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Adding color to grayscale in real time.
Hey everyone,
I have an idea for a music video that my friend and I are thinking about making and I was wondering if anyone could give me a head start on how to do a certain effect I have in mind. I’m a bit new to video editing, especially with After Effects, so please keep that in mind. But anyways, my idea is:
I wanted to have the beginning of the video completely in gray scale, and then have my friend “paint” it into color. For example, if he were walking down a street, have the real color “bloom” from his footprints. I was considering looking into Video Copilot’s Evolution DVD because I love their flourishes, but I only wanna get it if I know I can make this work. Again, since I’m new to this I don’t want to spend any more money until I can learn the in’s and out’s of what I’m dealing with. Another idea, for example, would be to have him literally painting color onto a scene with a paint brush/roller/bucket.
Is there any way to accomplish these effects or am I in way over my head?
Thanks for your time and help!
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4 Replies
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Your approach depends on your ability to use After Effects multiplied by your budget and divided by your ability to plan your shooting so you end up with footage to which you can apply your proposed effects. This requires that you know what you’re talking about and that you can communicate it to your performers and your photographer.
Spend a few hours investigating the “Pleasantville Effect” and then decide if that’s what you want to do.
Spend a few hours investigating “rotoscoping” and decide if that’s something you’d like to try.
these investigations will lead you to several other viable approaches.WARNING: What you want to do is easy, cheap, or good. You get to pick one, not two.
You must then decide on a technical approach within the confines of your special effects application. You plan your photography to provide what AE needs. You experiment. You toss out your original silly concept because it was based on ignorance and you recreate based on what you now know. You then shoot your experiments again and be prepared to rework your ideas yet again.
bogiesan
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[david bogie] “WARNING: What you want to do is easy, cheap, or good. You get to pick one, not two.”
2 not 3?
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I recommend researching “luma mattes.”
An approach (not the only approach):
Duplicate the footage.
(The lower copy should be made gray using whichever approach you prefer, the top copy full color)
Use a separate piece of video as a luma matte to transition the color in.
This matte can be hand-animated or you can use a piece of video such as the ink drops in Video Copilot’s Riot Gear collection. -
[Jason Milligan] “I recommend researching “luma mattes.”
An approach (not the only approach):
Duplicate the footage.
(The lower copy should be made gray using whichever approach you prefer, the top copy full color)
Use a separate piece of video as a luma matte to transition the color in.
This matte can be hand-animated or you can use a piece of video such as the ink drops in Video Copilot’s Riot Gear collection. “Excellent.
Do the homework and then figure out how you would shoot it so the luma matte interacts with the talent.
for instance, leaving colorized footprints is a bit different than waving a paintbrush. what would you fill the footprints with? How ill you maintain the integrity of the mattes that create the footprints if the camera is moving, tracking, or zooming?bogiesan
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