TD user manual D - Pacific Motion Control
Contents
1. For example disengaging the HEAD axis group will require the operator to back pan and tilt throughout the move as though there was no Samples taken for them With the axis enabled and OVR turned on the move will follow the programmed path unless the operator adds to the move as it is being played back If the operator does not touch the Pan and Tilt controls or the focus puller his hers the move will go exactly as programmed If the operator wants to make an adjustment during the performance he she can make live adjustments on top of the programmed path Think of it as Back pan compensation on steroids Once you have a move sampled and fine tuned you can turn on record override and follow the steps below Select Override for all the axis you wish to have control over Turn on Settings Record Settings Start moves with the bloop plate and make sure all axis are at a standstill at start Run the move all the way to the end making adjustments in real time A dialogue box will appear asking if you wish to keep the changes Answer yes and File Save As the move with the take number or version Reload the master move and go again if needed To play back hero take for repeating uncheck override on all axis and turn of record override in Settings Record Settings Treat move as you would any other repeat move by using bloop etc Section 5B Dwells RMB any sampled image in your move and you can add a dwell time A dwell is a specific period of2. Pan And Tilt Are Not Responding First check to see if the Pan and Tilt motors are engaged or loose Is the desk plugged into the crane and booted up At the bottom left corner of the GUI does the status indicator say OK or No Link No link indicates a poor connection to the crane or air gap Or check in the Head settings to see if the hand wheels or joystick boxes are checked Check the cable connections for the encoders and motor drive cables It is also possible there were position limits from the last job Go to the HEAD menu and Clear Limits When I try to start the crane the head levels and then the brakes fire The most likely cause is from old axis limits being violated by the current crane position Go into the HEAD and CRANE menus and clear all limits on Pan Tilt Roll and especially Track When I start the crane the head spins and the head leveler goes askew brakes may or may not fire This is an indication that there is a short in the logic connection between the desk and the crane There should be a 50 ohm resistance between the center pin and ground conductor of the logic cable Continuity is a sign of a short Try to isolate the connector with the short and repair it The desk computer won t boot at all Try swapping SSD drives first There are a few things to try if that does not succeed Try switching from the DVI video out to the VGA out to the monitor Check that all rear connectors are properly attached If
3. middle of a shot This is due to the Coriolis Effect similar to an ice skater pulling in her arms and spinning faster because the arm is shorter the crane can swing faster To create an even speed on the camera lower the Cartesian speed limit to something like 1 meter per second m s or until you get the desired result This is also useful for creating constant velocity or trapezoidal dolly moves often needed to link up moves from location to location The default values are shown here nterpolation Settings can be global as set up in Settings Interpolation Settings or Private as described in Section 7 Move Settings For explanation of Head Interpolation Mode please see Section 16 Targeting Section 9 Geometry Settings Settings Geometry Settings serves three very important purposes exported moves are accurate imported moves move around the lens nodal and targeting Geometry settings can be global as set in Settings Geometry Settings below or Private See Section 7 for Private settings If you are using the Roll axis the system will automatically detect it at crane initialization power up In most cases the Tilt motor is on the right side of camera as observed from behind the lens If this is set incorrectly Exported moves won t line up fbx imports X global geometry settings aio configuration Dolly fixed track motor disengaged 2 axes head no roll motor C Tilt motor on left side of camera Tilt moto
4. 1 4 0 4 1 2 Woe 2 oi 5 z O 8F wo a D 9 2 of 0 4 0 4 0 2 0 6 oS 0 8 i L 5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 4t time s time s di 4720 1 45927 934 u A 74397 no pow sample play record P 8 7 eee a F 108 I 0 Above are the first order derivatives for the curves above GunPlot 4 is the combined xyz speed of the camera 20 Appendix A Coordinate Space bad a O EE ___ ____ za X positive h a ew m Figure 3 The TECHNODOLLY s coordinate system side view X gt Ei 3 env M erno AY MD lt ernm 0 D Figure 2 The TECHNODOLLY s coordinate system top view 21 Emergency Stop Play button and indicator light Arm and Track control Dead Man Switch Path Speed Rocker TROUBLESHOOTING Before you call As Soon As Press Start The Brakes Fire Check all of your emergency stop buttons there are 4 Is the desk and Rocker properly plugged in Check the pan and tilt cable connections on the head Visually inspect all cable connections Clear all software limits for track and head The Crane Faults brakes fire When I Try To Move The Crane There are two major causes of this problem Are all three power mains plugged into 20amp circuits Did any of those fuses blow Or is the arm manual brake engaged the back from lunch error This causes the system to detect excess torque and shuts down 22
5. C Center of scaling is origin match this to keyframe Center of scaling is intersection of post and floor r Thirdly rotate move horizontally by 0 00 plus 0 Rotate around origin full rotations Rotate around post load Save zero inverse Transform move Exact move as original offset Transform keyframes and re cancel me by X Transformed move may exceed limits time move No perfect match Pan tilt and Roll shifts those axis You can fix issues with multiples derived from fbx import or moves from other cranes by entering integers into the full rotations boxes Next is Scaling 50 scaling moves the camera half as much and 200 twice as much You can choose to scale from the origin meaning where the dolly is a zero along the track Or you can scale from the base position in the move Expect to use subsequent shift transforming described above to find the proper place to run the scaled move Thirdly rotate move horizontally by is to run the move rotated from it s current path For example if you run the A pass off one side of the track and wish to shoot the B pass off the opposite side rotate by 180 degrees around the post You can Save and later reload settings later Once you ve done a transform and you reopen the window notice the values are still there from the last transform If you simply transform again it will add to the existing transform If you choose
