… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1184: Music Videos, Point Clouds & LiDAR

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Sometimes, the greater the restrictions, the more inspired the creativity.

A detail from “Clove Cigarette,” courtesy of NoFilmSchool.com.

Topic $TipTopic

This article, written by Colin Medley, first appeared in PremiumBeat.com. This is a summary.

The video for Andy Shauf’s song “Clove Cigarette” has received a fair amount of attention for its unusual visuals and complex workflow. The creators of an amazing new music video share their complex, imaginative process with Unreal Engine and photogrammetry.

This is the time of COVID-19. Colin Medley (co-diretor) said, “I remember our first meeting, we were sitting in your backyard and I think the first idea came from just being there and thinking, ‘Okay, what can we do safely?'”

Jared Raab (co-director): Tristan Zerafa is a good friend of mine who works as a visual effects supervisor on much higher budget operations. I asked him about the LiDAR scanning part of it and whether or not he would be interested in being involved, and he said, “For sure.” And like I said, you, Luca, were the original reason why I even thought we had a chance at pulling this off because of the amount of Kinect scans that you were doing.

Luca Tarantini (technical director): I’d been experimenting with Kinect scans and animation for a couple of years at that point, so I guess that’s what made you think of point clouds.

Jared: Yeah, but you brought up something much more interesting, which was the ability to use photogrammetry, which is the process of taking overlapping photographs of something and turning them into a 3D model.

See the results in their video “Clove Cigarette” here. And their discussion of how they created it is equally fascinating.


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… for Apple Motion

Tip #1177: First Look: The New Motion

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Everything you know about Motion still applies – but with bugs fixed and Apple silicon support.

The new icons in the Motion Project Browser.

Topic $TipTopic

The most important note about this update is that it can be installed on macOS Catalina. The operation of Apple Motion remains pretty much the same, aside from supporting Apple silicon and Big Sur – which is quite a lot, actually.

Still, the Project Browser has a new look (see screen shot). As well, here’s what I noticed during a quick look-around the v5.5 interface:

  • Lots of new backgrounds – Goo, Lab Wall, Misty Light – while some of the more egregious backgrounds have disappeared.
  • The number of behaviors and filters seem to be the same.
  • It seems like there are more shape styles, but most of the rest of the content in the Library is the same.

The interface seems pretty much untouched. No new buttons, or major changes to the look of the application that I spotted on this first look.

Everything we already know still applies – except with more speed, Big Sur support and that exciting step into the future: Apple silicon.


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… for Apple Motion

Tip #1178: Colorize a Gadget

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

The easiest way to customize an object is using color.

An expanded Altimeter 02 gadget, with custom colors applied.

Topic $TipTopic Many of the elements in the Motion Library can be customized – and the easiest is using color. Here’s a quick tutorial that introduces a part of the Library you may not have explored, and show how to use a very powerful color filter.

  • Drag Library > Content > Gadgets > Altimeter 02 to the viewer.

NOTE: If you haven’t explored Gadgets or Gauges yet, you are missing a variety of fun, animated objects that add movement and visual interest to any Motion project.

  • In the Layers panel, twirl down the small arrow next to the Altimeter name (top arrow in the screen shot).
  • Apply Filters > Color > Colorize to each of the three elements: Ticks small, Ticks large and Dial.

NOTE: A fast way to add multiple copies of a behavior or filter is to add it once, then Option-drag it to create a copy and apply it elsewhere in the Layers panel. (See lower three arrows in the screen shot.) A benefit to Option-dragging is that it retains the settings of the source effect – which you can change, if you want.

  • Adjust the colors for each layer to suit your project. In my example, Ticks small are green, Ticks large are yellow and the Dial is blue.

The entire process makes the gadget a lot more visually interesting and only takes a minute or two.

EXTRA CREDIT

If you want the yellow Ticks large to line up with different smaller ticks, simply select that layer in the Layers panel, then rotate it in the Viewer.


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… for Visual Effects

Tip #1176: New VFX in DaVinci Resolve 17

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

DaVinci Resolve updates the entire app with major new features.

Fusion creates high-quality visual effects.

