[videoblogging] Re: Vote Different Editting
There is relatively little altering of the original work. All effects are made by placing masks over the existing tv monitors and then adding a new layer with the Hillary footage. After Effects is your best tool because you can tweat the edges and the surface of the inserted footage to make it better conform with the original source material. You can pull off the picture effect in FCP and other programs just no as well or easily in my opinion. I have just started with After Effects and this kind of stuff is sort of AE 101. Very easy to do. All of the shots invloving tvs are also static in this piece which means you don't have to keyframe the mask and move it every few frames. Just add points around the object until you have the outline of the mask over the tv set right. Them add the new layer of video and adjust the scale as needed to fit inside the mask you created. The video itself has a few effects thrown on it. It's just a matter of figuring out what effects do what and how to combine effects. Again, pretty easy. The logo on the shirt is added as another layer and is keyframed to match the perspective and motion of the runner. Probably time consuming but fairly easy, just adjust the scale and position of the logo to follow the runner. After Effects does fill in the gaps between keyframes with a perceived path so you don't have to do frame by frame, but the more keyframes you use the better the motion especially with something like a person running and bouncing up and down. The spinning part I don't know how to do, never tried it. I imagine it involves curving the logo to match the body curvature and masking as well. After Effects is expensive. Find a student whose ID you can use to get a discount from one of those educational software companies. The difference is several hundred dollars. Throw them a few bucks or contribute to their binge drinking. My first AE forray is up at Wreck and Salvage. http://www.wreckandsalvage.com Used mattes to preserve the original wipes from the Starman trailer and insert my own footage. What I was trying to ask, and I haven't found a good answer, is how does one go about making a new video, like Vote Different through editing existing videos. The closest I've gotten, so far is from someone off the list suggesting that After Effects could probably be used to do something like that. Could this have been done with After Effects? How much work is it to get proficient enough in something like After Effects to modify a video the way they did? Are there other tools that are better? Are there open source tools? To get more specific, at about three seconds into the video, you see the drones marching in with three video monitors in the upper left hand section of the screen. These monitors have a video of Hillary playing in them. How difficult is it to take a video and add it into a section of another video? At about 6 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, and 38 seconds the image of the runner is modified to have an iPod and an Obama graphic. How difficult was this? How much of this do you need to do on a frame by frame basis, and how much can be automated with something like After Effects? On a more general basis, how many of you on this list have done this sort of editting to any of your videos? How many of you know how to do it? Aldon --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Bill Cammack BillCammack@ wrote: Is that your answer to the poster's question about tools to use to make a video like that???
[videoblogging] Re: Vote Different Editting
Don't give too much credit to that YouTube Video. It's 99% an EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE television commercial that ran on-air ages ago. All they did to it was replace the soundtrack with Hillary Clinton speaking and superimpose her image on the screen the people were watching. Oh. They added some text also. *yawn*. They're calling this a mash-up, but it isn't. You could do the same thing with a static shot of Prince playing the halftime show @ this year's Super Bowl. Find a shot where nothing moves, and there's a screen present in the background. Use any editing system that allows you to change the location, size, rotation and perspective of the video you want to be on the screen to make that video cover exactly the location of the screen in the background. Et Voila... You're on the big screen @ the Super Bowl eating potato chips while Prince is in the foreground singing and playing. PS - Don't forget to remove the image just before the frame of the explosion, so it looks like they blew up your actual video. Technology's advanced a lot since the original commercial was made, but at the time, hardware for broadcast quality editing and special effects was VRY expensive. If you include building the set, hiring the actors, shooting on film (high speed film to get smooth slow motion), special effects explosions and lighting effects (make the crowd light up as if a screen actually exploded), film to video transfer, color timing, messenger fees... oh... it was a commercial, so paying the Account Execs, Writers, Art Directors, Supervisors, Producers, Editor(s), paying for the Edit Suite @ ~300/hr, Sushi for lunch and whatever else I forgot about editing commercials. It's safe to say that that YouTube Video cost more to make than most people's houses. Literally. That's not to say that we can't make good videos with the equipment that's available to us, including iMovie and Windows Movie Maker. The point is that that particular video was made with minimal effort to piggyback on an already successful MSM commercial... similar to MC Hammer rapping over already established records like Super Freak and having that record be a hit. -- Bill C. http://TheLab.ReelSolid.TV --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Aldon [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Well, the YouTube video, Vote Different, is sure getting a lot of attention. People have talked about how with YouTube, anyone can now make and distribute great videos. I must admit, I think it is an incredible video, but with all of my limited video editing ability, there is no way that I could make such video. So, my question to everyone on the list: What sort of tools do you think were used to create the video, (or what tools would you have used?) How do we help others learn to use such tools and be more creative in the videos the produce? Aldon
Re: [videoblogging] Re: Vote Different Editting
