Trying to create a fairly simple effect...I think. Need help!

THX1138

THX1138

Well-known member
Okay, so let me see if I can 'splain this clearly and concisely:

I'm shooting a short scene for a little 24-hour competition. This is being shot inside a warehouse-style building. No windows. It's set in old mexico. I'd like to be able to cut away a section of the background wall (for the wide shots) and create the impression that we can see outside. Not looking to hang green screens or anything. Just want to create a quick, dirty matte and leave a hole in the image so I can layer it over another clip of footage of a mexican village from an old movie or something. The camera will be locked down for these shots.

Working in Final Cut Studio 2.

Make sense? Thoughts?

Thanks!
travis
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Not familiar with FCS, but yes a simple matte should work , subject to you adjusting the lighting on the 'exterior' scene to look right. But I suggest also thinking about the edge of the 'hole' (a window, door, or literally a jagged hole?) - in real life it will probably be more brightly lit than the rest of the inside. You could probably achieve that with a second matte layer (under the 'outside' layer), showing just a thin edge of the inside but more brightly lit.

One other point - unless every shot of the hole will be from one same camera angle, I suggest you tape a fake paper hole to the wall - it will be a great help when positioning your matte over top of it in post-production
 
If you need to use a tracking mark make sure you have two points to base it on, otherwise pivot and perspective can mess with you. But yeah, depending on exactly what you need it wouldn't be too hard. If it's literally supposed to be a hole in the wall don't forget the interior edges, as was said, which might be slightly more difficult. Again, depends on exactly what you want. As with every video effect, pay attention to details.
 
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Thanks guys!

clang, this is really quick and dirty. It was really more of an afterthought. I like what you're saying about the edge of the hole (more jagged, like a hole in a brick wall), but I'm not sure I entirely understand what you're suggesting as to how to deal with it. The only time it'll be seen is in two very brief wide shots in which the camera is locked down.

Thanks so much for your help! I really do appreciate it.

travis
 
Ok, so you're going to make a virtual jagged hole in your wall, presumably with a JPEG of exposed bricks etc, which in post you'll then place in front of the real wall and also in front of the 'outside' video? I'm saying you'll need to be careful with the lighting on that - the outer edges will need to match the real wall, and the inner edges will probably be more brightly 'lit', just as a window frame normally looks brighter than its surround due to sunlight coming through it. The good news is that the 'hole' JPEG is completely independent of the live action and the 'outside' video, so you can fiddle with it in post until it looks right. And if it's only seen briefly, very little work may be needed, no more than you'll have to do on the 'outside' video stream, just to match brightness and colour saturation etc.
 
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