Special Effect - Room 'Deconstruction'

[MindStudios]

So, in one idea that I have for a short film, the room around the main character needs to transform into another room. I picture the walls turning kind of digital like they are being scanned and then the room begins reconstructing itself. Maybe a bit like in the Assassin's Creed series.

Anyway, my question is whether or not this is a fairly hard special effect to do, or if someone on here would be able to do it..??.

Obviously this is still just an idea, so I'm not offering for anyone to help with the shot. But I just want to know if it's something possible on a super low budget shoot before I start writing the script.

 

[escher]

As long as you're not moving the camera around laterally (eg. just panning/tilting), you can film your actor in front of greenscreens w/ tracking markers.

You'll need to then import that 2D tracking information into a 3D program of your choice (Blender is free, if you're on a budget), and then create your room changing effect in there.

That's just a sort of basic setup. There's more than one way to do this, so you'll want to brush up on greenscreen matting, compositing, 2D motion tracking, and Blender. If you've got After Effects, you could also potentially use the auto-roto brush if you can't get a large enough greenscreen set up.

 

[_Rok_]

Is there a YouTube video of this effect?

 

[escher]

MindStudios, how much time are you prepared to learn effects software? I've been mulling this over, and the coolest way to do it would be to use camera projection to place your original room image directly onto 3D objects in Blender, animate those objects to their final position, and project the new 2nd room texture on to that. Then over the course of the animation you go from texture 1 to texture 2 (while adding in any other effects you want), and now you've got a room that changes into another room.

Blender comes with motion-tracking capabilities, so you won't need extra software for that.

 

[MindStudios]

Rok, I don't know of a clip that demonstrates this effect, but there may be one... The only thing that comes close are the sequences in the Assassin's Creed games where the virtual cities are 'reconstructed' digitally. (If you don't know what this looks like you may have to do some digging, because from my quick searches on youtube, I couldn't find this at all)

Escher, I'd rather not spend much time learning effects software. I have messed with Blender a little bit, and eventually I will get more in depth into special effects, but right now I'm a little too busy to be sinking hours into learning new software or techniques.
But I think I could simply the shot, by having only the wall change....like there isn't any furniture or anything around the room that also needs to change, if that's what you were thinking. But yeah, the green screen approach is probably the best, and an added point of easiness - the camera would probably just be on a tripod for that shot.

Actually, the whole short would probably all be on a tripod....I will write the script as soon as I can and probably post it on here....eventually...

 

[knightly]

If you don't want to figure out how to use the software, you'll need to hire a 3D digital artist to do it for you... it'll be spendy for that. You'll want them in on every step of the process as well so it's done correctly for what they'll need to have for raw footage to work with.

I'd recommend you spend time to learn the effects software if you intend to use effects in your shorts... what is your budget?

 

[_Rok_]

"If you don't know what this looks like you may have to do some digging ... "

Apologies, I was expecting the filmmaker to do the research himself. If you come across something I can look at let me know.

Best of luck.

Thomas

 

[escher]

"If you don't know what this looks like you may have to do some digging ... "

Apologies, I was expecting the filmmaker to do the research himself. If you come across something I can look at let me know.

Best of luck

Snippy, but deserved. You're going to have to fully understand the visual you want to create (to the point of being able to accurately describe it), and then either learn the required software to do it yourself, or hire someone for cash. If you put in the effort to learn it yourself, you will be able to tackle more complex work in the future. An indie filmmaker must wear many hats.

 

[MindStudios]

"If you don't know what this looks like you may have to do some digging ... "

Apologies, I was expecting the filmmaker to do the research himself. If you come across something I can look at let me know.

Best of luck.

Thomas

Haha, sorry. Yeah, I would have tried harder to find an example but I was just getting out of class and waiting for the bus, so I didn't have much time.

That said.......I basically had to just go into gameplay videos to find what I was talking about and even then it's not a good example of what I want....anyway here you go, the first few seconds of this is what I'm talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XyAjnUjeWU

But in my case, I'm thinking more of like....maybe greenish lasers sort of scanning the room. Anyway, I agree with knightly and escher about learning the tools. And like I said, I plan to get more into special effects, but I just don't think I can right now.

I guess I was sort of hoping that someone would jump in and say "Oh yeah. I did that kind of shot before, it's easy!"
Haha, but anyway the good news is this probably won't be ready to shoot for while. I may not even do it myself. I'm debating on whether to just write the script and hand it off to someone else who likes it. With most of my ideas though, I really want to do it myself exactly how I envision it.....I'll probably do both just for fun haha.

Anyway, thanks for the basic overview guys, seems like it's a worthwhile shot to have while not being impossible to do, so I will write it in the script.

Oh, and Knightly my budget would be zero dollars on mostly everything I do. I did do some crowdfunding for my latest project, but that was a longer project, and I see shorter projects in the near future rather than longer ones, so I probably wouldn't raise funds for those.

 

[escher]

Trust me, you want to start learning the tools now. Most of the concepts are fairly simple, but there are so many individual fragments of things you have to learn that, if you wait, you'll find yourself not being able to do what you want to do when the time comes.

 

[MindStudios]

Trust me, you want to start learning the tools now. Most of the concepts are fairly simple, but there are so many individual fragments of things you have to learn that, if you wait, you'll find yourself not being able to do what you want to do when the time comes.

