pt_Panorama
Version: 2.3 Sign up to be notified by email when a new version of this script is posted
This script converts a panoramic image into a 3D cylinder that can be used as a background in a 3D composition.
pt_Panorama was used in this Lexus Toyota Hybrid Drive Commercial:
Link to the 3-part tutorial that shows how this commercial was made including how it used pt_Panorama
How to use:
1. Drop a panoramic image (such as a cylindrical render from Stitcher Express or any panoramic image) into your main comp and select it. A test image maximus.jpg is included with the script if you want to try it out.
2. Run pt_Panorama and you’ll see you have some options:
Panorama Angle: If you have a full panorama leave this at 360. Maximus.jpg is only a 180 degree panorama, so in that case you’d set it to 180 to generate a half cyclinder.
Number Of Sides: A value between 10-20 should be fine for this. More sides means longer render times.
Side Overlap: The sides overlap outside the cylinder to prevent gaps when Motion Blur is on and the camera is moving fast. You can leave this at its default value unless you intend to see the cylinder from the outside, in which case set the value to 10. Or set the value to 500 and view the outside of the cylinder for a cool effect!
3. Click Apply and the 3D panorama will be generated and placed in a precomp. The layer is scaled to 10000% in order to simulate a distant background.
If you switch to a Custom View you may not see the cylinder as it is so big. Select the layer and choose View > Look At Selected Layers to reveal it. In Top View you’ll see a wireframe line that represents the cylinder’s center and diameter.
Video Copilot used pt_Panorama in this Oval Office Demo
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- pt_Panorama UI
Version History:
- 2.3 – Added CS5 compatibility – 05/2010
- 2.2 – 08/2009
- Uses new technique that avoids possible AE 3D render engine glitches when using large image files in previous versions. (An alternate mode is provided too… just in case).
- Now works correctly with non square pixel aspect ratios.
- The seam where the two sides of the 360 panorama meet now aligns correctly.
- Creates a new camera if there isn’t one already.
- 2.1 Initial release on aescripts.com 08/2009
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Fantastic! Great job totally useful.
Hi
I found the instructions incomplete.
When I drop the panorama script, I see the image blown up but the question is how do we actually see the panoramic viiew and how do we export it? Do we have to key fame anything to see the panoamic view of a camera moving fromleft to right?
Will appreciate some hints because at the moment I don’t see anything other thana blown up image and don’t know what do next.
thanks
Hi Jan,
The panaroma is intended for use as a background in a 3D composition. So you need to create a camera, then rotate the camera around to view the panorama. You’ll need to keyframe the camera’s position and rotation to create your camera move. I hope that helps.
Thank you very much indeed.
It definitely helped.
All the best.
Jan
Thanks for your nice work, Paul.
AE is really new to me. I looked at Video Copilot’s use of pt_Panorama in his Oval Office Demo. I just wonder if it is possible to produce really smooth camera move with AE in that Oval Office Demo ? Thanks !
Hi David,
I thought the camera move in that Oval Office demo was pretty smooth. But yes, you can create really smooth camera moves in AE. In general you would apply eases to your keyframed animation (select keys and choose Animation > Keyframe Assistant > Ease Ease), then refine the results in the Graph Editor. And you’ll need motion blur turned on to prevent strobing during fast moves.
Hi Paul,
I don’t get it. As I apply the preset, my panorama image (maximus or videocopilot white house to try) is divided in 16 and dispayed in 180°. But details are repeating from one sub-image to another so that I have clones.
Can you tell me what’s wrong ?
Hi Warfy,
I don’t know why it isn’t working correctly for you. If your comp preview setting is set to OpenGL you could try turning that off to see if it makes a difference. And have a look in the “pt_Panorama:” precomp to see if anything looks odd. If you send me a project showing the result you get using the maximus image I’ll see if I can figure it out. Send to paul.tuersley@btinternet.com
Paul, thanks for your detailed and very useful comments. It was one of my computers to blame for the less desirable result. Since AE is really new to me, I just wonder if the radius of the 3D cylinder can be adjusted. Thanks again.
The pt_panorama layer in your main comp has its scale set to 10,000% to simulate a distant backdrop, but you can always change the scale to something like 100% to get a much smaller cylinder.
hi, Paul
i am not getting to download it..do i need to pay for download it from tis site?
will u pls tell me how to download it from this site.
thanks.
Hi Angshu,
You need to click the “Add to cart” button at the top of this page first. If you don’t want to pay anything you can change the amount to 0, then click the ‘Update Cart’ button. After that you can click ‘Checkout’ to get a download link for the script.
thanks paul…u r great !!. where else can i get all other plug ins..?
it will be great if u let me know.
thanks again.
hi
i composite the panoramic 3d of maya to aftereffect or shake for comp.if you can send me pt_panorama.
thanks.
imankhorrami@gmail.com
Hi Paul,
You are not only knowledgable but also very generous and helpful. I may visit UK to see a few of my friends. I just wonder if it is possible for us to schedule a meeting. Thanks.
