# Presentation: 379307

## EnSight 6.xAdvanced TrainingPart 2

- Instructors:
- Mike Krogh, Anders Grimsrud

## Agenda

- Frames
- Cut & Split operations
- Keyframe Animation vs. Flipbook Animation
- Additional Animation topics
- Batch
- EnSight Gold
- Future Development
- Animation Problem

## Frames

- Used for:
- moving parts relative to each other
- specifying a reference point for tools
- creating periodic reference frames
- A frame MUST be *defined* (origin and orientation) before it is *transformed*
- consider turning off perspective during this step
- most common mistake: transform then define

## Frames (cont.)

- Transformations are about a frame’s origin and orientation.
- Parts are assigned to one, and only one, frame.
- While extremely powerful, perhaps the most difficult operation in EnSight (hang in there).

## Frame Definition

## Frame Definition (cont.)

## Frame Mode

- Create a new frame
- Assign parts to a frame
- Frame  visibility
- Triad color
- Triad line thickness
- Triad labeling

- Computation symmetry
- Coordinate system
- Frame location
- Global triad visibility
- Transform / Definition
- Delete selected frame

## Frame Dialogs

## Cut and Split

- Only parts defined on the EnSight server can be split.  Parts not defined on the server:
- particles, profiles, vector arrows, and contours.
- Split operations create two new parts:
- one part for “inside” the cutting tool
- one part for “outside” the cutting tool

## Cut and Split (cont.)

- Plane, cylinder, cone, sphere, and revolution tools can all be used as the cutting surface.
- If you cut and split a part composed of 3D elements, you will get new parts composed of 3D elements.
- May wish to use combination of ‘3D border/2D full’, extract part, then ‘cut and split’....

## Slide 11

## Animation

- Flipbook
- easy to use for simple animations
- transient problems, animated cutting planes and isosurfaces, mode shapes
- Keyframe
- feature rich mode
- can be combined with flipbook
*EnSight was designed for engineering animations!*

## Keyframe Animation

- Transient Data
- Independent Viewports
- Can play flipbooks
- Can view animated particle traces
- Can output directly to animation controllers
- Can output to disk files
- Can issue command language at keyframes for “storyboarding”

- Primitive compared to professional animation systems
- No spline movement or acceleration control
- No control over light source
- No realism features:
- complex lighting, models, shadows, reflective maps, textures, etc.

## Keyframe (cont.)

- EnSight uses a modified keyframe approach to animation
- why
- limitations
- Global transforms
- Local transforms
- Look At/From
- Transforms are per viewport
- Transient data will play over specified range
- Clips and isosurfaces can move via a delta value
- Rate is controlled by specifying the number of “in-between” frames

## Typical Animation Sequence

- Pre video stuff
- Introduction Title Slides
- tell them what they’ll see
- Intro animation piece to show model
- Analysis pieces - possibly title slides in between to explain different pieces
- Conclusions / Credits

## Please repeat...

***Murphy’s law applies to every single animation!***
- Only 30 minutes ‘til the deadline and 1000 frames to go.   The computer crashed plus the boss wants different colors and titles...and I don’t have a blank tape.

- x

- x

## Slide 17

## Slide 18

## Frame Rate Control

- Most difficult part to get right.
- Must know the target frame rate
- NTSC, PAL, MPEG, etc.

## Frame Rate Control(assuming 30 fps)

- Define all of the keyframes
- Set up the animation to play only from the first to the second keyframes
- Set the number of sub frames between keyframes 1 and 2 to 300
- Eliminate some of the parts, turn on feature angle, use bounding box, etc.

