editing Flashing ambulance lights in POST

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driverrodeshotgun

Hi everyone,

I wonder if this is possible to pull off where it looks believable and not phony, especially given a small budget that doesn't include hiring ILM.

I have a daylight scene (overcast weather) where a character is driving towards (framed left, looking to the right of screen head) It's a medium close up of her face, and I'd like to have some visual to show that there is an ambulance ahead...so I was looking for an effect where I can flash some lights on her face. Now I know the best thing to do would have been to do this in production. I actually have a night scene where I used a light that emulated ambulance lights. BUT, this scene was something I decided to alter this way while I've been editing. So basically I'm wondering if my sudden change of visual is possible, and if it's something I can do easily myself or if it would require some pro post person that specializes in that.

I know during the daylight there wouldn't be much showing up anyway, but I'm just curious if anyone knows of such an effect where I can at least put something on there.

I am editing in Premiere Pro CS5.5 (I have Creative Suite.)

Perhaps there's an effect I can download for Premiere or After Effects?

thanks for your time
 
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look at this, notice the reflection on the dash..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3gfviuB59k


Maybe that gives you some idea..


Do your have reverse footage like this in your film? If so be sure to match up the flash timing with that..


After Effects with a few solid layers using "wiggler" to generate strobe like opacity changes...
 
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Maybe keyframe some sort of round mask, on and off,, and use a color correction so that its more intense in the center and less on the outer edges. Use a heavy feather. Adjust the mask, so you get the more intense spot in a place that makes sense for the scene. Maybe duplicate the footage, and blend the layer with the keyframed mask with the original footage, then you could keyframe the blend, to get even more of a realistic result, as if she's getti closer or further away from the flashing lights.
 
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Are you going day-for-night with this? 'Cause if you're leaving it as day, the light would probably look quite unnatural on her, unless she's as shiny as the dash.

Also, if she IS as shiny as the dash, might I suggest having someone to do basic correctional make-up on set...
 
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Hey,

From what i understand you just want the light of the ambulance on the car and character. To get this a realistic as posible you need a good amount of control. The way I would do it is by making a comp of blue and red lights flashing on a black background that is blurred. Animate the lights to go from left to right and scaling from very large to average size. Next you need to create a matte (a black and white image representing where the light will show.) Do this by taking the footage making it black and white and increasing contrast, use this as the matte for the lights you created... so you should have something like this in your comp.

Bottom > Original Footage > Matte > Lights > Top

Adjust the opacity of the lights accordingly making the lights additive and change the contrast of the matte to dial in the right amount of light getting through. Perhaps adding a tiny bit of glow at the end for effect, but it may look crap. Oh yea and you will need to roto some areas to subtract the lights form the BG window of the car for example.
 
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there is one thing I don't understand tho... who in films and video people make it a fire? like in a real guns there is no fire coming out?

skip to 3mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZUsNbacXSM
 
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LDS said:
there is one thing I don't understand tho... who in films and video people make it a fire? like in a real guns there is no fire coming out?

skip to 3mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZUsNbacXSM
Click to expand...

This is a bit off topic, but some guns do and some guns don't. And it is entirely up to the film maker to present their film how they choose. But it can also be said there is a perception that movie goers have come to expect from certain things, and a muzzle could be one of them.
 
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