There's lots of ways you can criticize the vote different video, but I'm surprised you'd go after the technical prowess of the creator. Yes, it's true that they used a very expensive professional advertisement as source material. So what? The real measure of success is whether it gets the message across. Evidently it does, given the level of attention it's getting. If you can communicate your message using found source material, is that any less valid than hiring a producer, crew, and editor, and doing everything from scratch? Thanks to decades of commercial TV, there's tons of old footage out there which could be recycled into new products (copyright issues aside). It's nothing new, and we're only going to see more of it. -Peter On Mar 20, 2007, at 9:52 AM, Bill Cammack wrote: Don't give too much credit to that YouTube Video. It's 99% an EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE television commercial that ran on-air ages ago. All they did to it was replace the soundtrack with Hillary Clinton speaking and superimpose her image on the screen the people were watching. Oh. They added some text also. *yawn*. They're calling this a mash-up, but it isn't. You could do the same thing with a static shot of Prince playing the halftime show @ this year's Super Bowl. Find a shot where nothing moves, and there's a screen present in the background. Use any editing system that allows you to change the location, size, rotation and perspective of the video you want to be on the screen to make that video cover exactly the location of the screen in the background. Et Voila... You're on the big screen @ the Super Bowl eating potato chips while Prince is in the foreground singing and playing. PS - Don't forget to remove the image just before the frame of the explosion, so it looks like they blew up your actual video. Technology's advanced a lot since the original commercial was made, but at the time, hardware for broadcast quality editing and special effects was VRY expensive. If you include building the set, hiring the actors, shooting on film (high speed film to get smooth slow motion), special effects explosions and lighting effects (make the crowd light up as if a screen actually exploded), film to video transfer, color timing, messenger fees... oh... it was a commercial, so paying the Account Execs, Writers, Art Directors, Supervisors, Producers, Editor(s), paying for the Edit Suite @ ~300/hr, Sushi for lunch and whatever else I forgot about editing commercials. It's safe to say that that YouTube Video cost more to make than most people's houses. Literally. That's not to say that we can't make good videos with the equipment that's available to us, including iMovie and Windows Movie Maker. The point is that that particular video was made with minimal effort to piggyback on an already successful MSM commercial... similar to MC Hammer rapping over already established records like Super Freak and having that record be a hit. -- Bill C. http://TheLab.ReelSolid.TV --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Aldon [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Well, the YouTube video, Vote Different, is sure getting a lot of attention. People have talked about how with YouTube, anyone can now make and distribute great videos. I must admit, I think it is an incredible video, but with all of my limited video editing ability, there is no way that I could make such video. So, my question to everyone on the list: What sort of tools do you think were used to create the video, (or what tools would you have used?) How do we help others learn to use such tools and be more creative in the videos the produce? Aldon [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[videoblogging] Re: Vote Different Editting
--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Peter Leppik [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: There's lots of ways you can criticize the vote different video, but I'm surprised you'd go after the technical prowess of the creator. :) I didn't criticize the 'technical prowess' of the creator. I didn't say that the person doesn't have any skills. There are lots of talented musicians that release very simple music on their albums, because that's what their audience understands and responds to. That doesn't mean those same musicians don't have the 'technical prowess' to play amazing music. Yes, it's true that they used a very expensive professional advertisement as source material. So what? So What? is that the original poster asked SPECIFICALLY, and you still have it quoted below in your reply... What sort of tools do you think were used to create the video, (or what tools would you have used?) How do we help others learn to use such tools and be more creative in the videos the produce? Therefore... The answer is what I said it is. It's my opinion that professional editing and compositing programs were used to create that video, which at the time probably amounted to over $300,000, including the price at the time for Avid's Media Composer series or Lightworks or whatever else they might have used that was WAY outside the public's ability to purchase. Now... is it possible that they re-created the video themselves? Sure. :) If they did, it's a weak attempt, because you can see Hillary Clinton bouncing all over the place as they attempt to rotoscope her into the monitors that are moving in the shot coming down the hall. If they didn't... All they did was cut and paste some video over an already created video, and to respond to the poster as if they made this thing from scratch with Windows Movie Maker and a few of their friends for not very much money is disingenuous. If you want to see GOOD, DIY Special Effects, watch GALACTICAST! http://galacticast.com. There are way more effects in several Galacticast episodes that I've watched that require way more thought, preparation, effort and skill than went into that one commercial mash up. What would you rather I would have responded with that would have been truthful and wouldn't have seemed like I was attacking someone for doing what it is that I feel that they did? I'm actually interested in what you would have said. The real measure of success is whether it gets the message across. Evidently it does, given the level of attention it's getting. Of course it does. That commercial was HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL when it was initially released. The market research is already done. The focus groups have already watched this video, which is why it made it to air. People already acccepted it, what? 20 years ago? and received the message that was in the original video, and they're receiving the message now. That's why I said it was like MC Hammer. If you rhyme over Super Freak, people are going to like your record... because... they like Super Freak. It doesn't matter if your rhymes are good or not. Similarly, steal the treatment and shot selection from a well-known and highly-successful commercial, and you'll have. another highly successful commercial. Just don't try to get credit for it as if you came up with this off the top of your head. AND... Don't advertise to DIY videomakers that what they watched was created from scratch. It gives the wrong impression, AND makes people wonder why they can't get their video to look like video x, even though they are