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Chroma keying or rotoscoping?
I am quite a basic after effects user and would like some advice on the best technique to use to gain the effect I desire.
I am going to dress an actor, who will always be standing still, in a suit of samurai armour. I would like it to appear as though the armour is being worn by a black figure that has no depth or definition without losing any of the detail of the armour. It needs to look as thought the suit is being worn by emptiness if that makes sense! For some shots the camera will be locked down but for the majority it will be moving.
I have toyed with the idea of dressing the actor completely in black but I don’t feel this would be convincing. Are chroma keying or rotoscoping suitable options as I would need to learn these!
Any suggestions on methods to film this and effects to consider in post would be gratefully received. Thanks
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4 Replies
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Thanks for your quick reply!
We will not be compositing any images inside the armour or compositing the armour over any background video. It needs to look almost as though a solid black mannequin is wearing the armour rather than a person.
The shoot will be taking place inside a completely white, boxed set and so the background behind the armour will be white. However there will be occasions where another actor will walk in front of the armour.
We do not have access to 3D software I’m afraid.
Dan
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I’m not sure how much of your actor the suit is going to be covering, but I would say that you should definitely consider dressing those parts that are showing in a matte black. To make it more comfortable for the actor you can avoid covering the majority of their face with anything (just use some sort of hood with a hole cut for the face) and roto that in the end.
Chances are that the black you dress your actor in will still reflect some light, so it might become necessary to apply adjustments (Curves or Levels) to the black areas to bring them farther into black. However, this is far easier than trying to accurately roto the shape of the actor out of the armor.
You should still use a green screen to pull the Actor + Armor cleanly.
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
Can’t your armor actor wear a black bodysuit? And you could shoot it in front of a white backdrop or cyclotron. That way you don’t have to do anything in post it is all done in camera as you want it. Dance shops should stock full bodystockings and headsocks.
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Thanks for all your suggestions. I should have mentionned we are trying to do this as cheaply as possible (ie. can’t afford a mannequin!) but I will definitely try and find matte black clothes for the actor to wear and then probably just increase the black levels in post.
Dan
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