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Red hot knife visual effect - Advice please!!!

M

mad_hatter

I am planning a scene where a character is branded with a red-hot branding iron. Of course, playing with a real red-hot would be very dangerous. So, I want it to be a visual effect. Below is a little tester I made, using the same principal as all the Sony Vegas "Light Saber" effect tutorials seem to apply....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duQRWL0fAVk&feature=youtu.be


What do you guys think? Does it work? The actual branding iron shots I am after would actually be a fair bit shorter than those in the video. Any tips or advice? Or a better way to acheive the effect?
 
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mad_hatter said:
I am planning a scene where a character is branded with a red-hot branding iron. Of course, playing with a real red-hot would be very dangerous. So, I want it to be a visual effect. Below is a little tester I made, using the same principal as all the Sony Vegas "Light Saber" effect tutorials seem to apply....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duQRWL0fAVk&feature=youtu.be


What do you guys think? Does it work? The actual branding iron shots I am after would actually be a fair bit shorter than those in the video. Any tips or advice? Or a better way to acheive the effect?
Click to expand...

Needs to be blended a little better, to tone it down a bit and maybe to add a more complex colour scheme. Also, to give it a little more reality, maybe a little smoke coming off it.

In Motion 5, colour is the major issue I am experiencing as it is frequently too bold.

Just my $0.02
 
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mad_hatter said:
What do you guys think? Does it work? The actual branding iron shots I am after would actually be a fair bit shorter than those in the video. Any tips or advice? Or a better way to acheive the effect?
Click to expand...

I thought it looked pretty good, especially over the flame itself, albeit perhaps a tad quick. It seemed a little bright in the hand though. Like GB, I think it should fade to the colour of the blade a bit more smoothly, also there should be some smoke (a knife is never totally clean" and perhaps some bluing at the hot/cold interface, as normally happens with metal that is partially heated.

CraigL
 
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It looks a little too dull & red to me. Check your color against some reference of someone using a forge.

If you really want to sell the effect, use an interactive light when you shoot the plate; illuminate the blade and your hand.

Here's a nice example of a convincing practical effect: Good color, bright core, self-illuminated, additional interactive lighting. (Take note of the dulling spray on the eye glasses so we don't see the camera/crew in the reflection).

Raiders30.jpg



Thomas
 
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Hmmm... Interesting. Thanks for the comments, I shall take them on board for the actual shot.

Rok, I guess I didn't even consider the light that would be cast by the glowing metal itself. I think that would definitely help to sell the effect.

As I said, the shot I'm after would only be perhaps 2 seconds long, so hopefully with what I already have, along with you guys' suggestions, I should be able to create a pretty convincing shot.

Cheers!
 
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I agree with the other comments regarding color - it should be a little more uneven and brighter. The glow beyond the edges of the blade doesn't look real though - I think the red should be confined to the surface of the blade.
 
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Wheat - I'm aware of a few instances where the colour doesn't match the movement of the knife. That's one of the problems with my manual rotoscoping - for speed (and out of laziness), I only did every other frame... Would auto-tracking with After Effects provide better results? Is that even possible? I don't own After Effects as of yet, but it could be a consideration.

Anyway, I'm thinking now, in order to make the effect more practical, of painting the blade orange/red/white, then adding a bit of a hazy glow in post.
 
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mad_hatter said:
Anyway, I'm thinking now, in order to make the effect more practical, of painting the blade orange/red/white, then adding a bit of a hazy glow in post.
Click to expand...

I'd be more inclined to paint the blade blue or green or some other color not in the scene, then use that color to pull a key and then shift it to white/orange/red in post. You'll get a more accurate effect than rotoscoping. Also, keep the 'hazy' part of the glow subtle - take a look at images of glowing metal:

Google Images "Red Hot Steel"

You'll see the glow that extends beyond the blade is very minimal, and when present it's a very dark red. The metal itself ranges from near white, to yellow-orange, dropping to red at the edges where it's cooling first.

Painting the blade these colors won't look right because you'll be filming reflected light rather than emitted light from the metal itself. That's why I think the keying approach is better - it will give you a clean selection of the blade which you can then manipulate freely in post.

I'd say grab a can of bright blue or green (or flourescent pink, etc - just a color that isn't present in your shot) plasti-dip spray ($10) from your local auto parts shop. It peels off easily, so you can experiment without ruining the knife. It also has a matte finish, so it should maintain a reasonably flat, even color across the surface which is easier to key.
 
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A couple of small round contrasting stickers on the blade (3 gives enough to track your movements). will let you track more easily. You then erase the markers with adjacent pixels and then apply the "Heat"

Thicker parts of the blade get brighter / white-yellow and the thinner/edge bits get darker / orange/red.
 
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Don't forget the heat distortion to the air around the blade. The glow barely extends beyond the metal IRL. The heat shimmer is more pronounced as the object gets hotter. When iron or steel is heated to a dull red (red hot), there are blackish flakes in the glowing areas caused by impurities in the metal. If you get it white or blue hot, the impurities are usually burned off.
 
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