Advanced Production Update 07/03/23

 Advanced Production Update                                                                                                                      07/03/23

Figure 1: Salmon composite test

This is the latest test of VFX composition with my salmon animation, using a low angle shot of a bridge beam as the basis.  The animation was adapted from a royalty free model I found online which I adapted into a Pictish salmon.  I think this one turned out better than the first attempt because it had a longer body which was closer to the Pictish symbol, and a flow of plausible movement that could be turned into a GIF-like cycle that made animating smoother and more efficient.  I also found it easier to incorporate the animation into the composition with flowing, graffiti-like staging and a relatively simple way of getting the angle right to make it look like it's been painted on the beam.  I've also added some simple little bubbles on either side of the composition to add some underwater theming to the shot, as well as the necessary glowing on the fish to make them distinct from reality.  Whilst the original shot needs to be reshot to add the necessary movement on the camerawork, the VFX should require minimal alteration at best.

I've also been experimenting with some pencil sketch filters on my rotoscope videos, since whilst they look less rustic and personal than my usual method, they can produce more refined results and can be infinitely more efficient.  The main thing I've found is that they generally work better when they are filmed on a green screen, because you still need to rotobrush the footage in after effects to keep the video focused.   I've tried applying video filters in photoshop to the footage to make it resemble an outline done on a sketch, and whilst the results can be very precise, it also picks up everything in the background.  It should also allow more time to work on the compositing and reshooting the original shot if needed.  This is an occasion where static shots to be rotoscoped work better because the constant movement in frame can make it harder to rotobrush.

Figure 2: Pencil sketch filter test

This is the latest pencil sketch attempt I've tried on Photoshop where I took the footage and ran it through a tutorial designed for an image.  Whilst there were inevitably points where the functions were clearly designed for a still image, and when I compressed layers they were just turned into one still, most of the functions and filters seemed to work essentially as they did in the tutorial.  The main challenge at this point is to find a video that has minimal background interference.  I will continue to experiment with different filters and methods since this is proven to be an efficient method.