6. all that fails open the top of the desk and re seat the PCI cards on the motherboard The desk computer boots part way but hangs before loading the log in screen Try switching from DVI to VGA or if you don t have a VGA cable simply disconnect the DVI cable and let the computer boot blind Restart the computer after 5 or so minutes with the DVI connected can t save to my USB stick Remove the USB device from the back of the computer and try another port when a prompt come up about the USB drive click Cancel not OK It may be necessary to reboot the computer if repeated attempts fail USB drives should be formatted to FAT Mac and NTFS formatted disks cannot be read Position window Export Values are blank or Zeroes Go to Settings Data Export Settings and change data export to Binary under the real time export settings The Head Pans or Tilts Unexpectedly in a Move You likely have Targeting turned on in the Settings Interpolation Settings or Settings Move Settings under the Interpolation tab After Importing a move the head and or arm try to rotate more than the cables will allow This is likely due to the Pan Tilt Roll or Boom Pan having multiples Try reimporting the fbx move with the box checked to automatically determine PTR BP multiples If opening a move made on another crane you can use the File Edit move _BAK file to change the number of multiples to match your crane s configuration You can also create a s
7. gt 0 lt BP multiples gt lt BT mult iples gt 0 lt BT multiples gt paste values using the Edit pull down but lt pan mult iples gt 1 lt pan mult iples gt lt tilt multiples gt 0 lt tilt multiples gt lt roll multiples gt 0 lt froll multiples gt normal keyboard shortcuts don t always work lt image path gt fusr crane td images 2013 10 03 10 48 22 09 ppm lt imag Se path gt Once the values have been entered go to eA N lt keyframe gt File Save and quit the editor Now go to lt target t ime gt 5 509460 lt target time gt lt x gt IR gt File Load move and open the file with the eA ce t k 1 196044 ftract move s name that ends with _BAK move The a Seouee aoa lt tilt gt 4 149860 lt tilt gt same Sampled images should come up and you lt roll gt 0 000000 lt roll gt lt zoom gt 0 000000 lt zoom gt can treat it like a regular move in terms of To a ae adjusting timings and transforming adding a R fusr crane td images 2013 10 03 10 51 19 56 ppm lt imag lt keytrame gt dwells etc lt keyframe gt lt target t ime gt 7 601347 lt target time gt i 1 103_30_03fcs_BAK move 31 25 0 XML _Fill To quit a partially entered command type Control g ji Emacs Tutorial earn hasin keystroke commands f 11 XRH Fmarcex ie tee Ta Fundamental 14 Note in the example file here look under lt Pan multiples gt 1 This
8. inverse instead it is the same as undoing the previous transform Zero is a short cut to clear all the current values 12 Finally you have two choices on how to transform a move Transform move and Transform key frames Transform move is for multi pass VFX work where you need to run exactly the same move in a different place With this choice however you might exceed the speed or physical limits of the crane For example if you were already as high as the crane could go the arm will simply top out at it s limit The rest of the move will match and that may be satisfactory if you only needed a portion of the move to match Exercise caution The second choice is simply changing the values of all the key frames and the software will re calculate the speed and path between Section 13 Importing moves from FBX files FBX import settings 3 0 fbx frame rate 24 fps MV automatically determine head and BP multiples Important fbx criteria Camera Rotation order must be ZXY m track treatment Track is fixed Position is 0 000 m use current track position Units in Maya should be Centimeters C Track moves with x Total track range is 100 of total x range Tea an aeae 0 000 im Maya world should be Y up Place track along Z axis The importer will convert C Keep telescopic length TL constant TL Is 0 000 m use current TL A S the coordinates to Z up Camera at side of post C Camera on si
9. use the remote focus zoom handle plug it in While it is not necessary to have the Desk computer on to turn on the crane it is recommended Start with the UPS then turn on the desk by the large red button on the back Turn on the monitors A normal boot up will take you to the Log in screen Use the technodolly username and type in the password technodolly After a few seconds the main TDesk software window should appear In the bottom left corner of the screen the status indicator should say OK If not check troubleshooting Turn on the three main power toggle switches at the column starting at the top and working down Sometimes we refer to these three toggle switches as circuit breakers as they also serve this function Then press the large red button above the 1 Main switch Power button The smaller round red buttons at the top and bottom are for releasing the Emergency brakes If all goes well the head should level and the crane responds to commands from the Rocker The Pan and tilt axis should now be engaged If prompted please follow the instructions to test the brakes With the crane on hit one of the E Stops You should hear the brakes engaging with a short Whir sound referred to here on as firing Release the E Stop and clear the brakes using the small round red buttons on the column described earlier If the brakes do not fire please inform Technocrane immediately If the brakes fire but do not releas
10. Gunplot 1 in the upper right is the TOP view x vs y Gunplot 2 is the side view x vs z in the middle bottom and Gunplot 3 in the upper left is the front view y vs z of your move path The first key frame is always indicated by the solid green square At the tenth Sample you see a good example of how a dwell frame affects the move geometry As the crane comes to a stop it may head to another direction after the stop The result is the visible acute angle in the curve Also note how linear the move is after the dwell J Gnuplot 3 o x X Gnuplot1 mn gt YVS TA x vS y keyframes 1 6 mS 2 eae 2 4 als Zola 3 3 2 3 4 If 4 o i 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 y m x m 3 439391 2 51830 es lx 4 78933 u 136596 pang tilt t rae zoom t focus t iris t speed spline match spline recorded spe motor limits axis tau splin set data point automatic each rs es eee 19 A Gnuplot 3 0 X K Gnupiot 1 x z speed vs time x speed vs time 0 7 One keyframes o keyframes O 0 6 5 ot A OES 0 2 0 4 _ 0 4 wi 4 0 4 ka 2 0 6 T O6 z D _0 8 a 0 1 2 N x 1 QF 0 1 1 2 0 2 1 4 0 3 F 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 time s time s 8 50394 0 0992916 4n qq N 38AN1NA X Gnuplot 4 n ea Gnuplot 2 2 hic magnitude of speed vs time y speed vs time ibolal keyframes o os keyframes O
11. TECHNODOLLY SOFTWARE USERS MANUAL Installing Updates Copy the update file to the root directory not in a folder of a USB drive that is formatted to FAT32 most common Rename the file to be only update tgz Plug into the TDesk and press cancel when a pop up window appears Go to File Install Update and once you have confirmed and the software copied follow the onscreen instruction to reboot the computer not simply restart the software Go to Help About and check that the desired version is listed for your serial number Section 1 Before you get started We will assume that power has been run to the crane and the desk and that the camera has been mounted and 4 way balanced head horizontal and vertical arm static and dynamic weights Before attempting to start the crane be sure that the cables from desk are plugged into the crane base either directly or through the track s cable chain Most importantly the 4 pin XLR that connects the desk s E Stop to the crane must be connected so that the brakes do not fire or engage thus preventing the crane from starting Equally important is connecting the Rocker to the base for the same reason Please check all four E Stops before attempting to start the crane one at the end of the arm another at the fulcrum one on the Rocker and one at the desk Twist to release the E Stops Be sure to plug all cables into the appropriate connections on the back of the desk Also if you plan to
