Photograph to video transition

mainstreetprod

mainstreetprod

Veteran
My client has requested the following: We see a young woman going through photographs. She picks up one, looks at it, the camera seeing it over her shoulder. The photo comes to life, we see the scene, then on the last frame goes back to the photograph as she puts it down. I can easily figure out how to do this if I am fully zoomed in on the photo ( by having her hold photos printed out from frames of the scene), but what if I am only partially zoomed in on the photo? How is the transition done from partial to full screen? Any tips on this process appreciated.
 
Assuming you haven't already shot, you can put green cards in the photo album. This takes some motion work in post, but it's much easier to deal with than trying to print stills and then creating match frames.

As for the transition itself, depends on your personal taste. You can zoom all the way in to the "photo" frame and make it full-screen, or you could have the frame jump off the photo and enlarge to full-frame (kind of cheesy), or you can simply use a cross-dissolve to full-frame.
 
I said use green cards like Alex said but if you want the full screen Motion, After Effects or even Mocha may have to play a part in the overall transition. In the end it is about taste but I remember seeing the effect on Undercovers (canceled NBC show) a lot. Maybe study how they did frame by frame and develop an idea how to go about it.
 
I think I'm gonna simplify this by making sure neither the camera or photo moves when i'm shooting the green card. I will shoot her from the front, using a slider, grabbing 8 x 10 photos off the floor and looking at them. Then I'll cut to a static , closeup over the shoulder shot of the green card as she holds it up (and still). The video will start as a still, then go into motion with a quick dissolve to full screen. Sound like it will work?
 
It's really a "try it and see" situation. I'd do a test of it before shoot day, and try both with and without motion in the over-the-shoulder shot. I'd also try both a dissolve and a zoom just to see how you like them.

Just understand that it's not as simple as shooting a green card and keying in a still or clip. To make this convincing, AE or Motion will have to come into play. To make it convincing, there needs to be some pretty intense composite work to add texture and glare to the "photograph".
 
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