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Inspiring
October 2, 2021
Question

Radial fastblur

  • October 2, 2021
  • 3 replies
  • 3103 views

I have made some radial  fastblur that looks like spotlights comming out from a window.

I have tried to place a image converted to a 3D-layer infront of this, I have holes in the image made by color range key. I can see the colors from the source of the radial fastblur through the holes but I dont see any rays from the radial fastblur comming out through the holes. How do I get the rays comming through? The layers are not separated in space more than that the image is under the source of the fastblur, this is maybe wrong, maybe it should be some distance. I have tried to use axcept light, cast shadows etc. on the image.

Please help me.

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3 replies

Community Expert
October 3, 2021

The tutorial is a good one, but it moves kind of fast. If you are trying to get rays to wrap around the rotoscoped actor then you just have a problem with layer order. This is even true if there is transparency in the actor's layer. It looked like you were using some kind of luminance keying on the actors' layer because green was showing through the darkest parts of the footage. 

 

A screenshot of the flowchart (embedded, not uploaded please) and the timeline with as many layers as you can include would help. If you carefully examine how Arron's project file and you'll see how it is done. You can find the tutorial and the project files at videocopilot.net. I'm pretty sure that you just have a layer order problem.

 

It would also been very helpful if you had posted a link to the tutorial you were following when you started the thread.

 

I took a frame from your movie, created a mask to leave only the face and dropped it in the tutorial comp like this with a little curves adjustment.

 

Rolf5E3DAuthor
Inspiring
October 4, 2021

Great Rick, is the fastblur really coming through the gaps in the window in Arrons clip? How does he tell Ae that there is gaps in the window? Sorry for not including the link, when I do that  you folks tell me that youtube is crappy so I avoid it. I will study hes layer order etc. at the copilote  site.

Rolf5E3DAuthor
Inspiring
October 4, 2021

I should clarify, I mean holes in the window hatch (sorry I am not native)

Community Expert
October 2, 2021

The 3D layers in After Effects have no Z depth. For you to get a simulated light beam from CC Radial Fast Blur to appear to be coming through the eyes of your actor, you will have to create a layer that has a couple of dots where the eyes are. I'm assuming from your screenshot (please use the toolbar to embed your screenshots) that the layer with the actor has transparency where the eyes are. 

 

If that is the case, create a new green solid, name it "eyes" and place the green solid above all other 3D layers. Make a copy of the layer with the actor, Add a background solid below the actor and draw a mask that covers everything but the holes for the eyes, pre-compose and name the pre-comp Actor Matte. Turn off the Actor Matte nested comp. This should give you a comp with transparency only where the actors' eyes and other effects are.

 

You can then copy the CC Radial Blur effect from the spotlight layer and paste it to the eyes layer.

 

If the CC Radial Blur effect is animated you can select the effect and then choose Edit/Copy With Property Links (Alt/Option + Ctrl/Cmnd + c) and then paste it to the Eyes layer so anything you do with CC Radial Blur on the spotlight layer will also happen to the effect on the eyes layer. 

 

On the eyes layer, add Set matte and choose the Actor Matte as the source and then choose Invert Matte. Make sure Set Matte is above CC Radial Fast Blur. 

 

Now you are done. If the layers are 3D and you have layer interference problems then they should be offset from each other 1 pixel in Z space. Your comp will look something like this:

 

 

Rolf5E3DAuthor
Inspiring
October 3, 2021

Thanx alot Rick, the actor is really a movie-clip, not an image, does that make things more complicated? The radial fastblur is also animated with key-frames.

 

Rolf5E3DAuthor
Inspiring
October 3, 2021

Also, is it impossible to extrude a image layer to get some z-depth? I think it is, its not easy anyway. I know that you can extrude text if you use the 4DCinema renderer but its a lot of work to make 3D-text otherwise.

 


I can show you this link, I have used the null-object technique before that he is using  in another project and it works fine. If you look at the very end he does have a clip with a window that fastblur is coming through, he does not explain so much what he has done with the clip, This guy is competent, he works with movies like star-wars etc.

 

 

 

 

Community Expert
October 2, 2021

A 3D layer will always be in front of a 2D layer below it or behind a 2D layer above it. If you put your 2D Radial Fast Blur layer above the 3D layer the simulated 3D spotlight will be in front of the 3D layer. You may need to add a track matte to the CC Radial Fast Blur spotlight layer or make that layer 3D and angle it so that it intersects with the 3D layer with the window.

 

We would need to see an embedded screenshot* of the entire UI with the modified properties of the problem layer revealed (press 'uu' with the layer selected). Here's the 2 3D layer solution:

* The "Drag & Drop here..." area is buggy and should not be used to share images. Please use the toolbar or just drag your images to the reply field.

 

 

Rolf5E3DAuthor
Inspiring
October 2, 2021

Thanx,

The Lightsource and the image are both 3D-layers, I tried to make some distance between the image and the lightsource but it does not help. As you can see

the green color from the fastblur is visible through the eye of the image infront of the lightsource but I dont se any rays through the eye.

Im am not sure how you mean with the track matte. Here is a screenshot, I press uuu but its a lot of clips now so I hope this is enough.