the space, moving one’s head horizontally and/or vertically.
The Navigable Movie Toolkit is a HyperCard stack designed to assist in making Navigable Movies of environments, using a specially configured set of off-the-shelf hardware and software. The key to making Navigable Movies is the ability to accurately control the angular position of a camera while recording or digitizing its output. This is accomplished through the use of a computer-controllable pan/tilt head, which provides numerical control of the camera’s position. We can then move the camera to a series of evenly spaced horizontal and vertical positions, and map those positions to frames in the resulting movie. The collection of hardware used to make Navigable Movies is referred to as the “Navigable Movie Maker”.
Two methods for making Navigable Movies are supported by the Toolkit:
• Method 1:
Running the Navigable Movie Maker from any Macintosh that has at least one serial port and supports QuickTime video digitizing. Using this technique, the movie (shot with any video camera) is digitized on-site.
• Method 2:
Running the Navigable Movie Maker from any Macintosh that has two serial ports; the video digitizing capability is not required. Using this technique, the movie is recorded on tape using any supported camcorder (see Appendix E), and a timecode file is logged on-site. Later, the tape is digitized by any Macintosh that supports QuickTime video digitizing, using the timecode file as a guide.
The Navigable Movie Toolkit manual (in Microsoft Word format) begins by explaining how to set up the system to make a Navigable Movie, as well as how to use some common controls found in the Toolkit. It then describes a typical session for making a Navigable Movie using both methods mentioned above. A reference section is included which documents all of the features of the Toolkit in detail. Finally, tips on making Navigable Movies, a description of the various file formats, and information on the hardware needed to build the Navigable Movie Maker are included in the appendices at the end of the manual.
