Top of Sidebar
Mission Statement
Books, Equipment, Software, and Training Reviews
Film Critiques
Community Section
Savings and Links
Editorials
Archives
Bottom of Sidebar
Back to the Home Page
Article: The Final Cut Flyswatter, Pg. 5

This time you are only going to slip by one frame. Since we are removing a fly from his hair, we want to put in some hair that that is very similar to what has been removed. The best candidate is the hair from the previous frame or the next frame. It will be similarly lit and in a similar orientation, you hope.

UNLIKE step 1 which had a static background, this time his head has moved and you might end up with something like fig 28 (I exaggerated it to make a point). Since his head moved from one frame to the next, an eye might be showing instead of the hair you need. So you need to physically (as opposed to temporally) move around the background frame in V1.

In order to move and therefore line up the image in the background so that the hairline in V1 lines up with V2, do the following:

First, go to the Timeline and single click on the single frame you are working on. It will; now be highlighted.

Then go to the Canvas and pull down on box looking pull down menu at the top right and select IMAGE AND WIREFRAME.

A blue box will now surround whatever clip is highlighted in the Timeline. If you have done this right it will be showing you a box around what is V1 even though you are only seeing V2 (except for the eye which is from V1).

You can grab this blue box and shift around the frame in V1 until the eye disappears and the correct hair shows through.

Now you have to repeat this for the next few frames.

A few more thoughts:
I have tried to use Photoshop to do this kind of work. I exported each frame and used the sophisticated tools that it offers to smudge or heal each bug into oblivion. But when I imported them back into the timeline it had a stroboscopic effect. The fixing I did in one frame looked great in a still, but the blending process that Photoshop uses does not account for the fact that not only does the blending need to happen spatially within this one frame, but it also has to match the blending that is done in the next frame. Don't waste your time using Photoshop to fix a problem like this.

Also, I could have used method two for the whole thing, but it is a little more time consuming. Method one can take care of multiple frames at once.

And if you want to use method one to take care of a lot of frames at once, but you cannot use method one because a rectangular shape will not work, then try an Eight Point Garbage Matte.

All of these methods also work well to get rid of the errant mic in the frame or pesky boom pole shadow.

And now a word from Shakespeare:

"Thus hath the candle singed the moth.
O these deliberate fools! When they do choose,
They have the wisdom by their wit to lose."
               
-Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
Troy Lanier is the director and editor of "Due Dads: The Mans Survival Guide to Pregnancy" which is being released by Monterey Media in July. He also teaches filmmaking to high school students in Austin, Texas. Clay Nichols and Troy Lanier co-authored "Filmmaking for Teens: Pulling off Your Shorts" by Michael Weise Productions. Troy Lanier and Brewer Stouffer's documentary "Streets Without Cars" is distributed by the National Film Network.

 

Mission | Tips & Tricks | Equipment & Software Reviews | Film Critiques
Groups & Community | Links & Savings
| Home


Contact Us Search Submit Films for Critique