Topic $TipTopic

DaVinci Resolve 17 is a major new release with over 100 new features and 200 improvements! The color page features new HDR grading tools, redesigned primary controls, AI based magic mask and more.

DaVinci Resolve 17 has three major components: video editing, audio mixing and visual effects creation. The visual effects part is handled by Fusion.

NOTE: All this information is taken from the DaVinci Resolve website.

Here are some of the highlights:

  • Fast Effects Search and Live Preview. Finding the right effect, transition or title is faster and easier than ever! The elegant, new multi column view lets you see more and scroll less. Descriptive icons also help you quickly find what you need. Plus, you can hover scrub the mouse across any item to see a live preview in the viewer.
  • Keying and Compositing. New Resolve FX 3D, HSL and luma keyer plug-ins let you pull keys directly in the timeline on both the edit and cut pages. In addition, alpha channels from Resolve FX and Open FX plug-ins are now supported, as are embedded alpha channels and external matte files giving you even more compositing options.
  • Render in Place. The render in place command lets you generate render files for any portion of the timeline. Once rendered, you can move, edit and trim without having to re-render. Render files can be created in any format and saved wherever you want. Unlike cache files, render files are easy to manage and portable.
  • Compositions you create on the Fusion page can now be saved as a template and used on the edit or cut page. New animation curve modifiers can be used to automatically retime animations when you change their duration in an edit. Audio playback with waveform display makes it easier to create precisely timed animations, there are shared markers with the edit page and more.
  • In addition, 27 GPU accelerated Resolve [effects] have been added to the Fusion page, including the noise reduction and sharpening tools from the color page. New node view bookmarks make it easy to navigate large comps, the toolbar can be customized with your favorite tools, and vertical layouts are supported in the node editor.

Here’s the link to the Resolve 17 webpage to learn more.


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… for Visual Effects

Tip #1186: BorisFX Releases Mocha Pro 2021

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Mocha Pro: World-class motion tracking.

PowerMesh on the left, image replacement on the right.

Topic $TipTopic

Mocha Pro is the world renowned software for planar tracking, rotoscoping and object removal. Essential to visual effects and post-production workflows, Mocha has been recognized with prestigious Academy and Emmy Awards for contribution to the film and television industry.

Mocha Pro 2021 new features include:

  • PowerMesh: Mocha’s planar tracking engine now handles warped surfaces with speed and accuracy. PowerMesh sub-surface tracking drives warp stabilization, mesh warped roto-splines, and more. Export dense mesh tracking to many hosts with the new Alembic exporter.
  • AdjustTrack 2.0: Improved track editing takes the pain out of correcting the most difficult tracking shots.
  • Python Scripting: Powerful Python Script Editor is now included in the Mocha Pro plugin for flexible development.

Here’s the link to learn more.


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… for Adobe Premiere Pro CC

Tip #1180: Color Tricks for Surreal Effects

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

The Channel Mixer provides opportunities to play with color in surreal ways.

The source image (left) and after processing by the Channel Mixer.

Topic $TipTopic

Most of the time, I want my images to look “real” or “normal.” However, sometimes, reality is the LAST thing you want. How can you make your images look surreal – or down-right other-worldly?

Time to meet the Channel Mixer effect.

The Channel Mixer maps the three color channels – red, green and blue – to the other two channels. Every pixel contains values from all three channels to varying degrees.

This effect says: Take the red values in each pixel and instead of increasing or decreasing their red content, increase or decrease the blue (or green) content instead. This very quickly takes a normal looking image and makes it surreal.

This effect needs to be played with to appreciate what it can do.

Apply Effects > Color Correction > Channel Mixer to a clip, then drag the sliders around and watch what happens.

The screen shot is a perfect example. In it, I’m mapping blue elements in each pixel to boost the red.


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… for Apple Final Cut Pro X

Tip #1171: Light Wrap Makes Keys Believable

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Light Wrap won’t fix a bad key, but it will make a good key blend better with the background.

Light Wrap applied to a key, with the Mode set to Overlay.

Topic $TipTopic

Buried in a folder at the bottom of the Keyer effect is Light Wrap. This makes the edges of a key look more organic by blending them with the background. Learn more.

