[Graham Quince]

I promise I’m not doing anything fancy. I’ve tried running it as administrator and still getting the problems. Once AE is open I seem to have no issues which makes things doubly bizarre

[Graham Quince]

Thanks Michael. Normally I’m good about checking before posting. Sorry

http://www.YouTube.com/ShiveringCactus – Free FX for amateur films

[Graham Quince]

Have a peep at Videocopilot.net, Andrew Kramer has a freebie which flies a camera around in 3D space.

I needed to knock out a title sequence very quickly and so put my 2D layers in 3D space and used Andrew Kramer’s suretarget to fly the camera from layer to layer. It made a complex looking project very quick and easy.

Graham

http://www.YouTube.com/ShiveringCactus – Free FX for amateur films

[Graham Quince]

I’ve tried various times to recreate this effect, using things like the venetian blinds transition, the CC Balls filter and even creating an image with a repeating black grid-like pattern. The best results I got came when I set my camcorder to Ski/winter mode and filmed the footage through my CRT TV.

Graham

http://www.YouTube.com/ShiveringCactus – Free FX for amateur films

[Graham Quince]

Thanks Walter, extra information is always welcome. I think because of the more professional nature of the camera we’ll try to pick one up at this auction. If they go beyond what we’re happy to pay, I won’t be too upset, but it was good to get a realistic idea from everybody about what to expect in terms of quality.

Really I’m holding out for the one-button push camera that automatically matches lighting to the virtual background, records with no grain, steadies itself, tracks itself in 3D and automatically removes a chroma background for me. They exist right? Oh yeah and they need a script editing module. 🙂

Graham

http://www.YouTube.com/ShiveringCactus – Free FX for amateur films

[Graham Quince]

If only this was a forum for teenages I’d post ‘ROFL’ or ‘LOL’, but as I’m not a 14-year-old girl, I’ll just say thanks Dave, your analogy not only made perfect sense but raised a laugh first thing this morning.

After posting my question last night I spent a huge amount of time (time I should have spent beforehand) reading up on 4:1:1, 4:2:2 and the like and with the budgets I’m dealing with, I’m pleased with all the equipment decisions I’ve made up to now.

Thank you Dave, David and Dean, your advice has helped clarify my decision making: “If I can’t get a perfect key from the sort of cameras I have the budget for, how much am I prepared to spend on a camera/sandwich that’s slightly better/fresher?”

Graham

http://www.YouTube.com/ShiveringCactus – Free FX for amateur films

[Graham Quince]

[redfaced] Oh pants. For some reason I thought Use Illumination was the equivalent of a regular texture’s luminosity [/redfaced]

Thanks for setting me right

Graham

http://www.YouTube.com/ShiveringCactus – Free FX for amateur films

[Graham Quince]

If I was to do this, I’d probably try putting some tracking dots on bald head and filming him moving around. Then film the hair not moving against a plain background. You should then be able to cut out the hair and track it onto his head. You could then fake the hair moving using the puppet tool or a distort effect. Have it grow using a gradient wipe and hide it under those sparkles you mentioned.

Graham

http://www.YouTube.com/ShiveringCactus – Free FX for amateur films

[Graham Quince]

Given what you’re attempting and that 3D tracking is highly complicated, I’d suggest a low tech approach.

If you use the CC Simple Wire Removal tool set quite high you could blur out the train tracks, then over the top of where they were you’d be able to place your own. Seeing as everything is moving quite fast and the new tracks are bouncing around the place in time to the music, you might be able to get away with something quite convincing.

Graham

http://www.YouTube.com/ShiveringCactus – Free FX for amateur films

[Graham Quince]

The Difference Matte effect keys out differences between a background plate and live action placed on top of it.

The difference matte is never the easiest tool to use, but will get you started. You may find a better result using an animated mask however. it’s a bit like rotoscoping, but not quite frame by frame.

Graham

http://www.YouTube.com/ShiveringCactus – Free FX for amateur films