Jim Arco
2
After Effects Coins
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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It looks like you are successfully working through your tracking concerns and learning that it is important to test PRIOR to actual production. This eliminates the “fix it in post” thinking that can drive up costs and efforts if you don’t test.
Some other thoughts: When AE tracker wants to track the wrong object, you can usually mask out that object, track, then delete the mask for the final render.
You can, of course, shoot in brighter lighting and then make the “darkened room” look in post. This would also simplify some of the tracking concerns. Or, as Dave suggested, make your tracking points part of the set. Maybe your set could be partially virtual in the sense that it is hard to know what was a practical and what was created in post.
Best of luck on this project.
Jim
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Assuming you haven’t shot the footage yet….
Green screen means that you’d have to key out all of the background, something made more difficult in low lighting. Tracking shots can be much easier is you place some tracking markers. In this case, I would just use some luminous tape, or even some very low brightness lights behind the singer, and then track them. Mask them out in the final edit.
It sounds like you’ve already figured out the 3d text letters.
Jim
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Hi Chris,
Yes, we often seem to bump into each other with these somewhat odd problems. I’ve used several of your solutions in the past but can’t recall ever using your color punch – we’ll download it and add it to the arsenal.
I’ve gotten a reputation for fixing problem videos, frequently from local doc producers and wedding-video guys/gals. I often get some rather atrocious looking video where the first task is to try to determine exactly what is happening. (For instance, there’s a small local church that, for a while, had a mixture of compact florescent, sodium-vapor, and incandescent lighting in the sanctuary area.)
Lately I’ve have been experimenting with Photoshop for solutions that aren’t readily available in AE. Neither LAB color-mode nor the RAW filter are currently available for AE and I have been able to use them in Photoshop with very good results. I’ll try to post a tutorial when I get the details worked out.
Jim
Colorburst Video -
I have had some luck in situations like this by using Photoshop’s LAB color mode with a curves layer to manipulate the green colors and make them “more similar.” In this case, you’d change the “b” channel. Then use the color-manipulated video only for the mask. The helmet is still very similar in color to the background, so might need a mask of it’s own.
If you are not familiar with LAB color mode, then the effort to learn is probably not worth it for this one job. Just go with multiple masks.
Jim
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Paul,
I was referring to moving an image of just a bullet around in the comp to simulate a bullet traveling across the screen. So put the bullet on one side of the comp, set a keyframe, then move the bullet to the other side and set another keyframe. Or put a 3D bullet on a 3D layer and move it in three dimensions.
Jim
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Instead of shooting “green screen footage of a bullet traveling across the screen” you could just 3D animate a still image of the bullet, then add the air-turbulence typically seen with slo-mo projectiles.
Jim
Colorburst Video -
There have been several rather successful “single camera” time slice techniques. They range from a rig that moves the camera around (while the actors remain frozen), to complicated post techniques where you cut a still images into layers and manipulate them in AE.
None of them can achieve exactly what a multi-camera rig can achieve, but you can get very convincing results, trading production/post-production time for cost.
Try youtube or even big-G with “time slice,” “time freeze,” or “bullet time with one camera.”
Jim
Colorburst Video -
Walter (and Faith,)
It is my understanding that the contrast problem shows up upon import, suggesting that something related to import is interpreting the file incorrectly. It sounds a bit like the “setup / no setup” problem from a few years ago, but I thought that was related to quicktime and had been resolved.
Photoshop has that snakepit of “profiles” but I don’t remember anything similar in AE. Other than a codec or color management settings, what else could change the interpretation of a file?
Jim
Colorburst Video -
I can’t find it either. Apparently, Adobe decided that we didn’t need it anymore.
Jim
Colorburst Video -
We work with a LOT of old VHS video. Chris’ suggestions are right on!
In addition to his ideas, there are techniques and probably even third-party filters to reduce the over-sharpened edges. We often use blend modes, such as screen or multiply, to brighten very dark footage, or bring detail back in overexposed footage. You may also want to use Warp Stabilizer to reduce the shaky camera.
The VHS tape format had numerous technical compromises, such as the ‘color-under’ method of recording the chroma information. Additionally, the inexpensive (relatively) cameras of the era often had simple lenses coupled with a single saticon-tube imager that was prone to lag and blooming. In low-light, they performed poorly and had a lot of image noise.
Jim
Colorburst Video