- Time how long it takes to play (T).  Calculate F = T/10.  (F is the number of ‘times’ slower the screen is compared to tape)
- Adjust sub frames from keyframe 1 to 2 until you like the rate on the screen
- Multiply the sub frames by the factor you found (F) to get proper number of frames for tape

## Color and Anti-aliasing

- Eliminate aliasing problems if possible
- there is no anti-aliasing built into EnSight
- use a scan converter
- save images in large format and scale them down
- If recording to video, avoid fully saturated colors, especially red and blue.
- adjust colors manually
- use EnSight de-saturate function
- record to disk files, and de-saturate with other software
- 85% saturation usually works well

## Color and AA (cont.)

- If recording to video:
- avoid single width lines
- avoid horizontal lines
- make text large
- black backgrounds seem to work best

## Note!

## Transient Data

- Combining transient data together with moving transformations can be confusing for the viewer.  Try not to do this.
- You will seldom have enough simulated time steps.  EnSight will interpolate linearly (except for geometry that changes over time).
- Total number of frames produced:
- total frames = key frames + total # of sub frames
- common mistake not to account for all frames when try to synchronize to number of simulated time steps

## Ramblings...

- When recording to video tape, use “holds” for transition points
- Animation is expensive! If you can, replay sequences, reverse them, etc.
- Title slides should hold for a minimum of 5-10 seconds
- Use large fonts

- If you use color legends, make sure font is large (consider using ‘Max’ and ‘Min’ for legend values)
- Don’t be afraid to zoom in
- The edges of frames are usually lost on video(.06 < x|y < .94)
- If your animation is short, consider doubling the frames

## Recording

- Real time off the screen
- The “good enough” method
- Frame rate will vary
- Using animation controllers
- Expensive hardware
- Complex hardware
- EnSight talks to the popular ones
- Record to disk files
- Use existing in-house recording procedures

## Animation Process @ CEI

- Create animation to disk files (SGI rgb)
- Scale to 720x480 resolution (use SGI izoom)
- ftp files to a PC
- Copy files to Perception Video Disk in PC
- Non-linear editing with Speed Razor
- Record to tape

## MPEG

- Works on all Unix platforms and Mac
- Most likely broken on Microsoft systems (and getting worse)
- Convert MPEG to AVI (SGI mediaconvert)
- Quality vs. performance/compression
- different MPEG encoding parameters

## AVI

- Next release will have AVI output directly
- Predominantly viewable on Windows only
- Non-Compressed out of EnSight
- Use additional utility (supplied with EnSight) to recompress AVI file on your PC using PC’s CODECs.

## Batch Animation

- Uses software rendering (~12X slower than an IR equipped SGI Onyx 2)
- Or try offscreen rendering
- Doesn’t tie up console
- Uses EnSight command files
- Syntax:ensight6 -batch -X -p myfile.cmd
- Only get output if command file causes it

## Batch

- Create command file through interactive use
- use fewer subframes between keys
- use reduced resolution data set
- command: delay_refresh ON/OFF
- minimize irrelevant operations in command file
- Call if you have problems
- Use EnSight 6.2.3 or later

## EnSight Gold

- EnSight with features for very large problems
- parallel support in server (based on pthreads/sprocs)
- fast data model
- enhanced graphics (point clouds, isovolumes, transparency, etc.)
- VR support

## Timings (for 10 time steps):

- 80 Million Cells	12’33’’
- 400 Million Cells	35’30’’
- 1.05 Billion cell dataset (single time step)  ~30 minutes of which 16 minutes were I/O

## Stereo

- In multiple viewports
- Uses Crystal Eyes or NuVision glasses
- Full screen or in a window
- Lower vertical resolution (1/2)
- F12 key to enter/exit stereo
- F10/F11 to adjust stereo separation

## Some Command Line Options

- ‘-c’ start and connect automatically
- ‘-cm’ start and connect manually
- ‘-ar’ restore archive file
- ‘-iwd’ Ignore working directory in ensight.connect file
- ‘-font’ specify X window font to use
- ‘-ff’ use EnSight default fixed size font

- ‘-menuf’ specify menu font size
- ‘-range10’ use 10% palette ranges by default
- ‘-p’ play a command file
- ‘-gl’ faster line drawing performance on older SGI hardware
- ‘-no_start_screen’ start without EnSight bitmap at beginning
- ‘-ni’ don’t use color icons

## Archives

- Allow a complete restart from where left off
- Can issue from command line with ‘-ar’
- Very fast compared to replaying a saved command file
- Usually not portable between EnSight releases

## Future Development

- Complex variables
- Tensors
- Partial updates over time
- geometry and vars using different time sets
- update only specified nodes/elements

- Graphics split from GUI
- Smart viewports
- Collaborative sessions
- Web enhancements
- Performance enhancements(// servers, monster)