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Adding shadows that follow different angles
I did a search and there are hundreds of links on shadow effects. I don’t mind going through them but before I do I just want to ask if it’s possible to add a shadow to a green screened actor that follows, for example, the floor, then juts up at an angle when it gets to a wall, like it would do in real life.
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5 Replies
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A number of ways to do that, yes. I’ve done it with displacement mapping, with camera projection and by mapping the lower section of the shadow on one layer and top part on another layer. For a more organic background you can use mesh warp. Not sure what is the best one for you, I guess the one that seems easiest.
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Wow, you know me like a book 😉
The easiest way it is! Thanks! -
Not sure why I can’t edit my posts anymore. Anyway, can you point me in the direction of a tutorial? My google search doesn’t bring up any that specifically deal with what I’m looking for.
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Don’t know of a tutorial on this, but here’s a dummy file with the technique.
Basically I used two additional copies of the keyed footage, filled with black, both with the same mask one set to add one to subtract.
Make the two shadow layers 3D layers, then put the anchor points at the mask’s edge and rotate the bottom one to be horizontal. Because the anchor point is at the fold, you can then stretch the bottom part depending on how long a shadow you want by scaling it on the y axis. Then it is a matter of making the camera angle match the perspective of the shot, which you can do manually (Temporary grid effect helps).
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Dummy, eh? You really DO know me like a book 😉
Thanks for the zip file. I’ll let you know if it wasn’t dumb enough for me.
Cheers!
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