Software User Manual - The Spark Arts For Children
Contents
1. Also within the Media Library section the Add Weather drop down menu allows you to select a layer to overlay the background We use this for an image file with a transparency layer such as a weather or environmental effect like rain or smoke Again if there is a corresponding sound file it will also be played Check the Media section for more information The Kinect system will default to using the Kinect v1 sensor but within the Settings window you can choose which version you are actually using as well as adjusting some of the colour camera settings and toggling a near or seated user mode You can then turn the Kinect on or off with the symbol and use the Show User button to show or hide the user but still send the user tracking data to the Cut 14 Cutouts Puppet Audio System Lighting System Visual System Visual System POR p play o d Export Video 7 wW a Media Library Background 00 none jpg Add Weather Jo E conre 5 Kinect 82 Webcam Available devices Built in iSight X E O Dimensions 1024x768 v Position Reload Folders Position Scale lt Hi I Out and Puppet system There are additional controls for scaling and moving the performers image around the screen and a layer control with up and down arrows for bringing the image in front or behind other visual elements Use the up arrow to bring them forward and the down arrow to m2. Out of the first light to the DMX In of the second and so on continuing this process to daisy chain further DMX lighting fixtures To enable the DMX lights to function correctly you will need to select the channel on which they will operate The specific way that your lighting fixtures handle channel allocation may differ greatly between units modern fixtures will generally have a screen that allows you access to a menu system whereas older lights may only have DIP switches Please refer to manufacturers instructions where required but generally if you can find the menu labelled ADDR CHAN or similar this is where you set the channel number or Address Remember that the lights should be 6 channel fixtures or set to a 6 channel mode this means that the first is set to one and the second set to channel 7 and so on Below is a table showing the channel numbers if several six channel lights are used Fixture Number 1 2 3 4 Channel Number 1 7 13 19 NB It is in fact possible to set several fixtures to the same address channel and they will simply all go the same colour so you can in fact have any number of lighting fixtures You may want to arrange the channels on the fixtures so that they match the layout in the Lighting System section of the software Connecting audio device Connect the computer to your audio system using the appropriate cable for your system Alternatively you can send the audio th
3. USB data ports and NOT the USB charging ports these can be differentiated by the lightning icon above the charging ports Kinect Place the Kinect Sensor on a stable surface central to the viewing screen plug the device into a power socket and the USB lead into a free USB port If you can use one that goes directly into the computer rather than a hub but we have tested through several hubs successfully It is important NOT to share the hub with the webcam as they will both be trying to get a lot of information into one port The installing device message will tgrigger several times this is normal Webcam Connect the Webcam to a free USB port on the computer again if you can go directly into the computer then do so You can use a USB extension for extra reach but if you go beyond 5m you will need an active cable or another powered USB hub DMX Lighting To use DMX lighting as described in the Potential Hardware section you will need a DMX interface Using the supplied micro USB lead connect the DMX USB Pro 2 interface to a spare USB port and connect the supplied break out cable to the other end Connect the DMX 1 male 5 pin connector to an appropriate DMX or XLR cable and plug into the DMX In port of the first lighting fixture you may need a 5 pin to 3 pin adapter depending on your lighting fixtures cables see Potential Hardware for details To connect the other lighting fixtures connect a further cable from the DMX
4. components then you can deselect the chain link symbol The background audio ambience is automatically set to loop but you can unselect this if you wish next to the drop down menu If you wish to have no background sound simply select the top one 00 none Likewise selecting a sound from the Add Weather menu will also trigger a visual element if it is available in the backgrounds folder as referred to in the Visual System section of this manual The sound effects libraries allow access to folders of grouped sounds which again have discrete volume and looping controls The folder name is used as the Genre drop down menu item which when selected will load the sounds contained into the Sound drop down menu See the Media section for more details Finally the Microphone Input section allows the use of a microphone if it has been selected as an input in the audio driver settings There is a placeholder for some vocal effects to be added at a later date but there are none available at this time NB When using the microphone input great consideration has to be taken to avoid feedback Feedback will occur if the output of the speakers goes back into the mic so it s effect will depend on the type of microphone how close it is to the speakers and the volume of the input and output 17 The Lighting System The lighting system allows control of 4 DMX lighting fixtures like those used in theatres see the Potential Har
