QuickTime VR Demystified provides information on creating QTVR panoramas without all the fancy hardware other folks would like you to think you need. The idea is to help you think outside the lines and make unique use of the QTVR tools of creation on a shoestring budget.   Basic Photographic Equipment The basic photographic equipment needed to create QuickTime VR panoramas is covered. Both indoor and outdoor equipment is covered with an emphasis on outdoor panoramas as they are the simplest to create.   Accessories Made From Inexpensive Materials Photographic accessories such as L-brackets and panheads are covered. Detailed construction plans are given, from how to create custom brackets from basic tools and supplies, to the creation of a pan head made from a compass and a bubble level.   Software Behind The Magic The first category of QuickTime VR software is content authoring. The software and computing hardware required to create panoramas for QuickTime VR is described. The second category of software behind QuickTime VR is the QTVR 2.0 application programming interface. The QTVR 2.0 API is described by way of code examples showing novel playback engines which have localized sound playback, unique user interfaces for multinode panorama navigation, and more.   QuickTime VR - expensive equipment need not apply Following the examples in the QuickTime VR manuals, and talking to "professionals", one might think it is a requirement to have a $2000 Nikon N90 with a $1500 15mm Nikon lens sitting atop a $600 tripod with an $800 click-stop pan head to even begin to think about creating QTVR content. This is not in fact the case, and here you will learn why.   Lessons Learned - thinking outside the lines Comparisons between mathematical purity, the analog real world, and how the QTVR tools help to merge the two help to simplify QTVR content creation. Common questions are answered and conventional wisdom is challenged. A broad range of information is presented ranging from the differences between inside and outside panorama creation, to dealing with dark banding and vignetting inside your panorama, to choosing the right camera for the right situation.   Cameras: Digital or Traditional (with examples) Compare and contrast examples of each medium are presented along with examples of a low quality video still camera, a medium quality digital camera, and several traditional 35mm cameras. Issues over release medium (CD, internet, and print), reviews of several digital cameras, and examples of how different lenses affect the field of view of a panorama are also discussed.   Tips and Techniques (with examples) Presented are project runthroughs with examples of the results along with tips and techniques of underwater panorama creation, adding signature lines to your panoramas, and getting your images to dewarp correctly. Issues and examples relating to the number of exposures required for a panorama as well as the panorama size and quality settings are discussed.     If you have tips, techniques, or links you would like us to consider for posting, please let us know. Email: EasyQTVR@OutsideTheLines.com   Links to other QuickTime VR related sites A detailed description on the use of a monopod with QTVR www.OutsideTheLines.com/qtvrmonopod Apple Computer Public Mailing Lists for QuickTime & QuickTimeVR http://www.lists.apple.com/ QuickTime and QuickTimeVR from Apple Computer http://quicktime.apple.com The QuickTime Plug-in Sample Web Site http://www.MediaCity.com/~erweb/ International QuickTime VR Association http://www.iqtvra.org Pointers to other QTVR related sites - DigiMedia http://www.qtvr.com Sumware Pty Limited - Tools for QuickTime VR http://www.vrtools.com/index.html VR Toolbox http://www.vrtoolbox.com QuickTime VR Utilities http://www.nemeng.com Document Download: Getting Started With QuickTime VR http://www.zeta.org.au/~aznemeng/azn_downld/QTVR_A_1.PDF Joel Cannon's Home Page: QTVR Central http://www.QuickTimeFAQ.org/qtvr/ Ken Turkowski's QuickTimeVR Authoring Tricks http://www.worldserver.com/turk/quicktimevr/index.html Mike Marinkovich 's HTML Hot Spot Generator for QTVR panos http://www.best.com/~mikewm/VRL.shtml Roundabout Logic, Inc.--Home of Nodester and Widgetizer http://www.roundaboutlogic.com Pictureworks - makers of Spin Panorama pano creator http://www.pictureworks.com/ How To Shoot Good Panoramas http://wwwebdesign.com/~david/vr/qtvr_tips1.html Digital Camera Guide http://www.plugin.com/ Digital Photography & Digital Camera Resource http://www.mediaminds.com/ Bogen (Manfrotto outside the US) - Makers of Tripods and lighting accessories http://www.manfrotto.com/ Kaidan QTVR camera mounting equipment http://www.kaidan.com/ PeaceRiver QTVR camera mounting equipment http://www.peaceriverstudios.com/ Tiffen Digital Camera Accessories http://www.tiffen.com DC-Pro Digital Camera Accessories http://www.dcprodirect.com The Guide to Panoramas and Panoramic Photography http://www.bigfoot.com/~james.rigg/panoguide Home - www.OutsideTheLines.com   Questions or comments about this site should be directed to: SiteGuy@OutsideTheLines.com Copyright © 1997-1999 Concepts In Motion