12. ally hidden in the upper left corner You will see a greyed X about halfway down LMB will maximize the window and no work will be lost If you clicked on the X in the upper right corner ther should be two Terminal style windows open In one will be instructions on how to re open the software or shut down the computer Type the letter n and enter In this case unsaved work may be lost went to Actions Sample Replace but the wrong key frame was replaced The Sample Replace command replaces the key frame number indicated in the FRAME window at the top of the TDesk set up Targeting but it doesn t look right at all Be sure Targeting is selected in either Settings Interploation Settings or Move Settings under the nterpolation Tab Be sure your Geometry settings are correct pay special attention to the selection of camera being on the right or left side of Tilt motor and is L4 a negative value If you Scaled the lens was it in meters Check your lens calibrations Try the target selection steps again programmed a move but the director wants to add a move before the current start of the move Click the down arrow under FRAME until the Sample number is 0 0 You can now insert a Sample before your current Sample 1 The previous Sample 1 0 will be automatically renamed 1 1 When I do a Go To the crane moves to the right place but the light keeps blinking and the timeline won t come up If you are do a Go To a key frame that h
13. alue is important for accurate data export and import because it is used in a look up table to calculate the arm deflection and the leveling heads position It can also be used to adjust the level of the head if needed You can adjust the joystick sensitivity on the rocker with the rotary knob at the end of the rocker if you select it here total camera package weight kg Ji0 set track limit The Camera box should be dark for most circumstances not a yellow and RMB will allow control over video standards and set track limit camera start stop needs Most cameras like the Alexa use M Include telescope Momentary switches VV Include crane pan Include crane tilt disengage track motor Take time to familiarize yourself with all of these controls The crew counts on you to know the machine thoroughly Section 3 Principles and Approaches What separates the TECHNODOLLY from traditional Technocranes is the ability to motorize every axis While the TD works like a regular crane it is also capable of remembering moves and key framing moves The simplest method is to Record a move by pushing it and having the software remember or record the motion This is appropriate when actors are doing long take performances and the camera needs to follow along Once the move has been Recorded it can be played back with shutter accurate repeatability An example would be an actor playing multiple roles in a scene or clonin
14. ample of needing private settings is if you are pre programming multiple shots and each shot uses a different lens therefor different balance and unique geometry settings There are also private global interpolation settings Interpolation Settings This also is helpful if you want to motor limits suppress track speed on one but not all the moves you eee ot ere are programming Private interpolation settings also telescope speed limit 100 apply to Target mode if each move has a unique target BP speed limit i BT speed limit 100 If all your moves for a job have the same target and Tecra Kos track speed limit 100 same lens balance then global settings will be sufficient deea 100 fez and more time efficient BP force limit 100 BT force limit 100 track force limit 100 Section 8 Interpolation Settings Interpolation settings controls how the crane gets from key frame to key frame The motor limits section at top head interpolation mode allows users to suppress the crane s desire to go at no targeting default maximum speed for example If you create a simple le ES p WIEST k i C targeting horizontal move that uses the arm swing you ll notice l that when the arm is shortest the Boom Pan swings yv 0031 define by current crosshair faster creating a possibly undesirable effect in the Z 1419 stinor sde nk e ossis get from move defaults OK cancel
15. as a dwell it can take while to truly achieve the position especially if the dwell is quit long This bug has yet to be resolved When we go to add or replace a focus Sample to the last key frame it creates a new Sample on the timeline near the last key frame This is because there is a dwell on the final key frame RMB on the image of the final Sample and make the dwell value 0 then Sample the position again This bug has yet to be resolved The move we key framed is not repeating some thing way off More than likely Override is enabled on Pan Tilit Roll focus and or Zoom Make sure the Override function is disabled for all axis when frame accurate repeatability is desired 24 Fil f LMB turns on and off axis group A a RMB to access control windows Close the program inimize wi and save settings Current length of move in seconds minimize window I 002 01 6 0s 2 Eile Settings Actions View Help TECHNODOLLY MOVE 8 1 0 CAMERA Timeline i cursor set timebase in move settings Timeline Inicates place of sample along timeline record Crane communication status Click anywhere in black area OK good Use these buttons to sample a keyframe to open Move Settings window No Power Crane has no electricity go into Play mode or start a move recording No Link Bad Check cable connections Current Sample When red indicates active keyframe Scroll up down thru move stack for editing Scroll up or down Sample numbe
16. ata export values telescope 1 232 m x 1 370 m track 0 007 m y 0 010 m BP 220 z 1 135 m raw axis data and ZI 1 63 pan 4 87 pan Tilly the right side IS tilt 7 67 tilt nay roll o 00 roll 0 00 Cartesian XYZ zoom 0 0 zoom 0 0 mm i focus 0 0 focus inf coordinates The iris 0 0 iris 0 0 f stop 7 timecode 15 14 57 18 right side will only TC user bits 0x5000000 be accurate if the L1 L5 values have been entered This window can be moved around to a clear spot on the GUI View Curves You can see various attributes of a move with the curve plotter At left is the window for deciding which plots or curves to generate You can choose to graph either raw axis positions or camera corrected Nodal position in the top box Next choose to view targeting or non targeting head coordinates You can lock the scale of the graphs with the unify aspect ratio check box And you can choose to save the graphs as pdf files The Position window can be brought up from View Position Window It is a great tool for knowing where the camera is On the left side are plot settings 2 spatial coordinates x y z include correction for camera offsets L1 L5 from data export settings head coordinates pan tilt roll show non targeting angles default show non targeting angles pan motor show targeting angles P unity aspect ratio for x y x z a