5. restriction with the PUP system is how big your imagination is The system is comprised of 3 parts a video system an audio system and a lighting system All systems have a bank of selectable settings and media that can be linked together to provide one button scene changes Adding the capability for accessible controls on the iPad enables the workshop leader to be mobile whilst running the session and also for the young people themselves to be able to take control The visual system makes use of a 3D depth sensor namely the Kinect camera This enable us to bring the participants into the screen whilst cutting out the background From here we can mix elements of the digital and real world together and due to the body tracking capabilities of the Kinect camera we can also track items onto a users body or indeed do full body digital puppetry The video system can also make use of a usb camera e g a webcam or visualiser as input enabling us to bring real world items into the digital environment The audio system gives us a bank of ambient background sounds and two further banks of sound effects that can be used over the top as well as microphone input As with all parts of the system all that is required to change or add to media is to simply add or remove things from a folder structure and the software will pick them up For example users of the system could create their own body parts for a digital puppet and just copy them into a folder T
6. the button that has the price this will start the installation process on your device e You will need to enter your password for the iTunes account to allow it to install e Once it has downloaded and installed go to your Apps and select MIRA If your iPad and computer are connected to the same network then when MIRA opens it should connect to your computer and the PUP controls should open and be ready to use If you are finding that the controls are not very responsive or that they frequently crash then it may be that your Wifi network is a little on the slow side and you may be better off making a direct connection to your computer this is described as an ad hoc network Setting Up an Ad Hoc Network In Windows 7 setting up an ad hoc network is fairly simple and you may want to manage this yourself if so follow these instructions http Awindows microsoft com en gb windows set computer to computer adhoc network 1TC windows 7 You will need to choose WEP encryption for it to work However in Windows 8 this is more problematic and would require typing DOS commands or using a third party piece of software such as Connectify or Virtual Router For this reason we have included a helper file that will do this step for you on Windows 7 or 8 Double click on the ad hocSetup file to set up a network called Local AdHoc with a password of popupplay Find Settings on your iPad and then go into the Wifi section Under Choose
7. a Network you should see this network pop up and you can click on it to connect and enter the password You will need to wait for a minute or so before trying to open the MIRA app as it will need a chance to get an IP address When you want to close this network you can double click on the ad hocClose file Opening and Testing the PUP Software Run the PUP software by double clicking on the Pop_Up Play exe file once running it should open a control window and a black viewer window When using an extra display you can set your computer to mirror the same screen to it or to use it as an extra desktop In this instance it is best to use it as an extra desktop so you can have the controls on one screen and the viewing window on the big screen Again the setup for this may vary between systems but right clicking on the desktop should offer you Graphics Properties from where you can choose settings for multiple displays If your display is mirrored then pressing the esc key will make the viewer window toggle between full screen mode but will hide the controls If you have multiple desktops setup then you can drag the viewer window onto the connected display by clicking and dragging on the top of the viewer window and moving it off the screen towards the direction where the second desktop was setup generally off the right or left of the screen When the window is fully on the correct display press the Esc key to allow it to go into f
8. a RAE eee s pop Software Up plAUJ ee User Manual SpACE Pop Up Play Software User Manual Contents Summary Potential Hardware Hardware notes Installing the PUP software Third party software required Minimum system requirements Media Media file formats Setting up equipment Using an iPad Opening and testing the PUP software Using the PUP software The Visual System The Cut Out System The Puppet System The Audio System The Lighting System Adding media to the library Troubleshooting Frequently asked questions Additional information O OO nt aa nD WN WwW Wi SSS Da eke sea oe ee ee es NN O WON DWH HK BRN FS en play digital learning SPACE Summary The Pop Up Play PUP software facilitates the creation of a mixed reality environment where a combination of the digital and the real can come together to stimulate creative play and communication It allows for participants to be immersed in scenarios that can be expanded upon with almost limitless possibilities The software makes use of interactive visual audio and lighting elements which can be loaded up with media content images video sound etc as desired and combined with real time input for a very flexible system The system attempts to use accessible and low cost technology and is designed to be modular so that a basic setup could consist of a small part of the available components though at a reduced set of features The only
