Complex multidimensional capturing setups such as plenoptic cameras (PC) introduce a trade-off between various system properties. Consequently, established capturing properties, like image resolution, need to be described thoroughly for these systems. Therefore models and metrics that assist exploring and formulating this trade-off are highly beneficial for studying as well as designing of complex capturing systems. This work demonstrates the capability of our previously proposed sampling pattern cube (SPC) model to extract the lateral resolution for plenoptic capturing systems. The SPC carries both ray information as well as focal properties of the capturing system it models. The proposed operator extracts the lateral resolution from the SPC model throughout an arbitrary number of depth planes giving a depth-resolution profile. This operator utilizes focal properties of the capturing system as well as the geometrical distribution of the light containers which are the elements in the SPC model. We have validated the lateral resolution operator for different capturing setups by comparing the results with those from Monte Carlo numerical simulations based on the wave optics model. The lateral resolution predicted by the SPC model agrees with the results from the more complex wave optics model better than both the ray based model and our previously proposed lateral resolution operator. This agreement strengthens the conclusion that the SPC fills the gap between ray-based models and the real system performance, by including the focal information of the system as a model parameter. The SPC is proven a simple yet efficient model for extracting the lateral resolution as a high-level property of complex plenoptic capturing systems.

This thesis develops the method of using textures projected from the perspective of a projection camera, in combination with two-dimensional paintings and threedimensional models, to create digital environments. Past uses have demonstrated effectiveness only for background and midground scene elements with limited camera movement. This work explores how camera animation can be maximized using the projected texture technique onto foreground environment forms. Through several case studies, general guidelines for artists are developed for using camera-based projected textures.

Cracking is a major pavement distress that jeopardizes road serviceability and traffic safety. Automated pavement distress survey (APDS) systems have been developed using digital imaging technology to replace human surveys for more timely and accurate inspections. Most APDS systems require special lighting devices to illuminate pavements and prevent shadows of roadside objects that distort cracks in the image. Most of the artificial lighting devices are laser based, which are either hazardous to unprotected people, or require dedicated power supplies on the vehicle. This study is aimed to develop a new imaging system that can scan pavement surface at highway speed and determine the severity level of pavement cracking without using any artificial lighting. The new system consists of dual line-scan cameras that are installed side by side to scan the same pavement area as the vehicle moves. Cameras are controlled with different exposure settings so that both sunlit and shadowed areas can be visible in two separate images. The paired images contain complementary details useful for reconstructing an image in which the shadows are eliminated. This paper intends to presents (1) the design of the dual line-scan camera system for a high-speed pavement imaging system that does not require artificial lighting, (2) a new calibration method for line-scan cameras to rectify and register paired images, which does not need mechanical assistance for dynamical scan, (3) a customized image-fusion algorithm that merges the multi-exposure images into one shadow-free image for crack detection, and (4) the results of the field tests on a selected road over a long period. / text

Le contrôle automatique de caméra est un composant essentiel en cinématographie virtuelle à la fois pour la sélection des points de vue appropriés dans une scène 3D ou pour passer en revue efficacement le contenu d'un environnement 3D. Les applications de cinématographie virtuelle reposent sur des critères réalisme afin de provoquer un impact positif chez le spectateur. Dans cette thèse, nous présentons deux contributions. Tout d'abord, nous proposons une métrique permettant d'évaluer et de corriger l'équilibre visuel dans les images basée sur un large éventail de caractéristiques visuelles, dont la taille, la silhouette, la position et la saillance d'objets cibles, associés à des métriques liées aux positions et orientations des objets. Le procédé consiste à annoter des images bien équilibrées, pour estimer automatiquement la façon dont chaque caractéristique influence l'équilibre visuel dans chaque image. Nous proposons de créer une base de données d'images annotées de façon à (i) évaluer l'équilibre dans une nouvelle image en comparant ses caractéristiques visuelles à celles de la base de donnée, et (ii) d'optimiser automatiquement les points de vue dans une scène 3D de façon à recréer un équilibre visuel. Deuxièmement, nous présentons les Camera Motion Graph, une technique pour générer facilement et efficacement des séquences cinématographiques en temps réel dans des environnements 3D dynamiques. Un Camera Motion Graph est composé de (i) morceaux de trajectoires de caméra réelles exprimées dans le repère local d'une ou plusieurs cibles, (ii) de transitions continues entre les trajectoires des caméras et (iii) de transitions représentant des sauts directs d'une trajectoire à une autre. Les échantillons de trajectoires sont construits en extrayant des mouvements de caméra à partir de véritables films en utilisant des techniques de vision par ordinateur, ou par capture de mouvement en utilisant un système de caméra virtuelle. Une transformation est proposée afin d'exprimer les trajectoires des caméras dans une représentation normalisée. Le Camera Motion Graph est alors construit par échantillonnage de toutes les paires de trajectoires de caméras et le calcul des possibilités de transitions continues ou directes. Les résultats que nous présentons illustrent la simplicité de la technique, son adaptabilité à différents environnements 3D ainsi que son efficacité. / Automated camera control techniques are key components of virtual cinematography systems by providing means to select appropriate viewpoints in a 3D scene and to efficiently review the content of a 3D environment. In this work we present two contributions. First, we propose an example-driven on-screen balance metric which estimates how well balanced is the composition of a shot. Our metric accounts for a large set of visual features including size, silhouette, position and saliency of target objects, together with metrics related to character’s positions, orientations and gaze. The process consists in annotating well balanced images, to estimate automatically how each visual feature influences balance in each image. We then rely on this database of annotated images to (i) estimate how well new images are balanced by comparing their visual features, and (ii) automatically optimize viewpoints in a 3D scene to enforce balance. Second, we present Camera Motion Graphs, a technique to easily and efficiently generate cinematographic sequences in real-time dynamic 3D environments. A camera motion graph consists of (i) pieces of original camera trajectories attached to one or multiple targets, (ii) generated continuous transitions between camera trajectories and (iii) transitions representing cuts between camera trajectories. Pieces of original camera trajectories are built by extracting camera motions from real movies using vision-based techniques, or relying on motion capture techniques using a virtual camera system. A transformation is proposed to recompute all the camera trajectories in a normalized representation, making camera paths easily adaptable to new 3D environments through a specific retargeting technique. The camera motion graph is then constructed by sampling all pairs of camera trajectories and evaluating the possibility and quality of continuous or cut transitions. Results illustrate the simplicity of the technique, its adaptability to different 3D environments and its efficiency.

