Jacob Wessler
Forum Replies Created
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Michael,
If your elements aren’t moving (static images) you can fix this in Photoshop.
Import the frame you want to freeze on and select out your objects. Cut them onto a new layer. The tricky/hard part involves recreating what was BEHIND them in the scene. You’ll need to use the clone tool to fill in the gap otherwise the effect will be ruined when you move the camera and we can see the blank space behind the player/ball.
Once your photoshop file is done, import it into After Effects, make your layers 3D, add a camera, and separate your layers in 3D space. A subtle move of the camera will create that 3D look you want. The further the layers are separated in 3D space, the more drastic the effect. (search the COW for “Kid Stays in the Picture” and you’ll get some more tips)
Now, if you want to do this with VIDEO, that’s a completely different issue. That’s going to require a boat-load of rotoscoping and cloning.
Either way, good luck,
Jacob -
April,
AE will only render what is visible in the composition window. HOWEVER, it does need to keep track of other objects off-screen (so it knows where they are and if they need to appear in your video). This will start to eat into your render time, especially if you get very large, complex 3D scenes with a lot of objects in them.
In my experience, I clip layers that aren’t visible and that seems to help with render times. Once a layer is out of view (or off screen), I trim the out point to the last visible frame. This tells AE that it doesn’t have to worry about that layer anymore. Of course, the problem comes when your objects appear and disappear from the screen. You can’t set multiple in/out points along one layer. You could duplicate the layer, but that may be causing more work than you need.
Hope that helps a little,
Jacob -
Milton,
You may have your output module set to Alpha channel. If that’s the case, your video would be solid white (assuming you have a background that covers the entire area of your composition).
Change the output module to RGB (or RGB+ if you need the Alpha channel) and that should take care of the problem.
Good Luck
Jacob -
Mike,
Work on your composition as required. Key your footage, etc. Add the composition to the render que. Under the Output Module, select your format (Quicktime movie works well) and make sure you select RGB+ALPHA. This will output an alpha channel with your movie and you will have transparency in the file.
Good luck,
Jacob -
Jarron,
Posting on the forum allows others with similar questions to find answers to their questions.
However, if you have a burning question, you can reach me at wesslermail (dash) cc (at) yahoo (dot) com.
Trying to avoid spam here. The dash is a “-” and not a “_” that is VERY important.
Jacob
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Jarron,
Set your “hallway” up the way you want it. (it sounds like this is already done) Then, you need to place your video shots in 3-D along the wall where you want them. This is going to require some work with rotation and position values, but play around with it until you get the videos where you like them.
The hard part will be animating the camera. You can animate the camera, but this is a lot of work as there are a lot of options and hang-ups.
A popular option is to create a null object, make it 3D, and parent your camera to this null object. For whatever reason, it’s a little easier to animate the null object and have the camera follow. Andrew Cramer talks about this in his advanced Camera tips. It’s tutorial #54 on his website (videocopilot.net/tutorials) That should give you a good starting point. After that, it’s going to be a lot of keyframing to make things look right. Don’t forget to use Easy Ease keyframes to make the animation smooth.
Good luck!!
Jacob
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For my workflow, I use Final Cut Studio. Typically, I do my work in AE – mainly menus and compositing effects for video. I import the .mov file (using Animation codec set at best) direclty into DVD Studio Pro. I then apply the assets the the correct menus. Tracks are made in Final Cut Pro and rendered out using Compressor. These files are brought into DVD Studio Pro and dropped into the tracks. Menus can be custom built fairly easily. Photoshop provides the grayscale .psd file for the buttons. It all works pretty well.
That’s the long answer.
Short answer – DVD Studio Pro – haven’t gone wrong with it yet.
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I think the easiest way to do this is practically – you need to build a bathroom that looks like the mirror of your bathroom. Basically, you need two sinks, two faucets, two sets of lights, etc. All designed to make it look like you’re looking in a mirror but actually, there’s no glass.
Then, you shoot over the shoulder of a stand-in, looking at yourself acting the part of the “mirror person.” Creative editing would help sell the effect. Not a lot of After Effects involved in this – it’s all practical.
I remember a similar scene from the movie “The Final Cut” starring Robin Williams. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364343/
At the very end, Robin Williams is looking in the mirror at himself (obviously a stand-in) and then the stand-in leaves the scene, but Robin Williams (as the reflection) stays behind, ruining the effect, but adding to the drama.Regardless, this may give you an idea of how to frame and shoot your effect. I still think that this would be better done outside of After Effects with more emphasis on editing.
Good Luck,
Jacob -
This appears to be a practical effect. Take a tank of water, film it brightly against a black background, drop in ink. Repeat. A little bit of fiddling with the footage will give you that silhouette look.
So, you can set this up yourself and shoot it, OR you can go to Andrew Kramer’s site http://www.videocopilot.net and check out Riot Gear. He has already done the hard work for you – and in High Def!!! Great set of ink drops, grunge textures, backgrounds, and others. Check it out…
Jacob
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This is going to involve a LOT of work to sell the effect.
Basically, CC Page Turn is going to be your friend.
You will want to pre-compose all your pages in separate compositions. I would have a photo of a page and then lay the video highlight on top of that layer. You might want to set a mask with some feathering to have the video blend in to the page layer. Or, if you want the hard edge, leave the mask off.
Once you have all your page compositions set up, place them in a new composition in the order you want them. You should have a separate composition for your book cover as well.
The problem with CC Page Turn is your pages won’t have any depth to them. No terrible for a page, but will look a little silly with the cover. You might want to adjust the anchor point to the left-hand side of your cover and use rotation to “open” the book.
Once you’ve got your cover open, apply the CC Page Turn to all the layers in order. Keyframe for effect. Apply a rotation to the back cover and you’re done.
Of course, this is EXTREMELY simplified and most likely won’t look realistic. A 3D program would be better for that.
BUT, with the right camera placement (Close to the page so you don’t see the entire book open), you might be able to sell it.
Hopefully that will give you a little bit of a place to start.
Also, check out this tutorial by Andrew Kramer on creating a Flip-Book effect. It’s VERY involved, but he does some awesome stuff that goes a long way towards selling the look.
https://library.creativecow.net/articles/kramer_andrew/flipbook.php
Good Luck,
Jacob