talking picture... at DVinfo.net

Jay Voog · September 7th, 2005, 09:21 AM

Wondering if someone can help me...
First of all, I am using FCP 5.0 and Photoshop 5.0

I have a picture of someone's face and I am trying to replace only their mouth on the picture with a VIDEO of someone's mouth talking. "The Conan OBrian" show does this talking picture occasionally. I videotaped the person at the same angle and color of the picture, so my only trouble is putting these together. I have done this in the past with other editing platforms, but for the life of me, I can't seem to make this work with FCP (at least simply).

Boyd Ostroff · September 7th, 2005, 09:29 AM

Read the section of the FCP manual on compositing, it should give you all the info you need. I don't have FCP 5, but in FCP 4.5 it's in Volume 3 (effects). The manual is also available as a PDF via the Help menu inside FCP.

Basically, you need to create a matte with a feathered edge for the person's mouth. Put the video of the talking mouth on the lowest track, then the matte, then the Photoshop file on the top track.

The manual really does a pretty thorough job of explaining all this, with examples.

Jay Voog · September 7th, 2005, 09:33 AM

Thanks Boyd...I will look for this.

Jay Voog · September 7th, 2005, 02:37 PM

Boyd (or whoever else maybe able to help),

I figured out how to do the matte. Thank you for that!
But I have another question regarding this...I hope I can describe this well.

I have a VX2100 camera that is connected via firewire to FCP 5.0.
The camera is just being used to take a "live" clip of the person talking while it is being fed via firewire to FCP (log & capture), no recording to tape. Just wondering if there is a way to show the "live" video being captured along with the picture (with mouth removed) in the canvas, viewer or an external monitor at the same time. This is so the person being captured can easily place their mouth in the correct location and they can see what they are doing with the picture superimposed on them (with thier talking mouth).

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you may have...I am doing this shoot tomorrow morning, just trying to see the best way to do this (if there is a way).

Boyd Ostroff · September 7th, 2005, 04:00 PM

I can't really think of a way to do that. FCP was never designed to mix live video. I suppose you could buy or rent one of those mixers with firewire in/out, superimpose the face, then send it out to FCP to capture. Probably not practical on your schedule though, not to mention the cost.

There is Mac f"VJ" software that allows you to mix several sources in real time. I was recently reading about these somewhere... I think it was in a recent issue of DV Magazine. You might look into this, I think some are shareware.

September 7th, 2005, 09:21 AM	#1
Jay Voog Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Minnesota, USA Posts: 86	talking picture... Wondering if someone can help me... First of all, I am using FCP 5.0 and Photoshop 5.0 I have a picture of someone's face and I am trying to replace only their mouth on the picture with a VIDEO of someone's mouth talking. "The Conan OBrian" show does this talking picture occasionally. I videotaped the person at the same angle and color of the picture, so my only trouble is putting these together. I have done this in the past with other editing platforms, but for the life of me, I can't seem to make this work with FCP (at least simply). __________________ Jay ---------------------------- Sony VX2100 cam; FCP 5.0.4

September 7th, 2005, 09:33 AM	#3
Jay Voog Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Minnesota, USA Posts: 86	Thanks Boyd...I will look for this. __________________ Jay ---------------------------- Sony VX2100 cam; FCP 5.0.4

September 7th, 2005, 02:37 PM	#4
Jay Voog Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Minnesota, USA Posts: 86	another question about the talking picture... Boyd (or whoever else maybe able to help), I figured out how to do the matte. Thank you for that! But I have another question regarding this...I hope I can describe this well. I have a VX2100 camera that is connected via firewire to FCP 5.0. The camera is just being used to take a "live" clip of the person talking while it is being fed via firewire to FCP (log & capture), no recording to tape. Just wondering if there is a way to show the "live" video being captured along with the picture (with mouth removed) in the canvas, viewer or an external monitor at the same time. This is so the person being captured can easily place their mouth in the correct location and they can see what they are doing with the picture superimposed on them (with thier talking mouth). Thanks in advance for any thoughts you may have...I am doing this shoot tomorrow morning, just trying to see the best way to do this (if there is a way). __________________ Jay ---------------------------- Sony VX2100 cam; FCP 5.0.4

September 7th, 2005, 09:29 AM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,800	Read the section of the FCP manual on compositing, it should give you all the info you need. I don't have FCP 5, but in FCP 4.5 it's in Volume 3 (effects). The manual is also available as a PDF via the Help menu inside FCP. Basically, you need to create a matte with a feathered edge for the person's mouth. Put the video of the talking mouth on the lowest track, then the matte, then the Photoshop file on the top track. The manual really does a pretty thorough job of explaining all this, with examples.

September 7th, 2005, 04:00 PM	#5
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,800	I can't really think of a way to do that. FCP was never designed to mix live video. I suppose you could buy or rent one of those mixers with firewire in/out, superimpose the face, then send it out to FCP to capture. Probably not practical on your schedule though, not to mention the cost. There is Mac f"VJ" software that allows you to mix several sources in real time. I was recently reading about these somewhere... I think it was in a recent issue of DV Magazine. You might look into this, I think some are shareware.