Video: WaterMan Test 2

hey guys,
Right now i am working on this 'water man' effect to use as a variant in an upcoming production. The actual character will be a blue-screen actor,but here i was testing the effect with a 3D character. This is the second level of testing with the global reflection and distortion,but using a still image as the background.Will soon be testing on a real footage.

Watch the video here:
http://www.vimeo.com/2069950

Update: The 'OH-MY-GOD' Movie Shot

Also Known as Dolly Zoom or the reverse tracking forward zooming shot,This over-used shot is now a cliche for hollywood horror flicks.Introduced in 1958.But haven't seen this effectively used in the indian screens yet,Though a couple of unsuccessful attempts.

The effect is achieved by using the setting of a zoom lens to adjust the angle of view (often referred to as field of view) while the camera dollies (or moves) towards or away from the subject in such a way as to keep the subject the same size in the frame throughout. In its classic form, the camera is pulled away from a subject whilst the lens zooms in, or vice-versa. Thus, during the zoom, there is a continuous perspective distortion, the most directly noticeable feature being that the background appears to change size relative to the subject. [wikipedia]

An Example:
In Jaws, The "track forward, zoom out" shot where the background narrows as Brody realizes someone has been attacked by a shark is a reverse of the "zoom in and track backwards" shot to make the background suddenly widen. It was originally used by Irmin Roberts to represent the dizzying heights in"Vertigo" (1958).

CONSTANT FOCUS
is a new update where both the background and foreground are in focus,like in a cartoon.
Click here to know more about constant focus

Nine Miles: Website

The website for the upcoming indie movie 'Nine Miles' is up and running now. Check for updates. The movie is still in the pre-vis and hopefully will be complete by mid 2009. I would like to thank all my friends and colleagues who are now working on this venture with me.

Dont forget to visit the website to get a taste:
www.ninemiles.co.nr

Nine Miles: Teaser Poster 2

Tip: Fixing issues while shooting a TV Screen

Here's a quick tip. You might've experienced this issue,when u tried to shoot a TV screen playing.Random lines going across the tv screen causing the screen to flicker too much.You might've seen this glitch in movies as well.What's happening here is the mismatch of Frame Rates.Usually a movie camera shoots on 24 fps and the tv playbacks on 25 fps.So when we are shooting the tv using a 24 fps camcorder,it wont be able to capture all the frame-data and it will have to skip some of the frames and that will cause the unusual flickering. You can totally get rid of this.While shooting a tv screen, switch your camera to 25fps [most of the movie cams has this option].Revert it back to 24 Fps in post-production [You can do that with almost any of the movie editing applications].Now that the Camera and the TV are in perfect sync in terms of frame rates,there wont be any flicker at all and the tv will play smoothly on your video!

PS:Another application of this.To give a "movie-look" to your home made digi-cam movies,Just convert the video to 24FPS [in aftereffects/premiere/fcp] and see the difference!

Update: A R Rahman teams up with Danny Boyle

News update on my favorite musician of all time,A R Rahman.This time he joins with an acclaimed Hollywood director and the movie is a sure shot at the academy awards.Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionare. Danny Boyle previously directed critically raved movies like The Beach,Trainspottin, Sunshine, A lifeless ordinary etc.

Watch this small clip from the movie.The BGM is amazing.
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=1115RRGCv40

Trivia: What's the WILHELM SCREAM?

For all the aspiring movie makers out there.Here is a term u are likely to hear a lot when you are in movie editing studios.The WILHELM SCREAM. Its [literally] a sound effect, of a scream,which was recorded in the 50s and is still the most widely used sound effect in movies.I have a version myself ;)

Watch this video.Interesting trivia!
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=_PxALy22utc


Read this to know more about WILHELM SCREAM
http://hollywoodlostandfound.net/wilhelm/

Nine Miles :Teaser Poster

Video: Digital Set Creation

hey guys,
An example showing you, Digital Set creation and compositing.

