Removing Specks from (Lit) Headlights

[Graham Quince]

I think Mohamed Mehrez might have you covered:

https://forums.creativecow.net/docs/forums/post.php?forumid=2&postid=1137121

http://www.YouTube.com/ShiveringCactus – Free FX for amateur films
https://shiveringcactus.wordpress.com/ – FX blog

[Ed Hecht]

Thanks, Graham. I appreciate you posting that link. Alas, this shot is much too complex for Content-Aware Fill. I have posted it here:
https://youtu.be/i_bXcltkUY0
There are likely hundreds of these small specks that need to be cleaned up. I am taking a shot at it with Mocha Pro, thought not sure what I can do really do with it. I was wondering if any experience with Boris Silhouette Paint for such tasks?

[Ross Shain]

It is a tricky one because the spots are so visible.
Mocha Pro can help with the tracking, but when the clean frames do not exist in the shot, you need to provide the Remove Module with at least 1 clean plate. Content-Aware Fill is similar, but Mocha’s clean plate has more function to control the rendering options with illumination and interpolate between frames.

I think the Silhouette Paint plug-in might be the most appropriate tool with the Clone tool or the Blemish tool with tracked masks. The ability to mix from tracked to manual paint is key here.

More training is found here: https://borisfx.com/videos/?tags=category:Getting%20Started%20in%20Silhouette%20Paint&search=

Ross Shain
Boris FX / Imagineer Systems
https://borisfx.com/products/mocha/

[Darby Edelen]

You might be able to get away with doing a Channel > Minimax in the ‘Minimum Then Maximum’ mode. This will reduce some detail in the shot, but you might be able to do this to a duplicate of the layer and selectively blend it back on top.

https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/channel-effects.html#minimax_effect

Darby Edelen

[Blaise Douros]

Might have to do the old-school way:

Take a frame grab where the majority of the back of the headlight is most visible. Bring this into Photoshop, and clone out the spots to create a clean plate. Track that clean plate into the scene–the 3D Camera Tracker is probably the best tool. Then mask around the highlights at the outside of the headlight so that the parallax is preserved.

Or, go back to the location and reshoot, with a bunch of Windex ☺

[Ed Hecht]

Thanks, Ross. Though (much to my surprise) my boss allowed me to use the good old Median (Legacy) effect to do the job, I am definitely curious to see what Silhouette can do. I plan to play with it today. Thanks for the tutorial links!

[Ed Hecht]

This was actually a great compromise, Darby. Thanks! Definitely works but with better detail retention than using Median (which is what ended up being approved, unbelievably). I think I will resubmit with this suggestion. Thanks again!
Ed

[Ed Hecht]

LOl. Still scratching my head over the “showroom” vehicle that was provided. 🙂