V1U

Greg Schlueter · July 28th, 2007, 07:30 AM

Haven't posted in awhile-- working on a project about a Catholic religious community of sisters... going through transitions... here's a composit of beautiful clouds time-mapped over the Mother House, and the front-lawn... will use at moments to convey their solidity through seasons of change (etc.).... Filmed with a V1U ... let me know what you think: www.IDVidPro.com/VIDEO/RSM/Clouds.wmv .

Mike Burgess · July 28th, 2007, 12:57 PM

I really like that. Please educate me on how you did that.

Thanks.
Mike

Greg Schlueter · July 28th, 2007, 05:43 PM

Mike,
It was done in Adobe After Effects.
1) I shot found the shot and cloudy scene-- shot from a steady tripod for fifteen minutes... cool cloud coverage.
2) Within Adobe After Effects (I have the latest- 6.5), I copied this 15 minute video clip three times.
3) The top layer I found the 15 seconds of clip I wanted for the building and trees ("property"). I carefully masked the property -- the buildings and trees-- down to the middle of the buildings, and slightly feathered it to blend with the to-be clouds layer. Within this layer I also masked from the middle of the property down to the bottom of the road, without the feathering-- this is eliminate the fast-moving autos (which I'm going to speed up at about 1500% or so).
4) The next layer I masked the cloud area... to the middle of the first layer I crreated.... You can do a time-stretch speed-percentage, but I did a time-map to speed up the clouds.
5) The next layer is the property in front... at one point there were fifteen seconds or so of the cool transitions of shadow and light because of clouds. I took this section... masking out everything above the front lawn.

Thus, it's really the same clip divided up in roughly three sections... using masking tool... the stable middle, the fast-moving clouds (speeded up), and the bottom layer... because the tripod was stationary, they all blend perfectly.

Adobe AE is an irreplaceable tool to do things like this... plus animations and sophisticated compositing. If you're familar with the Adobe layer approach... this is something you could probably do in about 10 minutes.

Do some time-lapse shooting of some location and give it a try!

Mike Burgess · July 28th, 2007, 08:23 PM

Thanks Greg. I'll look into this and maybe do some experimenting.

Mike

Vaughan Wood · July 29th, 2007, 06:42 PM

Lovely effect.

I noticed a halo effect in the sky around the central tree especially in the last half of the movie. As it is not around the other trees can you get it out if needed?

Cheers Vaughan

Greg Schlueter · July 31st, 2007, 06:58 AM

On the halo effect-- good notice! That mask basically covers the difference in tree sway as a result of the wind blowing through the duration... I need the moving clouds on both sides... thus, I'd have to do some frame-by-frame adjustment... when the tree is over that far (constituting the "halo")... not a problem if needed, this was a quickie....

Zsolt Gordos · July 31st, 2007, 02:40 PM

Hi Greg,

great clip! Its not clear for me how have you shot it? Was it time lapse in V1U, or you basically shot 15 minutes with normal speed and speed it up in AE?

thanks for explaining

Greg Schlueter · July 31st, 2007, 02:48 PM

Zsolt-- post is in #3. One, 15 minute shot with V1U. Edited within AE 6.5-- three masks-- (1) the middle buildings at normal speed; (2) the clouds sped up-- can either map it or time-stretch; (3) the lower -- selected 15 seconds of my favorite for the front lawn. Hope that helps.... If not inquire again... glad you liked it...

July 28th, 2007, 07:30 AM	#1
Greg Schlueter Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Erie, Pennsylvania Posts: 43	V1U - Beautiful clouds... Haven't posted in awhile-- working on a project about a Catholic religious community of sisters... going through transitions... here's a composit of beautiful clouds time-mapped over the Mother House, and the front-lawn... will use at moments to convey their solidity through seasons of change (etc.).... Filmed with a V1U ... let me know what you think: www.IDVidPro.com/VIDEO/RSM/Clouds.wmv .

July 31st, 2007, 02:40 PM	#7
Zsolt Gordos Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Budapest, Hungary Posts: 414	Hi Greg, great clip! Its not clear for me how have you shot it? Was it time lapse in V1U, or you basically shot 15 minutes with normal speed and speed it up in AE? thanks for explaining __________________ Sony XDCAM EX1r, Canon 5DMkII, Røde NTG2, Røde NT1000, Røde Stereo Videomic, Sachtler DV6 SB on Gitzo 1325V, Steadicam Merlin, Omnitracker, Hackintosh 3.5Ghz Quad 8Gb RAM

July 28th, 2007, 12:57 PM	#2
Mike Burgess Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Traverse City, Michigan Posts: 416	I really like that. Please educate me on how you did that. Thanks. Mike

July 28th, 2007, 05:43 PM	#3
Greg Schlueter Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Erie, Pennsylvania Posts: 43	Mike, It was done in Adobe After Effects. 1) I shot found the shot and cloudy scene-- shot from a steady tripod for fifteen minutes... cool cloud coverage. 2) Within Adobe After Effects (I have the latest- 6.5), I copied this 15 minute video clip three times. 3) The top layer I found the 15 seconds of clip I wanted for the building and trees ("property"). I carefully masked the property -- the buildings and trees-- down to the middle of the buildings, and slightly feathered it to blend with the to-be clouds layer. Within this layer I also masked from the middle of the property down to the bottom of the road, without the feathering-- this is eliminate the fast-moving autos (which I'm going to speed up at about 1500% or so). 4) The next layer I masked the cloud area... to the middle of the first layer I crreated.... You can do a time-stretch speed-percentage, but I did a time-map to speed up the clouds. 5) The next layer is the property in front... at one point there were fifteen seconds or so of the cool transitions of shadow and light because of clouds. I took this section... masking out everything above the front lawn. Thus, it's really the same clip divided up in roughly three sections... using masking tool... the stable middle, the fast-moving clouds (speeded up), and the bottom layer... because the tripod was stationary, they all blend perfectly. Adobe AE is an irreplaceable tool to do things like this... plus animations and sophisticated compositing. If you're familar with the Adobe layer approach... this is something you could probably do in about 10 minutes. Do some time-lapse shooting of some location and give it a try!

July 28th, 2007, 08:23 PM	#4
Mike Burgess Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Traverse City, Michigan Posts: 416	Thanks Greg. I'll look into this and maybe do some experimenting. Mike

July 29th, 2007, 06:42 PM	#5
Vaughan Wood Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 278	Lovely effect. I noticed a halo effect in the sky around the central tree especially in the last half of the movie. As it is not around the other trees can you get it out if needed? Cheers Vaughan

July 31st, 2007, 06:58 AM	#6
Greg Schlueter Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Erie, Pennsylvania Posts: 43	On the halo effect-- good notice! That mask basically covers the difference in tree sway as a result of the wind blowing through the duration... I need the moving clouds on both sides... thus, I'd have to do some frame-by-frame adjustment... when the tree is over that far (constituting the "halo")... not a problem if needed, this was a quickie....

July 31st, 2007, 02:48 PM	#8
Greg Schlueter Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Erie, Pennsylvania Posts: 43	Zsolt-- post is in #3. One, 15 minute shot with V1U. Edited within AE 6.5-- three masks-- (1) the middle buildings at normal speed; (2) the clouds sped up-- can either map it or time-stretch; (3) the lower -- selected 15 seconds of my favorite for the front lawn. Hope that helps.... If not inquire again... glad you liked it...