Daylight System / Camera link

[jms.lwly]

No idea if this is achievable, but it would be great to link the time in the Daylight system to individual cameras...

I'm working on a photomontage project, and the Daylight system is ideal for matching the sun direction / shadows to the original photos - but with 5 different viewpoints, it means changing the time in the daylight system for every shot.

This might be achievable with something clever in maxscript, but I'm not at all knowledgeable enough - if anyone has any solutions, I'd be happy to hear them!

[Frood]

Done exactly what you describe a hundred times (including camera tracking/matching). Just use different frames in the timeline:

- IFL sequence as background and/or directly visibility override (name the photos for example bg_01.jpg, bg_02.jpg and so on and load them as sequence, don't forget to activate "animate background" in the ALT-B options)

- Press "Autokey" and animate the daylight system for every photo on the corresponding frame, setting it to the creation time of the currently visible background photo

- Do the same "Animation" with camera position (and settings if needed) so you can even render out all shots at once (using different cameras is of course possible as well, but it's quicker with just one in the long run)

North direction and location of the Daylight system should be adjusted to match the real location at first. If they are correct, you do not even have to match any shadows: using the original time (and date) from the photos is very accurate - if the camera clock has been correctly set :)

Just don't forget to switch "Autokey" on if you change any frame specific settings like daylight time or camera position and to switch it off again when you're done.


Good Luck

[aaouviz]

I can't recommend this highly enough: Pulze Scene Manager.

It will help you beyond your wildest expectations in exactly this situation you described and many, many more.

[jms.lwly]

Done exactly what you describe a hundred times (including camera tracking/matching). Just use different frames in the timeline

This definitely sounds like something to try... I've already got the cameras and timings locked in with the daylight system, just trying to find better solutions for rendering and not changing the clock!

Cheers! J