Saturday, July 6, 2013

Take Me To Your Leader

Google Earth Pro is a 3D interactive globe that can be very useful for video and multimedia producers.  You can see it used in by many cable and broadcast news outlets to enhance their reporting.

While the application includes many features, a couple jump out for use in media production.  By first mapping a point or points on the globe and then creating and saving a Tour, you can use the Moviemaker tool to create a video file (either Windows Media or a .AVI) to further enhance in your favorite NLE.

Here's a short zoom to the infamous Area 51 which was I created using Google Earth Pro and Adobe After Effects CS6.  


The application isn't cheap going for $399 per license/per year.  But if you're lucky and qualify, you can apply for a free license via the Google for Nonprofits grants program.

On a related note, here's a video demo of Hyperlapse, a tool from Teehan+Lax Labs which sequences Google Street View images into a hyperlapse animation.
  



The tools needs refinement before its ready for primetime.  Non-programmers can't adjust frame rate or duration and you can't output a video file either (although the source code is available).  But check out the demo.  It offers some compelling possibilities.

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