Xam Lightning Test!

Wow! This was so much easier than I thought!

I’ve spent the last week thinking about how I was going to rotoscope the lightning in this movie. I’ve read article after article about the various software needed and many different ways it can be done. I’m using free software (Wax 2.0) and I was on the verge of breaking down and buying software to render the lightning. Then the idea hit me, forgive me for the pun, like a bolt lightning!

The answer was really very simple. I just needed footage of a Tesla Coil in action and I could crop and screen the lightning over the video. Simple!

So, that is what I did. The video below is a still shot of Max (from the slideshow teaser trailer) with the lightning removed. Then I screened in the Tesla Coil and boom! Done!

This will be the same process for video so that is the end of messing around with this effect! Enjoy!

Xam Speed Test!

Alright, I had too much fun with this one.

Here is the first Xam speed test footage. All in all, not too bad. It’s actually pretty darn funny. So what if it’s not ILM, it works. I’m sure with a little more messing around I will improve it a little but for this purpose, it’s pretty much done.

Now I have to figure out the lightning effect. That is going to take me a while.

Willow Force Field Effect!

Alright. I finally figured out how to add color to the force field so here is a test clip of Willow using her force field powers. It’s minus the half hearted attempt to rotoscope a glowing collar. After many hours messing around and trying to make Willow’s collar glow digitally I decided to do it as a practical effect and not a visual effect, meaning I’m just going to make/buy a glowing collar. That will save me considerable time in post.

Now it’s off to start prep work on Xam’s effects of super speed and shooting lightning. That should take me well into next week.

More Test Footage!

Well, I’ve been working some more on the visual effects for the movie.

First, we have an updated T-Boom test. I was able to blend the fire effect very nicely with the test footage. The video needs shadows and smoke to help make it look more realistic but I think that effect is coming along very nicely.

The second video is the first test footage of Willow the cat using her power to create force fields. I’m trying to figure out a way to add some color to the effect and you can see the beginnings of her collar glowing (this will happen every time she uses her powers). I still have a lot to do with this effect but I thought it would be fun to post this footage anyway.

As you can see, the visual effects are taking a lot of time to figure out but I thought that would be the case. Honestly, it is going much smoother than I thought it would. Of course, I still have yet to tackle any of Xam’s powers but if that goes as nicely as the rest of the testing has I’m sure I will be able to start principle shooting as early as two months! That may sound like a long time from now but I know that time flies and it wil be here before I know it.

Fire Video Effects!

Alright, so I started working on fire effects for T-Boom. Although it is far from finished, I thought I would post it anyway. I also added some sound.

Enjoy!

Now... back to working on improving these video effects...

Messing With Sound!

Today I was working on sound and thought I’d add some to the Power Dog Jump Test footage I filmed over the weekend (see blog entry below).

First thing, I needed to add the sound of the wind as Power Dog jumped through the air. As you can see, this gives the scene more of a movie feel.

Then I thought that it needed some music as well, just to give it that much needed “Can You Read My Mind” push over the edge. Here’s what adding that does to the clip.

All in all, it was a pretty fun day messing around with the movie. Adding sound was never going to be a challenge, but it gave me something else to focus on, even if it was for only a day.

Tomorrow I’m back to working on the visuals. I may even try my hand at some super speed and some explosions. We’ll see. :)

Power Dog Test Footage!

Alright! I did another test this weekend. I used a different backdrop and did some different things with lighting. I also used a tripod (something that was missing in the last test video). All in all, this effort was better. That said, there are still things that need improvement.

First off, the blue background was not completely flat. I used a blue tarp I bought specifically for this project and didn’t iron it out when I opened the package, leaving the creases from the folds left from the packaging. I will iron the tarp before my next test to see if that gets rid of the folds.

I also need to do more work on the lighting. The lighting is still too harsh and I will need to make bounce cards to help diffuse the glare.

I also used a flat surface for Gibson to sit on and this makes him look way to stiff to actually look like he’s jumping/flying. I am planning on building a surface with a hump in the middle that will give him more of an arch underneath and help make him look less stiff.

I’m also going to have to break down and buy some blue chroma key paint. This, along with ironing out the tarp, will make the surfaces less reflective which I now believe will be the only way to get an even, blue surface for the background.

Stay tuned for more test footage!

First Blue Screen Test Is A Learning Experience!

Alright! Here it is! The first blue screen test footage for the movie. As you can see, it wasn’t a complete disaster. It’s far from perfect, but it’s a fair start. I knew this was going to be difficult and this first test only cemented that fact.

What worked? Well, I was able to cut out the blue from the live action footage and merge it with the background image.

What didn’t work? To put it plainly, it's not that good.

Why? Lighting, lighting, lighting! The first rule to getting good results with Chroma Key is to have good lighting. I clearly did not have good lighting. You have to get a good, even blue in the background for Chroma Key to work. If you don’t, you get splotchy, uneven removal of the blue. That is exactly what happened here. In order to correct this problem I altered the color levels to make the blue stand out. This also brought out the blue in everything else. I countered this by tweaking the brightness, contrast and saturation. What was left was a color tone to T-Boom that didn't come close to matching the background. He is also slightly transparent at times.

So, what I learned from this is that without good video to start off with then there is no point in trying the Chroma Key process. That said, I’m going to spend the next week working with different types of blue backgrounds to see what works the best. Then I need to figure out how to light it evenly. Once I get those two things done I will hopefully have a better video.

Backdrops, Backdrops, Backdrops!

Well, it’s been a crazy week. The rewrites of the script are minor at best; clarifying descriptions, polishing dialogue, adding a scene to help the flow, things like that. I’ll soon sit down to do a complete read through and that will give me an idea of the running time of the film.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on backdrops for the film. I’ve also decided that I’m not going to do mono-colored backdrops. The one’s I’ve put together look so rich and nice that I don’t want to alter them.

I hope to do some blue screen test footage this weekend. I’m hoping it looks good because that will be one less thing to worry about. Now that the script is nearly complete I’ve turned my attention to how I’m going to film it. The chroma key is just one aspect of the filming. Once I’m convinced I’ve found what I’m going to do with the blue screen I will move on to the special effects. That will be an entirely different problem that at this moment I have no idea how I'm going to tackle.

Script First Draft is Done!

Well, I finished the first draft of the script! Right now, in it’s current state, the script is 84 pages. I still need to polish it up and maybe do some rewrites so that number could easily change.

This is a pretty big deal for me. Writing the script was a labor of love. Losing our main villain was a huge blow but I love the direction of the new script and T-Boom is a fantastic villain. All the character’s powers will be difficult to film but the power to create fire and blow things up will undoubtedly be my biggest challenge. I hope I can pull it off.

So, it’s off to do rewrites. Then, a read through of the script with the principle players. I’m sure they will all have their own ideas for their characters and those will need to be written in so I have no doubt I will be working on this script for many months to come.