Tutorial Request: How To Clone Your Self

W

wheatgrinder

Hi all,
We have some great talent here, specifically I'm asking folks for help with the "cloning" technique. I tried it as I understood it, and it came out bad.

In this thread Graeme and I discuss possibilities where I suggest using this technique.. but I really dont know what I'm talking about.

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=22002

Please reply with any tips, ideas and tutorials you know of...
 
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well, the most simple way to clone someone whould be to split the screen in half. basicly shot yourself twice in different tapes and then merge the to shots together in after effects or another compositing software.

so film two shots with your actor in different positions in each shot
and then
split one of the layers in half, using tools such as Mask
clone00002.jpg


to avoid sharp edges, feather the edge out
clone00003.jpg


then put it above the other layer
clone00004.jpg


things to think about tho,
lightning has to match perfectly, otherwise it will look weird.
angle also has to match perfectly.
this doesn't only work for static shots, but it wont be cheap doing a moving shot cuz the camera work has to match perfectly so you will need like a huge tripod/railway thingy if you get what I mean.
you could however do panorama compositing and basicly put footage side by side and move through the shot. Exampel

there's different ways to clone however, you could use a blue screen which is recommended for shots were the clones pass by each other, otherwise you whould have to animate the mask frame by frame

85504910.jpg


15529147.jpg


the reasson why I put the blue screen on set instead of shotting in a studio was to match the lightning

you can always experiment with different methods and come up with ways to create certain shots
 
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Based on the thread to which you linked, I haven't done that kind of cloning. And by that I mean that complicated of cloning. Yet. One current 'pot on my stove' so to speak is a music video for one of Sean's tracks that I like. Especially I like the idea of filming it because it will involve a lot of cloning for several shots. It'll be good practice at getting it perfect.
 
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NuclearHamster said:
well, the most simple way to clone someone whould be to split the screen in half. basicly shot yourself twice in different tapes and then merge the to shots together in after effects or another compositing software...........
Click to expand...

Outstanding examples, NuclearHamster!


I posted the following video in the INDIEMEET Thread. At the 9:13 mark, you see three shots of the same girl. We ended up cloning her, so she could talk to herself. In the video, you see that her husband sat in, so she had someone to interact with. Then we replaced his shot with hers.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/e2femfFH_3I&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/e2femfFH_3I&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>



As you can see (at that 9:13 mark), you can accomplish it very easy and without a greenscreen (unless they cross, as NuclearHamster said). In short, have your actor stand on the right, then have him stand on the left. Don't move the camera and keep the lighting the same. Some editing programs (like 'Sony Vegas) can do this without the need of After Effects.

Now, I saw that NuclearHamster had a short CLONE AXIS, where the camera pans and there are several of him in the moving shot. I would like to hear more about that one.



BTW, if you want to see the process demonstrated, I will be doing a "crossing clones" demo of the same person circling around himself, at INDIEMEET.
 
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I just wonder how we would all react to see each other in person-would all of our "ideas" of what a person is like be crushed?:lol:

The indiemeet does sound like a good idea, though I wonder if indie filmmakers can be kind of reclusive in nature(I know I can be that way sometimes ;))
 
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Yeah I'm got my clone running though a complex scene (trees, shurbs, clearing, etc) which I'll hand over to post to clone using AE in CS5.

That will put this roto-brush to the test on day one.

I also did some blue and cut-screen cloning for back-up incase this doesn't work as well as advertised.
 
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Another way to make the key that much better is to use keylight in aftereffects instead of the usual chroma key in the NLE. in keylight there are far more options to fine tune the key.

Also an important note is to keep the subject as far away from the screen as you can especially if you have lights for the screen(which you should), because the light can bounce back and show up on the actor. keylight is great at removing that spill as well but it's best to have it shot properly to begin with.

Here is a reverse key i did for this music video. it was the worst lit screen i've ever seen, but with keylight i pulled it through....

http://vimeo.com/3889392

gs1.jpg


gs2.jpg
 
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@FilmFest: I really liked that vid. I didn't watch it with sound but I really liked how it was filmed and I thought the concept was really tasteful. The green screen turned out perfectly :)
 
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