17. cause you can trigger one frame at a time from the desk or focus controller Program or record a move normally or import from fbx Any move can be played back in stop motion mode You can use the advanced Go To specific time to reach a desired frame RMB the Frame number arrow and a dialogue box will appear asking for time to go to Indicate seconds and decimal not time code format Section 12 Transform Move Actions Transform Settings allows users to alter the entire move path as opposed to an individual key frame The window is divided into three sections and the priority or goes from top to bottom First shift move by allows users to offset the entire move in Cartesian space or offset pan tilt or rollin degrees See Appendix A for the TD coordinate system X shifts the move along the axis parallel to track To shift a move along track however you need to put values in both the X and track boxes Y Shifts a move perpendicular to the track axis Z Shifts the move up and down Track Shifts the base position but not the camera position Enter equal values in both X and track to shift the whole move along the track transform move 2 k r First shift move by K 0 00000 m Ye 0 00000 M fae 0 00000 m is up track 0 00000 m pan 0 00000 plus 0 full rotations plus Q full rotations tilt 0 00000 roll 0 00000 plus 0 full rotations r Secondly scale move by 100 00
18. crane TDesk the exporting data will be TC stamped M shutter GPUGPO 25 pin D SUB f M HD SD Genlock genlock BNC desk Obviously the TC needs to match the camera s TC F SD Genlock VITC BNC connector i i so there needs to be a master clock on set M LTC LTC 3 pin XLR desk 23 967 0 0 ms M GPI1 trigger 7 pin XLR desk normally the sound recording device The TD a from top to bottom descending priority comes with sync cables for the Arri Alexa any Arri with a r s socket RED Epic and Panavision Alene Reading the shutter pulse from the camera is ideal In the example image here the sync source p timecode is the TC That will work so long as the camera is an also using the TC as a sync source but the best Fo me OOOO O45401902 userbits 005000000 iriri scenario with Digital Cinema cameras such as the V VITC 1st scanline user bits RED and Alexa is to read the shutter pulse from if cule Wee l eae the camera directly The Alexa cable plugs into Gi aa a the r s port and on the Epic it comes out of the E CTRL port not the SYNC port If using the RED triple BNC faaie use the Yellow connector The BAA A ct ma e Alexa only provides shutter pulse when the So oe oadedinel mo camera is recording Due to the descending delay between sync and TEE priority if a shutter pulse is detected it will take SF Ch ees Ing cate ans ess one precedence over the TC input for example apply ca
19. cus adjustment Find the position where the correction is needed most e g where the subject is most mis framed Stay in play mode LMB the appropriate yellow axis box to disengage it in this case Head and Lens Alternatively you may enable override then you can change the head and lens values at any time You now have control of Pan tilt focus and zoom Make whatever adjustments necessary and hit the Sample button a new Sample image will appear and a new marker will appear under the timeline cursor Since the system is still in play mode you can instantly preview the changes Continue along the move path and make the fewest number of corrections necessary This where the art of it comes in so practice and learn the relationships between acceleration and position Actions Sample Replace writes over the key frame number listed under FRAME with the current crane head and lens position Actions Sample Insert adds a new key frame after the number listed under FRAME with the current crane head and lens position It is the same as pressing the Sample button on the desk or using the rocker to a key frame Section 5A Override and Record Override The Override OVR function allows control of axis even when they are playing back Sampled moves It adds to the already programmed motions of Pan Tilt Roll Focus and Zoom Crane Track and Telescope do not have override capabilities It is very different than simply disengaging an axis or axis group
20. de of post Camera must start and stop at rest in scene the TD does not create ramps OK cancel Above is the FBX Import dialogue that comes up from Actions Import move from fbx cgi First you will be asked to choose the fbx or cgi file to import Then the window above appears It is very important to enter the frame rate that the scene was created in most commonly 24 or 25 fps If the fbx frame rate does not match the original Maya scene then the shot will be the wrong duration and will likely suffer interpolation noise limiting both the maximum speed and quality of the smoothness The checkbox for automatically determining the head and BP multiples should be checked if you are unsure This prevents the Boom Pan tilt pan or roll from doing multiple 360 degree spins to get back to zero rotations Ideally the TD should have no pan tilt roll or BP multiples but it is often the case that the head has spun several times in transit Because the encoders are absolute it counts every full rotation even when powered down See also File Edit Move File _ BAK in Section 14 Track Treatment deals with how to move the camera along the Z axis in Maya or the TD s X axis Since the arm and the track can both accomplish this this section deals with how to delegate the X travel The first option is not to use any track at all and is the choice if the TD is not on track If it is on track you can specify where along the track the base
21. e visible at a time Save Move Collection is a script of all the SAVED moves in the stack It is not a substitute for Save move It does allow you to Load Move Collection which makes getting up and going the next day faster and easier Export CGI moves takes the measurements entered into the Geometry Settings window and generates a CGI and FBX file of the move These are frame accurate data outputs of the moves ready to be imported into Maya or any other fbx compatible program The x TECHNODOLLY TECHNODOLLY exports all data pre calculated into _ 103_30_03fcs 11 Eile Settings Actions View Help MOVE either Cartesian or Polar coordinates The resulting fbx file converts the world space to Y up and units in centimeters Important Note When a new USB device is plugged into the back of the desk a prompt from X cancel Linux will come up Click X Cancel in the bottom right corner to close the window This allows the TD GUI to access the drive Clicking OK makes the drive accessible to Linux but not the TD recor Move Settings 3 Section 7 Move Settings Editor set Time between The Move Settings editor is the most valuable and used frame 1 0 and frame 4 0 gt p ES window in the TDesk This is where you change the length of ale ee gine cee a move do slow mo and save Private Settings It can be will be uniformely scaled F also scale dwell times accessed eithe
22. e when the buttons are pressed then you can manually open the brakes using the 13mm wrench please see hardware user s manual Test the head by moving either the joystick or wheels pan and tilt should move appropriately Also test focus zoom and iris controls if installed You should see a live camera image on the right side monitor The two monitors mounted to the crane column should have live camera and a mirror of the desk software GUI Please refer to the wiring diagrams if necessary Section 2 Setting Axis Controls As is often the case the AC will ask if the focus can be reversed or the DP Operator will ask for the wheels to be faster or slower or more fluid Before Recording or key framing a move set up the controls to suite the crew s needs RMB Right Mouse Button LMB Left Mouse Button or Click On Near the top of the screen are four Yellow boxes CRANE HEAD LENS and CAMERA Use the RMB to access the control panels associated with each group of axis The LMB turns on and off these axis during playback for example if the AC will do focus live on a recorded pass simply LMB the Lens box to turn off all the lens axis If you need to keep zoom but not focus RMB to access control panel and use the Include checkbox 103_30_03fcs 11 5s a x Eile Settings Actions View Help TECHNIODOLLY MOVE FRAME Head Settings 2 Pan Tilt Roll Speed Speed Speed p M Reverse Pan M R
