Skew, Distort, Change Perspective of Video Clips?

stevefoobar wrote on 6/25/2010, 9:59 AM
Does anyone know if there is some way that I obviously can't find, to skew, distort, or change the perspective (however you want to label this) of video clips? I can't find a plug-in effect that does this. This would be an effect similar to some of the transition effects that I see except that I want complete control over the video clip so I can skew it anyway I need to in order to fit in my scene.

This is particularly important when using chroma or luma key video clip elements that I want to key in but that weren't originally shot from the correct "perspective" to match the current video background I'm trying to composite.

Does this make any sense? I hope so. I know it's better to shoot the original green screen footage properly (correct angles, perspective, lighting etc.) but this can't always be done and in a pinch, it would be great to be able to do this with "stock" footage.

Thanks!

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 6/25/2010, 10:08 AM
Does the Studio version have the Deform effect? It's not true perspective as things going into the "distance" don't get smaller, but for limited amounts of adjustment it may be close enough. Try starting with the Squeeze Left or Squeeze Right presets.
stevefoobar wrote on 6/25/2010, 3:06 PM
Yes, it does have this effect and I've tried it but it is far too limited to use effectively for my purpose.
ADB wrote on 7/3/2010, 2:28 PM
Steve,
Download Blender (free). It is a very sophisticated product but the new Blender 2.5 UI makes learning and using it much simpler for novices.
http://www.blender.org/
The sort of manipulations you want to do are very easy. It also has a built in video editor which is useful but not a replacement for VMS.
stevefoobar wrote on 8/20/2010, 9:45 PM
ADB, I have seen blender before but have not tried it because:
1. It looks like it has a rather steep learning curve
2. It appears to be primarily intended for 3D modeling and motion CGI

I just want to be able to import video clips with an alpha channel and do 2D warping to simulate different camera angles.
TOG62 wrote on 8/20/2010, 11:57 PM
A program that can do this extremely well is Serif MoviePlus http://www.serif.com/AllProducts/Software/MovieEditing/. In many ways it's almost a copy of Vegas but it's not free.