PS:Not the perfect example.As BG is a still image,the water is not moving :)


Click this link to see the final video composite:
http://www.vimeo.com/1927499


Click here to read the step by step breakdown of the process:
http://www.geocities.com/maheshravi1980/digitalset.htm

Video: Mock Trailer: Curious + Fall

Hey guys,
I was checking the iMovie software that came with iMac. Being an FCP guy, i always thought of iMovie as an amateur video editing software and it is! BUT we can do pretty cool stuff with it.The interface is a bit confusing for a beginner. But you will get the hang of it soon.It has got a pretty cool color-correction system.Its fast and there isn't much quality loss.There isn't much you can do with the video though.For starters,It doesn't support clip speed adjustments.Anyway, i made this Fake movie trailer mixing up two much awaited movies[The curious case of Benjamin button and The Fall].Took only 15 minutes to make the final cut.The exporting too was quiet fast.BTW took the music clip from Yuvvrajj by AR Rahman.Then i thought of uploading it here!Have'nt done any post production on this one.Just Editing.I will be uploading a remastered version soon!

Watch the Fake Trailer here:
http://www.vimeo.com/1896819

Update: Extract Audio from YouTube Video

Hey Guys,
Here's an easy way to extract audio from a YouTube video.
First you need to download the video to your pc.Check this site to know how to do that.

Now open the flv-extract.You can download it from here

Drop the flv file into the application window.You will get the video and audio extracted as seperate files.Its all free! So its worth checking out!

Video: AfterEffects: Predator Effect

The transparency effect like in the movie Predator.[According to me,that's the scariest Alien i have ever seen till date!].I dont have a green screen setup yet,so i used a Biped rendered out as TGA sequence as the displacement map over the static background.

PS:The biped is actually doing a ballet,but comeon,there are pre-cogs,hunters,breeders and eccentric "ballet dancers" in predator world!

Also FYI,This is how the effect was done in the original 1987 Predator movie:

The invisibility effect was achieved by having someone in a bright red suit (because it was the farthest opposite of the green of the jungle and the blue of the sky) the size of the creature. The take was then repeated without the actors using a 30% wider lens on the camera. When the two takes were combined optically, a vague outline of the alien could be seen with the background scenery bending around its shape.[From Wikipedia]

Watch my video here:
http://www.vimeo.com/1887851

Digital Art: Ruins 2 Mock Poster

Hey Guys,

Another application of the Luft Algorithm to generate foilage. Also did use Ambient Occlusion technique to give accuracy to the lighting details.

Watch the image here: [Click to see the full size]



I also made a short video with this.Check it out
http://www.vimeo.com/1880751

Wallpaper: Poison Ivy 1920x1200

Hey Guys,
Rendered out from 3D Max via Mental Ray.Did use the thomus luft algorithm to create the foilage.

Download the hi-res wallpaper here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/65516800/83781232/poison1920.html

Update: 3D Match Moving a.k.a 3D Motion Tracking

I've been in this field for a while but its just now that i got a chance to get my hands on a 3d matchmoving application..PFTrack.Though, its a learning edition and cant use it on any commercial projects,I got an opportunity to understand the concept.It was an exciting experience which [i hope] opened up a wide range of visual FX possibilities for me.

Basically,the process is pretty simple to understand.Its an advanced method of compositing a 3d object onto a realworld scene and matching up with its 3D Data so that the viewer gets the feeling that the object is a part of the actual scene.Usually many of you might be familiar with 2D Tracking.We are able to do that inside almost all the compositing softwares.There we are only playing with the X and Y data but the Z data,i.e the 3D Data is not readily available.Watch these sample videos i found on you tube and you will get a better idea..

2D Tracking Sample:
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=GmKYLDOMYJc&feature=related

Now as you've noticed,the castle is a 2d object composited on to the scene but there is no 3d data.We wont be able to rotate the camera to see another dimension of the castle,coz its just not there.Now watch this...

3D Tracking Sample:
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=-LfNcwBgVzg&feature=related

I guess now you got it.You can see all the 3 dimensions of the biped as the camera rotates.BTW this clip is not done in PFTrack,but in Boujou.There are many 3d tracking softwares in the market now,but all of them works on the same principle.

Now about the process.The application analyses the footage and then tracks it with 3D camera solving.We can then export the camera data to a[ny] 3d application where we can setup the scene and render out the animation with the tracked camera data in it.Now you can composite the two layers in a regular compositing software and it will perfecly match.Great Technique. Do some googling and you will get more info on this topic.