Water Color Style
Paintings done with
Project Dogwaffle
by Leaftracker:
the
Multi-threaded
PD Howler:
PD Pro, howling
fast
One of the most significant new features in PD
Pro 7.1 Howler is a set of tools that allow you
to perform rotoscoping - a technique used to
replace partial content in a video clip with
another sequence. Several tools and techniques
are involved:
Image stabilizing, with option to remember
the original camera motion
Tracing a shape into a curve
Keyframing the shape's curve
tracking and fine tuning the keyframes
forcing the shape curve into alpha (a
selection)
applying various tools along the timeline
that use alpha
restoring original camera motion
(optionally)
Below is a brief look for comparison of what is
possible: the original monkey video is shaky. We
can stabilize it, and that's a new feature in v7.1
as well. But we can also define a selection that
evolves through the video, for example to single
out the monkey, and then use the Timeline filters
or other tools to perform special FX on the
selected area.
End
Results: Image Stabilizing & Rotoscoping
Creating the selection is done through the Curve
tool, where a closed curve can be key framed. The
curve can then be set to render into the alpha
channel, frame by frame, just as you navigate or
render through the frames with any tool, including
the Timeline editor. You will see that the curve
interpolates through keyframed curves, when you
scrub through the timeline, and the selection
(indicated through marching ants in the alpha
channel) continuosly updates accordingly.
One example of using this is to identify a moving
shape that you wish to 'follow across the frames,
as in this example with a moving head:
First Steps with Rotoscoping
in PD Pro 7.1 Howler
It can be somewhat tedious work to create the
matte selection curve, especially if the video is
shaky. For that reason, it is possible to
preliminarily and temporarily remove the motion,
and optional restore the original camera motion
after the rotoscoping work is completed.
Below is a timelapse that shows all of the
process. It's a bit fast, sorry, we'll see about
narrating it in the future:
Other videos related to using the Curve tool for
rotoscoping:
