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Adding disco party effect lights in FCP
Hi i am filming a stop animation movie and editing it in FCP. In one scene i would like to edit the image so that it appears dark (like a nightclub) and has moving disco party lights think like those plug in disco balls with the multi coloured lights. I also want to apply this effect to an ajar door so you can just see the lights peaking out of the door crack. Is this effect possibe?
PS I tried to take my original photographs in a dark place and brought a disco ball, but the photographs where either coming out brightly with a flash and if i didnt use the flash it would come out underexposed. Please could you add a few steps in how to create this efffect regards
Alison -
2 Replies
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You can apply the effects later using Motion but they will never look as good as if you had shot as practical effects n the set. That’s the nature of stop action. If your style will accept post-production effects, do them in Motion.
However, as with all “fix it i post” solutions, pre-planning and previsualization are what make these succeed. You need to plan to have some practical lighting effects on the set that will be augmented by your overlays and special effects.
If you rent any of the Wallace and Gromit films (especially Wererabbit) or Nightmare Before Xmas you can see how the special effects differ form the live footage but you can also see how the sets were deliberately rigged to make the effects part of the show instead of having the appearance of being afterthoughts.
bogiesan
This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”
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[afrancis] “PS I tried to take my original photographs in a dark place and brought a disco ball, but the photographs where either coming out brightly with a flash and if i didnt use the flash it would come out underexposed. Please could you add a few steps in how to create this efffect regards”
You would be better off using either photofloods or halogen lights for this kind of thing. You’ll probably need a spotlight or 2 for the disco ball, and something wider softer to illuminate the set.
And you’ll have to turn the disco ball by hand just a few degrees for each frame.
Arnie
Now in post: Peristroika, a film by Slava Tsukerman
https://www.arniepix.com/blog
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