… for Visual Effects

Tip #692: 10 Tips for Shooting Media for VFX

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Ten Ideas to Improve VFX Source Footage

This tip, written by Tihomir Lazrov, first appeared in fstoppers.com. This is a summary.

Visual effects are not software magic that works with any footage. With video you have lots of still images per second and the process of making a composite needs to be automated as much as possible. Working on a frame by frame basis is avoided as much as possible. Here are 10 quick tips on the importance of shooting appropriate video content to help create realistic visual effects more easily.

1. Include Camera Motion
2. Shoot to Avoid Motion Blur
3. Know the Camera Settings for the Footage
4. Put Tracking Markers in the Shot
5. Shoot on a Tripod If There’s Nothing to Track
6. Avoid Fast Camera Moves
7. Shoot a Blank Background Plate
8. Shoot a 360° Environmental Map
9. Use the Sky as a Blue-Screen
10. Use Foreground and Background Objects for Tracking

EXTRA CREDIT

The article, linked above, has lots of details on these ten tips.