A prototype system for intuitive film planning

The author describes a prototype system for directing a computer generated scene for film planning. The system is based upon the concepts of the intuitive interface, an environment in which the user interacts in front of a projection screen, and where interaction in physical space and pointing gestures are used to direct the scene. The environment demands certain requirements of the interaction paradigms that cannot be converted directly from menu-based systems. He presents some new concepts using real space that cannot be found in traditional desktop metaphors. For the pointing gesture he describes a simple algorithm based on tracking colored regions and inverse kinematics using a simple model of the human arm. Finally, he discusses some results from an empirical study with film directors using the prototype.