Help needed for effect on Final Cut Pro

[The Norm]

Hi guys,
I'm a very inexperienced editor and was after some help for an effect I wanted to create using FCP.

There's a scene with a couple in their bedroom talking. Behind them is a photo of them when they were younger.

I was hoping to zoom in towards the photograph until it fills the frame and then the clip used for the still (photograph) would begin to play.

I'll need a similar sort of transition three more times.

Do I just film the scene with a photograph in the background then paste the still of my clip over that?

Would I still be able to zoom in effectively and retain the quality of the still?

I hope I was clear with what I'm trying to do, any help - as well as considerations when filming to maximise the success of the effect - would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys.

 

[Dreadylocks]

Do I just film the scene with a photograph in the background then paste the still of my clip over that?

Yes, that's one way to do it. The other option is to put green paper in the photo frame itself. That way your still will still look somewhat like there is glass over it. Then after you zoom in, fade in the clean footage and fade out the chroma-keyed footage.

Would I still be able to zoom in effectively and retain the quality of the still?

As long as your clip is good enough quality, it should be fine. Do you plan on zooming in on your clip more than 100%? Is your footage going to be HD?

Hope that helps. The best way to learn is by trying it out. So, grab your camera and just do a boring test shot. See if you can master the effect you are going for. It's going to make it look that much better when you use it on your actual project

 

[M1chae1]

Don't digitally zoom in too much...there is a set number you should not pass...I can't recall the exact amount, but you can find the amount by zooming yourself, and seeing what is usable quality and what isn't.

If you need a true CU of the picture, I'd say get an insert shot of it.

 

[Rough Customer]

A digital zoom is not going to look good at all because by the time you blow the image up that much, the pixelation will be unreal. You need to dolly or zoom into the picture when shooting. If it's at all possible to have the actual photo in the shot, then that's always preferable to any effects. If not, the green paper in frame idea will work just fine if you want to replace it later. In my experience though, FCP's Chroma Key effect is very basic and not the best way to go to replace green in a shot. Something like After Effects has much more powerful tools for getting rid of green.

 

[M1chae1]

You absolutely can use digital zoom in FCP--as long as it's a small amount. And if you're shooting with high rez footage like Red (2K+), you can digital zoom a lot more.

 

[Dreadylocks]

Yeah, don't digital zoom on the first piece. Do that with the camera. It'll look way better. But the PiP, since it's scaled down and won't go more than 100% framing, should be fine w/o pixelation.

 

[knightly]

I'll echo the sentiment for performing the zoom in the camera (better yet, with a dolly ).

For the technique, we've used black construction paper in the picture frame, then "corner pinned" the picture behind it by hand. The black will allow the use of a Multiply transfer mode which will retain all of the room reflections for the glass on the front by reapplying the frame on top of the image you'll be adding.

To get it to follow, you go through the shot one frame at a time and adjust the corner of the picture to the corner of the frame... repeat for each corner...

The better way to do it is in Motion using a tracker and affixing that tracker to a corner of the picture (one tracker per corner will account for any camera movement you may have, if none, a single corner will do, then scale the image down to fill the picture frame. Above it, I'd put a copy of the frame masked out so the edges fo the frame cover the edges of the picture, then a copy of the glass with the black construction paper set to "Multiply" to add the glass reflections back in.

 

[ediclick]

This is a job for Motion (one of the other apps that came with your Final Cut Studio). Do the zoom in the camera and use Motion to track the move with the shot you want to composite into the frame.

 

[The Norm]

Thanks for all the replies.

The only access I have to FCP is at uni, so I'll find out if it's got the Motion plug-in attached as that seems a good way to do it.

Otherwise, I don't mind doing it frame by frame - the black construction paper method seemed good, especially if it's worked for someone before.

I probably wasn't going to have it inside a frame, so that should make it easier in terms of shadows and reflections I'm hoping.

The zoom/dolly will definitely be on camera. Is all I really need to do make sure the photo is filmed front-on so the angle will be the same as the still, and then downsize it?

Is this necessary in Motion or do you know if it's able to account for the change in angle when you mark the position of the corners?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[wheatgrinder]

I like the idea, that will be a neat effect.

I would also counsel to do the zoom via the camera, this will just look nicer, plus you can go in at an interesting angle, over a leg or some other obstacle..

As long as your angles aren't too extreme, pin cushioning the corners will work fine..


The transition from full a picture frame to a full screen will be fun..

Interesting thing might be to show the picture "frame" on the dresser, start playing, and when that movie hits the first "cut" have that movie now fill the screen..

I think the SLOWER you move the camera in will really enhance this effect. Dont center your zoom on the picture frame to start, center on a nearby hair brush or jewelry box, something that MIGHT be significant to the viewer, that way when the off center picture frame starts to move it will be a surprise and well all go.."oh cool"... and since our attention just went there, you can move the camera to center there too.. other wise us viewers will be expecting something like that to happen..

 

[Dreadylocks]

For the technique, we've used black construction paper in the picture frame, then "corner pinned" the picture behind it by hand. The black will allow the use of a Multiply transfer mode which will retain all of the room reflections for the glass on the front by reapplying the frame on top of the image you'll be adding.

Awesome tip! Thanks, knightly

 

[knightly]

Motion is included with FCP in Final Cut Studio... it's a separate application with an icon like a gyroscope.

if the corners of the picture stay pinned to the frame either automatically via Motion, or by hand in final cut, it'll look as if it's living in the same space as the shot, regardless what you do with the camera. The hard part comes if something overlaps it...

By hand: http://yafiunderground.com/Video/2_rough_comp.mov
Using Shake (which is the same tracking code as Motion) - only the left corners are pinned in this one as her shoulder overlaps, I have to figure out the math to interpolate the 4th corner.: http://yafiunderground.com/Video/2-shk-comp-test.mov