Shake / Earthquake effect at DVinfo.net

Dustin Alcock · January 6th, 2009, 09:20 PM

Shooting a music video and when the singer screams we want to make the entire video shake, an earthquake effect if you will. Any plugins or ways to go about doing this or just shake the camera?

Figured a programmable effect would be nicer since I could customize it and make sure it looks good.

Thanks.

Aric Mannion · January 7th, 2009, 10:00 AM

Yeah I'm using a preset in After Effects right now, which I think is called quaker. I downloaded it online for free and it seems to be a combination of 3 effects. It's at home so I can't really help right now, but in the meantime you could probably find it easy enough online.

Bob Hart · January 7th, 2009, 11:04 AM

You could get hold of a large surface-coated mirror, mount this to a very flimsy MiniDV tripod, rigidly attach a thin piece of fishing rod with a small weight on it. Pluck or strike the piece of fishing rod to set up a vibration.

Experiment with the frequency of the vibration for best vibration. Adjust this by lengthening or shortening the rod through a clamping mount or make the position of the weight adjustable along the rod and vary the weight until you get what you want.

The direction of the vibration will be more random if the rod is attached facing directly down or up. Aim the camera so as to image the subject via the surface-coated mirror which will shake when you pluck or strike the piece of fishing rod.

If your camera is itself lightweight, you could choose a flimsy tripod for your camera and mount the vibrating rod directly to it. This effect will start suddenly and fade away. It is not easy to start small and ramp the effect to its maximum. In some circumstances you might be able to reverse the playback of the shot.

Dustin Alcock · January 7th, 2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aric Mannion

Yeah I'm using a preset in After Effects right now, which I think is called quaker. I downloaded it online for free and it seems to be a combination of 3 effects. It's at home so I can't really help right now, but in the meantime you could probably find it easy enough online.

Aric, yeah I searched and easily found it. Viewed the sample video and it's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks!

Bob, creative. I'll see if I can get what I need out of the plug in first though, seems easier, haha. The stuff people come up with the create effects is something though, really opens your mind on doing weird things to get what you need.

Ali Jafri · January 7th, 2009, 10:37 PM

Hi dustin, i've shot the exact same sequence - singer singing and camera shaking - thankfully i was using a sony fx1 handheld on a relatively slow shutter speed. I added the shake manually (by jerking from the elbow) which allowed me perfect control of intensity and timing and the shutter speed gave a nice motion blur effect that no plugin could have given me! It worked like a charm :) remember, if you can do it in production then its still way better than in post. By the way, if you're on a pc then also check out proDAD and blueFX for plugin choices. Happy shaking!

G. Lee Gordon · October 30th, 2009, 02:34 PM

Does anyone know a way to achieve this effect in Motion?

January 6th, 2009, 09:20 PM	#1
Dustin Alcock Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Adrian, MI Posts: 27	Shake / Earthquake effect Shooting a music video and when the singer screams we want to make the entire video shake, an earthquake effect if you will. Any plugins or ways to go about doing this or just shake the camera? Figured a programmable effect would be nicer since I could customize it and make sure it looks good. Thanks. __________________ I like cake.

January 7th, 2009, 11:04 AM	#3
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 2,898	You could get hold of a large surface-coated mirror, mount this to a very flimsy MiniDV tripod, rigidly attach a thin piece of fishing rod with a small weight on it. Pluck or strike the piece of fishing rod to set up a vibration. Experiment with the frequency of the vibration for best vibration. Adjust this by lengthening or shortening the rod through a clamping mount or make the position of the weight adjustable along the rod and vary the weight until you get what you want. The direction of the vibration will be more random if the rod is attached facing directly down or up. Aim the camera so as to image the subject via the surface-coated mirror which will shake when you pluck or strike the piece of fishing rod. If your camera is itself lightweight, you could choose a flimsy tripod for your camera and mount the vibrating rod directly to it. This effect will start suddenly and fade away. It is not easy to start small and ramp the effect to its maximum. In some circumstances you might be able to reverse the playback of the shot. Last edited by Bob Hart; January 7th, 2009 at 11:09 AM. Reason: error

January 7th, 2009, 10:37 PM	#5
Ali Jafri Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Karachi, Pakistan Posts: 135	Shake, rattle, and roll! Hi dustin, i've shot the exact same sequence - singer singing and camera shaking - thankfully i was using a sony fx1 handheld on a relatively slow shutter speed. I added the shake manually (by jerking from the elbow) which allowed me perfect control of intensity and timing and the shutter speed gave a nice motion blur effect that no plugin could have given me! It worked like a charm :) remember, if you can do it in production then its still way better than in post. By the way, if you're on a pc then also check out proDAD and blueFX for plugin choices. Happy shaking! __________________ People who say they don't care what people think are usually desperate to have people think they don't care what people think.

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January 7th, 2009, 10:00 AM	#2
Aric Mannion Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 542	Yeah I'm using a preset in After Effects right now, which I think is called quaker. I downloaded it online for free and it seems to be a combination of 3 effects. It's at home so I can't really help right now, but in the meantime you could probably find it easy enough online.

October 30th, 2009, 02:34 PM	#6
G. Lee Gordon Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 297	Does anyone know a way to achieve this effect in Motion?