Advanced Compositing Technologies for
Virtual Sets and Virtual Props

High performance computer graphics have now made it cheaper to produce some sets for film and video productions in a graphical environment than it is to physically build them. These virtual sets can be as fanciful as the designer can conceive and look very realistic. However, human actors and additional real elements nearly always need to be composed with these virtual sets. The traditional technique for compositing real elements with virtual sets is to film the real elements before a blue or green background that can be segmented out. A mask image is then generated that combines the elements. The advanced compositing project in the METLAB seeks to better integrate the compositing technique into the rendering environment so as to accommodate interreflection, set occlusion, and environment lighting. In addition, methods for motion synchronization and correction of the components are of particular interest. Finally, this project seeks to invert the problem through the addition of virtual props, graphical elements that are manipulated by the real actors.