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A realtime preview tool for projection mapping

Virtual Mapper v2.3.1

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Available for macOS and Windows.

About

This tool is basically a utility tool for non-planar video making such as 3D mapping and installation. It renders your composition on the video production software projected onto a surface of a mesh object and enables you to preview how the image will be projected in 3D space. You can transfer image from your software via Syphon or Spout (ex: After Effects, VDMX, Arena). Built on openFrameworks.

Developed by Baku Hashimoto

Instructions

1. Export FBX Scene

Virtual Mapper will interpret a scene file with following rules:

  • All meshes whose names begin with screen will be interpreted as screens and the software will replace their surfaces with a texture specified in Source menu.
  • Screen meshes must have UV coordinates.
  • All meshes whose names begin with guide will be interpreted as guide objects.
  • Other meshes will be interpreted as stage objects.
  • Cameras will be imported and users can toggle them. (Orthographic camera is not supported currently.)
  • The software supports only diffuse and luminance color of the material.
  • The software does not support animation, light, spline, and embed texture in FBX format.

Example: Cinema4D

Setup scene such like this:

Then export FBX from File > Export > FBX (*.fbx).

2. Setup a sender application

macOS (via Syphon)

There's several plugins for softwares such as below:

Other supporting softwares are listed at Syphon official site.

Windows (via Spout)

You can download plugins from Spout official site.

3. Launch Virtual Mapper

  • Launch sender application and Virtual Mapper.
  • Load the FBX file from Scene > Open Scene
  • Select the appropriate input source.

Troubleshooting

When you could not open the app and found below alert on macOS

Please open System Preferences > Security & Privacy, and then click in Open Anyway.

Cannot open any video file as a source on Windows

It probably would work fine by installing K-Lite Codec Pack.

License

Virtual Mapper is published under a MIT License. See the included LISENCE file.

TODO

  • retina display support
  • add rendering options
  • add "export to image / video" feature
  • OSC / MIDI controlling feature