How can I add shadows to these particles?

[Jason Diebler]

I’m glad that worked. It looks really cool. Is that crowd by chance the Verizon network? 🙂

“The deepest blues are black” – Foo Fighters
(this doesn’t help me when I’m chroma keying!)

[Mark Suszko]

Thanks for the validation. Sorry I had to mask the lgo for now, it’s not soup yet. No, it’s not for any phone company.

I keep wondering how to make it better; the floor could look more like polished marble or glass if I added a specular highlight somehow. Some of the people shadows don’t line up perfectly, but you wouldn’t notice that on just one viewing because the camera is always moving. I would like to see if I could use a variation of this methid to populate crowd shots in stadiums, then animate some card-flip stuff with them.

Also, I would like to learn how to make them flow together to coalesce into a logo image, but not for this spot, just as an intellectual exercise. I figure I would do it in reverse; generate the logo, turn it into particles, then make the particles move apart and scatter. Just throw it into final cut and reverse the playback later.

[Stephen Smith]

[Mark] I keep wondering how to make it better; the floor could look more like polished marble or glass if I added a specular highlight somehow.

Take a look at my Reflections for Motion 3 video tutorial. Don’t for get to put it in a group and drag the group to your particle well.

[Mark] Also, I would like to learn how to make them flow together to coalesce into a logo image, but not for this spot, just as an intellectual exercise. I figure I would do it in reverse; generate the logo, turn it into particles, then make the particles move apart and scatter. Just throw it into final cut and reverse the playback later.

Take a look at the Particle Metrix plug-in. It has a 15 day free trial.

Best of luck.

Stephen Smith
Utah Video Productions

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