Here is another technical test for the whole POVCam style.

This one is about 3D motion tracking - or how to add or remove objects from a point of view shot.

When you have complex motion - a camera moving in every direction and facing anywhere - it can become hard to do even the most basic of post production. Some effects, such as matting out an object, are easy when you are on a tripod. But when the image is moving everything is much harder.

This test was an effort to put something false into a shot. Again, super easy if this had been a locked off shot.

For you technie fans here was the process...

• Film at 50 fps to get more motion information
• Use "Icarus" to reverse engineer the motion
• Icarus can only use non-HD footage so I give it an downscaled version of my master to work with
• Export that camera movement data and import it into After Effects
• Now the virtual camera in After Effects moves the same as the real camera did
• As Icarus used a downscaled footage I bring in the HD footage again but have to adjust the virtual camera lens angle to compensate. I know my cameras field of view is 59 degrees so I enter that myself.
• Add a 3D layer for the object that is needed in the scene. In this case the big comedy Google Maps arrow
• Put it in the right place in the virtual world
• Render the footage, but back at 25 fps to match other material

The render is quick fast, the Icarus part very slow, perhaps a couple of hours.

I quite like it in the end. I may try and sneak something like it into the feature film.