The Orchestra da Camera, founded in 1957 by Ralph and Flori Lorr, is a remarkable organization devoted to offering a variety of music experiences for public school students and the general population on Long Island, and in New York City. Despite the fact that the da Camera has received national recognition for the innovations it has made in bringing professionally performed music to public school students, and the population of the suburban area that offered a paucity of professional musical productions on a local level, there has never been any significant record made of this history of the da Camera, or of the founders. The purpose of this study has been to offer an oral history of the Orchestra da Camera, with a special emphasis on the etiology and progress of the da Camera as perceived by Ralph and Flori Lorr. With this history now recorded, it is possible that other musicians, music educators, and arts organizations might find it useful to refer to the da Camera as a model for future community and in-school music programming.

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The following thesis describes the development and process of the responsibilities and skills necessary for a director of photography in the motion picture industry. Pre-production and production aspects pertaining to experiences as a cinematographer are covered. Furthermore, the progression of learning about the field of cinematography is explained through personal examples of logistical, technical, and artistic requirements on both short and feature student films. Storyboards are included in the appendices.

Several methods for analysing materials and proteins use highly concentrated beams of X-rays, e.g. SAXS and X-ray crystallography. To evaluate the outgoing beam, it is of high importance to know the light distribution of the incoming beam. Previously, a method for this has been to focus the X-ray beam onto a pinhole in front of a photodiode, a so called pinhole measurement. Although this method gives information about the radial distribution of the beam, it is very time-consuming. In this report a faster alternative has been developed and evaluated. In this new method an image is taken with an X-ray camera in the focus of the beam. Algorithms are then used to replicate a pinhole measurement by applying virtual pinholes. Different pixels in an image act differently, referred to as spatial noise. This must be compensated for before information about the beam may be extracted. To do this, the camera noise was characterized and a calibration procedure developed for its minimization. It was shown that the spatial noise was greatly reduced, making the temporal shot noise the new largest noise source. Although the noise was successfully reduced, the calibration procedure failed to accurately remove all signal not originating from registered photons. Measurements done with low photon intensities, large exposure times or at high temperatures are therefore less accurate. The measured camera signal was transformed into incident photon intensity using a responsivity proportionality constant. This constant was estimated by comparing the results from real and virtual pinhole measurements for several photon intensities and pinholes. The results gave a responsivity proportionality constant of 0,03 DN/X-ph. Further measurements were done concerning the temperature dependence of the camera responsivity and to investigate possible bleaching. The results indicated that the responsivity was held constant under changing temperatures and that the camera remained unbleached during the 114h long measurement. Finally, real and virtual pinhole measurements were done for a series of pinholes and compared using the responsivity proportionality constant. A maximum relative deviation of 6% was measured between the two, indicating that virtual pinhole measurements give accurate results. The largest deviations of the measurement seem to occur when using small or large pinholes. These errors, however, have a high potential of being further minimized, resulting in higher accuracy.

In this work the usage of a WLC (Wafer Level Camera) for ensuring road safety has been presented. A prototype of a WLC along with the Aptina MT9M114 stereoboard has been used for this project. The basic idea is to observe the movements of the driver. By doing so an understanding of whether the driver is concentrating on the road can be achieved. For this project the display of the required scene is captured with a wafer-level camera pair. Using the image pairs stereo processing is performed to obtain the real depth of the objects in the scene. Image recognition is used to separate the object from the background. This ultimately leads to just concentrating on the object which in the present context is the driver.