Creating Model Transitions
Learn how to use a 3D model to create seamless transitions between tour nodes.
To use the 3D model for transitions, the model needs to be mapped to the tour nodes. For this, you need to establish camera positions. If you don’t have camera position data, you can use control points to help Pano2VR accurately place the cameras.
Add Cameras
First, add a 3D model to the project and select it so it is visible in the Viewer.
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Switch to Camera Points in Viewer Modes.
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Drag a tour node to its general location on the model to add a Camera Point.
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Drag the green handle of the 3D Widget to pull the camera up so it’s not hidden. Then use the center yellow handle to move it freely, and the other handles to move it in 3D space.
At this point, it’s not pointing in the correct direction yet.
If you have the camera position (from Blender, etc.), you can enter it manually in the properties.
If the camera positions are unknown, you’ll need to add Control Points so Pano2VR can accurately position the cameras.
Add Control Points
Control Points are used to find the camera’s positions. You add them in pairs, matching the same features in the model and the panorama. Add them to high-contrast features and edges, like window edges or corners of signs. If working with a landscape image, find high-contrast areas that don’t move much.
If you already have camera position data from the modeling software, you do not need to add control points.
Each node needs at least three control points. Spread them out in all directions rather than placing them close together. Reuse them as much as possible, as the same feature often appears in several nodes. In a Gaussian splat, add at least five control points per node, so you can align the camera along view lines (see step 9).
You can add control points to nodes anytime by switching to the Control Points Viewer Mode. However, if you’re already in the model, the following workflow is easiest.
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With the model in the Viewer, select a Camera Point. This opens the Camera Point’s properties.
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Click Move to Camera Point. You’ll now be in Control Points Viewer Mode and at the camera’s position in the model. The camera mode is set to Fly mode.
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Double-click to add control points. A selected control point is red, and you’ll see them populate a table in the properties panel. Start by adding control points around the model. You don’t need too many, but there should be at least 3 control points in each node.
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Now add control points to the panoramas. In the Properties Panel, click Switch to this Node. You’ll now see the control points added to the Unlinked table.
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Select a control point in the Unlinked table. The preview above shows the location of the control point.
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In the panorama, find that control point’s location and double-click to add the matching control point. Click and drag the control point to move it.
Once the control point is added, Pano2VR automatically selects the next control point in the Unlinked table. You’ll also see that there are now multiple instances of those control points indicated in the tables.
To remove a control point from a node, press Delete or Backspace. To remove it from the entire project, right-click in the control points table and choose Remove Control Point from Project.
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Continue adding or linking the control points until there are no more in the Unlinked table. It’s possible that some control points are not visible in the current node. If that’s the case, Option-double-click (Alt+double-click on Windows) anywhere in the Viewer. The control point moves to the linked table and is shown in gray.
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Move on to the next node and repeat the steps:
- Drag the node to the model to add a Camera Point.
- Click Move to Camera Point.
- Add control points to the model.
- Click Switch to this Node to add control points to the panorama, linking them to the model.
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Optimize by clicking Align Camera Point. The table fills with the Alignment Deviation of each control point. You want the deviations as close to zero as possible. Click Align Camera Point again to optimize further, and keep clicking until the numbers no longer change. For high deviations (like 1.0 or more), reposition or remove those control points. In a Gaussian splat, click and hold the button and choose along View Lines (Splats): a click in a splat rarely lands at the right depth, and this mode only relies on the direction you picked the point from. See Align Camera Point.
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Save and output the project, and add a Web Output.
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In the Web Output Properties, go to Transitions and choose Model as the Transition Type. Change the transition time to 3 seconds or more.
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Click Generate Output in the Output panel.
The transitions should be smooth. If they break, spin, or behave oddly, check the camera positions. If needed, you can delete a camera point and add it again, then optimize again.
So far, these transitions move in a straight line between the nodes. Using a 3D model gives you more creativity, allowing you to define motion paths: paths that follow several waypoints between nodes.
Transitions with Motion Paths
Motion Paths let you create a custom path from point A to point B when transitioning between nodes. To create motion paths, make sure you’ve added both camera and control points.
- Open the model in the Viewer and select Camera Points mode.
- Click on Link Mode in the 3D Controller.
- Click on a Camera Point and then click on another Camera Point to create a link or path. There is now a line with a single dot.
- Double-click that dot on the line to split the line and create a Waypoint. The 3D Widget appears, and you can move that waypoint to define the motion path.
- Double-click anywhere on the line again to create another waypoint. Or freely create a new waypoint by double-clicking anywhere on the model. Connect camera points of all types, tour nodes, waypoints and cluster points.
- Once the paths are created, output the project to test them.
To remove a waypoint, select it and press Delete or Backspace, or remove it from the list in the List View.
Transitions between nodes always take the shortest chain of linked camera points. When the transition starts from the 3D model itself, for example after clicking a node while exploring the model, the camera enters the chain at the camera point nearest to its current position. If the shortest chain has more than 10 steps between camera points, the camera flies directly to the target instead. Cluster points do not count as steps.
When a transition between two panoramas passes through a Gaussian splat, the splat grows outward from the starting panorama at the beginning of the flight and shrinks back toward the destination at the end, so that the panoramas and the splat blend into each other.
Using the Default View in Motion Paths
You can include the model’s Default View camera point in motion paths. First set the Default View (Viewing Parameters or right-click in the Viewer). Then switch to Camera Points mode, locate the Default View camera point in List View (highlighted in Cyan in the Viewer), and create a link from or to it like any other camera point. This is handy to return the viewer to a specific model view at the end or middle of a transition.
Tips
- If you do not want the model to appear in the list of nodes, select Hide in Node List in the model’s properties and select Load model on start. Also, make sure it is not the starting node.
- For transitions through the model, you can decide whether the model’s own textures are shown, by selecting Use model textures in transitions, or whether the panoramas are projected onto the model’s geometry. Depending on the quality of the model and its textures, one or the other can be the better choice. A waypoint can override this for the transitions that pass it.
- If the model has no background image, transitions project the panoramas onto the sky around the model.