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I’m looking for a way to stabilize masked footage on top of another video.
Apologies in advance if this is a commonly asked question and I just missed it.
I have two clips of video. My background clip is steady, shot on a tripod. The clip I wish to add in the foreground was shot on an HD cellphone. It is of several people speaking into mikes, and it moves from one group of speakers to another standing nearby during the clip. What I want to do, is put a feathered mask around the speakers, and overlay them in a corner of the background clip, so you can see the people who are doing the talking for about a minute or so.
I know how to stabilize the video, and apply the mask. My problem is that the mask is in motion, moving from one side of the screen to the other in order to stay on the people in the video. Is there a way to fix only this masked area onto one point of the screen? As it is, the masked area of the people talking jumps and moves around the screen.
If anyone can help with this I would be most appreciative. I am using CS5, if that matters.
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5 Replies
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You can try a camera solve and then use a Null with expressions to reverse the move, but it wont’t look right, no matter what you do since the camera move changes perspective on the subjects being interviewed. The only way to get this right is to either change the idea on how you want them to appear on screen or re-shoot without a camera move.
Also, I would never recommend phone footage for any kind of fx work.Tudor “Ted” Jelescu
Senior VFX Artist -
You should forget about the masking and just stabilize the people in the center. Then apply the mask onto a solid and use set matte.
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Or just stabilize the footage around the speakers, precompose the layer, and then add the mask.
And the Lord said, “Come forth and receive eternal life.” But I came fifth and all I got was a set of steak knives!
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Thanks for the advice. If I was a pro with lots of money to afford several cameras, I would never use a phone, no matter how good the camera on it is. Unfortunately, I’m just a teacher who was trying to get as much coverage on a live school event as possible. As reshooting is out of the question, I am left with cutting it into about 3 pieces that I can stabilize, or cutting it all together.
Thank you very much for trying to help. It kept me from wasting my time trying to fix a mask on one video to a location on another.
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Thank you. Sometimes the easiest way is the best. Since I have two moves in the middle which was keeping me from locking in the camera, I was trying to find a way to fix the masked area on one video to a location on another video.
I’m taking your advice and cutting the video up into pieces that I can lock down, then apply the mask and overlay into my main video.
I appreciate your help.
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