23. ed move with two black key frames If you go into Settings Move Settings the shot length should match the Maya scene length If it does not then the fps was incorrect and re import or if the numbers are in red then the crane cannot achieve the speed or acceleration of the imported path Another possible cause is first or second order derivative discontinuity Kuper operators know it as jumps in the Velocity curve When you try to run the move a dialogue box will inform you of where and by how much the move is too fast One thing to try is go into Settings Interpolation settings and raise the numbers above 2 4 meters second and more than 100 The TD may stall but it can trick it into thinking the rig can accomplish the move and sometimes it can The move must be re imported with the values higher to work Please exercise extreme caution and remember to reset the values to the defaults Save the move as normal Currently lens information does not import and cannot be key framed so must be done live Note on Y up vs Z up It is normal in motion picture work to have the Y axis be the vertical or up and down axis In engineering however Z is the vertical axis The reason is simple Movie screens are mounted vertically and graph paper rests horizontally The TechnoDolly natively adheres to the engineering Z up world but when creating moves in Maya use the Y up world and the fbx importer will convert the space to Z up automatically Section 14 Editi
24. everse Tilt Ratio MV Include Pan M Include Tilt M Reverse Roll M Include Roll set limit CW towards FOV set limit CW from top set limit up set limit CCW from top set limit down set limit CCW towards FOV Override Enable I Enable M Enable Speed 5 Speed 5 m i Override Override Speed MV Handwheels I Joystick F Joystick disengage head motors RMB the Head box and you will see speed and dampening controls for Pan Tilt and Roll These are exactly like any other remote head controls There is also Reverse and Include checkboxes There are also the Override controls Keeping Override will allow the operator to add to the existing move in real time Any turn of the wheels will be added to the Tilt or Pan motion throughout the move unless the wheels are returned to their starting position You can record the changes in a repeat pass by enabling Setting Record Settings Record Override At the end of a successful override recording a window will come up asking if you want or save or discard the changes Be careful not to record over previous takes by reloading the original approved move Limits can also be set By moving the Pan or Tilt to the desired position and hitting the appropriate Limit box you can make sure the operator does not tilt a probe into the table or knock it off with the Pan motor Limits are also an excellent mea
25. g an actor Key framing moves allows the crane to accomplish very complex moves with perfect framing and timing Car commercials for example can benefit from graceful and elegant camera moves that are perfectly composed throughout the entire move Repeating that move opens up many creative possibilities as well This manual will explore not only the basics of key framing but also some advanced methods for achieving the visions of DP s and Directors Section 3A Practical Operation Principles The TECHNODOLLY is designed for safety first and foremost When in doubt stop The TECHNODOLLY is designed to be a two person operation the operator is at the desk who configuring the software and saving moves and the crane tech who pushes the crane and works the Rocker The operator cannot move the crane from the desk without the crane tech holding the dead man switch halfway down See image on page 20 If he releases or fully presses the soft yellow dead man switch the crane will come to a gentle controlled stop This system ensures that the crane tech pay attention to all parts of the TECHNODOLLY to make sure nothing or no one gets in its way The operator can have control of the crane at the desk so long as the crane tech has the dead man switch properly engaged The same method is also required to start a move from the bloop plate and run the crane repeatably It is not recommended to have the operator control the rocker from the de
26. imple dummy move save it and view your crane s current axis multiples After importing fbx move the Go To works but the crane won t go into play or faults This is most likely because the crane cannot physically reach the desired go to position Use Transform to adjust the move path or re import the fbx file with a track position closer to the start of the move Remember the TD is very literal about the imported coordinates they are absolute not relative Use the View Position window to help determine where to place the base Changing Desks You can swap desks so long as you edit the config file found at usr crane settings config config xml Use the Emac editor in Linux to change the crane serial number to match 23 the number at the rear of the crane arm Access Emac with RMB on the config file icon and go to Open with and open Utilities Editors Emac Move Won t Start from Bloop button The dead man switch on the rocker needs to be depressed halfway the yellow crane lights should solid on the timeline visible in Play mode and the move needs to be at zero on the time line On the right side of the desk the yellow LED above the Path rocker should be illuminated indicating the dead man button is properly pressed half way Try going backwards in the move to ensure it is at the very start of the timeline The program has disappeared how do get it back If you minimized the window open the Linux control bar usu
27. l markings feet to meters the exported data will be in the same format and if you use the focus to set Targeting see Section 16 you will need the lens scaled in meters Be sure to name and save the Lens Calibration file as it can and will need to be reloaded with every software restart or lens change When you click OK a graph will appear It s main purpose is to show if there were any bad values entered The graph should look like half of a parabola or so without hooks or waves Examples below X Lens Settings zoom focus iris speed 3 M reverse iris 0 a V include E M reverse i VV reverse M enable override V include V include M absolute override Vv enable speed 5 _ sae cae reset reset ok 15 table for zoom S zoom counts 66 6 16 00 delete 22 00 delete 25 00 delete 30 00 delete laso 87 delete l jooo Ot S delete jo delete 5o00 delete l sco delete jeooo delete ko 0COt S delete zooo delete feo delete _ r300 delete joo delete _ load save as cancel OK load save as cancel OK Above are examples of the focus Zoom and iris tables for a typical Zoom lens Once you click OK then a graph will come up Below are two examples of good lens graphs Gnuplot 1 S 0 40 50 60 70 50 90 100 40 50 60 rotation of FS rotation of FS Below is
