Interactive virtual camerawork control based on Hidden Markov model

We developed a method of interactive virtual camerawork transition control based on a hidden Markov model with camera orientation as a hidden state and camera distance as an observable output. This method enables a novice user to interactively create a 3-D CG animation by suggesting appropriate camerawork based on the grammar of the film language. We conducted an experimental evaluation in which 363 novice users created 3-D CG animations with the digital movie director system using this method. The results showed a 30.7 % improvement in camera setting efficiency. Time spent writing dialogues increased by 14.7 % although the overall time taken to create the animation was shortened by 4.7 %, suggesting more time was available for creative thinking. Moreover, the ratio of shots that violated the grammar decreased from 9.9 to 4.8%.