9. ality on the iPad Instead of using a slider to change the scale you need to use two finger gestures simply place two fingers on the square and move them apart from each other to scale the object up and increase its size or move them together to reduce the scale and so decrease its size To rotate elements place two fingers on the square slightly apart and rotate your hand The Visual System The visual system enables the control of background visuals transparent overlays such as weather effects the Kinect sensor and a webcam From the Visual System section you can export an image of whatever is currently on the screen and with the following dialogue box choose where to save it see the Adding Media to the Library section of this manual if you want to incorporate it into the system The drop down menus in the Media Library section allow you to select from files that are saved in the media folders see Media section of this manual Pick a background and it will fade in and trigger corresponding media in the ambient sound and lighting components if it is available If you would rather the background component did not link to the sound and lighting components then you can deselect the chain link symbol As movie files can also be used as backgrounds you may want control of looping and this can be controlled with the looping symbol next to the drop down menu If you wish to go to a black screen simply select the top one 00 none
10. cessing software like Photoshop or Gimp you can select dimension file type and quality settings The PUP software has been optimised for image dimensions of 1024x768 and medium to high quality If your machine has good specifications then you may be able to use higher resolution images and the software will adapt to support it Generally for background images we use the JPG format Transparency if you want your images for the overlays disguises or puppet components to be cut out then you need to use a file format with an alpha or transparency channel for this we use the PNG format Sound Files The recommended file types for audio are WAV or AIFF stereo files saved at 16 bit and 44 1 KHz which is often known as CD quality These settings can be selected when exporting from programmes like Audacity Logic Reaper Quicktime etc Again other file types may be supported but have not been tested at this time Video Codecs The PUP system uses a MOV format for its video files but this is essentially a wrapper around a codec of which there are many types which can lead o some confusion Some codecs compress files very well eg H264 which gives you small files but at a cost of more processing power to uncompress them as they play Other formats are the reverse photoJPG which give you large files but easier playback We tend to use the latter to keep performance up but the system will permit the use of the Apple suite of cod
11. ck you have installed and setup as set out in the guidelines and that you have selected the correct Kinect model in the settings window of the Kinect section of the visual system Ensure you are using a Kinect for Windows device rather than a Kinect for Xbox The DMX lighting isn t working This can happen when the correct port isn t selected Ensure the DMX interface is securely attached and has a lit LED then press the Reload Menu button and try selecting another port Ours normally shows up as COM4 The Webcam Isn t working The webcam may not like sharing a USB hub with another device try it in a port by itself and see if it works Ensure you have installed the manufacturers drivers for the webcam and try it in another application Also make sure you have pressed the Reload Devices button and selected the correct device from the drop down menu The audio Isn t working Ensure you have selected the correct driver and output from the audio driver settings window in the audio system Ensure your audio system is on turned up and correctly plugged in to the computer perhaps unplug it and try through the computer speakers to make sure sound is coming out of the computer There are no controls on the iPad To resolve this close the MIRA and re open it In extreme cases restart the MIRA app on the iPad and the PUP app on the computer if you still have issues then restart both devices Performance between the iPad and th
12. d up full and so on See Troubleshooting section if anything is not working Using the PUP Software The PUP software makes use of several different systems to create scenes that are comprised of audio visual and lighting elements These different systems can be accessed by pressing the corresponding tabs at the top of the screen and the media library can be linked across the associated systems or unlinked so as to control each element individually New media elements can be added as described in the Adding Media to the Library section of the manual once added you can press the Reload Folders button on any page of the controls to load the media or they will automatically be found when the software is restarted iPad controls NB There are some differences between the computer and iPad based controls The iPad controls are in general simplified and have had most system settings removed so that they can be experimented with without causing problems to the running of the software Generally this section will address the computer controls as they are the more full Where there are important differences in this section a separate note will be made The iPad offers pinch and rotation gestures which can be used in place of a scale fader and as a way of rotating visual elements within the position scale rotation control areas In cases where there is a position and scale control on the computer this has been replaced with this function
13. dware section for more details though in fact a single fixture in this context could be several lights set to the same channel The fixtures must have a 6 channel mode and Red Green and Blue RGB channels Fixtures of these type would be called par cans colour wash or LED bars for example To use this system you must have a DMX interface as described in the Potential Hardware section and have followed the instructions in the Setting up equipment and Opening and testing the PUP software sections to set the correct addresses on your lighting fixtures NB remember that the lighting system will not work correctly with a mixture of lighting fixtures if their RGB channels are not at the same addresses Visual System Cutouts Puppet Audio System Lighting System If you have followed the instructions you should now have your RGB ee Lighting System channels set up and your lights working with the colour swatch control Initialisation message 1 2 3 4 5 6 B M a a B You can in fact set individual channel o information for all the fixtures using J the 6 number boxes at the top where it says Initialisation message For example in the setup shown left we have RGB channels on channel 1 2 save and 3 and the master fader on channel C 7 5 Fader 6 may be the channel to TEREE control strobing of the lights with O being no strobing 255 being very fast Available Ports strobing a
