The purpose of this project was to research the virtual camera systems used in current generation third person action games and to see what could be improved upon. To do this, different camera shots were categorized into camera archetypes, which also include post process and lens effects used. Information about the games was acquired by either looking through the game’s settings or by observing gameplay. Finally the results were compared to each other as well as the film industry and several improvements regarding usage of different features and camera shots were suggested.

As technology use increases in the world and inundates everyday life, the visual aspect of technology or computer graphics becomes increasingly important. This thesis presents a system for the automatic generation of virtual camera paths for fly-throughs of a digital scene. The sample scene used in this work is an underwater setting featuring a shipwreck model with other virtual underwater elements such as rocks, bubbles and caustics. The digital shipwreck model was reconstructed from an actual World War II shipwreck, resting off the coast of Malta. Video and sonar scans from an autonomous underwater vehicle were used in a photogrammetry pipeline to create the model. This thesis presents an algorithm to automatically generate virtual camera paths using a robotics motion planning algorithm, specifically the probabilistic roadmap. This algorithm uses a rapidly-exploring random tree to quickly cover a space and generate small maps with good coverage. For this work, the camera pitch and height along a specified path were automatically generated using cinematographic and geometric principles. These principles were used to evaluate potential viewpoints and influence whether or not a view is used in the final path. A computational evaluation of ‘the rule of thirds’ and evaluation of the model normals relative to the camera viewpoint are used to represent cinematography and geometry principles. In addition to the system that automatically generates virtual camera paths, a user study is presented which evaluates ten different videos produced via camera paths with this system. The videos were created using different viewpoint evaluation methods and different path generation characteristics. The user study indicates that users prefer paths generated by our system over flat and randomly generated paths. Specifically, users prefer paths generated using the computational evaluation of the rule of thirds and paths that show the wreck from a large variety of angles but without too much camera undulation.

Virtual camera realisation and the proposition of trapezoidal camera architecture are the two broad contributions of this thesis. Firstly, multiple camera and their arrangement constitute a critical component which affect the integrity of visual content acquisition for multi-view video. Currently, linear, convergence, and divergence arrays are the prominent camera topologies adopted. However, the large number of cameras required and their synchronisation are two of prominent challenges usually encountered. The use of virtual cameras can significantly reduce the number of physical cameras used with respect to any of the known camera structures, hence adequately reducing some of the other implementation issues. This thesis explores to use image-based rendering with and without geometry in the implementations leading to the realisation of virtual cameras. The virtual camera implementation was carried out from the perspective of depth map (geometry) and use of multiple image samples (no geometry). Prior to the virtual camera realisation, the generation of depth map was investigated using region match measures widely known for solving image point correspondence problem. The constructed depth maps have been compare with the ones generated using the dynamic programming approach. In both the geometry and no geometry approaches, the virtual cameras lead to the rendering of views from a textured depth map, construction of 3D panoramic image of a scene by stitching multiple image samples and performing superposition on them, and computation of virtual scene from a stereo pair of panoramic images. The quality of these rendered images were assessed through the use of either objective or subjective analysis in Imatest software. Further more, metric reconstruction of a scene was performed by re-projection of the pixel points from multiple image samples with a single centre of projection. This was done using sparse bundle adjustment algorithm. The statistical summary obtained after the application of this algorithm provides a gauge for the efficiency of the optimisation step. The optimised data was then visualised in Meshlab software environment, hence providing the reconstructed scene. Secondly, with any of the well-established camera arrangements, all cameras are usually constrained to the same horizontal plane. Therefore, occlusion becomes an extremely challenging problem, and a robust camera set-up is required in order to resolve strongly the hidden part of any scene objects. To adequately meet the visibility condition for scene objects and given that occlusion of the same scene objects can occur, a multi-plane camera structure is highly desirable. Therefore, this thesis also explore trapezoidal camera structure for image acquisition. The approach here is to assess the feasibility and potential of several physical cameras of the same model being sparsely arranged on the edge of an efficient trapezoid graph. This is implemented both Matlab and Maya. The quality of the depth maps rendered in Matlab are better in Quality.

本研究在虛擬環境中發展出一套符合攝影學法則的即時智慧型攝影機模組，當使用者操縱化身時能夠給予攝影機自動規劃之能力，不需要花費額外的心力控制攝影機。智慧型攝影機的能力包含了規劃不被障礙物遮蔽的跟蹤拍攝，以及當攝影機進入險惡的環境時，自動在兩台攝影機之間進行符合攝影學法則的轉切。此外，此智慧型攝影機模組能夠依照不同使用者的偏好，產生不同結果的攝影機規劃。我們實作了此一智慧型攝影機的系統，並以實例說明此系統的有效性。 / We have developed a real-time intelligent camera module with a set of cinematography in a virtual environment. Its automatic camera planning capacity allows that the users to spend less effort in controlling the camera when manipulating an avatar. An intelligent camera should be able to plan unobstractive tracking motion and necessary cuts automatically between two cameras with the rule of cinematography. In addition, the results of the camera planning can be customized by setting appropriate parameters in accordance with the user’s preferences. We have implemented this intelligent camera system, and demonstrated the effectiveness of this system through several examples

