How Can I Achieve A Certain Effect?

AlanDogg wrote on 6/23/2017, 12:57 AM

I'm trying to create an effect where 5 vocalists in the video appear at separate times. There is an old derelict castle near by that we are going to light up from the outside where the light will shin into the inner part of the building, We want to create a shot for the chorus where vocalist 1 is in the shot himself then vocalist 2 appears, followed by vocalists 3&4 then vocalist 5 We will be using a smoke machine to create an eery effect. I thought of trying to create the effect similar to the way I done it before with a standard photos shot. Kept the camera still put one person in front and took a shot, Then I got another person in the shot themselves and another and so on then layered it in adobe photoshop, Obviously not so easy using video. Is there a certain way I need to shoot the video to achieve this?

Many thanks Alan

Comments

Musicvid wrote on 6/23/2017, 7:44 AM

It's done using chroma key and a greenscreen.

Lotsa good tutorials and techniques on the Internet.

fr0sty wrote on 6/24/2017, 5:54 PM

You can do it the way you are talking about, but the effect won't be as good if you have fog in the scene as it will be moving and you'll notice the movement change when one scene fades to the next. So, as MusicVid said, a green screen would be the better choice, but then you are faced with lighting challenges to try to perfectly match the lighting of the room you want to composite them into, otherwise they stick out like a sore thumb as being a fake looking composite image. Also, the fog won't be interacting with the people since they aren't actually in the scene, making it look even more fake. What you propose is a tricky scenario. It can be done, but it won't be easy. The fog is the part that makes it tricky.

AlanDogg wrote on 6/25/2017, 5:52 AM

Thanks guys, think we would need a massive green screen to cover the area so it looks like we will need to do it another way :(

fr0sty wrote on 6/25/2017, 1:26 PM

The easiest way would be to nix the fog and fade them in by bringing each actor into the scene between takes, and making sure the camera does not move each time. Or, cut to a zoomed in shot when they start fading into the scene so you cannot see the fog until they're all there.

ryclark wrote on 6/26/2017, 5:06 AM

Thanks guys, think we would need a massive green screen to cover the area so it looks like we will need to do it another way :(

You don't necessarily need a huge green screen as long as it is large enough for the people to stand in front of. The rest can be matted in/out.

AlanDogg wrote on 6/28/2017, 2:10 AM

The easiest way would be to nix the fog and fade them in by bringing each actor into the scene between takes, and making sure the camera does not move each time. Or, cut to a zoomed in shot when they start fading into the scene so you cannot see the fog until they're all there.

Will give this a try, Not doing the shoot until 21st next month guys so will let you know how I get on, Thanks again for your help :)

fr0sty wrote on 6/28/2017, 2:49 AM

You also want to make sure the actors freeze as much as possible between takes while you bring the next actor in, otherwise you'll see them shift when the next actor fades in. Alternately, you could film entire takes with each actor and composite them together into one shot, but that would require some masking and take a lot more time. If you go that route, though you may not need it, it would not hurt to grab a shot of the background with no actors on it, from the exact same angle, as well.