14. e computer can be restricted by the speed of your home network creating an ad hoc network may fix this My connected display is not showing up Ensure that the cables are fully plugged in if so try restarting your computer If this fails to show your connected display check your display setting in the control panel of your computer or by right clicking on the desktop If problems persist refer to the manual for your display The PUP software won t open Try restarting your machine or right clicking on the file and choosing Run as administrator 21 FAQ s Can use a Mac Refer to the OpenNI and Mac systems in the Additional information section Can use a tablet other than the iPad Unfortunately the MIRA software will only work with an iPad at this time We would like to offer more generic OSC controls in time which could be accessed from any tablet but they would not offer the same level of control or visual experience Can use a Kinect for XBOX The system is designed for use with a Kinect for Windows for more details see the Additional Information section Additional information Kinect for XBOX lf you are a developer and are interested in contributing to the system then you may be able to use the Kinect for XBOX with reference to the terms at the following link https msdn microsoft com en us library nh855358 aspx We started development of the software when OpenNI was still a possibility and
15. ecs such as Prores and AIC which can offer a midway Transparency If you want your movies to have a transparency or alpha channel you will need to use specific codecs For example you may want an animated overlay or a weather effect video such as rain to be superimposed on the background below You can also use a video with transparency as one of the masking textures when you Disguise a user Effectively video of this type has an extra channel so can be of a larger size and tax performance more than an ordinary video file For videos with transparency we tend to use the PNG codec but the ProRes 4444 should also work The Animation codec also has a transparency layer but is probably harder on performance Setting up equipment The PUP software can be used with as little equipment as just a computer screen projector and an audio system but will support other hardware components for a more immersive environment This section will describe a full setup of the system in a generic way that may differ slightly from your own experience If you do not have all the equipment listed you can ignore any components you are not using for a smaller setup NB This guide will assume you have installed the necessary drivers for your chosen webcam and any other equipment as per manufacturers instructions USB Hub If required connect the USB hub to your computer and then connect the power lead N B When connecting devices to the USB use the
16. end to use an iPad Kinect v1 camera sensor see hardware notes The system is designed for the Kinect for Windows device and no the Kinect for Xbox If you are a developer see Additional Information Kinect v2 camera sensor This model of the Kinect camera should only be used with computers running at least Windows 8 and with a USB3 port see hardware notes The system is designed for the Kinect for Windows device and no the Kinect for Xbox If you are a developer see Additional Information Webcam Be aware that a higher resolution webcam will tax your system more and a lower resolution one may look pixelated choose accordingly for the capabilities of your computer Mains powered USB Hub may not be required if using limited setup or your computer has enough USB ports DMX Lighting control box this system is designed to work with the Enttec DMX USB Pro or Pro 2 UK supplier http Awww shocksolutions co uk DMX Lighting fixtures 6 channel DMX lighting with a Red Green and Blue channel e g par can colour wash RGB lighting bar etc NB mixing fixtures with RGB on different channels is not supported at this time DMX cable adapter If your lighting fixtures use 3 pin instead of 5 pin DMX you will need an adapter like this http Awww shocksolutions co uk sales accessories 5 to 3 pin dmx adaptor detail Performer lighting studio style lighting eg LED panel white umbrella style lights P
17. he lighting system is designed to work with DMX lighting like that used in theatres The system is limited to 4x 6 channel DMX fittings with a Red Green and Blue channel RGB though by setting up the DMX devices with the same addresses you could have any number with 4 individual output colours The lighting system is very simple to use traditionally unlike a dedicated DMX system With the use of a single finger a user can scroll through all the colours of the rainbow effortlessly Example of a simple setup Computer speakers Webcam Computer Projection Example of a full setup Webcam Audio System DMX Lighting DMX Lighting DMX interface Projection DMX Lighting Microphone Potential Hardware Within this guide are general set up instructions for the software and hardware that PUP can make use of Not all users will have the same hardware or software setup so specific items that you own may need to be configured using the manufacturers instructions If you have any trouble setting up your hardware then refer to the troubleshooting guide at the end of this document or you may be able to get help on the discussion board of the PUP website The list below shows the hardware that can be used with the system though with it being modular it is not all required to run a basic setup Or Computer Windows computer running at least Windows 7 Wifi enabled or networked if you int
