Technical question re FX?

Hey Guys..
I'm a newbie to the site so you'll forgive me if I' posting in the wrong place...
Mine is more a general technical question and I was wondering if anyone here could give me their opinion or direct me to the correct palce.
So here's what it is...I'm presuming to shoot someone walking in front of a long dance studio mirror. What I want to do is to have only the reflection pixellated at the start of the walk but it will eventually become a normal reflection by the end of the walk. At the same time I want the actual person walking to be the reverse of this. they will start off normally and they will eventually become the pixellation. Anyone got any technical advice or opinions on this. I have done a few tests and can manage to manipulate mirror images but have only done this with a static image.
I would appreciate any help anyone could offer?
Tnanx:unsure:

What software do you have available? Can be done pretty easy in Motion or After Effects with some masking.

Hi CJ...
Tnx for your extremely prompt reply and assistance.
I have the latest version of 'Motion' and although I mostly use FCP7 I also have 'X' and use it for certain things as I am gradually weaning myself over to it but get the best of both worlds by using both.
I can't sort out the workflow in my head so your help is really appreciated.
Thanx..Look forward to your reply.

Create masks around your talent and the image in the mirror, and simply apply an pixelation effect to it. The process is very simple, but also very tedious. If you need more details, look up rotoscoping.
This video gives you a quick intro to masking:



You can animate those masks by moving your mask points frame by frame.

After Effects' Roto Brush tool would make, at least, the masking part easier.

Hi there, just to make sure that I got your intended set-up correctly: Talent walks or dances along a mirror wall, talent and mirror Image are visually separated, e.g., mirror along the left side of the frame and talent moving more in the right, perspective point somewhere near the center. I agree with cgbier that masking and rotoscoping talent and mirror image would be one option. But depending on the amount of movement and length of scene that could be quite exhausting. I think I would prefer to do it with green screening. Shoot the room with mirror first, then the same with the talent ( just in case you might need a bit of this) and then room and talent with a green screen placed behind the talent so that the mirror image is also backed by green. Then you could apply your pixelation filter to both masked talent images separately.

HI Guys (cjbier & FvH)...

Tnx very much for your replies and assistance guys. I had considered both of your advices and thought that I might be missing a less tedious way of trying to do this. I think that the dynamic motions of the human form realistically rules out rotoscoping so I guess I'll have to go down the greenscreen route.
Let me ask another then - maybe this is an obvious one - would I also have to greenscreen the floor as the reflection will be in the mirror and unless I am 100%accurate with masking it wouldn't give realistic results - any ideas on that?
Or is the only way to ensure the floor is not in shot?
Tnx

It is a pain, but Motion has some terrific tools for shape mask tracking and stuff. Check videos from AppleShakeGuru on YouTube. He has done some tutorials on this issue.

The least tedious way is to download the After Effects trial and use the Roto Brush (the only reason I have AE). It is pretty simple when you have enough contrast around your talent.

Okily dokily then...
I will try that cgbier. Top man - thanx.

Here's, btw, a quick'n'dirty tutorial how RotoBrush works:



You can export your AE file as a .mov and overlay it in FCP or Motion and apply the needed filters to it. As said, this is pretty simple to do in AE (about the only thing). I'm not too fanatic about AE, since its GUI is overly complex. It has a lot of power, but I have yet to see anything in AE (besides the RotoBrush) that can't be done in Motion... and most often faster and easier in Motion.

AE's trial version is fully functional and is valid for 30 days. That should give you enough time to fix your mirror.

After Effects Roto Brush with the auto key framing ROCKS!!!! :woohoo:
What are the Apple Motion guys doing all day? :pinch:

The automatic key framing is there with the "record" button. Just the auto-masking doesn't work like in AE.

But there's also a 650 dollar difference between the two apps.

Tnx cg...

Yeah maybe it's just what I'm used to but I found previous forays with AE pretty unfriendly BUT...the roto brush looks fantastic and definitely the tool that I need for this project. The price is scary biscuits though - will let you know how I get on...

I have had mixed results with the Roto Brush in AE. It usually does a good job but nothing compared to rotoscoping in Flame or Smoke.

cgbier wrote: The automatic key framing is there with the "record" button. Just the auto-masking doesn't work like in AE.

But there's also a 650 dollar difference between the two apps.

Maybe I wasn't to clear the automatic Roto Brush/scope over time.
650 bucks is nothing compared to vs what it can do.

No, no, ou were absolutely clear. You just can't get everything for 50 bucks.

Oh heck, I'd do a clean plate (shoot the scene without the actress for the same duration), and use Phyx Keyer to make quick and easy work of it. It'd be a snap! Not that much keying of mattes, really. And what you'd have to do would go really quick.

Remember that Disney films can take 24 hours to render out one frame of final product. Compositing one Hollywood feature action scene can take a month or two. With Smoke, Maya, Flame, etc! So these fast fixes in AE and Motion are really just that, fast fixes, not crafted effects.

But I think I'd do a clean plate, use Phyx Keyer, pop that puppy out in one or two days. That's really nothing for good effects work.