This week we explored Reality Capture in Unreal Engine using Reality Scan. We began the session by selecting an object to record, and Serra gave us advice on how to achieve the best results. She stressed the importance of capturing footage slowly, ensuring all angles were covered and avoiding reflective or shiny objects, as these tend to confuse the software. I decided to scan my headphones, and after processing the footage we imported the model into Unreal, cleaned up the mesh and applied textures. Serra also demonstrated how the recorded object could be imported as a point cloud, which I found particularly interesting. Seeing the object represented as thousands of points immediately made me think about the possibility of animating point cloud values to create abstract and dynamic visuals.
Although I enjoyed the process, the workshop confirmed that photogrammetry is probably not something I would pursue extensively. I enjoy modelling assets from scratch, and I found the process of cleaning and correcting scans to be time-consuming and often inaccurate. While the technology is impressive, I personally prefer the control and precision that traditional modelling offers. However, I could still see potential for using point clouds and imperfect scans creatively rather than striving for realism.
Outside of the workshop, my group began developing the technical side of our project. Having previously experimented with MediaPipe during a TouchDesigner workshop, I spent some time brushing up on it before introducing it to the rest of the team. Once we were able to successfully track body motion, we started discussing which parameters would form the basis of our prediction algorithms and visualisations. We eventually settled on tracking hip, wrist and shoulder positions. By feeding this data into the system, we were able to generate a line graph representing changes in movement over time. Reaching this stage felt like an important milestone, as it marked the completion of the first technical stage of the project and gave us a foundation to build more complex visualisations from.