CUPIX 8 Minute Field Capture

2BR 2BA in 8 minutes for Realistic Virtual Tour and Accurate Floor Plan r2018-10-19 - SA

8 Minutes is a lot of time Proper photography can be completed quickly (<8 minutes). Proper photos help ensure automatic-assembly of a tour which provides a faster turnaround time, reduced labor costs, and a more accurate and more realistic VR tour.

Sharp Photos and Good Photo Density are the key requirements on site, and these form the foundation of all other steps in the process. Blurry photos that aren’t taken close enough to each other will cause 3D reconstruction to fail.

Sharp Photos Keep a steady hand to take sharp photos.

The camera should be at minimum at 2x arm’s length from your body. In low-light conditions a tripod is recommended.

Good Photo Density The 3D reconstruction algorithm in CUpix requires that “features” such as objects or textures are visible between photos. Avoid big jumps, especially at doorways.

If the photos are not captured correctly the efficiencies afforded by automatic tour assembly are lost and the realism of the tour and accuracy of the floorplan which rely on the re-construction of photo locations become compromised. So it’s very important to capture the 360 photos correctly.

This guide will cover photography requirements for sharp photos with Good Density. It will also cover practical considerations when doing a shoot such as:

● Site Preparation ● Camera Settings ● Confirm Door Height is 6’-8” Take a look and don’t forget to practice. Mastering a golf swing can take 10,000 hours. For field capture, we recommend capturing the same space 3 times to help solidify your technique.

Achieving Good Photo Density By taking a multiple photos at a doorway, you ensure there are common features that can be seen on each side of doorway ensuring that the tour can be automatically aligned. The following photo density is suggested as optimal inputs to the 3D reconstruction algorithm.

Between Rooms

Hallways/Closets/Narrow Areas

Kitchen/Bedroom/Bath

Overall Photo Density:

3 per Doorway

1 per Width

1 per Height or Width (whichever smaller)

Take photos deep enough into a room to get a good perspective in the finished virtual tour and if in doubt always default on taking more photos rather than fewer.

Does this seem like a lot of photos? Arm-Length capture takes just 3 minutes.It’s better to err on taking more photos than fewer so you don’t have to revisit the site.

Tripod-mounted photos (10)

These photos will be shown in the final VR tour and are thoughtfully captured for intuitive navigation of the site.

Arm-length photos (25) These quickly captured photos help with floor plan creation and auto-alignment of the tour. They will be hidden in the final VR tour.

Taking Sharp Photos In order to achieve an 8 minute capture that satisfies the density conditions and provide high quality images taken on a tripod, a dual capture method is suggested as follows: 1. Arm-length photos​​. ​Best way to achieve good photo density (3 ​ minutes, 25 photos​). ​If the room is well lit and you are using a modern 360 camera such as the MadV Madventure 360, it’s not difficult to capture a sharp photo. Shutter speed is fast which will keep motion blur to a minimum. Set the camera to Auto, hold the camera at 2x arms length, and try to stay still when pressing the button your selfie stick, remote, or volume button on your phone-connected App. Some motion blur is acceptable. Note: If the room is completely dark (ex: basement with no lights) use a tripod.

2. Tripod-mounted photos​​. ​For Final VR tour photos (3 ​ minutes, 9 photos​).

The final tour will only include photos taken with a tripod. Step behind a wall to shoot.

Arm Length Photos. ​Picture perfect technique on display. This sharp photo taken at 2.5x arms length from the photographer’s body. This photo will be used to automatically assemble other photos in the 3D tour and construct a floor plan. Since ​virtually running into this person would be disturbing​, this photo will be excluded from the final customer-facing tour.

Tripod Mounted Photos.​​ These photos make up the final virtual tour. A lightweight (and inexpensive) light-stand is a great choice for as a tripod for the VR tour and will always produce sharp photos. Mobile apps (Android or iOS) can be used to trigger the camera remotely. Weighing less than 2 lbs, folding up small and extending as tall as 9’, the light stand can even be used as a “selfie stick” when legs are collapsed. Step behind a wall when taking a shot.

Tripod Mounted Photo Locations Tripod Mounted photos are the final photos that can be navigated to and are shown in the final tour. Choose photo locations thoughtfully so that you aren’t moving through walls.