Hi Paul,
I am testing your script with some of my panoramas. It works, but the seams don’t quite align. They appear to be right at the center of the picture, but get progressively out of alignment toward the top and bottom of the image. I’ve tried a number of different settings, as well as converting the image to a number of different formats. Is this something that you’ve seen before?
thanks for help
-bruce
Hi Bruce,
I’m not sure what could be going wrong. If you can send me a screenshot of what you’re seeing, along with the project, I’ll look into it. Send to paul.tuersley@btinternet.com
I really appreciated that you shared such a good thing，it helped me a lot ！thanks so much
sorry,i not found the download link ~who can help me ? Where is the link of pt_panorama?
@xy – To download the script you need to add it to the cart and checkout. The script will be available for download immediately after checkout.
Hi Paul,
for the first time I was able to produce really smooth movies from my 360° Pans. But there are always really bad stitching mistakes in the final movie. Tha Pan I used has no stitching mistake at all. Tried to make a project with up to 33 samples > get stitching errors all the time…
thanx and best regards
gurazius
I’m working on an update to solve these problems. In the meantime there are two things you can try:
1. Ensure the pixel aspect ratio of your main comp and panoramic image is set to square pixels at the point where you use the script to make the panorama.
2. To workaround limitations with AE’s 3D engine when big layers intersect, put two copies of the panoramic image in your comp and use the script on each, leaving Side Overlap at 50 on one, but set it to 0 for the other. Then change the scale of the one with 0 Side Overlap so it is slightly smaller (say 19,500% instead of 20,000%).
Hope this helps.
Hi Paul,
thank you for your quick help!
Tried that (Minimum Number of Side is 10 not zero, by the way). This workaround makes it look a little bit better, but doesn´t solve the problem at all. Do you think you can solve that?
thanx and best regards
gurazius
Sorry, I forgot about that limit. You can “set it to zero” by opening its precomp, selecting all layers and pressing the M key twice to reveal Mask Expansion properties and set them all to zero.
If that doesn’t make it look better it could be something else. If you can send me a sceenshot of the problem and a reduced project with just these comps/layers I will look into it. Send to paul.tuersley@btinternet.com
Did exactly what you told me. Got a little bit better, but straight lines aren´t really straight. So I think I wait for your update,-)
thanx and best regards
gurazius
That suggests you need to try increasing the Number of Sides, say 32 or 64. Part of my update plan is to do a video tutorial so all this is a bit more obvious.
That didn´t help anyway. Still got bowed lines. I´m using perfectly stitched Panoramas and I get movies with unaccaptable stitching errors and/or bowed lines. So my question is: Will your script ever be able to produce movies without that limitations. Please give me a honest answer, because I do not want to waste my time and I´m not willing to accept timewasting, unsatisfying workarounds.
thanx in advance and best regards
gurazius
Hi Paul,
sorry for my hard words, I have to appologize…
The update you did send me didn´t have any of the former problems! No stitching errors, no bowed lines! But during motion it seems to be a little bit more out of focus compared to your former versions. But maybe I´should play around a little bit more with motion blur…
Would you add motion blur to your final movie, and if so, what parameters would you choose?
thanx a lot and best regards
gurazius
I’m glad it worked for you. I’ll get the update posted now I know it fixes the problem.
Nothing has changed that would alter the amount of motion blur. It should use the motion blur settings that you set in your main comp that contains the Panorama layer. The default setting of 180 Shutter Angle should be fine but try reducing it if it’s blurring more than you’d like. Then just leave the default Motion Blur: “On For Checked Layers” setting in the Render Settings.
Update posted.
can you suggest somethign other than Sticher for a panorama picture making, apparently it is no longer available when i click the link for it
I’m sure there are plenty of alternatives out there but can’t offer a specific recommendation. If you google “image stitching” you’ll find a wikipedia page which has a link to comparisons of stitching software.
Does anyone else have any suggestions for good/cheap stitching software?
maybe also update the Sticher Link to something else? thanks in advance, keep up the good work
Can I apply the panoramic script to my footage, .mov?
Assuming your footage is a locked-off shot of a panorama, you could indeed use the script to “wrap” that into a cylinder. But it wouldn’t work if the footage consisted of you rotating the camera through 360 degrees to film a complete panorama (for that you would have to take selected frames and use stitching software to stitch them into a still panoramic image first).
thanks paul, it’s very useful to me
Hey all!
Paul ..i must say that you’re the best!
bests scrips and aslo free …
you rock!
keep it on
Hi Paul, is this version compatible with AE 7, because my result is: this script requires AE3 or later…
Also PT multiplane is perfect.
Thanks!
Sorry but pt_Panorama requires CS3 or later. AE CS3 comes after AE7 and is in effect AE8.
Hey Paul,
Thanks for a great script! I have just one small feature request. Would it be possible to add some 3D layer light properties to the panel? For instance, I’d like to just be able to hit a check box for whether or not the panorama layers will accept lights (I usually don’t want them to). The obvious work-around is to just go into the precomp, select all, and switch “Accepts Lights” to “off.” But having that in the script would be a time-saver!
Thanks again,
Nate
Thanks Nate, that’s a good suggestion. Expect an update soon.