I'm not sure what level you are talking about in terms of learning the tools. As far as the basics go, I'm learning After Effects now in a Compositing class at a Technical College, and I watch a lot of tutorials on random effects but I don't have the money to get the programs myself. So, I'm confident in my understanding of basic special effects but not in the specific tools, do you see what I'm saying?

And by 'now' I mean like....the next few months....But yeah, I know what you mean, already there are a lot of different things I wish I could do because they would make a certain shot 'perfect' or just infinitely better.

 

[gebo]

If the camera is static you don't need to track anything. Shoot an actor aginst green screen and replace with the before/anfter room. Can be done in after effects only but you can do it in 3d.

If the camera moves around then yes you have to track and use 3d.

Would be glad to help if you need.

 

[knightly]

OK... First, the bits needed. With any change from the 1900s to now:
1) the Begin State of the shot
2) the End State of the shot

If this is 1902 and you're Georges Melies, you're using straight cuts.

If this is in "Willow", it's a series of prosthetic appliances, puppets and costume changes to get from animal to old, naked wizardess.

If a werewolf, it's a series of progressively more canine makeups that make up the start and end of each transformation.

3) the Middle bits. This is where (at a budget of $0) you get to learn things and make hard choices.

- You can cut (which is simple and the old school way of doing it).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAcVB-l0LOg

- You can morph as they did in willow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLUyuWo3pG0

- You can use progressive changes in the shots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9QPouW-XZ4

- You can do a spot grow reveal with a white flash (as they're doing in this video)... basically, cut your plate up into chunks of buildings and shrink them down on their own layers... then grow them up in batches as you see fit cover the seams with a bright white light that moves with the edges and has a bloom/blur filter applied to it. Map that to a camera match moved null object and you've got a cool camera move through a changing room.

Basically, you'll be doing this a whole bunch of times in the room:
http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/procedural_crumble/
http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/shatterize/
http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/lightning_strike/
http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/disintegration/

You'll note, all these effects use precisely the same technique for creating their effect. The wipe. There are a couple of ways to achieve it, but it's the same thing over and over again. Watch ALL of the video copilot videos as soon as you have the chance. From #1 to #now and pay attention for common techniques... these are the keys to knowing how to do this stuff. They become the canvas upon which you paint your new masterpiece.

Next:
At the $0 budget level, you have to make time to learn and do things or you just get two people talking in a cafe films over and over again. If you can't spend money, you have to spend time (or be a REALLY good sales person to get someone else to do it for you for free)!

 

[_Rok_]

Bradley ... me snippy? Really? I prefer to think of it as a 'call to action'.

MindStudios, thanks for the reference. The effect can be accomplished fairly easily if you shoot it right, and keep it simple. 'Simple 'doesn't mean that it will look bad, it means you can get a good result without getting stuck.

I'm part-way through a drawing a breakdown that should put you on the right track.

Thomas

 

[MindStudios]

Thanks for all the replies. And yeah, video copilot is pretty great. I really like the disintegration effect. Anyway, I have a lot of time to think about how to do it before the time actually comes, and by then there might be a better way to do it. Now I just need to finish the script.....

 

[rayw]

I'll hazard a wild guess that a simple "fade" of the background from one image to another with the character chroma keyed on another layer on top of it isn't going to cut it, right?

 

[MindStudios]

I'll hazard a wild guess that a simple "fade" of the background from one image to another with the character chroma keyed on another layer on top of it isn't going to cut it, right?

Haha, naw probably not. If I wanted to avoid all the rigamarole of the vfx shot, I would probably just apply some slight glitches to the whole overall shot (not just the background) and then fade to white, when it fades back the subject is in a different room but in the same position.

 

[_Rok_]

Rayw isn't far off.

My suggestion is basically a simple transition using articulated roto. Rotoscoping? Old-fashioned roto? Yes, and here's why:
- It's easy to understand and accessible to the beginning compositor.
- You can view the results, often in real-time.
- Virtually all comp applications have a roto function.
- Roto is the foundation of most all composites.
- You can start rough, do a test comp and if it works, you can go back into the file and add more detail to the roto splines.
* DISCLAIMER: I created my examples in Nuke, and I have zero experience in After Effects.

Shoot all your plates (both rooms, an "interactive lighting pass", person over green screen) locked off, with matching camera height, tilt, lens and placement within each room.

Next, you will need to roto the elements in your first room plate, and animate the matte over time to create a 3D wipe effect. It's easier than you think. The examples I created took about an hour and I think would be good enough to finish a shot. I've uploaded a JPG of some types of layers to consider.

I also have animated Quicktimes of these examples but I can't seem to figure out how to link to my web server properly. The files open in my browser as binary code. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

I can email them to you if you wish.

The roto layers provide you with mattes you can use to reveal your second plate. If you blur the mattes you can bring through any filters, edge transition effects, or light rays you like (just like the video game reference).

The interactive lighting pass would be a nice sweetener. It would help blend the CG glow effect into the plate. What I would do is after shooting your plate, leave the camera right where it is (do not move it, even a bit). Wait until after dark and turn off all the lights in the room. Take a super bright lamp with an exposed bulb. Block the side that faces directly toward the camera. Then walk the light through the room in the direction of the transition effect. Screening this element into your composite will create moving shadows which rake along the walls; implying the glow effect is lighting up the room as it moves through it. - You might consider grabbing some extra passes where you walk along the effect direction, holding the bulb 2ft from each wall. You'd have to do each wall separately, but you'd get even more dramatic shadows.

Come to think of it, an interactive light would be a good idea for the green screen element of the person.