🎭Diorama
(last updated December 2022, v1.1.0)
Please note that this is legacy software and is not being actively maintained.
Diorama converts iPhone Portrait mode photos and RGBD photos into dynamic 3D animations and scenes to display on your Looking Glass Portrait.
Getting Started
Download Diorama for Windows here and for Mac (Intel chips only) here. You can also checkout our getting started guide on Looking Glass Learn.
Taking Mobile Depth Photos
For iPhone
You'll need to take "Portrait" mode photos with your iPhone. More information on how to take these photos here. Currently, we only support photos stored as .jpg images - you can see instructions on how to set your phone to transfer images in this way under the "Capturing this media" section of this page. The steps are:
Go to Settings > Camera.
Tap Formats.
Tap Most Compatible. This setting is available only on devices that can capture media in HEIF or HEVC format, and only when using iOS 11 or later.
Google Drive can also convert photos from HEIC into JPEG upon upload, but this isn't 100% standard across all devices/photos.
Transferring
Send the photo to your computer. When transferring to your computer, you can use:
iCloud
the Native iPhone mail app (Make sure to send "Actual Size")
Google Photos (if syncing full quality photos)
Android Gmail
Do NOT use the iPhone Gmail App as it will delete depth data in the transfer.
Editing Holograms
Now open Diorama.
Panels in the 2D interface
Choose Pictures
From this panel you can select from the photos you've already loaded into Diorama to add to your scene, or you can select "Load Depth Photo on the bottom left corner to load a new image from your hard drive. You can either drag and drop your photo onto the selection area or click the button to open your file browser and navigate to where your photo is stored on your hard drive.
You can delete loaded photos by pressing the "X" button at the top right corner of the thumbnail.
Once you select a photo, it will appear in the center of the 3D scene in your Looking Glass. You can then adjust it within the Looking Glass Portrait (see "In-Portrait Interaction" for more instructions) or you can use the sliders on the right-hand side of the Choose Pictures screen. They perform the following functions:
Depthiness determines how far the depth data is extruded, stretching or squishing the photo on the Z-axis.
Focus adjusts the positioning of the photo along the Z-axis which can help you select what part of the image looks the most crisp.
Cutoff adjusts how much of the background is shown.
In this panel, you can select a gif to serve as the background for your scene. You can use the search bar to look for specific imagery to apply. Use the "Next Page" button on the bottom right to scroll through more search results, and the "Previous Page" button on the bottom left to go back.
Choose Background
Note: backgrounds have multiple arrangements and must be enabled for them to show up in the scene. See "Effects" for more details.
The stickers panel allows you to search for and add gifs to your scene. Simply select an image in the results area to add it to your scene. Use the "Next Page" button on the bottom right to scroll through more search results, and the "Previous Page" button on the bottom left to go back.
Once the image is added to your scene, you can adjust it in the Looking Glass Portrait, adjusting it's size, placement, and depth. See In-Portrait Interaction for more details.
Additionally, you can have a selection of your own images to add to your scene, though this feature is currently experimental and recommended for advanced users only. To add your own image, you must have the image in the .webp format, and you must add it to both Data\Diorama_Data\StreamingAssets\Propsand Data\Diorama UI_Data\StreamingAssets\Propsfor it to be possible to add the image to your scene.
The Wordart panel allows you to add animated text to your scene. Simply type your search term into the search bar and select the desired text - it will be added to your holographic scene and can be manipulated as other 3D assets can be. Use the "Next Page" button on the bottom right to scroll through more search results, and the "Previous Page" button on the bottom left to go back. In Diorama 1.1 We added the ability to add custom text in addition to the options from Giphy!
The final panel is the Effects panel. From here, you can adjust the lighting and staging of your scene. There are three sections: "Lighting", "Background Type", and "Filter".
The settings under "Lighting" allow you to adjust the way your scene is lit. This is an ambient lighting that operates in addition to the movable and toggle-able point lights.
"Background Type" allows you to alter the holographic stage, having a flat background, a background plus a floor, or having no background at all.
The toggles in the "Filter" tab change the image filters applied to the scene, allowing you to adjust the tone of your composition.
In-Portrait Interaction
Use your mouse to click on any 3D asset (lights, Portrait mode photos, stickers, word art) on the Portrait. An asset will light up when it will be selected by a mouse click. All assets can be spatially manipulated in the following ways:
Click and Drag to move left, right, up down
Click to activate, then click and drag on the "Depth" slider on the top right to move forward / back in the screen
Click to activate, then click and drag the "Scale" slider to make bigger or smaller (not applicable to lights)
In addition to this:
Lights can be toggled On / Off by clicking on the toggle icon on the top left of a selected light
Stickers and Word Art can be deleted by selecting them and then clicking the trash can icon on the bottom left side of the scene
Saving your work
After you're done composing your work, press "Save Scene" at the top of your window and select a place to save it. You can load these scenes by pressing "Load", and create a new scene by pressing "New".
Preparing to Present
If you'd like to momentarily remove the interface elements (for filming for example), press the "Hide 3D UI" button - it's on the right side of the 2D UI and looks similar to a fullscreen button.
To record a quilt video so that you can import it into Looking Glass Studio, click the "Record Video" button, and import into Looking Glass Studio as a quilt video. This process can take several minutes and, by default, exports a 10 second video. You can change this setting in the settings tab.
On the top right of the UI, you'll see a gear icon that contains some additional settings options.
"Remove steep photo edges" will use an algorithm to discard color data between large gaps in depth. This often (but not always) leads to a better visual result.
"Lower graphics quality" enables an algorithm to reduce the computational cost of creating the holographic image at the cost of a minor drop in visual quality.
"Length of recording" adjusts the number of seconds the exported video will be - the default is 10 seconds.
Viewing on Looking Glass Studio
Once you've exported your scene, open Looking Glass Studio and import as a "Quilt Photo / Video" and you should be able to sync to your device. Note that the end of the file name of your recorded clip provides important quilt setting ("qs") and aspect ratio ("a") information for Looking Glass Studio - altering this text may cause issues when importing your clip.
With your clip added to your playlist, you'll be able to view, edit, and sync your capture for playback in Standalone mode!
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