[David Bogie]

> I need to find a way to take exciting news footage and make it seem like it’s being projected on to other abstract video shots(such as sunlight streaking through pinetrees and chopper blades spinning).
It’s got to seem like the sunlight / chopper blades etc are projecting the footage.
Anyone got any suggestions or need me to explain it better (don’t know if I can?)

Major communication issues here, buddy.

“take exciting news footage.” You mean you have not yet shot it?

“projected on to other abstract video shots” like it’s coming through a projector? Film or video? so the other shot represents a screen or a 3D object?
\
” It’s got to seem like the sunlight / chopper blades etc are projecting the footage. ” this is completely different from porjected onto. which is it?

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

Yar, but it’s only a false color simulation. Today’s audiences won’t be fooled for long. You’ve got isolate heat-producing objects and make them stand out from the cooler objects. See “The Cove” for lots of IR footage.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

Also drop by the cycore site for help.

https://www.cycorefx.com

Oops, forget that. Their site offers absolutely nothing in the way of interactive support or updates for the CS3 or CS4 AE effects packages.

Jens sometimes visits this forum, maybe he’ll drop by.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

“Back up” or “archive?”

The problem with most such questions is the perceived need is confused with the necessary methodology. If you really need backup protection, you make a daily run that is transported and stored offsite and your backup routine rotates between three sets of media. A backup media set that is stored next to your computer is not a backup at all, it’s just an expensive fetish. If your office is burgled or burned, your backup disappears with your computer.

Another thing: you must periodically test your backup sets in what’s known as a Dark Start Test. You must be able to load your backup media onto a remote computer and get back to work in a reasonable amount of time or you’re wasting your money.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

[Louis Stevenson] “Actually I had each image transition in separately. “

Yes, well, that’s a totally different topic and workflow and has its own complications. I’m surprised you go this far without posting “Mac sluggish with simple animation!!!”
I’d still work in Motion after downscaling the images.
If you’re not comfortable working in Motion, and who is?, you will be amazed at how much faster motion effects edits and previews are once you’ve reduced the size of your images.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

Excellent.
A blue camera light will allow you to use the chromakeyer on the retro tape, a simple and direct method of pulling a matte. “To pull a matte” is a generic term, unfortunately, it means several different things. In this case, when you process the video of the sticks—using any of the methods we’ve discussed—you end up with drumstick-shaped holes on the alpha channel, these are the mattes. You have successfully pulled a matte if it is useful in the next steps.

Once you have the holes, you can use them as the sources for light streak effects. But the holes themselves, the matte video track, are much more useful. If you export the holes as a self-contained movie, you can easily track them since the movie is binary, black and white. This tracking information can be used to feed the position parameters of your emitters. You’re on your own figuring that out, it’s all in the manual, not very difficult. You want to read up on Track Parameter Behavior.

You can also place small tracking dots on the sticks during shooting, something that will be easily recognized by your tracker. They could be retroreflective tape or they could be red if your background is blue or green. Trackers can be programmed to search for and track hue or luma differences.

Shooting at greater than 60fps is probably not possible with your camera. 90fps will give you nice slow motion of a drummer. 120fps will give you languid slow motion.
A fast shutter speed will give your drummer’s camera a different look and feel than the rest of your cameras. You’ve got to be sure this fits your style. But if you don’t get a good image to track, you’re going to be doing it manually. So that’s one of the tradeoffs.
A retroreflective (or just a bright white stick) drumstick can produce a lovely smeared object if you are shooting at longer shutter speeds of say, 1/30 or 1/15th second. that’s a different topic.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

I’d work in Motion but you seem to be off to a good start.
Your photos are way huge, about 10,000 times larger than they need to be and this will cause your system to bog down. You only need your pictures to be about 1k max on either side. I’d batch them in Photoshop first.
If you don’t need to move them around or add more effects there’s no reason to do this in FCP at all. Scale the images, apply your vignettes, and build the still in Photoshop as a single image.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

[Brendan Maghran] “If I put reflective tape on the sticks how well can motion track it? I’ve never used the tracker in it. In terms of renting a higher speed camera, I’m doing this at school, so I really can’t. The song is a dance club type of song, and the band is going for a very colorful image. I want neon light streaks to look like they’re coming from the drumsticks and guitar as they move.

Tracking depends on clarity of the image, the pixels must be easily discerned by the software. That requires contrast or distinct hue differences. Drum sticks are moving really fast so they appear blurred if shooting at 1/30 or 1/60 second. You must figure out a way to freeze them by shooting with more frames per second, faster shutter speeds like 1/250 (which demands MUCH more light), or you simply cope with the problems caused by your limited gear and skills. But you cannot blame After Effects or Motion for their shortcomings if you are unable to supply minimum image quality required for basic tracking.

[Brendan Maghran] After using the tracker in motion or AE how would I connect the tracker to the light streak effect? I’m pretty amateur in AE, but little better in motion so some of this stuff is relatively new. Any help is very, very appreciated.

Using the Trackers in AE or Motion is not easy but you’re not alone. Open the manuals, find some online tutorials and prepare yourself for several practice sessions. You will quickly realize tracking for image stabilization is different form tracking for the application of effects. You will quickly realize how fragile the tacking systems are and you will be totally confused by the endless options in the tracker controls. Once your video has been successfully analyzed, you will “simply” apply the tracking information to the effects controls. Not difficult. The hard part is manually correcting all of the frames where the tracking slips.

Mocha is a comprehensive tracking tool supplied with AE. I have never opened it.

[Brendan Maghran] And when you say you’d mask the sticks do you mean you’d rotoscope the sticks? Sorry if I sound confused. “

Reflective media will create a distinct hot spot in your video and that can easily be luma keyed IF YOU UNDERSTAND LIGHTING FOR VIDEO. Your set will have a different lighting ration than your on-camer alight. If you have no control over the set’s lighting, you’re screwed anyway. You could use an intense blue light on the camera and use a simple chromakey to pull the mattes from the sticks. But these are effects based on the assumption that adjacent pixels have unique values and your sticks are going to be all blurry unless you figure out a way to freeze them. If you cannot apply an automated matte, you must rotoscope them. Up for that? i don’t think so.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

[Brandon Ivey] “No, the I think the other one has a better one. It is a new Mac Pro, mine is about a year old. “

Hardware is irrelevant in this case. Your issues are all based on media integrity.

bogiesan

[David Bogie]

Kind of depends on the effect you want. In AE, I’d either mask the sticks and put the effect behind the mask or I’d shoot it with retroreflecting tape on the sticks and a light on the camera to give Motion or AE a solid target to create superb tracking for additional emissions systems or alpha amsks for light streak filters.

If you haven’t shot it yet, get some retroreflection tape. You may need to shoot your drummer with twice the light and half the shutter speed, at least 125/second. Can you rent a higher frame rate camera? Say, 60fps or 90?

bogiesan