Rotoscoping Movie Files in After Effects

Alright I have gotten good enough at rotoscoping still pictures but now I wish to move on to a little test clip. So I did the rotoscoping for the first frame using Ryan Wieber's method. But now I do not know how to move on to the next frame and I have no clue how to go about it. So now I appeal for help.

Thank you again to
Wixmmm - thanx man, yep, It only took me about 3 minutes with the PDF manual's search to find out how to use Beizer curves.
Ryan_W - thanx for making the tutorial and for posting that test pic for me to work on.

You can all cheer now, once this question is answered I should be ready to go

 

all you do is move the frame marker on the timeline.

 

Under the timeline of the comp there is a button you can move to the right which makes the timeline turn from seconds to frames. That is probably where your trouble is at it took me sometime to realize it myself.

 

Erm.. morpheus, that has little to nothing to do with what WD said. And when you zoom in the timeline, frames are displayed automatically.

Carl

 

Ha ha, yep morpheous, while that is helpful info, it had nothing to do with his question...ha ha ha.

 

Yes, I have the timeline in frames. But when I move to the next frame what do i do? How do I start again? Do I create each frame and then save it, or what? And if I save each frame then how do I render the things... oh, so much confusion!

 

I had that same problem, till I realized:
I dont give a crap until I actually have to roto.

Hope that helps!

jk

But seriously, I know exactly what u mean...I wish I could just press the Right button and it would go to the next frame...

~Neszis~

 

Its page up and page down to step throigh frames.




SWmaster

 

After you have created that mask for your first frame, goto the next frame (it should be clear by now how to do that ) and now select one of the points of your mask and drag it to fit the changed position of your saber. Do that for all points of the mask. Be sure to first activate keyframing for the mask shape so it saves the point positions on each frame. Now proceed until you have positioned your mask over your saber for all frames of the movie. When done continue like you would do with the single frame tutorial (famous phrase: "not once, not twice but thrice...").

 

Whoa, okay, I am confused... but this sounds like it will be much simpler once I get the hang of it.

Okay here are your instructions as it makes sense in my head, please confirm or deny. So, after I create the first solid and fit the white rectangle into position while still in composition 1 (before the once, twice, thrice thing) I move to the next frame and re-arange that solid until it fits over the now moved lightsaber? Then I repeat for hundreds of frames until I have the solid on every movement of the lightsaber. I then do the once twice thrice feathering technique... still in composition 1, and then move all of that into composition 2 over the origional video and add the color.

How close am I?

 

Once you create the first frame, you must click the layer the mask is on, expand mask, mask whatever, and position should be there. There is a ring-thing next to position. Click it. Now go to the next frame and use the pointer tool to move the box. Continue until done. Hope that helps.

 

Everyone here has forgotten to mention one critical thing for you. Turn on your keyframe button for Mask Shape. Next to Mask Shape there should be a little stop watch button, click it and make sure a keyframe appears on your first frame. Now you can move a long doing your roto to each frame. And if you want and the motion is simple enough you can even skip a few frames and the software will use the keyframes to interpolate the motion between the two masks.

 

swmaster: I was wondering how long it would take for someone to say Page Up/Down. haha.

 

Okay so it is
Step 1: Draw a mask (solid) over the origional footage for a light saber core on every frame as a lightsaber using the keyframe thing
Step 2: Duplicate each origional mask 3 times to get the lightsaber glow for every frame with the lightsaber core on it.
Step 3: Put the entire composition with only the lightsaber masks on top of the origional footage in a new compositon

Is this correct?

 

Pretty much. Just to reiterate what Shawn said, DO NOT forget to turn on the stopwatch for mask shape. There's nothing more frustrating than carefully adjusting parameters frame by frame for an hour, then going back to check what you've done, only to find out it's all been wasted because it's not animated.

 

No, you make a solid white layer, and create the mask on that. You can turn off the eye to see the original footage. After the first frame, you hit the stopwatch and do the rest. Once done, you have to have the original layer in a second composition, then delete it from the first layer. Now, add a black layer under the mask layer. The white core should be visible. Then do the once, twice, thrice thing. Next drag comp1 into comp2, screen it then color adjust.

 

Damn. Didn't read it properly, hence the mistake. Do what Crazylegs said. White solid over the video and mask that. Still, don't forget stopwatch for mask shape (think I've mentioned it enough yet?)

 

[image=http://web.tampabay.rr.com/moondesigns/Downloads/Duel.JPG]

Here is a clip to practice on.

Moonz

 

Can someone explain what the black layer is for?

Also I can't get the coloring to work (I change the colors but the saber stays white) someone help plz.

Thanks.

 

Everybody who has an interest in rotoscoping, should come and read this thread. You guys have really laid out every detail in the process. I have a lot of the same troubles that WD is experiencing, and this has really helped. Thanks a lot

Good point morpheus, i understand the idea in practice, but what's the principle behind the black layer?

 

When you set the transfer mode to screen, the black becomes transparent.

 

But what is the point of it if when you nest the comps the saber will be on top of the picture?

 

Without it you couldn't see the footage. As to your color problem, make sure you're nesting the footage correctly. You want to apply the color balance to the entire composition (nested), not the layer in the glow comp.

 

I have followed the tutorial for after effects and I have made good sabers, but is there a way to make a saber a color other than blue, green, red, white, or yellow? i couldn't figure out how

 

Sigh: okay I put the origional footage into composition 1. Then I create a solid of the same pixel parameters. I then proceed to poke out the eye of Solid 1 so I can see the origional footage. I then go and make the mask with the pen tool around the saber. Then I move the timeline to the next frame, hit the stop watch next to mask shape and move the mask around ad infinitum.

Only one problem, the stupid mask only holds one position, I keep puting it on frame 1, then I go to frame 2, hit the stopwatch on mask shape and move the mask over the lightsaber. But when I go back to look at the first frame the mask is where I left it on frame 2. Argh!