System and process for geometry replacement

A system for altering images in frames of a recorded scene, the recorded scene comprising a plurality of frames, the system comprising:

• a processing device suitable for performing media production editing, compositing and mixing of the images in the recorded scene;
• a display screen connected with the processing device for displaying the recorded scene;
• a 3-D graphics software application executable by the processing device and suitable for generating a 3-D map of the recorded scene;
• a conversion means for converting 3-D coordinates within the 3-D map to 2-D pixel coordinates on the display screen;
• and
• a compositing software application executable by the processing device and suitable for locating and altering a target point in a frame of the recorded scene;
• wherein the conversion means outputs the 2-D pixel coordinates to the compositing software and wherein the compositing software alters the target point using the 2-D pixel coordinates.

A process for making a recording of a scene, comprising:

• designating a point or feature to be tracked within a scene;
• recording the scene;
• importing the recorded scene into a 3-D graphics application;
• tracking the designated point or feature within the scene in 2-D screen space;
• converting at least one 2-D point or feature within a first frame of the recorded scene to a set of 3-D coordinates;
• designating at least one set of 3-D coordinates within the first frame as a target point;
• logging 3-D variations in the recorded scene from the first frame to a second frame;
• outputting a plurality of sets of 3-D coordinates corresponding to the 3-D variations in the recorded scene;
• converting the outputted plurality of sets of 3-D coordinates into a first plurality of 2-D points or features corresponding to 2-D variations in the target point from the first frame to the second frame;
• and
• inputting the first plurality of 2-D points or features into a compositing application;
• wherein the compositing application automatically locates and alters the target point in the first and second frames using the first plurality of 2-D points or features.