Post Production Question. at DVinfo.net

Dalton Coffey · March 24th, 2005, 10:24 PM

Hello All,

I'm pretty new at this stuff and I had a question. This might sound dumb, but is it possible to take an image in post production and mirror it? I have thrown the idea around about making road signs, liscence plates etc. all backwards. Filming a small piece will some cars and mirroring it in post to seem as though it is in another country(other than the US that is). So the cars would be right hand drive instead of lefty. Is this possible? Thanks,

Dalton C.

Graham Hickling · March 24th, 2005, 11:30 PM

Depending on what NLE you are using, look for a filter called something like "Horizontal Flip" (in Premiere's Transform submenu) or "Flip horizontally" (in Virtual Dub).

Glenn Chan · March 25th, 2005, 01:33 AM

If you also want to flip the text on the license plate back to the right direction, you could superimpose the right text onto it.

To do this painlessly:

Put high-contrast crosses onto the license plate. Basically you just need something white with a black X on it.

In Combustion, After Effects, or similar program with 4-point motion tracking (i.e. Boris Red), you can now superimpose the right text onto the license plate. The superimposed license plate will follow the flipped one because of the motion tracking.

Lock the tripod off, and static things like street signs shouldn't be a big deal. Do a little Photoshop work to make images with text in the right/flipped orientation, and superimpose them on. If the shot is handheld then you could motion track those signs and things will look right.

Dalton Coffey · March 25th, 2005, 02:47 PM

Thanks for the replies. Actually, most of the shots will be hand held, real shaky. I just purchased the pro collection(adobe). I should have done it piece at a time. Lot less over bearing. Oh well. I will give these a try. Thanks again.

Dalton C.

March 24th, 2005, 10:24 PM	#1
Dalton Coffey Tourist Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota Posts: 2	Post Production Question. Hello All, I'm pretty new at this stuff and I had a question. This might sound dumb, but is it possible to take an image in post production and mirror it? I have thrown the idea around about making road signs, liscence plates etc. all backwards. Filming a small piece will some cars and mirroring it in post to seem as though it is in another country(other than the US that is). So the cars would be right hand drive instead of lefty. Is this possible? Thanks, Dalton C. __________________ That Aint No Part Of Nothin'

March 25th, 2005, 02:47 PM	#4
Dalton Coffey Tourist Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota Posts: 2	Thanks for the replies. Actually, most of the shots will be hand held, real shaky. I just purchased the pro collection(adobe). I should have done it piece at a time. Lot less over bearing. Oh well. I will give these a try. Thanks again. Dalton C. __________________ That Aint No Part Of Nothin'

March 24th, 2005, 11:30 PM	#2
Graham Hickling Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 1,669	Depending on what NLE you are using, look for a filter called something like "Horizontal Flip" (in Premiere's Transform submenu) or "Flip horizontally" (in Virtual Dub).

March 25th, 2005, 01:33 AM	#3
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	If you also want to flip the text on the license plate back to the right direction, you could superimpose the right text onto it. To do this painlessly: Put high-contrast crosses onto the license plate. Basically you just need something white with a black X on it. In Combustion, After Effects, or similar program with 4-point motion tracking (i.e. Boris Red), you can now superimpose the right text onto the license plate. The superimposed license plate will follow the flipped one because of the motion tracking. Lock the tripod off, and static things like street signs shouldn't be a big deal. Do a little Photoshop work to make images with text in the right/flipped orientation, and superimpose them on. If the shot is handheld then you could motion track those signs and things will look right.