18. iew It is good to unselect the Identify users button when not in use as it can help system performance but depending on your computer it may not be necessary refer to the minimum system specifications to see if your system meets them The Puppet System Similar to how the cutout system works you can place Puppets within the scene and have them track a user s movements NB Kinect must be turned on from the computer based controls for this to work Visual System Cutouts Puppet Audio System Lighting System These puppets use the information from the Kinect to allow the user to actively POR move the puppet the movement of the pla i puppet relates to the users movements for example if the user moves their arm the puppet s arm will move too You can change the placement and scale Position of the puppet in the same way that you can change the position and scale of cutout items And the Identify User button can again be used to help with finding out which user is which To use this feature turn the Puppet system on with the y button and select a puppet from the drop down menu Position Position Puppets can be created and added to the library of available puppets by following the instructions in the Adding Puppets Section 16 When a puppet is being used you may not want to have the image of the user displayed or you may want to move them alongside the puppet for example Remember that you can hide the
19. n integrated one at reduced performance Media The PUP software relies on a folder structure within the Media folder containing image and sound media files as well as saved settings for the lighting There are a limited number of media files and lighting setups supplied with the system but if you want to add your own you simply need to drop files in the appropriate folder Once the folders are adapted the changes will be picked up automatically when the software loads or when the Reload Folders button is pressed on any page of the controls The folders are named in a way that should be self explanatory when referenced with the software use but more detail can be found in the Adding Media section of this manual NB When using the PUP software it is important to recognise that file formats and codecs can have a great affect on performance Please refer to the Codecs and File Formats section of the manual to get the best from the system Media File Formats When using the PUP software it is important to recognise that file formats and video codecs can have a great affect on performance These guidelines should enable you to get the best out of your hardware setup When saving files for the PUP system you may be using software that isn t listed here if unsure of how to export footage in the correct formats refer to manuals or guides for the software packages that you are using Still Image Files When saving from digital image pro
20. nd relative speed in between To control this effect you can click and drag up or down in the number box to change the number To control colour across the fixtures simply click and drag in the colour swatch area the lights should go the colour represented in the swatch If you want to control fixtures individually then you can toggle which fixture s you are controlling with the Fix buttons Again the library is linked to the visual and audio elements and works in the same way allowing you to unlink it with the chain link button The Lighting Saves menu allows you to recall saved lighting setups easily without them being linked to the audio or visual systems The Save button will allow you to save a current lighting colour scheme and a dialog will come up asking you where to put it refer to the Adding media to the library section to decide where you want it 18 Adding media to the library It is possible to add your own media element to the system for use to do this you will simply need to place items into the correct folders and adhere to the correct file formats for each particular element You should adhere to the guidelines in the File Formats section of the manual in order to get the best performance for your system If you wish to use linked libraries for background visuals background audio and background lighting then there must be the same amount of files in each library and corresponding saved files mu
21. nt you will need to install drivers that enable your computer to transmit serial data correctly http www ftdichip com Drivers VCP htm Minimum system requirements Depending on how you are using the PUP system the demands upon your hardware will differ The specifications below are separated into Kinect v1 and v2 use and are aimed at using the system with consideration to the guidelines around file types sizes and video codecs as outlined in Codecs and File Formats section of this manual Other software factors can have an adverse affect on the PUP system such as Anti Virus Software running or system checks etc Remember that PUP is potentially rendering several layers of video at once which is an intensive task and any other software should be closed while it is in use It is recommended that your system meets or exceeds the following specifications Kinect v1 CPU 32 bit or 64 bit processors dual core 2 66GHz or faster Ram 4GB Hard Disk Space 1GB Graphical processor must support DirectX 9 0c a dedicated graphics card with at least 512MB VRAM is recommended though the software should work with an integrated one at reduced performance Kinect v2 CPU 64 bit processor Physical dual core 3 1 GHz 2 logical cores per physical or faster processor Ram 4GB Hard Disk Space 1GB Graphical processor must support DirectX 11 a dedicated graphics card with at least 512MB VRAM is recommended though the software should work with a
