Film Projector Light Effect

jsteehl wrote on 12/23/2003, 12:07 PM

I have a graphic of a projector showing a movie to a screen. I would like to animate the project light so that it has that authentic look. The look is that dusty, smokey, slightly flicking light that is narrow at the source (project lens) and wider on the screen.

I can do the dusty, smokey, flicker but getting something that can transparently lay on top of the graphic and just animate the “projector light” is beyond my knowledge at this point.

Do I need to create a matt? Use Cookie cutter (which I don’t think has the shape I’m looking for)? Do it with multiple tracks/parents.

Thanks!

-Jason S.

Comments

jsteehl wrote on 12/25/2003, 10:05 AM

Hey about about a Christmas present here :) Any ideas?

-Jason

Jessariah67 wrote on 12/25/2003, 10:33 AM

Jason,

The way I would do this would be in two steps, but you can do it in one:

Go into an image editing program and create your "funnel" of light (take a screenshot of your footage and actually trace the path if you want it to be dead-on the first time around). Make that shape "white" and put it on a transparent background. Put this static image on the top track and parent it to the "smokey-flickering" effect, then put the clip of the projector underneath both, on track 3. This will created the effect you're looking for. You'll want to play with composit levels, etc. to blend the "light ray" in with the projector footage.

I'd do it in two steps - render the light in uncompressed .avi with alpha channel first -- then lay it over the projector, but that's just me.

HTH

TheHappyFriar wrote on 12/25/2003, 4:30 PM

I had a completely diffrent idea when I read this (probley comes from me doing 3d in college). :) Try this:

I'm going to assume 2 things for this: you're projector is in the lower right of the screen (ie it's projecting from the lower right to the middle) and that your projector has transparency (so you can see the graphic under the layer).

Make an oval shape, about the size of your simulated projector output (lens? i'm not sure what the thing the light comes out of is called!). I'd save a frame of your projector into a still (full res) then goto into Photoship (or PSP, gimp, whatever) and make it on a layer on top of the projector. Just make sure that everything but the oval is transparent.

Now, with your saved oval place it into a layer UNDER your projector. Apply the "light rays" plugin to it in Vegas. Move your origion point for the rays to the far lower right of the screen. The rays should look like they are shooting out of the projector. Play with the settings a little to get the rays the way you want them.

Hope that helps.

Paul_Holmes wrote on 12/25/2003, 9:07 PM

Or be lazy and buy the $30 Zenote Random plugin. I've used it in several projects to give that flickering light look. Very adjustablle and creates a perfect simulation. (This plug-in can also be used for a lot of other cool effects).

www.zenote.com

Spot|DSE wrote on 12/26/2003, 9:26 AM

Yeah, Aaron's done a killer job with these. I'm very much enjoying testing one or two of his plugs. Glow and Flicker are my faves, especially for titles