Ghost

[Mythfit]

OK I need to make a actor look like a ghost, simply put it dosnt have to be a great effect, the piece is a comedy, but it will have to last for awhile so frame by frame stuff is out.

I could just shoot normally with erie lights and pale makeup and call it a day or I could go for the full blown transparent ghost effect. I have a few months to experiment so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Anyone have any good suggestions or links to articles that would cover this?

Oh yea, and I do have access to a semi decent green screen room.

Thanks

[David Jimerson]

Simplest way would be to shoot him against a greenscreen, use a key out the green, and then make him partially transparent.

Will take a lot of planning, though.

[tumblemonster]

You could shoot a locked off camera in your location under the fancy lighting and makeup you want to use, then shoot a locked off background plate for each shot. You could then use a difference matte (or a simple overlay or screen layer too, probably) to lay your actor over the background shot, and apply any transparency and glow effects you want. Probably easier than a green screen as far as planning goes. It will give you freedom on set to shoot what you want.

-tm

[BLUESPIDER]

Since you said its a comedy, why don't you just put white makeup on your actor and have him wearing a t-shirt that says "I'm a ghost". Just a thought.

[Mythfit]

Nice, thanks for the advice, gonna play around with that one Tumblemonster.

Green screening is an option and I've been thinking about getting ultra just for this project (well that would be my excuse anyway)

Bluespider thats a good one , but I need him to be creepy/scary when he makes his first appearance

[Scottdvx100]

Shoot him against black and comp with screen mode at lower opacity with the BG. No need to pull a matte assuming you want a true ghost effect. Note that this and any screening method will require locked camera and clear idea where things are . (Tables, people, etc)
You'll need video playback to time interactions.

You could also shoot the shot twice (locked off still) and garbage matte one side where is ghost is and mix it with original.

If it's on a set you could go with pepper ghost technique.
Rig a piece of glass (8x10) at a 45 degree angle to lens. Hang black to the side it's reflecting. Have actor there dressed in light clothing. Ghost in realtime, in camera.

[BLUESPIDER]

http://img108.exs.cx/img108/1058/dude.jpg


how bout that! :o

[JJ_Shantell]

If it's on a set you could go with pepper ghost technique.
Rig a piece of glass (8x10) at a 45 degree angle to lens. Hang black to the side it's reflecting. Have actor there dressed in light clothing. Ghost in realtime, in camera.


now that sounds really cool

[Rich Lee]

anyway you go moving the camera is going to cause problems. unless you do bluespiders way.

of you dont have any physical interaction between the ghost and other actors...then just put the guy in make up and have him act the scene normaly with the other actors. then, once the shot is done, have all the actors clear out, and do a clean plate. then in a compositing program. you will have the very bottom layer be the background pass. on a layer just above that place a layer of the footage. using a simple 4 point roto line, roto out the side of frame that has the non-ghost actors. then on top of that put another copy of the footage with all the actors. and make it say 50% transparent. now that should give you a good starting point for making a guy look ghostly....onec you have that try messing with keying out darker parts of the ghost image or whatever...

[Staino]

I attempted a ghost scene by splitting the time line,

**WARNING**

Very rough footage, It was a test

http://www.negativeimages.com/movies/scene14b.mpg

If this is something your looking for PM me and I'll give you the details on how it was done.

[Mythfit]

Yea, that looks pretty good!

[TC]

Why not just put a curse on your actor, so that his soul belongs to you for all eternity. Then kill him, and don't release him into the world of the dead until he does his scnes.

That's probably the easiest way to do it without compositing anything.

[Zensy]

How I made.
Shot the set with no actor (don´t move camera)
Shot, in the same set, with actor (don´t move camera)
Put both tracks together and apply transparency y the track with actor.

:-)

[Sirius_Doggy]

Why not just put a curse on your actor, so that his soul belongs to you for all eternity. Then kill him, and don't release him into the world of the dead until he does his scnes.

Someone has watched LOTR-Return of the King TOO MUCH... :grin: