[Nick Christoff]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, that is an option but is causing a little trouble in that each line needs to fade out—and a new one in—when it reaches the back of the wheel. This doesn’t allow for multiple lines of copy to fade in/out together. Otherwise there’s overlap. I need to isolate just the pieces in the back.

I’m thinking of simply duplicating each layer and making the transition within 1 main comp. That will give me control of what layer transitions when. It’s going to create a huge messy comp but may be the most straight forward approach. Ideally I would like to build things for efficiency.

[Nick Christoff]

Thanks for the reply, Kevin. So it does seem that the only way for me to achieve the look I want is to bring all of my particles into one comp and then orbit around everything, and even then I may be limited.

I may consider rendering out each part of my project with the same camera move and then composite each piece together. While I wouldn’t be able to really integrate each part into the same space, I may be able to use different blending modes to fake it.

[Nick Christoff]

Yes that’s it exactly. Thanks for confirming.

[Nick Christoff]

Ok just realized that inside the map comp and that comp’s layer in my main comp BOTH have to be 3D layers. Now I can zoom in to the map and it’s sharp. Silly.

[Nick Christoff]

Thanks but nothing is built yet. Wanted to get a grip on the issue first.

[Nick Christoff]

Thanks for all the comments everyone—even though some were less than inspiring. I was able to pull the effect off by keyframing the position of a duplicate layer flipped on the Y axis, blurring it, and lowering the opacity. Luckily, there were only a few short shots that required the reflection. I also gave the host a shadow by duplicating the original layer, filling it with black, skewing it, blurring it, and then lowering the opacity. Once again, I keyframed the position of the shadow to move with the placement of the host’s feet. This help add to the illusion that the host was walking through the space and helped to pul attention away from the imperfect reflection.

So for next time, what is the solution to achieve a proper reflection? Must it be captured during the shoot? Seems that unless you are lucky enough to be working with a straight-on shot, results can be less than acceptable.