How to make a photo 3d?

Julius_ wrote on 8/28/2009, 8:39 AM
Hi,

I saw some vegs files about putting multiple pics in 3d space and flying thru them, but what I am looking for is how to show 1 pic (at a time) in 3d.
I have about 30 pics and it's normally just 1 person I need to extract and bring up front.
(with a little motion)

I'm thinking I may need Photoshop for this, what do you guys think?

This may be a re-occurring project, so my boss asked me to see if there is any software out there.


Thanks

Comments

Earl_J wrote on 8/28/2009, 8:58 AM
Hello Julius,
not sure if there is an automated way to do this sort of thing in video.
I use Photoshop daily in my job as photo editor, so pulling a person out and zooming them in isn't such a big deal for me.
1 - Isolate the person in the image with Quick mask - well, not so quick, probably 10 to fifteen minutes;
2 - Give the background a Gaussian blur - save that image - call it #2 or whatever;
3 - Zoom in the isolated image to the desired size - save that image - call it #3 or whatever;
4 - Put them in sequence on the Vegas timeline, on the same track - original first, #2, and #3;
5 - Overlap them about 3 or 4 seconds - depending on the effect you're looking for.

The video clip should flow from plain to blurry background to zoomed in person over the duration of each overlap. It is also possible to eliminate image #2 and have the zoom and blur occur at the same time over the duration of the overlap.

With 30 pictures to accomplish, it isn't something I would attempt in one day, more like two or three. . .

You question piqued my interest - might be worth a video tutorial. . . hmmmm...
maybe tonight before the new episode of Eureka on SyFy. . .grin...
Would you be interested in a video tutorial of the technique? Unless (and until) an automated version becomes available...

As an aside - it never really becomes 3d ... some people I know call it two and a half d since it is not a 3d image but a 2d image we've given some depth with a software technique... some are very picky about their nomenclature and vocabulary. . . (sigh) ...

Until that time... Earl J.
Julius_ wrote on 8/28/2009, 9:07 AM
Of course I'd be interested!

One of my weakest link is photoshop...so I'll take anything I can get.

I found this site
http://www.5min.com/Video/After-Effects---Virtual-3D-Photos-21791377

but it combines Photoshop and After Effects..but I'd like to keep it in Vegas.

I have a feeling that I'm going to get too many rough edges in PS.

Thanks Earl!
Earl_J wrote on 8/28/2009, 9:34 AM
Good Julius... I'll do it... I'll go take a look at the link you sent me and see how it goes...
thanks... expect something this evening for sure... I'll post the link here...

By the way, I used to get rough edges myself until I learned a trick about the feather adjustment... I'll make sure I include it this evening...

Until that time. . . Earl J.
Julius_ wrote on 8/28/2009, 10:29 AM
I found this wicked product called crazytalk

Website is crazytalk.reallusion.com
Youtube demo:

Basically, take a photo and make the eyes blink or mouth smile..

Thanks!!
Laurence wrote on 8/28/2009, 10:42 AM
Wow! That is truly cool!



Edit: This is way too cool to have nestled in another thread. I'm starting a http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=671436new thread.[/link]
Earl_J wrote on 8/28/2009, 11:08 AM
Hello again Julius,
just took a look at the tutorial...
After Affects is quite awesome for that sort of thing...
Not sure if we can do that sort of thing in Vegas...
We certainly can create individual layers in Photoshop and save them with alpha layers to adjust the opacity... then we can certainly move them back into Vegas and move them independently as depicted in the tutorial...
We'll see what comes of it... it'll be fun...

Until that time. . . Earl J.
Laurence wrote on 8/28/2009, 11:27 AM
With Vegas you would have to move the layers individually with keyframes rather than setting distance and rotation values.

Another problem is that the layers themselves won't be rotated in Vegas like they are in After Effects.

Yet another problem is that in After Effects, the bottom of the bottom layer can be folded in closer and rotated in 3d space. This gives you the feeling of three dimensional ground.

After Effects is cool but expensive. Another option is http://www.outerspace-software.com/blufftitler.htmlBluff Titler[/link] from http://www.outerspace-software.com/products.htmlOuter Space Software.[/link]

Here is an example of 3D still photo animation as done with Bluff Titler:



Notice that without the background layer being folded in at the bottom, you lose the 3D ground sense that you get with After Effects. The back layer is angled back a little and that helps, but it's not as an actual fold in the image.
Julius_ wrote on 8/28/2009, 11:46 AM
We already have AE in house, I'm learning it now and it's very heavy for sure.

How's the learning curve on Bluff titler?
Can you move the layers individually?

Thanks
Laurence wrote on 8/28/2009, 11:48 AM
Bluff Titler is pretty amazing. What's cool about it is that it uses the GPU on your graphics card for instant results. I don't know if I would bother with it if I had After Effects, but it is really a wonderful program for those of us on lessor budgets.
TheHappyFriar wrote on 8/28/2009, 2:24 PM
i did this with vegas alone:


i still have the veg file but the comments has the quick tutorial.

it's pretty easy to setup & just don't think of vegas as a NLE when you're doing it, but as an FX program & it makes a lot more sense.
farss wrote on 8/28/2009, 4:17 PM
If you want to jazz things up a bit you need to work in a 3D space.
Once you've cut the subject from the background put the subject onto it's own plane. Move the subject closer to the camera. Now the subject appears larger than the hole left in the background and will cover it to some extent.
Move the whole 3D space to create the illusion of real 3D. All of this can be done in Vegas. Add addition depth cues such as blur.


