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Bright Blinding Light as Door Opens
I am posting this here as I feel like if it can be done in post it would be with after effects. Here is what I am after.
Subject gets up from a chair and walks over to his front door as if he is about to open it to a new world. As he opens the door you see a shot from the side (parallel to the door) as the door is openly slowly immediately you see very very bright white light coming through the crack. Eventually yhe shot changes to behind the subject maybe something like an over the shoulder. The door is about 3/4 open and all you see as its open is pure bright white light, nothing else. Other than trying to film this with maybe like 4 big kino’s, can this effect be done in post? Is there another way to do it?
Thanks
Joe -
4 Replies
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If you were to do it in post, I would probably suggest throwing up a green screen on the other side of the door. Properly lit, you could key it out, replace it with white and apply an adjustment layer with glow and maybe radial fast blur on it to get the effect you want.
At least combine that with some practical lighting on the actor’s face as the door opens though. When all’s said and done, using lighting to get this done will probably be easier.
Cinematographer / Editor
Synn Studios Inc. -
I’d try it shooting a white panel outside the door, evenly lit, but not so bright it hurts! Then in AE i would use Genarts Sapphire S-Glow plug-in to boost the light and make the effect you described.
The benefit of doing it this way is the subject opening the door will be lit naturally by the white panel, and so as you boost the glow , the reflected light on the subject will also be boosted in a much more natural way than if you were to try key out a green screen then apply the light and its reflections in post.
As you will need to light your subject when you shoot anyway, doing it this way should not involve too much extra work.
Adam Taylor
Video Editor/Audio Mixer/ Compositor/Motion GFX/Barista
Character Options Ltd
Oldham, UKhttp://www.sculptedbliss.co.uk
My YouTube Animations Page -
Yes, it seems you would get the best results without spending insane amounts of time by shooting it the way Adam or Nicholas described, then accentuating in post, rather than trying to do it all in post.
In addition to the other suggestions, you might also try a light touch of Sapphire Rays or Trapcode Shine with the detail dialed way down to get the look of light emitting from the door towards the person, but without the unnatural look of distinguishable rays. Applied to an invisible solid or mask, the effect could be scaled and slightly rotated vertically as the door opens. Again, if you’re looking for realism (opposed to a very extreme sci-fi type look), keep this part of the effect modest.
Considering the plague of Trapcode Shine in every cheesey local spot for the first few years after its release, I never thought I’d actually suggest using Shine, but this seems a practical application if I ever heard one.
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Just like it was suggested I would shoot it with a chroma screen behind and a light that would give a strong contour on the actor as the door opens. Key out the chroma and replace with white, add Shine and you’re almost there. I would do another thing that would sell the shot- roto out the actor, comp it on top the plate and add a nice Light Wrap, animating it as the door opens.
Tudor “Ted” Jelescu
Senior VFX Artist
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