28. lid yellow when the system is in play The safety lights on each end of the crane as well as the Play button on the Rocker will be also illuminated yellow Use the Path T W rocker to run the crane through the move you just sampled The system is designed to maximize the accelerations and velocity by default In other words the TECHNODOLLY will go as fast as it is able based on the key frames sampled The good news is it takes the guess work out of the age old question How fast can it go Directors often know how long they want the shot to last so the next step even before fine tuning the move is to set the timings to desired lengths On any blank or black area of the Move screen RMB to bring up the Move Settings editor screen or go to Settings Move Settings This where you tell the system how fast or slow to move You can globally adjust time by changing the values between the first move Sample and the last It is also possible to manipulate the time between any two key frames in the move If you exceed the crane s limits the Move Settings editor will warn you This also where you can run the move at different frame rates See Section 7 for detailed explanation of the Move Setting editor s functions In most cases even the simplest moves will need to be fine tuned and at the very least focus points will need to be added The method is the same While in play mode go through the move to see where you may need to make a framing or fo
29. ll display image when Record button pressed at start and end Please save the moves without delay We strongly recommend coordinating with the script supervisor or camera department to make sure your move name coincides with the proper scene and take number You will like do multiple takes before repeating one of them You can immediately go into play by pressing the Play button the desk or in the software and run the move backwards to the start Remember that the rig is so quiet that the crew will need a warning that it is moving You can also do a Go To by clicking on the first of the two black frames in the GUI window this will bee line the rig to the first position Obviously be aware of obstacles persons and other safety concerns The lights at each end of the arm as well as the Play buttons on the Rocker and Desk will blink rapidly to indicate Go To mode The speed of the Go To bee line is controlled by the Path rocker It is possible to cancel a Go To at any time by pressing the Play button on the Rocker or Desk Once cancelled the crane can be manually pushed to a desired position and the GoTo resumed from anywhere When the crane has reached the desired position in this case move Start the system will automatically go into Play mode the lights will stop blinking and the timeline will appear at the top of the GUI The system can stay in Play mode indefinitely until the crew is ready to shoot subsequen
30. means that Pan is more than 360 degrees past zero If you were to bring this move from another crane or import from fbx the head would want to rotate 360 degrees You can edit the multiple like any other variable to match your cranes current state We recommend keeping the multiples at 0 If lt BP multiples gt is not 0 please disconnect the cables connecting the tower to base and reset by rotating the tower and arm If the lt BP multiple gt is 1 or greater rotate the column CCW Check the BP multiple in the front or neutral position as it s possible to swing into a 1 or 1 BP multiple during a move Section 15 Lens Scaling Once scaled the values can be exported and the read from the bottom of the screen For example the camera is up high and the DP wants to set the zoom to 36mm and iris to an f 8 you can easily do that from the desk Real time rendering engines such as Motion Builder or PreVision can use the scaled lens data Left Mouse Button the Yellow LENS box on the main screen Click on Scale near the bottom under Zoom Focus or Iris Make sure the lens motor has successfully auto homed the lens by finding the ends of the barrel movement If you are unsure click reset and be sure the lens does not skip any gear teeth Enter Inf at infinity and proceed along the lens barrel markings entering values into the table Once the value in the entry box matches the value on the lens click add It is best to convert imperia
31. ncel OK for multi camera shoots or when matching footage shot with another camera it is not normally required to The Delay between sync and center of exposure is adjust this The find out button flashes the bloop plate at the frame rate specified in the Settings Move Settings menu Point the bloop plate into the camera lens and adjust until the lights are visible across the entire frame This as alSo used to center live action frames over stop motion frames You can adjust the Bloop Plate flash period when going at slower frame rates so that the camera doesn t miss it between exposures 41 ms is the 1 24 of a second A value of 1000 would be a 1 second long bloop 200 would be 1 5 of a second On a calculator use this formula 1000 frame rate flash period in milliseconds For live data exporting you can increase the delay between sync and data transmission if requested by the pre vis techs 2 2 ms is the minimum value Section 11 Stop Motion Mode Under Settings Playback Settings you can turn on Stop Motion mode One in Stop Motion mode the camera will advance 1 frame every time the rocker is pushed on T and held until the yellow indicator lights flash Once the rocker is released you are then able to advance to the next frame The TD does not currently support automated stop motion passes or camera triggers Contact Anthony supertechno com for assistance in 11 determining a workflow The Red One camera works well be
32. nd y z plot I create pdf files in ust crane plotdata plots to generate function 1st derivative 2nd derivative speed acceleration MY X Z YHZ m x t yi zi rii r r r tele t BP BT track f E F pang tilt rollt B r E zoom t E r 5 focus t E r y iris t E r r speed spline E m r match spline a ja fa recorded speed spline ja fe ja motor limits y axis tau splines ia jE iz set data points automatic each 2 milliseconds evaluate time generate plots clear plot window save settings Cancel 18 Next comes a wide array of choices for which axis to graph The first choice is essentially viewing the move from the top front and side respectively You can plot xyz against time t and view speed and acceleration curves In Kuper the position curve would equal the function and velocity curve would be the 1 derivative Motor Limit curves are useful to help determine both the kind of accelerations and which axis is limiting the top speed Tau is the difference between the software s calculated speed and the amount you may have slowed the path down between key frames If you run the move at the speed the software initially calculates the tau line will be diagonal It is similar to Redistribute in Kuper Unfortunately at this time the curves are not editable only viewable Stay tuned Below is an example of function curves for x y x z y z for a fairly complex move In the example below
