EnSight 6.x Advanced Training Part 2

1
EnSight 6.xAdvanced TrainingPart 2

• Instructors
• Mike Krogh, Anders Grimsrud

2
Agenda

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

3
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

4
Frames (cont.)

• Transformations are about a frames 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).

5
Frame Definition
6
Frame Definition (cont.)
7
Frame Mode
Computation symmetry Coordinate system Frame
location Global triad visibility Transform /
Definition Delete selected frame
Create a new frame Assign parts to a
frame Frame visibility Triad color Triad line
thickness Triad labeling
8
Frame Dialogs
9
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

10
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.

11
(No Transcript)
12
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!

13
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.

14
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

15
Typical Animation Sequence

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

16
Please repeat...

• Murphys 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 titlesand I dont have a
  blank tape.

x
x
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
Frame Rate Control

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

20
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

21
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

22
Color and AA (cont.)

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

23
Note!
24
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

25
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)
• Dont be afraid to zoom in
• The edges of frames are usually lost on
  video(.06 lt xy lt .94)
• If your animation is short, consider doubling the
  frames

26
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

27
Animation Process _at_ 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

28
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

29
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 PCs CODECs.

30
Batch Animation

• Uses software rendering (12X slower than an IR
  equipped SGI Onyx 2)
• Or try offscreen rendering
• Doesnt tie up console
• Uses EnSight command files
• Syntaxensight6 -batch -X -p myfile.cmd
• Only get output if command file causes it

31
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

32
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

33
Timings (for 10 time steps) 80 Million
Cells 1233 400 Million Cells 3530 1.05
Billion cell dataset (single time step) 30
minutes of which 16 minutes were I/O
34
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

35
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 dont use color icons

36
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

37
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)