Blue screen Super 8?

[MadFor3D]

Has anyone done it? Seems like it should be possible once the footage is on the computer. Perhaps K40 and good lighting?

I've really enjoyed reading the posts on this forum. Thanks.

-M

------------------

[crimsonson]

hmmm...
Even modern programs such as Ultimatte dont recommend it for 16mm because of grain size.
You will have difficulty getting a clean matte. K40 is probably the only option for stock here. You will need a lot of light.

I can give you tips (I use do it once a month for a video production.) if you want. The basic lighting rule is the same. We use at least 5 lights to light properly. And this is only for a one person standing. You will definetly need more for anything more complex.

You will want you screen to get to at about 5-8f since lens and stock performs best at this f stop. You must get great edge definition, meaning a lot of back/hair lights. Fix the talents hair so there are not a lot of stray hairs.

BTW- AE 5's GS/BS is sligtly above mediocre. Get at least the Produciton Bundle version or a plug in like Ultimatte.

------------------

[MadFor3D]

Thanks crimsonson,

I may be able to get access to Ultimatte. Doesn't sound as promising as I was hoping. I guess I kinda figured it might work alright since its only for T.V. and not theatrical projection.

What works better blue or green?

Thanks again for the info,

-M


------------------

[crimsonson]

Blue or green?

That depends tape format and CODEC used.

Analog format (BSP, UMATIC, VHS) traditional wisdom say go with Blue and digital (DV, DigiBeta) go with green. This may or may not be true anymore.

with Codecs - I would not use DV codec since its color sampling is only 4:1:1, unless you use Canopus Storm, Rex or Raptor RT. Its CODEC internally process at 4:2:2. If you do go with DV codec then stay with blue since DV seems to have a biased towards Blue for some reason.

I would stay with MJPEG since its natural processing is at 4:2:2 no matter what compression level you do (ie 3:1, 2:1 or uncompressed).

------------------

[mattias]

i don't think you will find a super 8 gate steady enough. sorry.

and crimsonson, your advice on using blue for the dv codec is exactly the opposite to what everybody else suggests. i'm not claming to be an expert, but according to what i've heard, the green channel is in fact of much higher resolution because it's carried mostly by the luminance signal, which in turn is sampled much more often than the chroma.

/matt

[This message has been edited by mattias (edited September 20, 2001).]

[MadFor3D]

Wow, gets complicated pretty quick with all the different options it sounds like.

mattias, when you say a super 8 gate wont be steady enough, what do you mean? Do you mean the picture won't be steady enough?, "locked down" so to speak? I'm confused. When you chroma key something doesn't it process on a frame by frame basis?

Thanks,

M


------------------

[mattias]

yes, it will be on a frame by frame basis, but if the foreground and background aren't registered exactly tha same, any illusion you're trying to create will break.

/matt

[MadFor3D]

Ahhhh,

Now I understand you. Hmmm. This could be fixed. I use this program 3D Studio Max, that has a utility for camera matching. You can plot out red dots/points on your set, re-create them in 3D with the same measurements, and it will automatically track the points on a frame by frame basis. Its so accurate, you can have a hand held shot with bluescreen, and composite it using this utility to lock it down. Note: At one time these types of shots could only be done with very expensive motion controlled cameras.

I haven't actually done it, but I've watched a tutorial video on how and its pretty easy to setup.

I'm going to do a test. Something simple, to see what kind of results I can get. I'll most likely do 2 differents tests- one with the camera on a tripod, one hand held. I'll post my results as soon as I get them.

-M

------------------

[MrObvious]

I'd be very interested to see this...

Marc S.

------------------