something off the wall

hey guys/gals,

got a question for you....

I've been asked to take pictures at work of tasks performed in procedures related to what I do. I work in a utilities department of a paper mill. The pics are going to end up in a slideshow, in which I will add narration also.

My question is.... does software exist that will allow me to circle an object (such as a pump or motor) with my camera and then stitch shots together from that camera for an inverted 360 degree panorama? Several movies have done this sort of thing using multiple cameras surrounding the actor and then all firing at the same time, thus allowing the viewer to circle the actor who is frozen in midair. I've seen this on some commercials also.

I want to allow other workers to do a "virtual walk around" on computer for training purposes. Any help would be appreciated greatly!

Thanks!

Do a search on 'virtual 3D software' and you should get a couple of hits. I've been meaning to try virtual 3D myself but I just haven't had the time to play with so I can't give you any direct feedback with software recommendation or anything like that. Good luck.

Wow. Fascinating idea. I think the term you need to look for is "virtual camera". This Wikipedia article shows how some of the shots in The Matrxi were achieved, but it doesn't look at all easy. I hope you find some answers, but I'm not holding my breath...

Thanks for the help guys. I found out through research over the internet that the official name for this type of photography is "Bullet-time", after the famed bullet scene in the movie "The Matrix". I never did find the software I was looking for that allows the user to mimic this, though. If anyone else knows of the software, please let me know. I would be most appreciative. Thanks!

Take a look at these:

http://www.spinimagedv​.com/

http://www.easypano.co​m/modelweaver.html

Thanks PacAce,
I got excited when I first saw the spinimagedv website but then became quickly disenchanted when I saw the $250 price tag. Oh well, guess you can't have it all!

I'm amazed no-one has come out with an add-on to photoshop to produce these kinds of results.

Albert Harrison, Jr. wrote in post #1999228
Thanks PacAce,
I got excited when I first saw the spinimagedv website but then became quickly disenchanted when I saw the $250 price tag. Oh well, guess you can't have it all!

I'm amazed no-one has come out with an add-on to photoshop to produce these kinds of results.

Yeah, the prices of these software pretty much turned me off, too.