33. ng moves files in text editor emacs technodolly site It is possible to manually edit the sampled File Edit Options Buffers Tools SGML Help position values in the move file If for example QRDeBxneasy xg you want the camera to travel perfectly parallel lt L3 gt 165 000000 lt LI gt lt L4 gt 70 000000 lt L4 gt to the floor Create a move by samples in the lt L5 gt 20 000000 lt L5 gt S lt L6 gt 132 000000 lt L6 gt normal manner Save the move this is a must lt tilt motor on left side gt false lt tilt motor on left side gt lt pan of fset gt 0 000000 lt f pan of fset gt i r i lt tilt offset gt 0 000000 lt tilt offset gt Go to File Edit move file _ BAK The actual nE a k i lt geometry sett ings gt move file will open in an editor A sample is KEE lt dwell gt 2 000000 lt dwell gt below lt target t ime gt 0 000000 lt target t ime gt lt x gt 3 109970 lt gt lt y gt 0 907359 lt 7 y gt n lt Z gt 0 067493 lt Z gt The XYZ values are in meters and the Pan tilt lt track gt 1 686110 lt track gt lt pan gt 42 057166 lt pan gt Roll values in degrees Use your mouse to lt tilt gt 4 053450 lt tilt gt lt Poll gt 0 000000 lt f roll gt lt zoom gt 0 000000 lt Z00mM gt highlight the values you wish to change and an ees eae lt iris gt 0 000000 lt iris gt maintain the column spacing You can copy and lt BP mult iples
34. ns of helping an operator whip pan and end up perfectly composed on a pre set hero frame Once a limit has been set the button switches from Set Pan Plus Limit to Clear Pan Plus Limit Please clear all limits at the end of a setup or shoot Axis that are outside their limits when the system boots up can cause the brakes to fire see Troubleshooting RMB the CRANE box to see the controls for the Arm and Track axis Also there is the ability to control the move speed when using the desk path rocker The Boom Pan BP and Boom Tilt BT have controllable friction The friction is electronic dampening of the Direct Drive motors that run the axis when operated manually The default values place some friction on those axis but the sliders allow you to set it all the way to zero percent When using Record mode for example the Grip may not like the friction on the BP and BT so you can set it to Crane Settings 2 Speed rotary knob Telescope speed VV use rotary knob for tele Track speed V use rotary knob for track reverse track joystick Path speed desk rocker on Telescopic fluid Track fluid Path fluid Boom pan friction 5 04 Boom tilt friction zero so it feels more like a standard Technocrane The default values are beneficial when using key frames to build a move as the arm is more likely to stay in place when setting a position even when properly balanced The Total Camera Package Weight kg v
35. r Going to 0 0 allows inserting key frame before first Sample Currently open move number Delete indicated Sample LMB for Go To indicated frame Delete move currently open RMB for Go To Specific Time window
36. r on right side of camera lengths to be measured Height of BP motor base plate above floor in mm L1 340 Vertical distance between LH axis and tilt axis in mm L2 1635 l Camera s lengthwise displacement relative to pan tilt axis in mm L3 Positive values indicate that 150 the reference plane is moved towards field of view Camera s sidewise displacement relative to pan axis in mm L4 Positive values indicate a displacement 75 towards tilt motor will be wrong and targeting won t work For the lengths to be measured see the diagram at right Camera s vertical displacement relative to tilt axis in mm L5 Positive values indicate an upwards shift L Also important is that L4 is more than likely a head fine offsets negative number The get from move button will PA a retrieve the geometry data from an open move It SY Tilt degrees 0 will ask the move number referring to which move p in the open moves stack Head fine offsets can be used if Tilt for example is not reading zero when a a level indicates it is level 10 Section 10 Sync Settings and Timecode Synchronization settings 3 zal ie sync genlock shutter pulse For repeating or exporting moves camera sync is for f a f use if fps Delay to necessary for frame accurate precision If you present LTC desk have a Timecode TC source plugged into the shutter shutter 2 pin LEMO
37. r through Settings Move Settings or by RMB eee nee oniiaes the black areas of the screen with a move that has at least Time with full speed 5 88 seconds with dwell times two key frames or it isn t a move is it 3 88 seconds w o dwell times set time to BI Along the top of the window are tabs The primary is Speed old time plus 0 00 seconds The TD will automatically go as fast as it can on track boom old time plus 0 00 telescope and swing Here you can slow it down to the slow fast motion temporal scaling desired speed You can slow the entire move evenly or set nominal times are for 24 fps specific times between any two key frames set actual film speed to 24 fps The Temporal scaling serves two functions It sets the frame rate for exported fbx moves It also is the denominator in the speed equation If you want to run a pass a the speed of the hero pass put 12 in the lower box in this example The second tab is to save Private Geometry settings Private settings are specific to the move you are editing and no reset all times check _ other whereas Global settings accessed under a Settings Geometry Settings affect every move that does not have private settings specified The windows for private and global are identical except where they are located Private settings can only be accessed through the open move s Move Settings Private Settings are saved with the move An ex
38. sk as his her attention is divided and safety is compromised Section 4 Recording Live Moves for Data capture or Repeat Playback We start with this method because it is the simplest way to repeat a move as well as an effective way to capture the camera s position data Everything is recorded from track to focus exactly as it happens A few rules to follow Always make sure the rig and all of the axis are at a standstill when you start and end a recording Do not exceed the limits of the crane s motors or it cannot be played back in real time Have the bloop plate in front of the lens for the first or hero pass Use the Bloop for all repeat passes Save the Move Immediately Press play before moving crane from the end position If the timeline comes up the move can be repeated in real time If the Over Soeed warning comes up you will need to try again On the lower left corner of the GUI are three buttons Sample Play and Record With the rig still click on the Record button It will start blinking and the bloop plate will flash its green LED s You are now recording everything the crane does You can dolly along the track extend and swing tilt he arm pan and tilt and follow with focus and zoom it records it all After the director or AD calls Cut click on the blinking Record button and the recording is over On the screen will appear two black frames indicating a successful record Future versions wi
39. t passes When ready the crane tech will hold down the dead man switch halfway and the button on the back of the bloop plate will initiate the playback of the recorded move The playback can be stopped at any time by releasing or further depressing the dead man switch This allows the crane tech to run backwards through the move to the start The bloop plate will only start a move from the first frame of the move or backwards from the last frame It is possible to slow down the speed of the recorded move or even to shoot passes in stop motion Speeding up a recoded move is possible but dependent upon the crane s acceleration and velocity limits Section 5 Key framing moves The second method of creating moves is moving the crane to a desired position and sampling key frames There is practically no limit to the number of key frames you can take in a move You can start at either the beginning middle or end of a desired path when taking key frames Each time you sample a key frame an image from the camera appears to represent it This helps tremendously in keeping track of which key frame is which Key frames are called Samples on the TechnoDolly Let s start with a blank Move screen You can click on the up arrow next the Move indicator near the upper left of the GUI Move the dolly base arm pan tilt focus and zoom to the desired framing Once approved there are three ways to sample a key frame from the desk via the large yello