22. ntrols it actually turns the Kinect camera on or off and repeated pressing could cause the software to crash Check to see if the Webcam is working by selecting the correct device from the list and turning it on If you have plugged your camera in after the system has started you may need to reload the menu with the button 12 Move to the Audio System and select a sound effect to check your audio system is working Now move to the Lighting System you may need to select the correct port for your DMX interface make sure it is plugged in and your RGB channels for your lights For the interface press the Reload Menu button and choose your device from the menu ours generally shows up as COM4 To select the correct channels for red green and blue colours click on the Choose RGB Channels button This will ask for your Red channel on your lighting and then the channel for the main fader it will then set the RGB channels and turn the main fader to a value of 255 This step depends on knowing what the setup of your lighting fixtures is refer to the manufacturers documentation for details of each channel and what they do Example Choosing 1 for Red channel and 5 for Main fader channel will allocate Fixture 1 channel 1 to R channel 2 to G channel 3 to B and channel 5 to a value of 255 main fader turned up full Fixture 2 channel 7 to R channel 8 to G channel 9 to B and channel 11 to a value of 255 main fader turne
23. op well or create your own using a programme like Audacity which is free Refer to the File formats section for best practice Sound Effects Sounds effects can be added by placing them in the audioFX folder You will need t use the existing folders within or create your own folder to place them in These folder names then become the Genre drop down menu which load up the sounds shown in the menu immediately below Again use a WAV or AIFF format and refer to the File formats section for best practice Lighting These need to be saved in the lightingBackgrounds or LightingSaves folder depending on whether you want them in the linked media library or as stand alone items These need to be saved in app from the lighting system simply click the Save button and you will be prompted to save a compatible JIT file in the correct location Puppet System It is possible to create and add your own puppet to the system by creating the relevant components and saving them in the puppets folder You will need to create a folder for each puppet and put the components inside To do this you must name the files in a specific way as outlined here Files must be named in the following way calfL png calfR png foreArmL png foreArmR png head png thighL png thighR png torso png upperArmL png upperArmR png As with the overlay items images that are being used for the puppet system MUST be saved as PNG files the
24. out select the top one 00 none NB The iPad Cutout controls are split onto two pages to offer larger control areas and greater control when using pinch rotate gestures 15 Once a cutout has been selected you can continue to assign it to track a specified user s body part by pressing the Track button NB Kinect must be turned on from the computer based controls for this to work You can then choose the user and body part you wish to track from the drop down menus Once the item is tracking a user s body part you can still use the scale and position controls to position scale relative to that body part which is helpful with getting costume items in the right place and of the right size If there are multiple users you can assign cutouts to each user and you can also add multiple cutouts to a single user When a cutout is tracking a user you may not want to have the image of the user displayed Remember that you can hide the user from the Visual System tab whilst still keeping the cutout tracking that user on screen In order to help you see which user is allocated which number you can press the Identify Users button This should show numbered boxes which move around to match the users movements though it is important to note that when a user exits and re enters the scene the user numbers may change it is good to mark out the area of view on the floor with masking tape or chalk to help people stay in out of the field of v
25. ove them back NB the Kinect on off button has a different function on the iPad and it must originally be turned on from the computer in order to function From the iPad the on off button functions the same as the Show User button on the main software controls The Disguise User button allows you to use the silhouettes of the users to mask a texture beneath Essentially this means we can see a user shaped hole through to an image file for example we could use a black image to create a black silhouette of the users or a mist image with transparency to make the user look like a ghost This can be used quite creatively with reference to the Media section The Cutout System Cutouts allow you to place objects within the scene these objects can then be tracked to body parts or simply moved around using the control panel for the particular cutout Cutouts can be normal Visual System Cutouts Puppet Audio System Lighting System Identify Users 00 none Reload Folders O Position Position image files but are designed for using images that have been cut out from their background and saved as an image or movie file with a transparency element See the Media section of this manual for more details on this Again there are scaling positioning layering and looping controls for each of the four cutouts The cutouts are selected from the drop down menu and will load once selected If you wish to remove a cut
