United3dArtists Archive

Hi all ,does anyone know about set extensions for films. iv checked a few
sites in google but not sure what software is needed, and is it
hard to learn this?
Thanks Ralph

AFAIK set extensions is a term Adobe is using for matte painting or using a photograph to replace the background of a live action picture...

Adobe, like every big company, seems to need to reinvent language to their terms.

There is a lot of material available that explains matte painting....

there was a public television series on movie making that has episodes posted on Youtube....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8bdTmU8F0s

another nice intro http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_kaA6250S4

You can use any software that allows you to work with images in layers..... for video and animation any compositing system will help that along. I have used TS to accomplish this with an ad I worked on for a Ford dealership web site. The background was a plane with no transparency and the foreground was 2 layers with separate images using transparency masks.

If you want a cheap and easy I used a piece of freeware called Wax a few years ago to blend a video clip with a photo background and it was relatively straightforward.

Virtual Set Productions Are Reality
by Roman Ormandy
http://cinemawithoutborders.com/cinema- ... ality.html"

Nice find.
A reality that was 'embraced and extinguished' by a behemoth.

agreed agreed.

Here is a very nice set extension video with after effects....
http://library.creativecow.net/articles ... o-tutorial"
also note that Vue was used on 300 set extensions inside Avatar for the matte paintings something you already have (since i know you won the competition with it !)... !
http://www.bwave.de/blog/filme/2010/ava ... inite-8-5/"
http://www.e-onsoftware.com/showcase/spotlights/?page=4"
http://www.e-onsoftware.com/showcase/spotlights/?page=8"
Peter

Thanks to all .i need the app After efects from Adobe .
a film firm in canada asked me if i could do set extensions if so they will use me for all there work.
i have googled lots of vids on the subject and think i can do this but first i need that app.
I did some work for them and they were exteemly happy with what i did .but this is
somthing different. Is after efects a stand alone app or must you have cs5 ?

pugman 1 wrote:Thanks to all .i need the app After efects from Adobe .
a film firm in canada asked me if i could do set extensions if so they will use me for all there work.
i have googled lots of vids on the subject and think i can do this but first i need that app.
I did some work for them and they were exteemly happy with what i did .but this is
somthing different. Is after efects a stand alone app or must you have cs5 ?

No its a standalone application but I bought the production suite CS5 mainly because its cheaper to get
the bundle and since I´m a pro photographer I got Photoshop extended version in that bundle and premiere and a lot
of other goodies.....
Basically its all you need for filmmaking !
You know there will be a lot of people who will tell you that you can do with cheaper solutions and use Gimp and this and that.... but in the end after a few years
you will end up with Adobe full products anyways...... so its a lot cheaper to do it right away...
If you want to earn money you got to spend some.......and there is a lot to be earned with postpro.... not to mention that your
abilities in using these standard programs are something noone can take away from you and you will always geta good job that way...
Peter

Thanks Rayman cs5 is quite heavy on the price but i know deep down thats the only way to go
maybe he wants me to make some more models for him then i can get it
thanks again Ralph

Hey pugman I put this video together for you from a film I recently finished working on. It shows two methods for set extensions. One where the actors/subject will actually be in front of the background and keying and/or rotoscoping will be needed, and then the other where the actors/subjects don't cross the background and all that is needed is masking. The compositing was done in After Effects. There is a newer application that has gotten really popular called Nuke that is even more powerful at compositing than after effects, but works a lot different. a plus with After Effects though is that it's great for motion graphics as well.

Hi unklejman, Thankyou for this ,this app will take some learning.
Hope i can quickly. Thanks again Ralph

I forgot to mention that camera moves are important. If the camera only pivots on the tripod then tracking can be done in After effects. If the camera translates as with a dolly, crane, or steadicam shot, you will need match moving software like SynthEyes, Boujou, or PFhoe.