layering actors in a scene....Please Help

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BigWilly1231

Active member
How do I layer actors in a scene...in other words same setting same locked down shot, I want an actor to come in from the left and then the same actor to come in from the right....Yet I do not want to change the opacity of either shot....I want both actors as clear as day...once again the only thing moving in the shots are the actors....I know a simple question, but could someone please help.....Thanks So Much.
 
Re: layering actors in a scene....Please Help

If they don't overlap shoot it twice with a locked off camera.
Add the clip with actor on left.
Drag the clip of the actor on right and place it above the other clip on the timeline. Now you have 2 layers.

Now you need to create a matte to reveal the left side.
Select the top layer and add a 4 point grabage matte and move 2 left points or addjust croppin g in the motion tab.

If you need the actor to cross over the other then you'll need to rotoscope (trace) him for the best quality. For this you'll need something like after Effects or Commotion special effects packages.
 
Re: layering actors in a scene....Please Help

You can also shoot the actor against a color screen and key the background out allowing you to layer the actor on both sides, or better yet just shoot the scene with the actor on one side and then shoot him against a blue/green/single color screen and key him onto the other side right?
 
Re: layering actors in a scene....Please Help

You can key the actor but unless you've very careful it will look like a key. You lighting needs to match actor and background. The actor can't interact with anything in the scene and can't easily walk behind items in the scene. Next you have to light the screen and try to pull a clean matte which is difficult to get a great matte using DV. In some cases it's easier and faster to roto a short shot than to get the key working well.
 
Re: layering actors in a scene....Please Help

Goodness, people. Talk about making something complicated. As long as the actor's two appearances don't overlap, you can just 4- or 8-point matte. Much simpler, and requiring wayyyyy less render time.
 
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