Computer Supported Staging of Photorealistic Animations

We develop methods to support users in the process of creation, arrangement and calibration of lights, cameras and scene-atmospheres to produce photorealistic animations. Using techniques and rules in photography and film, we designed and implemented a tool called Stager which can formulate suggestions for a 'good view' of a scene in accordance with special wishes or conditions interactively specified by the user. Our tool works independently of the modelling-and rendering-software. We demonstrate our system on an example in industrial design using the Alias™ Power Animator on Silicon Graphics workstations.