Projection Mapping Project
Hello. I have an upcoming projection mapping project that will be utilizing Millumin. I am using three projectors for an overall resolution of 5400x1080. I plan to use SwitchResX to get one computer to output 5400x1080@60 into a Barco E2 which will split the 5400x1080 resolution into 3x 1920x1080 signals which then get fed to three projectors. I plan to use a single computer output in order to avoid asychronous signals potentially affecting the blend region. The plan is to use Millumin--not the projectors--to do the warping and blending.
In my current early stage of planning, I am unable to determine a way of configuring Millumin to take this 5400x1080 raster and treat it like three 1920x1080 rasters with data doubling, warping, and edge feathering capabilities.
Would someone please steer me in the right direction in order to accomplish this goal?
Comments
Hello @RoggieRog,
Millumin automatically detects displays that can be splitted into several standard displays.
For example, if a display has a resolution of 3840x2160 : Millumin will offer you to output to the whole display (3840x2160) as well as to a specific quarter (1920x1080).
In your case, Millumin will list a big output of 5400x1080 and 3 thirds of 1800x1080. But this is not what you want. You need a proper output of 5760x1080, so Millumin knows there is 3 thirds of 1920x1080 and can performs the soft-edge accordingly (Millumin needs to calculate all pixels for each third).
In brief, create a canvas of 3x 1920x1080 (5760x1080). From what I understand, you will have 180px of soft-edge for each edge (5400x1080 of pixels for your content, and 360 "lost" pixels because of your soft-edge).
Be sure to read this tutorial about soft-edge.
Best. Philippe
Hello @Millumin. You have been a great help to me understanding how to accomplish this. I am now all sorted and everything is functioning the way I need it to. Merci beaucoup!
Hello@Millumin. Is there any way to add more warping points to an output? My project may very well require more advanced warping and the four corners may not be sufficient. I see that there’s flexibility in layer warping and that the warp can be copied to other layers, but this may not be practical for my needs. Please advise. Also, the videos on the warping tutorial do not play on the Millumin Help section.
Hello @RoggieRog,
You cannot warp the output (there is perspective transform however, as you mentionned). But we planned to work on this feature, and this should come in the beta in the next months.
For now, you could use 2 canvases :
Best. Philippe
PS : I checked the warping tutorial here, and the page is loading correctly
Hello@Millumin. This is very helpful to me. I suppose that there are several ways that I can approach this, though this is what I've come up with:
-I have my content sequenced on a Syphon Canvas that is broken up into three sections with softedge and smoothing enabled.
-The three Syphon sections then go onto three individual layers of my main 5400x1080 canvas, which then give me the capability of warping each of the three sections independently with as many warping nodes as I may require.
Does this seem to be efficient? Am I potentially missing something here, as to me it seems like a logical approach.
See screenshots below.
Moreover, it would be great if:
-There were the ability for adjacent nodes to fractionally move with the chosen nodes as some projectors such as Christie and Panasonic allow. I believe that it's Panasonic that refers to this as "spring mode". This then smoothens the warp and doesn't just limit it to the rectangle whose node is moved.
-There were the ability to select another node via a keystroke so as to not accidentally move the node or the layer if it's not precisely selected via a click. Currently clicking TAB selects one of the mapping's four corners.
-To build on the previous, it would be helpful if x, y coordinates were revealed when a node is selected with the ability to enter a numeric value in one field followed by clicking TAB to select the next field for its value.
See screenshot below.
Hello @RoggieRog,
If you need to perform a soft-edge in addition of your warping, this is different : I need to know your final goal. Do you want to project on a curved screen (warped soft-edge) ? on a building (soft-edge then warping) ?
Best. Philippe
PS : about your feedback. You can activate the "bezier" option if you want to warp with curves. Also in latest beta, you can now use TAB to cycle through warping points.
Hello @Millumin. I do indeed need to perform soft edge in addition to warping. This will be projection onto the smooth side of a building, which I now realize my setup likely won’t work the way I need it to, because although I’ll have warping capability, soft edge won’t be linked with this. All warping and blending will be done in Millumin, not the projectors. I will have some pico projectors setup in my office for testing these functionalities.
Regarding my feedback, I’m aware of the bezier function, but this doesn’t function the way I’d like. What I mean is if I begin to move my bottom right corner inward by, say 20 pixels to the left, the node to the left of that may move 7-10 pixels, so that it smoothens the warp. (Does my example make sense?)
Thanks for bringing the new beta functionality to my attention.
Hello @RoggieRog,
In this case, you need to have soft-edge then warping, see this project :
We are working a on simplier system for the beta, where there is no need of a Syphon output. This should be out in the next months.
Best. Philippe
Hello @Millumin . This sample project is very helpful. Let me first say that I am very thankful for your time. It is very important to me that I go into this project with complete confidence in that I will have the tools in hand to achieve 100% success.
I believe that this is not the approach that would work for me. We will have three triple stacks of projectors--triple stacks for intensity. Each stack of three will be converged at the projector via physical alignment as well as digital correction so that their internal grids align. Once this is achieved, the top, center, and bottom--as this is a vertical blend in portrait mode--will be aligned by the projectionist to a point sufficient for me to take over in Millumin. This "should" be straightforward correction as we will have a head-on shot of our surface, but it's critical that I am able to adjust each of the three regions so that they precisely overlap, and that right angles and linearity of the grids is maintained.
For these reasons, I feel that the method that I proposed is more optimal, as I will have the means to adjust each projector's warping independently. That said, I will also need for Millumin to create the feathering/softedge. Please correct me if I may be missing something here and that the Syphon method that I proposed will not meet my needs.
Please confirm whether or not my needs are clear and the approach that I should take to suit the needs of this project.
Thank you in advance.
Hello @RoggieRog,
I'm not usre to understand this properly.
You need to output to 9 projectors, and each group of 3 projectors will be stacked together. So you need Millumin to align all 3 projectors for each group, then perform soft-edge so the 3 groups create a wide seamless image. Is that right ?
Best. Philippe
Yes, you are correct. You can think of it as aligning three projectors: top, center, and bottom.
Hello @RoggieRog,
In this case, you need a canvas for the content + soft-edge, then one canvas (or several one so it can be easier to manage) for the outputs. See this project :
Best. Philippe
Hello @Millumin. I spent a couple of hours studying your project and it's still a bit confusing to me. Forget that there are three stacks of three projectors each. Consider for sake of simplification that there are 3 projectors total, and also for simplification, that this is arranged horizontally in Millumin. I've attached a sample project along with a test grid that will be used in this project. Each projector will receive a 2048x1080 signal (Cinema/SMPTE 2K) from a Barco E2. The E2 will split the one 6144x1080 signal into three. In this project, I would drop all content onto the canvas named "Syphon", and do all warping in the canvas named "Canvas", per E2 output to the projector.
Please let me know if this project will indeed give me the functionality required to have soft edges in the overlap zones, as well as the ability (if needed) to warp each of the projectors individually using as many points as I choose in the warping section of the layer.
Also, is there an anti-aliasing feature for warping?
Hello @RoggieRog,
From what I understand, the project you attached is doing what you want. However, you need to check the boxes "smooth" to make the soft-edges appear.
I recommend you to read our tutorial about soft-edge, and test with at least 2 projectors or pico-projectors. You will see that, usually, a perspective transform (the four corners) is sufficient to align the projectors to create a seamless image, so only one canvas is required (but if you need warping, your method is working).
Best. Philippe
@Millumin yes, I left it unchecked before I uploaded it. Thanks for verifying. I appreciate all of your assistance.