E-sports is currently estimated to be a billion dollar industry which is only growing in size from year to year. However the cinematography of spectated games leaves much to be desired. In most cases, the spectator either gets to control their own freely-moving camera or they get to see the view that a specific player sees. This thesis presents a system for the generation of cinematically-pleasing views for spectating real-time graphics applications. A custom real-time engine has been built to demonstrate the effect of this system on several different game modes with varying visual cinematic constraints, such as the rule of thirds. To create the cinematic views, we encode cinematic rules as cost functions that are fed into a non-linear least squares solver. These cost functions rely on the geometry of the scene, minimizing residuals based on the 3D positions and 2D reprojections of the geometry. The final cinematic view is found by altering camera position and angle until a local minimum is met. The system was evaluated by comparing video output from a traditional rigidly constrained camera and the results of our algorithm’s optimally solved views. User surveys are then used to qualitatively evaluate the system. The results of these surveys do not statistically find a preference between the cinematic views and the rigidly constrained views. In addition, we present performance and timing considerations for the system, reporting that the system can operate within modern expectations of latency when enough constraints are placed on the non-linear least squares solver.

在互動敘事(Interactive Storytelling)的應用中，適當的攝影機規劃能幫助我們呈現虛擬世界中所發生的故事。在本研究中，我們設計了一個可以讓使用者設計互動敘事的應用平台－IMStory。針對故事創作，我們提供了一個故事腳本的描述語言及其剖析器，當使用者撰寫好互動故事之後，系統便能夠根據故事情境內容及與使用者互動的結果產生出符合情境的自動攝影機規劃系統。在此系統中，我們建立了一個能夠讓攝影機理解故事腳本的關係模型，建立虛擬攝影機組態與「故事情境」間的對應關係，即時找出更能表達當時情境的拍攝方式與架設位置。最後，我們設計了一個場景劇本進行實驗，在實驗中，我們的系統能夠即時因應場景中角色物件的位置作出即時的攝影機規劃，並且能夠配合互動環境中改變的情境參數而使用適合的攝影模組，產生出符合攝影學法則且賦有敘事能力的鏡頭。透過我們的方法，希望能提供一個更加有敘事能力的互動敘事平台。 / In an 3D interactive storytelling system, virtual camera is the key for us to understand what happens in the virtual world. In this thesis, we have designed an intelligent camera planning system for interactive storytelling, in which story plots are influenced by the user’s actions. Since the story flow cannot be determined in advance, it is essential to utilize real-time camera control to express the story for given spatial relationships between characters and objects. A script language and its parser were designed for our storytelling system (IMStory) to describe events in the story as well as the contexts associated with the events to model the properties of a story for camera control. We have developed a camera planning system by mapping contexts parameters into appropriate camera control parameters. We have implemented the 3D interactive storytelling system and demonstrated its capabilities with several examples. The camera planning system is shown to perform in real time, and the generated shots are more expressive in establishing the relation between camera configurations and story context.

Mémoire en jeu vidéo / Un survol des théories sur le point de vue et sur l’ocularisation au cinéma permet de constater que les recherches ont été bien menées dans ce champ d’étude. Or, le même bilan ne peut pas être fait en jeu vidéo. Le point de vue vidéoludique n’a pas été analysé et théorisé avec la même exhaustivité et le même approfondissement. Beaucoup de lacunes sont encore visibles et le but de ce mémoire est justement d’en cibler quelques-unes et de les combler. Cette recherche se penche ainsi sur les points de vue en jeu vidéo et plus précisément, sur ceux que l’on retrouve à l’intérieur des phases interactives (les cinématiques sont par exemple exclues) dans les oeuvres tridimensionnelles. Une typologie de l’ocularisation vidéoludique, c’est-à-dire une nouvelle catégorisation des différents types de visualisation, est présentée, décortiquée et exemplifiée tout au long de ce mémoire. Celle-ci est plus approfondie que celles déjà développées par le passé, car elle prend en compte une plus grande variété de caractéristiques : l’ancrage, le positionnement, la mobilité et le contrôle offert au joueur. Aussi, elle détaille l’impact des différents points de vue sur l’expérience de l’utilisateur en privilégiant deux axes : l’esthétique et la fonctionnalité. À terme, ce mémoire permet d’instaurer une théorie de l’ocularisation plus aboutie dans les études vidéoludiques. / An overview of the theories on the point of view and on the ocularization in cinema shows that the researches were well conducted in this field of study. However, the same report cannot be done in video game. The notion of point of view has not been analyzed and theorized with the same exhaustiveness and deepening. Many gaps are still visible and the purpose of this thesis is to target some of them and to fill them. This research thus examines the points of view in video games and more specifically, those that are found within the interactive phases (cutscenes are for example excluded) in three-dimensional games. A typology of ocularization, that is to say a new categorization of the different types of visualization, is presented, analyzed and exemplified throughout this thesis. This one goes into deeper details than those already developed in the past, because it takes into account a greater variety of characteristics: anchor, positioning, mobility and control available to the player. Also, it details the impact of the various points of view on the user’s experience by focusing on two axes: aesthetic and functionality. Ultimately, this thesis allows establishing a more elaborate theory on ocularization in video game studies.

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