Working on my first compositing FX with Galactica miniatures

[martok2112]

My friends,

I am finally getting down to some serious work on my composited FX attempts with my BSG miniatures. Right now, I am in the "pre-composite" stage. Without a chroma-key (greenscreening) proggie like Pinnacle, this is a much tougher process than one might imagine. (Why I am not using PhotoShop to try and help accelerate this process is beyond me.)

Right now, the process is thus:

1. Film the ship....having to use one hand to hold the ship, and the other hand to man the camera controls. (This will result in a slight wobble on the ship's part, but hopefully none too great....in the end though, it will look like a ship that is wobbling in space....sadly.)

2. Break the film down into individual frames using Windows Movie Maker. That's right, depending on the length of the footage for the shot, it could be anywhere from 20 to 100 (or more) frames.

3. Use MSPaint to cutout all the background around the ship into a blank white zone. Then store it as a bitmap (since white on MSPaint bmps. are blank, and thus easily compositable.) As you can imagine, this is a HIGHLY tedious process...depending on the frame count.

4. Using either Photoshop or PhotoImpression, create running lights, engine glow, window lights, etc, on the ship in the blank pre-composited forms. Another tedious process, but this is one that will pay off in the long run, since I will be able to use these pre-composites over and over on any background I choose.

5. Find a suitable background. Empty space, nebulae, planetary orbital shot, what not. I can then place the pre-composited shots on the backgrounds, storing them under different filenames so I do not lose the original pre-composite. Now, the fun part is using PhotoImpression to accomplish this as well, because then I can actually move the background, to create the illusion of true movement. Another tedious process.

6. With the composites finally in place, I can add whatever final FX are needed, or composite another ship if necessary....and then use Windows Movie Maker, or ShowBiz to create the final product.

7. After film footage is assembled, add appropriate sound FX/music. Save the film.

I will post my first effort after completion, hopefully within the week.

I hope that it will be enjoyed by any and all...'coz it's a lotta work.

Respectfully,
Martok2112

[martok2112]

Well folks, here it is:

My first efforts to create an animation using my Galactica miniatures.

This is a very, very preliminary effort....future endeavors will look much smoother.
In this video, I think the helmsman was just a wee bit drunk.

I hope you enjoy it.

https://battlestar-galactica.thomas7g...utyPass001.wmv

Respectfully,
Martok2112

[ernie90125]

Well done for making a start Marty........

You're right the helmsman looks drunk though !

I have a crazy suggestion. On film sets...when they want the camera to go straight and perfectly steady, they build what looks like some train tracks, push the camera support along them....

Could you buy some toy train tracks, and make a mount for the Galactica. Then push the mounted Galactica along the tracks to make a smoother pass by ?

Just a crazy idea......

[martok2112]

Originally Posted by ernie90125

Well done for making a start Marty........

You're right the helmsman looks drunk though !

I have a crazy suggestion. On film sets...when they want the camera to go straight and perfectly steady, they build what looks like some train tracks, push the camera support along them....

Could you buy some toy train tracks, and make a mount for the Galactica. Then push the mounted Galactica along the tracks to make a smoother pass by ?

Just a crazy idea......

It would have to be pretty tiny....that's a four inch Galactica miniature Glad you liked the video, Ernie. I do plan on working on ways to refine my craft.

Appreciatively,
Martok2112

[ernie90125]

It is possible to get tiny train tracks....the term for then is 'N Guage'

If you made a track, got a small coal wagon or something, stuck a piece if vertical plastic on it, then placed the Galactica on top of that.....you could push the wagon along the tracks and get much better and smoother motion.

You'd get better curves and straights, and wouldn't have to edit your hands out all the time. You could create multiple shots of the motion from different angles, and re-create them whenever you wanted.

Example of the tracks : Ebay Item number: 6011196991
Example of the wagon : Ebay Item number: 6011803574

I'm not a model train collector since childhood, this was stuck in the depths of my memory.....but in the film studios they use a far larger minature and far larger tracks....If you are using a smaller minature, why not use smaller tracks !

[TwoBrainedCylon]

The track idea isn't bad. In fact, its not a bad idea for a larger application of this concept.

Sandy

[Darrell Lawrence]

Thread would work to hang the models

[ernie90125]

Originally Posted by TwoBrainedCylon

The track idea isn't bad. In fact, its not a bad idea for a larger application of this concept.

Sandy

The idea was inspired by the tracks used for cameras on film sets. However, thinking back wasn't some of the Star Wars Death Star Trench Xwing/TIE scenes filmed using tracks ? That's what propelled them along the trench ?

If anyone does use my idea.....best of luck with it.....

[martok2112]

Great suggestions all......I will try to find some way to implement them. Right now, the most feasible thing for me would be the hanging by string applications, since the local hobby shop is closed right now.

Hope y'all liked the first effort.

Thanks for the suggestions/recommendations.

Appreciatively,
Martok2112

[TwoBrainedCylon]

Originally Posted by ernie90125

The idea was inspired by the tracks used for cameras on film sets. However, thinking back wasn't some of the Star Wars Death Star Trench Xwing/TIE scenes filmed using tracks ? That's what propelled them along the trench ?

If anyone does use my idea.....best of luck with it.....

From what I've seen, the Star Wars attack scenes were done with a mini-crane that had a locked stop-motion camera on a metal arm that passed over the models and by shooting out of a pickup truck that drove by large trench models. The blurred passby shots were edited together to make it seem as if the trench were endless.


Sandy

[rjandron]

Looks great Steve. Just a follow-up to Ernie's suggestion about train tracks...take a look at the larger "G" scale train tracks used in garden railroading. That should be wide enough to give you a firm enough base for your camera tripod. You can get straight lengths up to 5 feet, which givesyou a lot of room for camera moves, etc. and I have seen 3 foot lengths of flex track that can allow for some more gentle curving of camera paths.

[ernie90125]

RJ,

My idea was based on the Galactica minature moving and the camera being in a fixed place. Your idea is about moving the camera. I don't know which would be best...possibly both working in some sort of combination....