Human torch effect

[edifex]

Are we able to import live footage and do a "Human Torch" effect in A.M.?

And if so, how?

[johnl3d]

Live footage of what ? And add the human torch effect to a mmodel or onto the footage ?

[heyvern]

It will be a lot of work. Is this a "passing fancy" for fun or is it needed for a real project?

 

These are just my ideas on how to do this with video of a real or "live" person. I have never tried it and I am not a professional. I assume by "live" you mean "real" and not "real time".

 

First you would need to import the footage as a rotoscope. Next you need to apply some kind of flame effect. How extensive do the flames need to be? would this human torch have any recognizable features? Or would it be completely encased in flames?

 

If completely encased in flames you have two options: Mask the figure in the original footage so you could composite a flame effect over it or create a 3D figure in A:M as a "stand in" for the person in the video. This 3D "proxy" would almost completely eliminate the need for the live footage except for use for rotoscoping the motion. If you go that route I would use a "locked" camera on a tripod and film the scene both with and with out the person. If you don't do this you will need to use some kind of motion tracking software to account for the moving or hand held camera. This second footage with out the person could even be a still image but that often shows up in the final. Plus you may want other people in the scene. As long as they stay behind your "human torch" this would be easy to do.

 

You would next need a realistic flame material probably using sprites or "spriticles". I think there are many examples of this floating around. Some probably on the AM cd or included with the application. If you go with the "3D" replacement model you would apply the flame effect to that model. You may need to "tweak" the model to match the basic size and proportions of your actor but it doesn't have to be exact or "realistic" since it will be entirely engulfed with flames.

 

Next use the video footage with the actor to rotoscope the models movements to the motion of the person in the video. You will probably need to adjust the camera inside AM to roughly match the perspective in the imported video. This way you could animate a "transition" very easily by fading between the two (that's why you need the "locked" camera with a second version of the footage with no person in it).

 

That's a lot of effort. It might not be the easiest way. I can think of some other possible alternatives using simpler shapes to apply over the video... but the same problems with motion tracking arise. You may want to consider using a product like AE which has all kinds of plugins available for adding flame effects to things and has motion tracking... of course... you would end up spending a few thousand dollars for that solution.

 

Back to my original question, is this for fun? Will you do it once and and never again? Then experiment. Start small, set one of the models that came with AM on fire. You get that looking good you are half way there. The problem is that when we see these effects done really well in movies we want to try them out without realizing what goes into it. The movie makers didn't push a "human torch" button. They had to do a whole bunch of things first, had to plan it out carefully to get that effect. The final result just makes it look easy. ;

 

-vern

[c-wheeler]

I did some research into this for an ad a while back - then this version of the add was never made.

I would not make this just in AM, but use another application as well.

The project brief was for a 10 second intro involving a fencer with a sword for the launch of a new product. The fencer was to be "on fire" with a flaming effect following the sword.

 

Animate your realistic figure until your satisfied with the result.

Then export your finished animation with alpha channels.This replaces the need for green screen filming required by the broject.

Import into new project in After effects

Composite footage using AE

 

There is a tutorial available on the web at creative cows I think.