Approach for combining multiple floating singing heads

[Mark Suszko]

Your timelines are slowing down because you’re asking them to render six HD video streams with effects.

I find your project interesting and I hope you post samples.

In Final Cut pro, think I would work this in a different order that what you’ve done. I would save the keying for last, and do the synching-up first, with raw tracks, and with the resolution turned down. Using your ear and eye, and the audio track waveform display, it should be simple to line each track up, one at a time, to the master audio track.

Then I would line up the heads into their relative positions, using a still photo of the mask array as a target, then deleting or turning off that target layer. Finally, I would then output one master movie of the faces and their green screens and their synched audio tracks.

Now I have just one movie, still in high def, to which I apply the chromakey filters, a black background, and any scaling that needs to happen to fit the final projection to the array of face masks. This now requires just one projector, and a playback of the six stereo tracks.

I would consider doing this project in Apple Motion or Adobe AfterEffects, for the increased precision and added capabilities those apps provide:you would be able to work in real 3-d space, for one thing.

[Rafael Amador]

[tom nash] “Should I export to master, import back into events and drop the new events into a new project with the song? “
You talk about “events”, are you working with FCPX?

Anyway, it might be helpful to work as multicam.
rafael

[Tom Nash]

Thanks Mark

I’ll definitely post up a sample when I’m done. That approach makes sense. I’ll have to see if we can do this given the props that support the masks/heads is still in the works. Think of it as two three headed littleshop of horrors plant/creature growing from a large whiskey barrel. Each head is on a stalk with multiple bends to look organic (made of conduit pipe).

I’ll have to see if that approach will work since I might need to flexibility to position a single head or scale a single head based on the prop since it will be hard to align and project onto. I might do half of what you’re saying by applying some of the effects needed, output to master and still need to deal with 6 heads to position and scale later. I’m just now understanding that a crop applied to a clip (or whatever) takes up sys resources to manage that effect in the timeline… and it’s not truly cropped until output.

The mask image for positioning is a great idea. I’ll work on that too.

I think for this one, I’m going to have to pass Adobe Motion and After Effects. I’ve just made the move to FCP from iMovie and I think that’s enough for me to handle right now:) I put together a few fun projects a year and have to say I really enjoy this stuff including learning the tools.

Thanks again

[Tom Nash]

Hey Rafael

Yes. Working with FCPX. First project using this from iMovie. Novice at best.

I only just learned about multi cam and show angle views. That is awesome.