Bezier masking, with the photo on multiple tracks.
I beleive Spot has a Tutorial on VASST.

I've done it before and posted about it. You simply cut out objects in the photo, using your photo editor. You then have to clone in "behind" them. The reason for this is that you then put these objects on separate layers, and create different moves for each layer. You have to be pretty clever with these moves to make the foreground and background objects move by different amounts, the same way they would if you had a real video camera move. Depending on the move, the background can move a lot, and the foreground image may appear to be stationary.

I do this quite often for slideshows but i wouldnt call them 3d.. as your not manipualting 3d space.
Although i have done pans going down while manipulating backgrounds using the 3d plugin pack's XY axis dials and the persepctive slider to give it a more authentic feel to teh perspective were looking at (thats when we start going into 3d..)

Some people call this the "ken burns" effect, however from as far back as i can remember people were using this with combustion 1 and AE2, long before someone put a name to it...
I call it something else as there is much more which can be done with this type of compositing, (essentially its the same thing but i dont like using a persons name to "name" a technique which has been out long before it was public knowledge...and tweaked to improve on the "original" design), however there are many ways this can be done.

Open up ur photo editing app, and u can literally paint areas in a chroma key green (as your working with DV. then throw them in your compositor, add a chromakey filter and animate each layer independantly.
For background layers, its best to Clone within the areas where the subject acually lay, this way u have more freedom of movement

Another option is to export each independant layer as a PNG with transparency and this would also work.

U can do all this with vegas (apart from the image editing) with no need for AE

I know you can do it without AE, but the advantage of AE over Vegas is it can import a layered photoshop file as a composition with alphas. You don't need to import each layer one at a time and create a track each time.

Also, AE has 3D layers that help in getting the depth illusion.

But yes you can do this with almost any NLE. It is just easier with some of them.

Dave T2

If you're looking for the "Kids in the Picture" effect, that's described in Vol 3 #3 of my newsletters.

I have an example of what you're asking about on our FTP site. It's a bit of a pain to get to, but you can see several examples of Vegas making local cable commercials there. Specifically, go to the "IE66ers" folder and check out any of the spots there. They are all the same with slight variations for the donut area.
If you're curioius, go to:
ftp://files.chartercom.com
username - chartermedia
password - tvads
This was done exclusively in Vegas 6.0d using Bezier Masks.

oh... unfortunately, Firefox can't access the site. Only M$ Internet Explorer and Macs browser. Sorry. I prefer Firefox too.

Here is my
done in AE7.


As noted earlier, this is referred to as the "Kid Stays in the Picture" technique because it was pioneered in that documentary film. Although this could be done in Vegas, AE makes it relatively easy because:
1. You can easily work in many different planes in your (planar) 3d space.
2. You work with a virtual camera which you can manipulate over time. (e.g., move and/or change the focal length of the lens). In my example you will notice focus changes from the background to the foreground as the lens zooms out. This becomes really useful if you have multiple planes you are zooming or moving through.
3. You specify a point of interest which is the point the camea is aimed at, which enables you to easily keep your primary subject in view as you move the camera around.
4. Haven't used this yet but you can also assign lighting in the 3d space.

HTH,
jerry


Edited to add link to WMV.

I have a tutorial on VASST, but Rich Harrington has a very intensive DVD called "Motion Control" that not only shows how to create the effect, but goes deeply into parallax, how it works with the human eye, etc.

Pumice, you pretty much described how's it done. I'm sure many use AE, but Vegas can be used as well. Depending on the effect you're trying to get, I think it looks best when the effect is more subtle and almost not noticed.

Here's a clip of a photo montage using Vegas.

I think it looks best when the effect is more subtle...

Very nice job. I'm assuming you Photoshop'd the people out and then pasted them back on again (on a duplicate layer)?

Mike

DGates, very nicely done. I like the subtle look too. I did see a great montage of scenes in Cuba (if I recall correctly) that were pretty extreme KSIP actions. They looked good because it was set to really snappy latin music and it fit well. But extreme movement means more cloning for the background, or (as in my case) using a different image for the background.

-jerry

Thanks rs170a,

Yes, just cutting out the main subject and cloning in the background, and then saving the top layer as a png file.

You're right, TeeTime, I've seen some extreme (very busy) 3D clips that looked very cool.

One thing about doing these 3D montages is that it takes a lot of time.

Dgates that's the definitive example of how it's done. Nice work. I also like the opening sequence to Carnivale [sp?] on HBO.

Nice work. Like the pics at my alma mater.