CG Army

[William J. meyer]

Hi!

Gareth Edwards was also interviewed by fxphd, and that may help you as well:

https://www.fxguide.com/modules/fxpodcast/files/fxg-080204-attila.mp3

Here’s a tutorial using the AE plug-in Trapcode Particular to generate a crowd:

https://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-make-a-crowd-with-particular-in-after-effects-18735/

I also think you could use Lloyd Alvarez’s 3D layer distributor script to spread out your greenscreen footage to create the army. It would take a little sting off doing it by hand:

https://aescripts.com/2006/06/12/3d-layer-distributor/

By the way, I have not tried any of these, but have been thinking about it. 🙂

take care, wjm

Now in post-production
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[Adam Rose esq.]

here’s an awesome 4 min video of how to make an entire normandy beach landing out of 3 people:

https://prolost.blogspot.com/2008/01/bbc-are-dv-rebels.html

BBC thing.

[Da Sh]

I would also like to see Andrew’s take on creating armies or large amount of people.

If you’re planning on battle scenes that go on the background, you’ll need to have 2 people fighting in many different styles. (Like 4 or 5 different combinations) and then put them on the background either by hand or by using the 3d script distributor found at aescripts.com. You also must randomize their start and end times so that they don’t look like robots. Now these are already in the article you linked to. But a few tips may help.

This method works well if you plan the shot. If you use high angle, it will become much harder to use this method because the greenscreen footage would also need precise angle calculation to go with the high angle shot. So you should shoot the video from eye level or a bit above eye level.

If you only plan on building an army that just stands there or marches somewhere, the difficulty depends on the way you shoot the scene. For example, if you plan on moving the camera sideways facing the army, you can’t just have the person shot directly. Because that way you wouldn’t be able to see the edges of the actors that pass by. You would need greenscreen footage that is well-matched with your shot. These are the most amateurish ways I suppose.

If you want armies marching and camera moving freely, than that would require 3d programs.

[Joel Knoop]

Thanks for all the input.
The army is actually just standing – maybe beginning their march forward. Kinda like the Braveheart battle line. Not fighting yet, but looking mean and aggressive. The tough part is my CG camera move is going to fly up and away – out of the valley where the army is – and come to rest at a crest overlooking the army.

I appreciate all the input and look forward to any more that might be out there.

[Da Sh]

So you’re saying that the camera will fly, I suppose that means you’ll shoot the scene from a high angle and also with a moving camera, exposing sides or edges of the army. You can still use the 2d method but it would require precise timing and angle calculation to match the greenscreen footage with the real-life one. If you won’t combine it with a real life footage and just need the army in After effects, then it may become easier to do it. But I’m not sure if it will work very well. If Andrew makes a tutorial about this, I bet he will use 3d.

[Benjamin Tattersley]

Ive had a long think about this and if you have trapcode particular you should be able to use the grid emitter to emit your footage as a particle. then you can use AE’s 3d camera to move aroundd your scene. Quick camera moves with motion blur should disguise the fact that the layers all orient towards the camera.