posting to the same website. Just because it's on YouTube doesn't make it a YouTube Video. That's why they're getting sued right now. Why don't you tell the poster how he can make a UFC title fight video with his iMovie? :) If you can communicate your message using found source material, is that any less valid than hiring a producer, crew, and editor, and doing everything from scratch? No. I said nothing about the effectiveness of the video. I agree with what you said there. However Nobody asked about message communication. Read it again. The poster asked What sort of tools do you think were used to create the video? The message was communicated well, and continues to be communicated because it's a news story that people keep bringing up. The fact that they used found material is giving the video as much life as the fact that it's about a politician. This is just as good as lite-brites spread out around Boston! :D Thanks to decades of commercial TV, there's tons of old footage out there which could be recycled into new products (copyright issues aside). It's nothing new, and we're only going to see more of it. -Peter And I think that's a good thing. Is that your answer to the poster's question about tools to use to make a video like that??? ???Google??? :D -- Bill C. http://TheLab.ReelSolid.TV On Mar 20, 2007, at 9:52 AM, Bill Cammack wrote:
[videoblogging] Re: Vote Different Editting
Bill, et al, I'm glad the discussion came back to my question about tools to use to make a video like that. Yes, I know that the video was a reworking of the classic 1984 Apple advertisement. I know that a lot went into making the original advertisement. What I was trying to ask, and I haven't found a good answer, is how does one go about making a new video, like Vote Different through editing existing videos. The closest I've gotten, so far is from someone off the list suggesting that After Effects could probably be used to do something like that. Could this have been done with After Effects? How much work is it to get proficient enough in something like After Effects to modify a video the way they did? Are there other tools that are better? Are there open source tools? To get more specific, at about three seconds into the video, you see the drones marching in with three video monitors in the upper left hand section of the screen. These monitors have a video of Hillary playing in them. How difficult is it to take a video and add it into a section of another video? At about 6 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, and 38 seconds the image of the runner is modified to have an iPod and an Obama graphic. How difficult was this? How much of this do you need to do on a frame by frame basis, and how much can be automated with something like After Effects? On a more general basis, how many of you on this list have done this sort of editting to any of your videos? How many of you know how to do it? Aldon --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Bill Cammack [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Is that your answer to the poster's question about tools to use to make a video like that???
[videoblogging] Re: Vote Different Editting
Well heres what happens when someone tries to do the exact same thing but with Obama instead of Hilary, but doesnt have access to the right tools or techniques: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dycbAsB9-psNR Im guessing you havent gotten all the answers yet because the answer is rather long. There are so many different techniques that could be required to make a modification to a scene look pretty seamless. I wish I was proficient enough at this stuff to answer your specific examples but I am not very good with such tools. After Effects is certainly one, Im not sure of an excellent cheap or free alternative, there are other alternatives that are fairly expensive. Some things can be done automatically rather than frame by frame, people try to avoid that wherever possible as there are just too many frames. But for a short sequence or something real special, or that no other auto or semi-auto tool seems to handle, manual editing of frames is one way to get results. If you dont get enough answers then try searching the web for terms like compositing, rotoscoping, keying At a guess people who are good at this stuff are also good at finding the sorts of footage that wont require almost impossible manipulation to work. Its usually easier if the source scene camera isnt moving much, for example. Im also guessing that even with the right tools, footage and knowledge, lots of time can be consumed in the all important final polishing stages which can make the difference between something good and the video I linked to earlier. Other forms of mashng together existing footage can be done a lot easier and faster, such as cruder mixing together of video samples, or splicing clips of someone to make them say something different. These are also more likely to be accoumplished in even a basic video editing package, as opposed to the generally more expensive compositing/animation apps. Cheers Steve Elbows --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Aldon [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Bill, et al, I'm glad the discussion came back to my question about tools to use to make a video like that. Yes, I know that the video was a reworking of the classic 1984 Apple advertisement. I know that a lot went into making the original advertisement. What I was trying to ask, and I haven't found a good answer, is how does one go about making a new video, like Vote Different through editing existing videos. The closest I've gotten, so far is from someone off the list suggesting that After Effects could probably be used to do something like that. Could this have been done with After Effects? How much work is it to get proficient enough in something like After Effects to modify a video the way they did? Are there other tools that are better? Are there open source tools? To get more specific, at about three seconds into the video, you see the drones marching in with three video monitors in the upper left hand section of the screen. These monitors have a video of Hillary playing in them. How difficult is it to take a video and add it into a section of another video? At about 6 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, and 38 seconds the image of the runner is modified to have an iPod and an Obama graphic. How difficult was this? How much of this do you need to do on a frame by frame basis, and how much can be automated with something like After Effects? On a more general basis, how many of you on this list have done this sort of editting to any of your videos? How many of you know how to do it? Aldon --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Bill Cammack BillCammack@ wrote: Is that your answer to the poster's question about tools to use to make a video like that???