40. time where the crane will not move The most common application is on the first key frame to give time for the bloop to be removed before the shot starts Conversely a dwell can be added to the last key frame to give time to get the bloop in for a tail slate Notice that the first and last Sample are always dwell frames This is to bring the move to a Zero velocity or smooth stop A dwell can be applied to any frame and the value can be zero However and most importantly making any middle key frame into a dwell changes the path to accommodate bringing the crane path to a stop So for example if you have fine tuned a move with corrective Samples those corrections will be incorrect after applying the Dwell A dwell equivalent in Kuper is a double key frame Be wary of dwells in Record override mode Section 6 Saving and Exporting Moves At the top left of the GUI find and click on File The drop down menu exposes several options for saving and exporting moves Save overwrites the move loaded or visible in the Move screen Be careful as you are essentially deleting the prior version which you may wish to revert to later Save As creates a new Save file Save to USB requires that a thumb drive or other USB memory device be plugged in Load Move is an open file dialogue box that allows saved moves to be loaded in to the Move Stack You can have up to 99 or so moves loaded into the Move Stack You can only save the one mov
41. ting The third checkbox should be checked for Targeting On and click the button Set Target to Current Crosshair If you did not calibrate the lens focus distance you will have the opportunity now to measure the distance manually Measure from the object to your L3 position normally Lens Nodal point in meters and enter it You will notice the values in the three XYZ boxes change Click Save and you are now ready to build a move or if the samples are in see the results 17 head interpolation mode no targeting default C no targeting pan motor angles C targeting target at X 1 460 __define bykeytrames wa 0 031 z 1419 define by current crosshair get from move defaults OK cancel Once you have even two Samples you can now assign Private setting to the move by going to Settings Move Settings and bringing up the Interpolation tab seen at the top of the dialogue box The default is to use the global settings but you can re capture or manually enter the values again and they will be saved with that move and apply only to that move Also note that Move Settings also now allows the saving of geometry measurements and other interpolation functions unique to every move If you are changing lenses and re balancing be sure to enter the new values in the Move settings window before saving and closing the move View Windows Position Window positions jakiz motor values camera positions d
42. w button from the GUI along the bottom of the screen or from the Rocker by simultaneously pressing the dead man switch and the Play button To use the Rocker key frame feature you must first enable it in the software under Settings program settings program behavior Refer to image of Rocker on page 21 A picture will appear in the move window matching the current live image from the camera Now lets say the director changes his mind after approving the framing Re frame and go up to Actions Replace The picture will update to reflect the new position It is possible to add delete replace or modify Samples at any time in the move editing process When you choose Now move the crane to the next desired position Resist the urge to over sample the move It is often a good idea to put in the first and last key frames first then add the in betweens as needed successive refinement At every position simply Sample the position a new image will appear in the Move window for every key frame Once you have at least two Samples taken you have a move If you haven t moved from your most recently Sample position you can likely go directly into Play mode by pressing Play on the Desk in the GUI or on the Rocker Save moves diligently If the software is closed or crashes you will have lost all work that is not saved to either the SSD or and external USB drive See Section 6 for details on saving methods The Play buttons will illuminate so
43. what a bad graph looks like ee In this example it looks as though the data point at 35 mm is bad Sometimes the AC can move the lens before you can take the sample or you can lose track and put a value in twice at the same point You can reload the table and either fix or delete the offending point i oO ak o Oo o 40 60 rotation of FS 16 Converting Feet and Inches to Meters Table for TechnoDolly Lens Calibration 1 foot 3048 meters 1 inch 0 0254 meters Feet Inches 100 24 80 20 70 18 60 16 50 15 40 12 30 11 25 10 20 15 12 O e NURA UM DN WO WO PNW ABU DN WO WO Section 16 Targeting The following instructions were lifted from the separately distributed Instructions for Targeting Mode Measure and enter the L1 L5 into Settings Geometry Start with the Global values Private values can only be entered after there are two or more key frames in a move You can build the move first and enter the Geometry and Targeting values after you have taken your key frames However if you have time to enter all the measurements first then once the Sample frames are taken you can show the resulting move immediately OPTIONAL If possible calibrate the lens focus in meters Move the camera reasonably close to the subject for greater accuracy and focus the lens Go to Settings Interpolation Settings and at the bottom of the dialogue box are the choices for targe
44. will be One very important concept about importing fbx moves the crane is very literal about the XYZ position imported So if you specify a position along the track too far from the XY path the arm will be unable to reach the start or any part of the move You can Transform the move to your desired place see Section 12 Track moves with X allows you to split up the chore of X motion between the arm and track by percent 100 percent means track does all the work and 0 means the arm does all the work if it can Obviously each move may require some trial and error testing Again when you specify the track position at start it does not change the XY path that must be done in Transform You can also use the percentage to try and achieve higher camera speeds by splitting the work between track and arm If you set the percentage to zero the arm length will still change to accomplish nodal compensation To eliminate all arm movement use the third option Keep TL Constant This converts the TD into a fixed arm rig It may be beneficial for 13 U l smoothness or sound The choice for Camera on or side of post tells the software which way down the track you are facing If the camera is on the dead end of the cable with the eye bolt then that is positive If the telescope end of the arm is over the cable drum and towards the variable end of the track then that is negative An imported fbx move will look exactly like a Record
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