The trickiest part of any key are the edges. Edges are what make a key work or fail. Light Wrap blends the colors at the edge of a foreground object with the colors in the background when creating a chroma-key (green-screen key). Light Wrap is turned off by default.

Once you’ve created the cleanest key you can, go to the bottom of the Keyer effect and open the Light Wrap folder.

As you increase Amount, the colors of the background will blend with the edges of the foreground. This tends to make the two shots look more related. I generally set Amount to 50, but you can enter higher numbers by typing them in.

NOTE: This effect is subtle, not dramatic. The goal is to make the foreground look to be part of the background, not to apply a noticeable color change.

I generally leave both Intensity and Opacity at 100%. But, I also change the Mode from Normal to Overlay. Both of these options make edges less noticeable.


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… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1168: 10 Inspirational Tips from Spike Lee

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Making even a terrible film is hard. Never give up. Never stop learning.

Spike Lee

Topic $TipTopic

I first saw these 10 inspirational filmmaking tips from Spike Lee posted to LinkedIn.com. I don’t know who compiled them, but I thought they were deeply insightful.

  1. Write about yourself and what you know.
  2. Making even a terrible film is hard.
  3. If you want to be a director, you have a much bigger chance to ger your (first) film made if you also write your own screenplays.
  4. For drama you got to have two people butting heads. And to elevate that drama both have to be right.
  5. Your filmmaking always has room for improvement. Try to grow with every project.
  6. Laziness can hinder a filmmaker the most.
  7. To make it, you got to be relentless, you got to persevere, you got to be focused, you have to work on your craft and never stop learning.
  8. Make films with your phone and make them seen online. Film agencies have people whose only job is to look for new talent on the Internet.
  9. If you go to film school, don’t go for the degree. Go to learn the game, to use their resources and to come out with a finished film or screenplay.
  10. Write by hand.

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… for Apple Motion

Tip #1161: Create Burn or Scorch Marks

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Rule #1: The shorter an effects shot, the more effective it is.

A path, with a dark gray color, charcoal shape style and Multiply blend mode.

Topic $TipTopic

Recently, for a webinar, I needed to create the illusion of a child dragging a light saber across a carpet and setting it on fire. While the entire effect would take longer than a tip to explain, I did want to touch on creating a burn or scorch mark, which was part of this effect.

The number one rule for any effects shot is: The shorter the effects shot, the more effective it is. The longer a shot holds on the screen, the more time the audience has to find something wrong with it.

That being said, the screen shot illustrates this burn effect:

  • Create an irregular curve using the Pen tool
  • Expand the Outline width a lot; here I used 100
  • Apply Shape Style > Traditional > Charcoal 3
  • Apply Properties > Blend Mode > Multiply

The Multiply blend mode combines the darker pixels between the “burn” and the carpet underneath. This makes the burn seem more attached to the carpet itself.

This is a very simple effect that works well.

EXTRA CREDIT

For scorch marks, change the color to more accurately match the background, and, depending on what is doing the scorching, you may need to use geometric shapes.


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… for Apple Motion

Tip #1162: Particles Reflect Movement

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Particle systems change over time, this means they highlight animation applied to them.

A stationary flame (left), and the flame moving through space.

Topic $TipTopic

Recently, for a webinar, I wanted to create a burning effect. What I discovered is that when you move a particle system using behaviors or keyframes, it amplifies that movement.

Let me illustrate using Library > Particle Emitters > Pyro > Fire Plume.

In the screen shot, the left image is the flame with no motion applied.

However, once I animate the flame using either keyframes or behaviors, notice how the flame trails out, emphasizing the direction of the move. (See the right image in the screen shot.)

This is because the different particles that make up this effect are released at different times. The older particles were released when the object was closer to the left side.

This means that particle systems provide very organic ways to indicate something is moving – sort of like following the position of a steam engine by watching its plume of smoke.

I’d “known” this intuitively about particles, but it hadn’t really sunk in until I saw the results of this movement in a real-live effect.

EXTRA CREDIT

You can easily experiment with this yourself by putting a particle emitter into a project, then, as the playhead plays, simply drag the particle emitter around the screen and watch what happens.


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