COLMAP Bridge for Cinema 4D

COLMAP Bridge: C4D to COLMAP Exporter

COLMAP Bridge is a Cinema 4D plugin designed to create a direct bridge between your 3D scenes and Gaussian Splatting workflows.

Rather than letting the algorithms recalculate your positions, geometries and cameras that Cinema 4D already knows about, this tool instantly extracts the "ground truth" of your scene in mathematical data.
It automatically generates the cameras.txt, images.txt and points3D.txt files required for the COLMAP format. You go directly to the training of your Splatting models!

Key Features

• Render Setup: Prepare your image sequences in one click. The plugin automates naming based on the prefix and camera name for perfect recognition when importing.
• Intelligent Scattering Points: Generation of point clouds based on the surface of your polygon objects to guide reconstruction, with a density adjustment.
• Smart filtering: Optimize your data to keep only the essential ones, ensuring a light, fast and artifact-free reconstruction, with full control over the setting.
• Multi-Objects & Multi-Cameras: Select any combination of cameras and polygon objects to define your COLMAP scene.
• Optimization of Precision: Fine management of the reprojection and automatic conversion of units (cm to meters) for perfect compatibility with applications.
• Built-in Viewer: Preview and check your point cloud directly in the C4D view window to validate your settings.
  

How It Works

1. Setup : Choose your cameras, add a prefix and set your frame number. The plugin automatically configures the basis of your Render Settings.
2. Configuration : Adjust the density of your point cloud and set up smart filtering according to your needs.
3. Selection : Designate the objects and cameras you wish to export as the basis for your COLMAP environment.
4. Export : Click on "Start Export". The plugin creates the tree /sparse/0/ ready to be coupled with your image folder in your Gaussian Splatting application.
   

The Advantage

In a classic workflow, the Structure from Motion (SfM) is an estimation step: the algorithm analyzes from visual clues to try to guess the position of the cameras.
This method becomes particularly imprecise on smooth or repetitive surfaces.

COLMAP Bridge replaces estimation with certainty:

• Efficiency: No estimation and calculation phase is necessary, freeing up time to free up time for artistic direction and rendering training.
• Absolute precision: The cameras, geometry and scene parameters are known exactly, ensuring a perfect alignment without approximation.
• Total Reliability: The Direct-to-Data workflow guarantees a perfect reconstruction, no matter the visual complexity.

Supported Training Engines

COLMAP Bridge acts as the essential link between Cinema 4D and the 3DGS ecosystem.

Your exported data is compatible and trainable with all major 3DGS platforms such as:

• Postshot (Windows)
• NeRF Studio (Windows/Linux)
• Brush (Windows/Mac/Linux)
• LichtFeld Studio (Windows/Linux)

Check out these two Synthetic Gaussian Splats made with COLMAP Bridge in SuperSplat: