Description

We propose a TUI that can help
filmmakers prepare for movie shoots by depicting what each frame of a movie would
look like. Traditionally this is done by a storyboard artist who draws out each
scene of the film on paper, kind of like a comic book. This process can be time
consuming, and does not allow for very much collaboration between the numerous
members of the creative team: director, assistant directors, producers,
cinematographer, etc. What would be desired is a way to depict the sketch
dynamically, so that the positions of the actors, sets, lighting and cameras
could be moved around at will. This would allow for more collaboration and more
experimentation.

To achieve this goal we propose a
tabletop TUI, similar to the workbenches we learned about in class, especially
Urp and metaDESK. The surface of the workbench would be sensitive to the
positions and heights of phycons that are placed upon it. The phycons would
represent actors, props, lights and cameras. The information from the table
would feed into software that can render what the frame would look like from
the camera’s position and this 3-D image would be displayed on a separate
monitor.

Implementation

We have not come to a conclusion
on how this proposal should be implemented. Options we have considered include
the I/O Bulb used in the Urp system, or embedded RFID chips in the phycons.
Both of these solutions would enable detection of the positions (and possibly
directions) of the phycons, but still leaves the problem of detecting the
height and angle of the camera. A possible solution to this problem would be a
special tool for the camera, similar to the activeLENS of the metaDESK, though
much smaller in size.

Alternative Uses

As technology becomes cheaper this
concept could be adapted for other uses; for instance, as a toy in which
children can make up a story with their dolls or action figures on the table.
The software would make a comic book of their story, which they can print out
and share with their friends or family.