AE users i need ur help creating a glow around a person and moving the glow by frame

[africanmarty]

As i said i need ur help creating a glow around a person and moving the glow frame by frame ( basically the idea is that the peron is a ghost ) this is what i have been doing.

1. import movie
2. move it onto comp
3. create new layer - solid(white) - and fit to comp size
4. lower the opacity of the new layer to 50% so i can see through it
5. push "m" to bring up the stop watch tool ( so it makes the ajustment as i go along
6. use the pen tool and draw around the person on the layer created
7. use page up/down to go frame by frame and make the adujstments... on the new layer

I thought that was it... only the stop watch doesnt capture the movement/adjustments i made, it turns off WTF ? I figured once the framing and adjustments have been done i could just add a glow to the new white solid... simple enough.. only i cant get the key framing to wotk.

Can you guys tell me how to do this step/by step maybe i'm missing something or knows a tutorial that can show me how.. i've looked but found nothing

Please help me i cant finish my project.. 2days and i'm getting PI**ED off !

Begging for you help

- Marty.

[Matt Grunau]

you did actually click on the stopwatch once to set an initial keyframe right? Then any changes you make create new keyframes.

[ece]

As i said i need ur help creating a glow around a person and moving the glow frame by frame ( basically the idea is that the peron is a ghost ) this is what i have been doing.


Matt made a good point.

Once you've set your initial keyframe by clicking the stopwatch scrub through your timeline to a later portion of your video clip. Then make your adjustments and a new keyframe will be automatically inserted in your timeline.

Note: If you click the stopwatch twice while you're on the same keyframe you'll be deleting that keyframe.

Now for your roto spline (the mask around your character) did you click the stopwatch in the mask properties too. if you don't then that won't animate and your character will get cut off by the mask. Perhaps if you post screenshots of your setup we can help you better.

Good Luck!

[africanmarty]

Click thumbnail for a bigger pic

i'm using a glass to aniamte a glow around in this clip once i get it to work and i know how its done i will try it on a human.

2920

Circled is the stop i click on, is there more than one that i need to click on ?

Heres what happened i moved the solid cut out layer every few frames, and it did make points as i whent along ( u can see them on the timeline) i thought all was going well, but then i put the timeline back to frame one and the solid cut out layer stayed at the last point it was, i didnt go back to where it was at frame 1 ?? see pic below, click thumnail for a bigger size.

2921

still need help guys :(

ps: thanks for the quick reply. - marty.

[Matt Grunau]

That's strange. If you are moving forward in the timeline, and moving the mask, it should create new keyframes, exactly as you have shown. And that's all there is to it. I can't imagine why it's not working. from the look of the second photo, you have keyframes along your timeline, and it looks like you have done everything right.

hmm.

Though you did say you moved the solid layer. I dunno if that was a typo, but you would not want to try to animate by moving a layer in the timeline and then making changes, rather, you would move the curser through the timeline, either with you mouse and dragging the current time indicator (blue triangle on top of composition), by using your time controls, or the page up and page down keys to go frame by frame, and make the changes to the mask's position.

But it may very well work even if you move the actual solid, though I have never tried it that way.

You got me stumped.

[africanmarty]

hmmm... how do i feather the edges once i've got it done, as the edges look sharp and crap, i want to smooth them out.

EDIT: found it.

[Andrew Brinkhaus]

...So, you figured everything out?

[africanmarty]

...So, you figured everything out?

about the feathering yes, still having trouble with the keying/anamating...

[africanmarty]

i got it to work, started from scratch and bam it worked....

here a low res gif to show you.

any tips on getting abetter glow/ghost effect as i think this looks kinda dull.
excuse the crappy lighting.

http://www.snapdrive.net/files/413362/gif-low%20res.gif

[Matt Grunau]

Glad it worked.

As for a ghost effect, since the camera was stationary, you could have put another piece of video under the layer of you of with you out of the picture, then you could drop the opacity on your layer and you would look semi transparant. If you really wanted to get crazy, you could roto yourself as you have done, and then on your layer change the color, or other attributes. In addition to having the background video, and with you cut out, you could apply Distort based effects and come up with something cool.

[africanmarty]

thanks matt :) thanks for all ya help. what did you mean by 'apply Distort based effects and come up with something cool.' ???

[Matt Grunau]

I meant take the layer with you on it, use your techniques for animating a mask, and do an animated mask on the video layer with you on it, seperating you and allowing you to work on that layer where only you are on it.

The Distort based effects, I meant under effects, there is a catagory called Distort, with some neat stuff in there. Displacement maps, wave warp, all kinds of stuff.

[africanmarty]

thanks matt i'll give those a go. could you check my dream look thread , as you might be able to help me thanks - marty.