I wanted to make a quick scene where a hit and run driver is haunted by the image of the person they killed.
In one scene I have an over-the-shoulder shot of the person looking into a pond at his own reflection and then I'd like it to change into the reflection of the victim.
At first I tried to use masks to cut a hole in the top layer to reveal the person underneath and then I changed the opacity so that it blends in better.
Is there a better way to achieve this effect through AE or filming it differently?
The original shot has no reflection at all, so I'd need to first put in the original persons reflection in the water and then have it change.
Re: How to change someone's water reflection by Lars Bunch on Apr 14, 2008 at 1:31:18 am
Hi,
It sounds like a job for blending modes.
If you have the shots of your reflection images masked or keyed out or even shot against black, you should be able to layer them over the water and change the blending mode to something like "Overlay" or "Screen" or "Lighten" and get a much better effect. You might also want to add a displacement map effect to the reflected image, using the water as the displacement map layer. If these don't give you the look you want, try all the others ones. Blending modes are great for creating realistic reflections.
Then all you have to do is dissolve between the first person and the second and you have your effect.
Re: How to change someone's water reflection by Dave LaRonde on Apr 14, 2008 at 5:48:51 pm
I'd do it this way:
• Mount a BIG mirror just above the water's surface, big enough to fill your intended shot.
• Get the shots of your driver and victim, doing what they need to do. Make sure the camera's not in the reflection.
• Remove the mirror and shoot a clean plate of the water.
• Rotoscope in the driver. Using the clean plate as your surface AND as displacement map, composite in the reflections (in a precomp) over the water, using a blend mode and adjust transparency to get the right look.
Yeah, there's some work involved in it... hey, it's an effects shot, y'know?
Dave LaRonde
Sr. Promotion Producer
KCRG-TV (ABC) Cedar Rapids, IA
