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How to add an effect following behind a moving object?
Hi guys, I recently went on a hunting trip where we filmed through a very expensive piece of equipment, and can see a bullet flying through the air quite easily. I’d like to add a line that follows the path of the bullet, to show where it will fly, and animate it to show the viewer exactly what to look for, and the same concept could be used to follow just behind the bullet as it flies to make it more obvious.
How would I go about creating this effect? I could create a generic line in photoshop, and use a wipe effect to reveal it, but this is not the quality I’m looking for.
Thanks
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7 Replies
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Your best bet would be a compositing app that wirks in 3D space, with a paint module, like After Effects, Nuke, Fusion, etc., but a good Photoshop artist could do a very reasonable 3D fake in 2D space. Muzzle flashes are often done using similar techniques.
It’s always best to hire a motion graphics pro to do this type of stuff, unless you want to spend hours and hours and hours to create a brief believable effect yourself using tools and techniques with which you’re unfamiliar.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss ProductionsDavid is a Creative COW contributing editor and a forum host of the Apple Final Cut Pro forum.
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If the object’s movement is pretty clear and fairly isolated front eh background, then PrPro’s build in masking and tracking tools should be able to follow it pretty reliably with minima input from you. That’s available for most effects and can be found inside the Effects Control Panel once you apply the effect you want.
However… to draw a line trailing from it (or pointing to it?)… there is no straightforward effect for that in PrPro, so I’ll defer to Tyler’s suggestion for now.
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I will try to use Premiere’s masking capabilities, although I fear the bullet and its wake through the air aren’t clear enough for the program to pick up.
I have no problem spending hours learning how to do new things, I graduated university last year and work for a company that allows me to learn these new tools while still paying a reasonable amount 🙂
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After Effects is the right tool to use for this–Premiere Pro can’t accomplish what you need. There are a host of built-in methods in AE that would be able to accomplish this effect. Do you have access to it?
If so, this is what you do:
Create a Motion Tracker and use it to track the bullet. Use the Line effect on the layer, and apply the motion track to the endpoint of the line, and set the start point to just outside where the bullet enters the frame. The end of the line will follow the tracked path of the bullet, and end up at the target. You can thin the start and end of the line out to make it appear as though the line has perspective.
I work for a hunting company, KUIU, as a videographer. If you have access to AE, PM me with a link to the shot, and I can take a few minutes to help you with a comp in After Effects. I can easily send you an .aep file that you can reconnect to your own media, and tweak to your liking.
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Blaise, this is absolutely fantastic. I have the entire adobe suite, I will upload a short clip and send you a PM!
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I cannot find how to send you a PM. Could you give me your e-mail address instead?
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It is my first name and first initial of my last name, at kuiu.com.
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