Reflection on Car

lhmaloney

lhmaloney

Well-known member
I wanted to know, how can I get like text gliding across a car as it drives pass. I can't think of what movie I seen this from to give you an exact example, but I can describe the frame so you can visualize. Imagine a close up of a cars bumber. The camera does not move the car drives past the camera, as it does, text go across the car, but like a car's relection, so it goes into the grooves of the sleekness of the car. Anything will help, thanks.
 
lhmaloney said:
so it goes into the grooves of the sleekness of the car.
Click to expand...
This sounds like an ad campaign for Lexus.
…the grooves…
…the sleekness…
…THE car…
Lexus

But I digress. Without seeing a shot for reference it's hard to tell. But it may or may not involve motion tracking. It will very likely involve transfer modes. And it will possibly require animated masking (roto). Working in 3D space could be needed depending on the angle that the car was shot. Other than those unknowns start with the text tool and your off and running.
 
I don't know about AE specifically, since I don't use it... but Photoshop uses something called Displacement filters and displacement maps. It makes the image on top conform to the image below. Tutorial HERE. Maybe you can find the similar feature in AE, or use Photoshop.
 
I think it could probably be done with image projection, but I couldn't begin to give you an exact idea of how.. ;)
 
Capt Quirk said:
I don't know about AE specifically, since I don't use it... but Photoshop uses something called Displacement filters and displacement maps. It makes the image on top conform to the image below. Tutorial HERE. Maybe you can find the similar feature in AE, or use Photoshop.
Click to expand...

It's only about a 10 sec clip so I could do an actin in photoshop if that's what it comes down to.
 
That's a minimum of 240 frames. It doesn't sound like much when you say it's only 10 seconds, but wait till you try it in Photoshop.
 
You could make a rough 3D model of the areas of the car that are to reflect the text.

Texure all these surfaces as mirrors to make them reflective.

Then place you text off camera somewhere so that as you animate the model to pass the camera *exactly* as the real car does it the real shot, the text is reflected.

Render out the scene with only the text on a solid colored or black background.

The result would be just the distored reflected text on a solid background, which you could then key over the original shot.




Never done anything directly like this, but that's probabaly a way I'd try if I needed to do this.


- Mikko
 
maybe you could make a variation on this tutorial http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials.html?id=86
its meant to create a fake glass reflection so you can zoom through a car window but you could maybe use some of the same concepts.

Instead of animating a displacement map for the moment you go through the glass, (since you wont) animate a displacement map that distorts your text to closely match the cars contours (or exaggerate them)
 
Yeah, displacement maps and warp were designed for this. Your eye will be happy with a less-than-scientific result, as the shape is irregular and imperfect.
Don't forget to reduce contrast a little. Adding specular highlights will help if they're not present on your source.
 
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