26. r Links to the original downloads are provided should you want more information Apple QuickTime for Windows The video engine of the PUP software currently makes use of QuickTime QuickTime http support apple con kb DL837 To enable an iPad to communicate with the PUP software you will need to install Bonjour Bonjour services http support apple com kb DL999 viewlocale en_US amp locale en_US OS Apple Bonjour oJ Kinect for Windows Runtime If using the Kinect for Windows you will need to install the required software and drivers For Kinect v1 at the time of this manuals release you will need version 1 8 http www microsoft com en gb download details aspx id 40277 For Kinect v2 at the time of this manuals release you will need version 2 0 http www microsoft com en gb download details aspx id 44559 dp kinect This component enables us to speak to the Kinect Sensor and is actually included in the software so does not need to be installed but a licence is required which will need to be purchased and registered Depending on which version of the Kinect you are using you will need to buy a certain version either dp kinect for the v1 or dp kinect2 for the v2 Follow the link to purchase the appropriate licence and once you have received it open the dp kinectRegister exe file and follow the instructions https hidale com product category software FTDI Drivers To enable you to use the recommended lighting equipme
27. rojector and screen or large format monitor If using a projector you will not want it in the performance area so you will probably want a ceiling mounted or ultra short throw one Audio system eg amp and speakers PA system active speakers iPad Hardware notes There are two types of Kinect Sensor available the Kinect for Xbox and the Kinect for Windows The use of software on Windows legally requires the Kinect for Windows and hence is what this system is designed for If you are a developer then see the Additional information section The Kinect v1 model is of lower resolution than the v2 meaning that the cut out image of the performers may be of lower quality and may appear pixelated on large screens The v2 also has tighter tracking and deals with lower light levels better but this all comes at a cost The v2 needs at least Windows 8 USB3 and uses more processing power so will require a higher spec machine Both models of Kinect require a lot of bandwidth on the USB port they are plugged into and therefore will not like sharing a hub with another camera Ideally they should be plugged directly into a USB port though they should work alongside the DMX interface Sometimes a machine will have extra USB ports due to an internal hub so it is worth trying different hubs if there are any issues Installing the PUP software The PUP system is provided in the form of a zipped file which includes all the things you will need to make i
28. rough the HDMI lead and use the speakers on your display device if your computer has an HDMI port If your sound does not come through or you want to change the audio output device between HDMI and the built in output you can click on the Audio Driver Settings button in the computer based Audio System section of the Pop up Play software What you see here will vary depending on the setup of your system but we are primarily interested in setting the correct Driver Output Device and Input Device if you want to use a microphone The Direct Sound driver should suffice and the input and output devices should be fairly self explanatory by their naming Using an iPad To enable mobile control and interaction it is possible to use the PUP system with an iPad The iPad controls also offer a simplified view which may be more appropriate to give to children To make use of these controls you will need to download and install a paid third party app called MIRA which is available through iTunes Details can be found here https itunes apple com gb app mira controller id649586480 mt 8 Note You will need to have an iTunes account and a bank card associated with it to be able to purchase the app Installing the App This can be done from the iPad or from a computer with iTunes on it which can then be synched with the iPad e Locate the MIRA app by searching on the iTunes store e Select the MIRA app e When ready select
29. se allow for certain areas of the image to be made transparent so that only the areas you want are viewable If unsure of how to save files as PNG format it is recommended that you look into programs such as Photoshop Gimp or Microsoft Paint Photoshop templates and PNG files are available in the correct format based around A4 sizes to assist in the creation of your own puppets Disguises When using a Kinect with the PUP system it is possible to mask the user with a texture as described in the Visual System section You can add your own texture by placing it in the disguises folder Texture files can be saved as JPG PNG or MOV files and should adhere to the guidelines in the File formats section Weather It is possible to add weather effects or animated overlays to the system by placing them in the weather folder These can be PNG or MOV files and if accompanied by a relevant sound file with the same name this will also be triggered Once again please refer to the File formats section for best practice particularly when working with video that includes transparency as it can adversely affect performance 20 Troubleshooting The following questions and answers can guide you through overcoming some of the issues that may be face when setting up and using the software If your issue is not covered here then you may be able to find some help on the discussion boards of the PUP website The Kinect isn t working Che
30. st be saved in the same order TIP if you wish to have no sound for a certain visual then you can use a bit of silence to go along with it Background Visuals It is possible to use your own images movies by placing them into the visualBackgrounds folder Still images should be in the JPG or PNG format and movies in the MOV format Images will adapt to the screen resolution but high resolution images may reduce performance on your system and we generally work with a resolution of 1024x768 If you want to use an image that is not at this resolution it is possible to resize it by using either Photoshop Gimp or by using a tool such as Image Resizer for Windows Cutouts Cutout still images that can be placed within the scene should use the PNG files these allow for a transparency element If unsure of if a file is a PNG file open its properties tab to check by right clicking on the file it is possible to convert images to PNG files or create your own using a program such as Photoshop or Gimp which is free If using video items you will need MOV files that are saved with a transparency enabled codec such as PNG or the Apple Prores 444 The cutout files must be placed in the visualCutouts folder where the media library has been installed Background Sounds Background sounds should be placed in the audioBackgrounds folder as a WAV or AIFF format You will get best results if you choose quite ambient sound files that lo