If you have both PS and AE you could really push this. By using vanishing points on a background you can have the background skew correctly as the camera moves. You can to some extent hide the fact that the subject is only 2D by having the subject always face the camera using an expression.

Regardless of whether you use just Vegas or AE keep in mind that getting the real wow factor working is very time consuming. You can watch a 10 minute AE tutorial and think it's simple. Just keep in mind that's all those guys do, they might have spent a week nutting it out. Same goes for Vegas. Good illusions take a lot of time to get working right. More powerful tools sure help but it takes a lot of effort to work out what you need to do before you get to using the tools. I find spending a lot of time looking at the real world and thinking about the problem beforehand helps.

Bob.
Earl_J wrote on 8/28/2009, 7:15 PM
Hello Julius, et al.,
these things never take the time planned... what with family noise and the grandbaby crying, I never did start on time... I am rendering part 1 as I type here... it'll be up before long...
Part 1a and 1b about the Photoshop part... then part 2 over the Vegas part...
Not sure where I'll put it just yet - depends on the size...

Until that time... Earl J.
Earl_J wrote on 8/28/2009, 8:05 PM
Finally...
it is loaded to:

http://vegasedit.ning.com/video/video

and under conversion at the moment. Take a peek when you get a chance - it is part 1a... of the Photoshop piece... one shorter piece coming up... and part 2 in Vegas as well...

Until that time... Earl J.
Jim H wrote on 8/28/2009, 10:12 PM
Julius, In the Description box of the Soccer example that I did (posted above) contains a bit more of an explanation how I did it. Go directly to YouTube and view it there. Or here with the original soundtrack http://vimeo.com/1229251 and in HD.

I think Bluff now has the ability to do the folding as mentioned above so the ground doesn't spoil the illusion so much.
Julius_ wrote on 8/29/2009, 6:32 AM
I cannot Thank you enough Earl.

I went to the site but I only get the audio, I don't see the video image.

Also, is there a way to download the clip?

Jim: Funny, I saw that Youtube video and actually bookmarked it for later viewing. I'm going to try this with PS first and see how far I get. We don't have bufftitler.

Thanks guys for all the help in here
Earl_J wrote on 8/29/2009, 6:47 AM
Hello Julius,
understood. . . what a mess...
I guess Ning things don't like mp4... (sigh)
I began uploading both parts last night in mp2 to viddler ... up this morning and neither one made it...
I'm trying again through viddler ... one at a time this time around ... it's always something (sigh)
They are made, it's just a matter of where to put them...
If this one doesn't work, I'll try vimeo... gee whiz...

Apologies for the delay . . .

Until that time... Earl J.
Julius_ wrote on 8/29/2009, 6:54 AM
I just sent you an email on a FTP site you can use.

Thanks
Laurence wrote on 8/29/2009, 7:42 AM
This is particularly nice:



Here's one done with wedding pictures. Very pretty. Just skip past the first minute of titles:

Earl_J wrote on 8/29/2009, 8:40 AM
Hello again Julius,
part 1 is working now... embedded the viddler file in the Vegas site...
uploading part 2 now...
_ _ _
Anyone have any idea on how to get the quality of the video better... perhaps I should use a smaller capture area... I did the full screen, so when it zooms in, the fuzzies come calling, yes?
So maybe I should use 800X600? Or even down to 640? Anyone... anyone... anyone? Bueller?
Hope they work for you...
_ _ _
I also took a look at the titler thing ... that is great... not a bad price either... looks like it might have a complex learning curve... hmmm...
I did not take a peek at the screenshots. . . I'll have to go back...
The talking pets thingy looks quite fun as well...
_ _ _
Until that time... Earl J.
Laurence wrote on 8/29/2009, 9:29 AM
Bluff Titler is not that bad to learn. The way to do it is go on their site where they have lots and lots of sample projects, find one that does what you want, download it and swap your own media in and use that as a starting point.
Himanshu wrote on 8/29/2009, 10:38 AM
Here's another 2.5D video tutorial by IzzyVideo.

@Laurence: MagicPictures.com is very nice...their web site has more samples, and the work looks very professional. Thanks for posting the video/link.
Earl_J wrote on 8/29/2009, 12:46 PM
Hello Julius,
both parts and loaded now... part 2 is:

http://vegasedit.ning.com/video/3d-part-2

I hope it is useful...

UNtil that time... Earl J.
Julius_ wrote on 8/29/2009, 2:08 PM
Thanks Everyone, this thread has soo much info to absorb that I have to re-visit it once I gather up more time. I have a page full of notes!

Earl, I'm looking at the videos now..so far so good. The quality is pretty good from my end, I can read and see the icons. The buffering is a little slow, but I'm not complaining.

BTW: Are you from El Salvador? I'm sponsoring a child from there thru World vision.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again for everyone's input.
Earl_J wrote on 8/29/2009, 2:29 PM
Hello Julius...
I just realized this message. . .
Is it intended for me...? Which email?
I don't think I've received any email from you...?

Until that time... Earl J.