Making 3D GIS Videos

Making 3D GIS Videos! The ArcScene Interface

Things needed:
> ArcGIS 9.0 with extensions licensed
> Data: elevation (DEM), aerial photographs, buildings, roads, etc
> 3 button mouse

1. Start ArcScene: Start> All Programs> ArcGIS> ArcScene
2. Add your data by using the yellow plus sign button on the toolbar. It will probably take a while to add aerial photos – be patient 
Note: your DEM layer doesn’t need to be turned on if you have aerial photographs.
3. Make your data 3D … Right click on the layer go to properties & the base height tab



4. Select Obtain Height for layer from surface – your DEM should automatically be there (otherwise you need to browse for it).
5. Change the Z unit Conversion to exaggerate the hills and valleys – the larger the number the steeper the hills.
6. Repeat for all of your data in the scene (e.g. aerial photographs, roads, etc)
7. If you are using aerial photographs you can improve their quality by going to the rendering tab in the properties menu. At the bottom of the window slide the “Quality Enhancement for raster images” closer to High. (but not all the way because it will take a long time render).