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May 7, 2007
lsgl: reverse engineering perspective
by sven at 11:50 pm
Another shot done: discovering the intergalactic distress beacon.
This one was damned tricky. Compositing the lavamen into a shot isn't too terrible if they're only moving from right to left... But if they're walking away from you, getting them to mesh with the environment is a real bear!
Here's the strategy that ultimately worked for me:
- choose just one actor to focus on
- review the original footage of the actor in our livingroom; take measurements in the actual space and make educated guesses about how far he was from the camera when he started and stopped walking
- set up the virtual camera and two lavamen stand-ins in LightWave; position them according to the real-world measurements -- one lavaman for the actor's starting position, and one for his end position
- if the movie frame was scaled down in AfterEffects, pull the virtual camera back so its view also looks "farther away"
- adjust the virtual camera's height and pitch to try to match the perspective of the DV footage
- adjust the virtual camera's position on the Z-axis and the "lens focal length" (which compresses and expands the apparent depth of space); this is the step where you're actually trying to sync up the virtual environment with the actor's apparent depth in space
- continue experimenting with steps 5 and 6 until you either get the shot right or your eyes bleed
And here's another Sneaky Pete I pulled while trying to create the illusion of depth...
In the real world, things that are in the far distance begin to get hazier due to atmosphere. It's not quite the same thing -- but with that principle in mind, I had the lavamen get darker as they recede into the distance. It's subtle -- but anything that can help glue the actors into this imaginary world is worth a try.
posted by sven | May 7, 2007 11:50 PM | comments (5) | categories: let sleeping gods lie
Comments
very cool sven!
Im learning after effects for the film on on now.....{I used to use only premiere}It crazy powerfull!! and your using it well.
jriggity
Posted by: justin rasch at May 8, 2007 3:09 AM
I think it works, I bought it.
Posted by: shelley Noble at May 8, 2007 10:08 AM
cool. is there really a clear path straight to the beacon?
Posted by: gl. at May 8, 2007 11:05 AM
Man, you are rocking! I'm proud of your dedication and progress, keep it up!
Posted by: ubatuber at May 8, 2007 1:34 PM
Hey, thanks everyone!
@Justin: It's true -- AfterEffects is an astonishing piece of equipment. It's to film-making what PhotoShop is to 2D images.
@Shelley: Phew!
@gl.: Well, there oughtn't be a clear path directly to the beacon... But there is. I've been re-discovering the theatrical concept of the "cheat."
"Oh, this angle doesn't look good to the camera? That's OK, I'll just cheat the actors out a little. It doesn't matter that they wouldn't do that in real life -- my job is just to make sure the scene reads well on screen."
Cheating is my new best friend. I simply assume at this point that there's going to be something in every shot where I'm breaking the rules of the reality I've invented...
There are objects that aren't casting shadows. There are Elder Things that are sitting with their legs a foot underground. The cave itself spins around whenever I don't like how it's serving as a backdrop.
My hope is that by picking up the action (after the title card) with the explorers already in the thick of the hive, it'll be assumed that they've already penetrated a fair distance.
@Uba: Thanks, man! "Proud" is one of those funny compliments that has potential to sound patronizing... But I like it anyhow! Makes me feel like we're in this together, y'know?
Speaking of which -- I don't think I've commented lately -- but I'm lovin' what you're up to with the Mardi Gras story! ...We should all get together and call ourselves a rock band, yo!
(Same spirit of camaraderie aimed at you, too, Justin. Damn you're pumping out the footage!)
Posted by: Sven Bonnichsen at May 8, 2007 11:18 PM