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filming reflection in water?
- Thread starter krisatsea
- Start date
I order to film your reflection, you'll need to have the camera at an equal but opposing angle to the surface that reflects. SO:
to plan out the shot, put a mirror on the ground and figure out the angles you need to make it work.
Code:
you Camera
\ /
\ /
\ /
a \ b / c
(Water with reflection)
angle a=angle c
angle a + b + c =180 degreesto plan out the shot, put a mirror on the ground and figure out the angles you need to make it work.
Last edited:
This is something I've been trying to look at for a short I want to make.
I assume you're trying to go for the look of the camera showing a POV reflection(or near POV)? Or is the person going to be visible in the shot looking at the reflection?
As for the cloning part, I don't have experience doing that.
I assume you're trying to go for the look of the camera showing a POV reflection(or near POV)? Or is the person going to be visible in the shot looking at the reflection?
As for the cloning part, I don't have experience doing that.
You snuck that in while I was typing mine
(it's also a LOT more detailed than my answer lol) It also helps me as well, thanks Knightly! You've got to find reflectable water-if it's a stream, is there a certain time of day for sunlight that is best?
I would probably just try and do it in after effects.
They way I would start playing with it to make it work it there would first be to duplicate the layer, then invert it horizontally. After that, mask out the parts that don't overlap with the water and reduce the opacity of the top (reflection) layer.
You'll have to play with the settings to get the look right, and you may need to add some color correction and maybe some ripply distortion to the reflection layer to get it just right.
They way I would start playing with it to make it work it there would first be to duplicate the layer, then invert it horizontally. After that, mask out the parts that don't overlap with the water and reduce the opacity of the top (reflection) layer.
You'll have to play with the settings to get the look right, and you may need to add some color correction and maybe some ripply distortion to the reflection layer to get it just right.
Dreadylocks, that was my first answer too.. but the challenge of principle effects (is that the right term?) is very appealing.
I might try a hybrid approach. Like set up a controlled environment, kiddie pool comes to mind, and use that for my reflection face shot.. comp that with a plate of the beautiful stream shot at the same angle.. should work, IN THEORY..
I might try a hybrid approach. Like set up a controlled environment, kiddie pool comes to mind, and use that for my reflection face shot.. comp that with a plate of the beautiful stream shot at the same angle.. should work, IN THEORY..
Could I also use that idea if I wanted to have a character looking in a mirror, but show an "empty" hallway? I admit I haven't tried using cloning as such. Closest is making two characters appear, one semi translucent, which was just overlapping frames and playing with the opacity
Yeah if you just want the mirror empty that's even easier. What you'll do is set up your shot, once you start shooting, don't move the camera or the effect won't work.
So when you shoot, you are going to make two separate shots. One of you not in the frame or mirror (and you really only need one frame of this unless you want something else moving around in the mirror) and then another of you looking in the mirror, making sure that your shot is framed so that there is no overlap between you and the mirror.
Next, get the footage into your NLE and stack the one of you on top of the empty shot. Then you'll mask out the mirror side of the top shot and you're all done!
In the "this would normally be a dumb question" department: How is the "masking" done(I have adobe premiere)-would it be in the effects?
Thanks for the help-going to have do some experimentation now!
Hey it's not dumb, there's a first time for everything. But no worries about masking, it's simple (unless you are rotoscoping, but that's a whole nother can-o-worms). I don't use premiere so I'm not sure what settings exactly, but I found this tutorial for you. (Youtube has been one of my best friends when it comes to learning about this stuff, second only to this place).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CfpdOXEC38
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CfpdOXEC38
Thanks for the link! Roto-scoping, oh heavens no!
You need interminable patience to do that, patience I don't have 
"but the challenge of principle effects (is that the right term?) is very appealing."
My philosophy is you always... ALWAYS try to do any "effect", stunt, etc.., live on set. If that is just impossible, dangerous, or too expensive, THEN you start looking at ways you could mimic it or create it in post.
My philosophy is you always... ALWAYS try to do any "effect", stunt, etc.., live on set. If that is just impossible, dangerous, or too expensive, THEN you start looking at ways you could mimic it or create it in post.
.. and to close the circle, as an automation engineer.. even in automation... process matters.
(automating a bad process, just screws things up.. automatically, over and over and over!)
(automating a bad process, just screws things up.. automatically, over and over and over!)
Hey guys, LIFE MATTERS!
*ahem*
Got carried away there...
I think they are equally important, craft is great with creation, but you have to have some sort of guidelines to follow, otherwise chaos ensues. But process sometimes needs to be shaken or altered or just plain dealt with if things go wrong, and craft can be used creatively to solve those problems!
See, aren't I great? Next stop, world peace!
*ahem*
Got carried away there...
I think they are equally important, craft is great with creation, but you have to have some sort of guidelines to follow, otherwise chaos ensues. But process sometimes needs to be shaken or altered or just plain dealt with if things go wrong, and craft can be used creatively to solve those problems!
See, aren't I great? Next stop, world peace!
ha... lots of interesting response.
I meant it in the sense that in "art", We could both create paintings (or films, or sculptures, or whatever) that are totally 100% indistinguishable from each other. Nobody, no expert, no matter how hard they tried could tell them apart, but if I used one "process" , and you used another "process", we have NOT created the same thing, no mattter how much they are identical.
I meant it in the sense that in "art", We could both create paintings (or films, or sculptures, or whatever) that are totally 100% indistinguishable from each other. Nobody, no expert, no matter how hard they tried could tell them apart, but if I used one "process" , and you used another "process", we have NOT created the same thing, no mattter how much they are identical.