Is there going to be a plug in for Rhino to use film cameras like the Advanced camera tools plug in in Sketchup? It is such a vital part of film work and Rhino is currently missing it, which forces those working in film to import their models into 3rd party programmes.
Iām not familiar with the SketchUp tool but a member of our community just started developing paracamera. A tool for controlling views. Give it a try and let us know your feedback.
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Thank you! But what I am after is more a tool that has preset film cameras, eg. a RED or ALEXA camera and all the focal length, ratios etc that come with these standard industry cameras.
Here is a screenshot of what the sketchup plug in looks like:
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Thank you for explaining that. I think this is a pretty cool tool with film/camera presets that defines Sensor dimensions & FOV/focal length.
I think any person with decent software development skills can do it. And probably many of our community members can find it useful.
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May I ask you how this can help you with your usage? Are you trying to render? Match camera perspective for compositing? Or something else?
Yes itās really handy in Sketchup! I work as a set designer, so being able to match the view in the 3D to the actual camera used in the scene is great, especially to account for shoot off or forced perspective and show the director/DOP exactly what they will be seeing on the day.
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Thatās a Valid use case and a bit interesting IMHO.
Are you okay with the idea of using these presets in Grasshopper? Iām going to play this coming weekend with ParaCamera by @ryotahagihara . It is possible to define some presets for cameras, (only if I know the settings) this can be also a handy improvement for the plugin.
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I would be okay with using Grasshopper (though I havenāt used it very often, and couldnāt find a tutorial or guide on how to use ParaCamera in Grasshopper) but I imagine if this does get used industry wide there would probably be a demand to have it inbuilt into the main Rhino screen, rather than an add on
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@tay.othman
Thanks for your interest in ParaCamera! Iām happy to hear that!
@user384
I didnāt know about the SketchUp camera plugin.
I see that it is a necessary feature for set designers.
If you know the camera settings you want to use, I think you can control them with the SetCamera component of the ParaCamera plugin.
The SetCamera component controls the camera in 35mm equivalent.
Does setting the lens length give you what you want?
For the screen ratio, I think you would have to set it when capturing the image.
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Please refer to this video for a simple example of how to use SetCamera.
By the way, DivideCurve is used with the plan to make it a slider animation. It is not used here.
Official ParaCamera examples will be available at the time of the next release!
Thank you very much!!
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One way Iām thinking is to set up a text file contains the camera presets (aspect ratio and Field of view) I need to test few possible things to get somehow a good use from view framing.
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Closest thing so far is this Motion Picture Toolbar and script
"Motion Picture Script and ToolBar is a script that gives you preset buttons for standard camera lens that are used in Hollywood, as well as lets you set the viewport aspect ratio to match common ratios. The script adds 3 commands:
Lens - change the lens length of a camera
Aspect - set the aspect ratio of a viewport (keeps the current width of the viewport, changes the hight)
Change_Camera - changes the camera system to match what type of camera you are shooting with (if in doubt, pick DIN 35)
If using the toolbar to run these commands you will need to set the camera system once before you begin (if you donāt you will get a little message asking you to do so)"
Many have been using it over the years and it is being updated but I dont have a estimate as to when it will be ready.
cheers
scott
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@FilmDesigner this is very interesting. Do you think this can run anyway with V6 or V7? Since it is from the V4 days.
Well its running in 7 for me and has worked fine in 5 and 6.
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Iāll give it a shot once my plane lands
Edit (my plane not a private plane)
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Important to note that the script is simply an automated way to change lenses . The lenses listed in the toolbar are approximate conversions from the āRhinoā lenses to cinematic lenses, specifically Panavision and ARRI spherical and anamorphic. The aspect ratios are the most common used.
Note: be sure to follow the instructions given on the website. You must set the camera system before you select the aspect ratio and lens or the script will give you an error warning.
I havenāt got a lot of experience with scripts - but from what I see, this is unable to run on a Mac? Otherwise it looks like a great tool overall, and what I was after.
Its an install so you dont have to use the ārun scriptā feature. Just make sure after you have installed the script file and toolbar that you be sure to select a camera system first. After that it works like any other toolbar. You can drag and drop both files into an open session of rhino to load although it may require a restart of Rhino. As far as being on a Mac i cant honestly say if it will work or not. This was created long before Rhino on Mac was even considered. I havent tried since im not on Mac. But it is a standard script and toolbar so it should work in theory.
Keep in mind this is an approximation not a 1:1 match to reality. Its more for getting in the ballpark. Then again i have yet to see a DP follow any angles we pick in the art dept. Its more about studies for coverage .
Looks like Mac will only run Python scripts and not an .rvbā¦ A shame, but maybe one day a python script and/or plug in will come through that is compatible - probably the same day the director/DOP sticks to the shots discussed, and not the impossible, all-the-back-of-set-is-visible shot 
Ahh bummer. I think Sam is updating it but in python and hopefully adding more modern options. But as always its delivery is all dependent on how busy he his with work. If i hear anything ill let you know.
Cheers
Scott