● Navigation through Doors / Hallways / Walkways = ​INTUITIVE (GOOD) ● Navigation through Walls = ​CONFUSING Their locations should best represent the space with as few photos as possible such as to avoid redundancy and they should be Take photos in the middle of every room and in hallways take a photo at all openings to make navigation within the VR tour very intuitive. Here are rules:

Open Spaces

Hallways / Pathways

Tripod-Mounted Photos:

At least 1

1 at each Doorway

As an example, notice the locations of photos captured at arm’s-length shown below allow intuitive navigation through doors and hallways (and ​not through walls).​

Tripod locations allows navigation through doors and hallways, ​not through walls​.

Tripod-mounted photos (10)

These photos will be shown in the final VR tour and are thoughtfully captured for intuitive navigation of the site.

Arm-length photos (25) These quickly captured photos help with floor plan creation and auto-alignment of the tour. They will be hidden in the final VR tour.

The Shoot: Practical Considerations You can fine-tune your own routine but make sure each of the items below are covered when you visit the site including the required step of checking the front-door height is 6 feet 8 inches.

Walk the Site Take a minute or two to walk the property and get a feel of the space and form a game-plan on where you will capture tripod-mounted photos

● Open Doors (use doorstops if needed) ● Turn on Lights ● Put Toilet Seat Down

Check Camera Settings Make sure you have a memory card and that you battery has enough charge. You can check the quality of the photo using the app. A dark photo is OK. Too bright is Not OK.

● Use “EV” = ​0​ or ​-1​. ● Use “Auto” for all other camera settings

Measure Front Door Height (REQUIRED) A reference measurement is required to achieve an accurate floor plan. The front-door height is a good reference since 95% of doors are exactly 6’-8”.

● Check front door height is 6’-8” If the door is a different height, you must note the actual front door height. Bring a small tape measurer with you to confirm or capture the reference dimension.

The Shoot: Equipment List All this equipment can be carried in one hand or in a small bag.

360 Camera & SD Card

Tripod and Selfie Stick* (Light Stand is both**)

Tape Measure (to confirm door is 6’-8”)

Door Stops (to prop open doors)

Android/iOS Mobile Device (for shooting with Tripod)

Battery Pack & Cable (if you run out of juice)

*Many cameras come with a short selfie stick which can be used **Light-stand (or a tall monopod which hard to find) can also be used as both a tripod and selfie stick.

The Shoot: Additional Tips Dark Room Blurry photos using Arm Length Photography can be eliminated by turning on the lights. You can decrease the exposure to EV -1 which will take the photos faster and reduce blur.

However, if the interior is very dim (ex: room with no lights) you must use a tripod.

Bright Windows Reduce the camera’s exposure setting (as much as -1.0 EV) to reduce the “bloom” emanating in from the windows. By doing this the interior captured will be darker, but that can be adjusted in post. It is not possible to undo light that bleeds into the rest of the image from bright windows if the camera setting is overexposed.

Closets Capture the back edges of the closets when taking arm-length photos which will allow for accurate floor plan dimensioning. You can open the doors of the closets. Just make sure to take 3 photos at the door. Close the closet door after you are done.

Addendum: Advanced Tripod Capture Mode Bracketing for HDR Reconstruction Taking bracketed photos is possible with most 360 cameras and can be done when using the tripod. Bracketed photos can be reconstructed into an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo which produces a better looking photo than a single exposure image.

Quiz Score 100% before going to your first site. And remember to Practice.

1. How many photos should be taken at each doorway?

2. If a well-lit hallway with two doors on each end, is 10’ tall and 3’ wide, how many photos should be taken a. In total b. WIth the tripod 3. What are three things to do when walking a site?

4. Is it better to err on fewer or less photos?

5. If a room with tall vaulted ceilings is 8’ wide by 14’ long. What spacing should photos be taken?

6. In a 1BR/1BA apartment with a kitchen and living room separated by a hallway, what is the minimum number of tripod photos required?

7. If it is very bright outside and the windows are overexposed, what steps can you take to reduce the exposure?

8. If the photo you have captured is blurry, name 3 things can be done to reduce blur: a. A: turn on lights, drink less coffee/stay still, turn EV setting to -1, use tripod 9. For a hallway closet, how many photos should be taken to capture the back of the closet.

10. In a long hallway with one door to a bedroom, how many tripod-mounted photos should be taken in the hallway?

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