Solar System - some effects

[Lin Evans]

I've had a few questions and emails about how some of the effects I'm using in various shows are accomplished. Rather than post some VERY confusing pte files along with the executables, I plan to furnish a complete explanation of how these effects are accomplished and a tutorial on how to not only implement the effects, but how to create the raw materials using Photoshop, etc. This will include the PTE files.

The following link is to one of my later iterations of the Solar System effect. Obviously not to scale in any fashion and only depicting the Sun, Earth, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and a Star Field. Notice the following effects and be assured that by the time version 5 is released I will have complete instructions for those who don't already understand how these are being done.

Note that I did not include the normal "shadow" over the earth as it rotates, nor did I create the moonphase shadow but know that this is quite easy to do but would be much more "effective" in terms of viewing if only the Earth, Moon and Sun were in the frame and made much larger. I may do this in another simulation so you can see the effect.

Effects:

1. Star field moves during the two minute presentation so that Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) becomes visible by the end of the sequence.

2. The planets rotate around the Sun. Not in a perfect orbit, but slightly eliptical as in nature. The planets not only rotate around the Sun, but spin on their own axis as if viewed from above. The spin speed is not the same on any two planets, Remember, this is happening on a two dimensional plane with the illusion of three dimensions.

3. The Moon orbits the Earth twice for each rotation of the Earth. The simulation covers two rotations of the Earth around the Sun, or two years. Obviously the spin speed of the earth is not correct because if it were, the earth would spin extremely fast to simulate the actual single rotation in a 24 hour period. For two years this would be 730 revolutions while the moon makes 24 revolutions around the Earth (about once each month). Since this is all happening in two minutes, to simulate accurately the spin for the earth would be so fast that the simulation would be silly, so the only thing accurate is that the moon orbits the earth twice for each complete Earth rotation.

4. Notice the Sun complete with swirling gasses and flames....

So how this is all done will be eventually revealed along with instruction on how to simulate snow, move clouds, make swirling snow, make cubes, etc., but for now just watch and if you are interested and have no idea how this is accomplished, just think about it and perhaps some of the answers will suddenly become apparent.

Link:

http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/planets.zip

Best regards,

Lin

[JPD]

Rather than post some VERY confusing pte files along with the executables

I understand that explanations are very importants, but it's also interesting to have the PTE file, for instance when we can't run a show, to understand why. I remember your nice test "Puzzle" that became nice for me only after you change the PNG files, I opened the PTE but not the EXE of the first version. It's the same to day for me, my PC can't run your file "Storm", so it will be better for me to have the PTE file.

You demonstration with planets is interesting. What would be interesting to know is which method did you use to make an ellipse. I had a result, but the method is too difficult to use (I use several objects with rotation), even the result is good.

[Peter Coles]

I just enjoyed the Sequence.

I don't understand how you got all those different rotations.

And I won't be doing anything similar, I don't think; but I still enjoyed the Show.

I reckon you should send it to a few International Festivals and see what they think of it.

Too late now for our RPS International in Cirencester and too late for SuperCircuit but our next one in the UK is the IAC Geoffrey Round International AV Competition in Snowdonia in March 2007. Details of this will be posted on www.avworld.org.uk shortly.

[Lin Evans]

I understand that explanations are very importants, but it's also interesting to have the PTE file, for instance when we can't run a show, to understand why. I remember your nice test "Puzzle" that became nice for me only after you change the PNG files, I opened the PTE but not the EXE of the first version. It's the same to day for me, my PC can't run your file "Storm", so it will be better for me to have the PTE file.

You demonstration with planets is interesting. What would be interesting to know is which method did you use to make an ellipse. I had a result, but the method is too difficult to use (I use several objects with rotation), even the result is good.

Hi Jean-Pierre,

Yes, I'm sorry I didn't completely explain. The tutorials will certainly include the PTE files. My purpose in not posting them now is to avoid answering the same questions many times. This will be done all at once via the tutorials, instructions, executable files AND pte files.

The elliptical orbits are done using the "rotation" feature by adjusting the "rotational centers" of the planets orbiting the Sun locked to a position on the Sun just slightly off the geometrical center. The parent/child relationship is used with each PNG for the individual planets being duplicated. One is used for the ellipse, the other for the rotation on-axis. The one used for the ellipse is set to zero opacity and the one for the on-axis rotation or (spin) is set to 100% opacity. Because of their parent/child relationship the spinning planet follows perfectly the invisible ellipse planet.

Doing this requires that the PNG file for the individual planets be perfectly cropped so that the planet indeed falls in the very center of the PNG. Because "centers" are actually the "center" of the PNG, rather than the visible "object" itself on the PNG to make this work properly also requires that the PNG be carefully constructed.

As you see, even the explanation can be complex which is why it will be necessary to have "both" the instruction as well as the samples to include the PNG files, the JPG files, the EXECUTABLE "result" AND the PTE file which shows the relationship. But for the majority who have yet to understand how this all fits together, having the PTE file right now with invisible objects and "apparently" meaningless keypoints which "seem" to be doing nothing and without adequate explanation just creates confusion. So to avoid answering the same questions many, many times I will post ALL the information with the tutorials.

Also it's of little value to most to have the component files now (PNG's, etc) without an explanation of how they were created in Photoshop and why certain issues such as careful cropping are very important. Because of this issue, the tutorials will contain not only the files themselves but instructions showing how they are created so the user can create their own to fit their own requirements.

Best regards,

Lin

P.S. Yes, as with your ellipse example, sometimes it's not easy to construct. The result, however, is what is important. As with our sequences (slideshows), a good one may take a long time to construct, but isn't it like playing the violin well, if it were "easy" then everybody would do it? LOL

[Lin Evans]

I just enjoyed the Sequence.

I don't understand how you got all those different rotations.

And I won't be doing anything similar, I don't think; but I still enjoyed the Show.

I reckon you should send it to a few International Festivals and see what they think of it.

Too late now for our RPS International in Cirencester and too late for SuperCircuit but our next one in the UK is the IAC Geoffrey Round International AV Competition in Snowdonia in March 2007. Details of this will be posted on www.avworld.org.uk shortly.

Hi Peter,

Here in the U.S., to my knowledge, we have no AV competitions. I create slideshows for clients (primarily Art Gallery owners) to help them display their products for their own customers. I also sometimes display my own photography via sequences (I do photography professionally specializing in photographing art). My "hobby" is wildlife photography.

I have no real interest in competition other than enjoying the beautiful results. As I have explained earlier, the purpose of making these rather complicated demonstrations is not an end in itself, but rather a teaching aid to allow those who wish to make very subtle improvements to their own sequences to understand how the various features of PicturesToExe and other presentation slideshow software may be used to that end. Quite obviously, most will not use this program as 3D modeling software - there are already many good programs which are designed specifically for that purpose, but the capabilities in PicturesToExe "may" be exploited by those who wish to make a very sophisticated and entertaining "opening" or "preamble" to their sequences. Just because the capabilities are latent in the program doesn't mean we "must" use them but rather that when and if we decide we need them they are available. Having these capabilities within a program without either knowing that they exist or knowing "how" to exploit them is rather a waste, so better to have the knowledge and not use it than to want to achieve an artistic effect and have no clue as to how to proceed, I think.

Here is a link to an actual artistic sequence I created which uses some of the powers of PicturesToExe. This one is a tribute to the Hubble telescope... This one a zipped executable of around 35 megabytes..

http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/vger2.zip

Best regards,

Lin