14/04/2023 - 21/04/2023 - MASKING IN PREMIERE PRO

For the compositing aspect of my work, I decided that I wanted to try to mask the rig out of my animations.

In my first year, I was taught to to edit the shadows as well as unnecessary items out of my animation, frame by frame by using Photoshop.

This was a squash and stretch animation that I had done with plasticine in my first year.

However, I decided against the Photoshop technique since I am currently focusing on 8 animations for this assignment and that method would be too time consuming.

So instead, I decided that it would be a good skill for me to learn how to mask items out of my animations.

MASKING IN PREMIERE PRO

I have used Premiere Pro when it came to video editing work for my assignments, however, I never knew how to edit items that I found unnecessary out of the shot.

The video that I had used to help me out was 'How to Remove Objects with Masking in Premiere Pro' by Motion Array Tutorials.

I found this video extremely useful, since I was struggling to know which item I needed to try to mask in my video. I used this video as a guide to help me remember the steps that I needed to take to be able to edit effectively.

Here is a screenshot that I took of me editing the backdrop to the correct size format

So, in my workspace in Premiere Pro, I noticed that the backdrop that I had captured for my animation was too big. So, here is how I managed to set the frame size to the correct scale that was required for me to video edit. I learned that since all the backdrop photos, were the same size which was 6720x4480p.

The format that I had recorded my animations was 1920x1080p, so I tried to downscale my background effectively without damaging the quality of the photo.

Here is an example of me working on one of my animations and trying to video edit the rig out by using the masking tool. This was my first attempt on masking and I think after this experience, I have been able to feel more confident with this tool throughout the editing phase.

I was originally going to use Adobe After Effects, however, I felt as though it was too complicated of a program and felt as though Premiere Pro, is more beginner friendly.

GAUSSIAN BLUR IN PREMIERE PRO

As I was masking the rig out of my animations, I noticed that the shadows of the armature came out quite sharp. So, I needed to find some way to smoothen them out, to be able to show the shadows appropriately. I managed to find a video on You Tube 'Easy Blur Effect Tutorial Premiere Pro 2021'. I found this video really helpful since it was quite simple, short and straight to the point.

So below is a video of my attempt of using the gaussian blur in Premiere Pro.

So for this animation specifically, I noticed that it was extremely hard to edit the rig's shadow out of the animation. I decided to instead try to cut the shadow out with the masking and try to make it seem as though it was the armature's shadow by softening it.

Another thing that I had done to make sure the shadow was effective, was to reduce the size of it that felt most appropriate with the lighting, as well as make it follow the armature.

ISSUES THAT I FACED?

Apart from the fact that the whole idea of masking was entirely new to me, I also had an issue that was extremely difficult to solve.

So, I had my 'Standing Up' animation that caused quite a few issues. The issue that I faced, was that while animating, I didn't realize I animated one of the arms behind the rig. This caused quite a bit of time in editing, since it was quite difficult for me to mask the rig out without cutting the arm.

Here is the original video without the masking.

As you can see, the arm goes right behind the rig and as mentioned previously, there was no way I could mask the rig out without cutting the arm off. So, I decided that I would try to mask and create an arm in Photoshop to try to edit in.

Here is the animation, with some parts of the rig masked out (not all of it).

As you have noticed how much of the arm has really been cut off, I had to try to find some way to recreate the arm. The issue was that, I had already stripped the armature from the padding and returned him back to the University. So, trying to do the padding, sewing and animating 2 weeks before my deadline was not ideal since I lacked the time to video edit.

So, I decided that a good way to do things, was to try to recreate an arm in Photoshop.

Here were the frames that I had needed to edit for my animation. As you can see, some have more of the arm edited out than most.

WORKSPACE IN PHOTOSHOP

Here is my workspace in Photoshop. So for this experiment, I tried to use the 'Healing tool'. The reason for this was because it was able to replicate the material that I wanted perfectly as shown in this image.

Here is also a video demonstrating on how I was able to capture the texture perfectly. I was extremely worried by this experiment since a big portion of the hand was cropped out due to the Masking. I could've left the rig in for that portion of the hand but what is the fun in that?

Before adding the armature hand, this is what the edit of the arm looks like. I think this was quite effective, since I already had some sort of experience of using Photoshop for my work so I wanted to try to use my skills effectively.

The way that I was able to move the photos of the arms to the video program was quite challenging. I was able to ask advice from a close friend, Marko, since he was used to using video editing programs recreationally. He showed me how to move the items through a program called 'VSDC'. Below is a demonstration video that he had showed me on what to do with the arms throughout the program. This was the first attempt, however it didn't feel right. The arm looked extremely off so we went for another approach.

Below shows what the arm looks like with the edit from Photoshop and then adding it into VSDC movie maker.

FINAL RESULT

This was the final result with the masking as well as the hand edited in through Photoshop as well as using VSDC movie maker.

CONCLUSION

I was extremely fortunate to be able to have be able to think of so many ways to solve issues throughout my project in such a short notice. Not only this, but I was able to use skills that I have learned from previous modules (the photoshop tool being the main one) in my time of need.

I learned that this project has been quite unpredictable in the way things have been happening and how I have been unable to do the things that I wanted to due to some limitations. However, I felt as though I was able to make up for the things I couldn't do with things that I had learned throughout my time in my course.

REFERENCES:

(1) How To Remove Objects With Masking In Premiere Pro (2021) YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWepU0R9W7k&t=151s (Accessed: April 18, 2023).

(2) Easy Blur Effect Tutorial | Premiere Pro 2021 (2021) YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEEQpy4MmeE (Accessed: April 19, 2023).