31. t run It is advisory that you unzip and extract these files before use rather than run them directly from the zip folder To do this right click on the zip file and select Extract Files The PUP software itself is provided as a folder that includes a simple Pop Up Play exe file However it does depend on some third party components in order to work properly and details of installing them follow Move the whole Pop Up Play folder to a location of your choosing and then you can run the Pop Up Play exe file from there Developers The PUP software was built in Cycling74 s Max programming environment If you are interested in contributing to the PUP system please refer to the Additional info section of this manual Third party software required To enable the full functionality of the PUP software several pieces of third party software are required The installers for these are included as individual files It doesn t particularly matter in which order you run these and they may not all be required depending on your setup but the software will not work fully without them all in place Run the QuickTime installer by double clicking Run the Bonjour installer by double clicking Run the Serial Drivers installer by right clicking on the file and selecting Run as administrator If you are using the Kinectv1 use the KinectRuntimev 1 8 installer if you are using the Kinectv2 Windows 8 only use the KinectRuntime v2 0 installe
32. ull screen mode Proceed to test that the software is running by selecting a background image from the background media library drop down menu Try turning the Kinect on by using the power button on the control window and test that the video is coming through by having someone move around in front of the sensor The Kinect system will default to using the Kinect v1 sensor but within the Settings window you can choose which version you are actually using Within this window you can also adjusting some of the colour camera settings like brightness and contrast and toggle a near or seated user mode In the case of the Kinect v1 you also have the option of tilting the camera up or down here You can also do this forcefully by hand which is not recommended by Microsoft but we have done it for years now with no ill effects To ensure that the performer shows up well on the screen use the studio lighting to illuminate the front of the subject There are also brightness and contrast settings within the Kinect settings window If there is no illumination on the subject they will still appear on screen but they may appear as a silhouette NB the Kinect on off button has a slightly different function between the iPad and the computer controls and it must originally be turned on from the computer in order to function From the iPad the on off button functions the same as the Show User button on the main software controls whereas on the computer co
33. user from the Visual System tab whilst still keeping the puppet on screen or indeed move the performer and puppet with the position controls in each system This allows the user to perform alongside the puppet or be replaced by it The Audio System The audio system gives access to the ambient background sounds of the media library two sound effect libraries and a microphone input There is a master volume fader in the main Audio System box as well as access to the audio driver settings as described in the Setting up Equipment section of the manual This master fader will control the audio as a whole but each section has its own volume control also The drop down Ambience menu in the Media Library section allow you to select from files that are saved in the media folders see Media section of this manual Pick a sound and it will fade in and trigger corresponding media in the Visual System Cutouts Puppet Audio System Lighting System Audio System Master Audio Driver Settings Driver Audio Driver Settings 4 O B Media Library amp Ambience a N D Add Weather Fea or D D Sound Effects Library 1 son ET BD Microphone Input Vocal Processing yoe Sound Effects Library 2 Sound F TSERE d D Reload Folders visual and lighting components if it is available If you would rather the audio ambience component did not link to the visual and lighting
34. would allow use of the Kinect on a Mac During the development cycle Apple purchased the NITE component of OpenNl which handled the skeletal tracking and it become contradictory to legal requirements to make use of it Essentially the mechanics for using the Kinect with OpenNI on a Mac have remained in the project with the hope of having something that may replace NITE one day but development has had to focus primarily on its use with Windows Developers The PUP system was built with the Max programming environment by Cycling7 http cycling74 con The PUP software is Open Source under a MPL licence but does make use of a closed license external called dp kinect dp kinect2 https hidale com product category software Go to the Github repository for the original source code and more details https github com lwoodbury Pop Up Play Supported by Nesta Arts amp Humanities Research Council gt nd public fundin 2 DE MONTFORT aoti the DS i Repel 3 UNIVERSITY 8e spark Arts Council England LEICESTER arts for children LOTTERY FUNDED
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search