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View Full Version : Animation:Cameras: 'zoom from outer space'

lowkey
01-05-2004, 08:07 AM
i was asked to create a zoom from outer space towards a specific region on the earth. it's that typical kinda thing we"ve probably all seen more than once, but i don't know how to do it.

i mean, it's more than having to map a sphere and let go the camera, ain't it? will i have to work with texture blending or how can i create the effect of more and more detail becoming visible during the flight?

any hints are welcome! :)
dwalden74
01-05-2004, 08:56 AM
I saw a very effective 2D animation like this which simply zoomed on different hiRez NASA satellite images blended together. It started with a view of Earth as a globe and ended on a tight shot of Chicago city.

So yeah, if you donīt have access to good satellite images, then your going to have to get different Earth textures with varying zoom factors that you can blend as your cameras zooms in. Actually, for the establishing view of the Earth, you might just want to make one huge (6K or so) rendered image, then bring that into a 2D comp software, and blend into the successively closer images in 2D. Does that make sense?

-d
lowkey
01-05-2004, 09:03 AM
yep, makes sense! ;)

that's how i imagined it to work. the only thing i will have to look after now are those hiRez textures.

any links available?

thanks a lot! :)
djx
01-05-2004, 11:49 AM
There are some good ones here

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/BlueMarble/
FloydBishop
01-05-2004, 03:36 PM
Depending upon what the sequence calls for, you could also hide any ugliness between resolution switching with some strategically placed cloud cover.
wgreenlee1
01-05-2004, 03:51 PM
Originally posted by Floyd Bishop
Depending upon what the sequence calls for, you could also hide any ugliness between resolution switching with some strategically placed cloud cover.

or maybe like blending slightly different angles in post
lowkey
01-05-2004, 05:17 PM
heya, thanks all! some valuable info here. gonna check it out tommorow! :beer:
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