I have a Music Video shoot coming up and i'm looking to
have the singer in front of the mirror but have the mirror reflect the singer doing different things, than the actual image.

any suggestions on the best way to do this? I'd like for it to be as seamless as possible.

i have After Effect 7 and Premiere Pro

THank You!!!!

http://ci-pro.com/movies/films/mirroredimage/MirroredImage.mov

Film from a while ago.

I did this in AE using masks to separate the layers. You will film two plates. Do whatever you can to keep the plates from overlapping, or you'll have more work ahead masking.

It's simple split screening, really.

I'd look for a tutorial on cloning someone as the same principles apply.

This is one I recommend, written by a friend of mine and what I used when making the video above, using the technique for the first time.
http://www.durbnpoisn.com/films/cloneTut/index.asp

If you've got more questions, I'll try to answer.

The trick is filming the two plates with the same motion. Does the camera move?

The trick is filming the two plates with the same motion. Does the camera move?

I'd love for it to be a handheld look.. not shaky but a little sway.. very personal.

Would Green screen be the option?

Daniel -

THank you for the input, i'll give it a try for sure..

Another option, since you're using AE is to film both shots on a tripod, mask it out the way you want it to look, then add the "wiggler" effect. I've gotten a nice "handheld" feel from that.

Another option, since you're using AE is to film both shots on a tripod, mask it out the way you want it to look, then add the "wiggler" effect.Would that really work? As the camera moves around, the relection in the mirror (as seen by the camera) would have to change somewhat, right? Maybe if the movement is subtle enough, it might still look right...

- Martin

Motion may be possible to make work.

A pan could be done in two ways:
1. Repeat the [camera] move twice.
2. Do the move with one layer, and keep the camera steady with the other; then place the still shot into the moving shot.

If you have a lot of motion, you will want a motion control camera, though that's expensive.

Handheld is a really bad choice, unless you REALLY know what you're doing with the FX. Making them match up will be horrible. You could track them together, but it'll make your job SO much harder, and there are some things that would entirely not work, like edges being cut off when tracked back in.


Using the 2nd method above, you could try to just place a still shot of the second layer into a handheld shot, but that is difficult and there are some problems.

Digital camera shake can be effective, though it would indeed be limited. You'd get some less-than-steady motion, but not real perspective changes, or you'd run into problems.
Note that this method would also result in lost resolution.


Greenscreen is not really applicable in this situation, with some possible exceptions.
It would give you separate layers, but then you would need to match the background, and that's a pain in itself.
Handheld would be ever harder, with 3 layers then to match.
Perhaps handheld background with 3 plates-- BG, and 2 people, would work, but that is difficult.


One option, if you want to go all out, is separating the two layers using greenscreen, then creating a pseudo-3D '2.5D' version of the set in After Effects (3D layers, cameras) and placing the actors into this. Then you could spin the camera around as you want.


This is getting very complex.

The easy way-- lock down the camera, mask (hopefully in a shot where they don't cross) the actor(s), then layer. Done.

Harder-- movement...


A key here is planning in the filming stage, and probably doing some tests. Careful work here will make post much easier.

Would that really work? As the camera moves around, the relection in the mirror (as seen by the camera) would have to change somewhat, right? Maybe if the movement is subtle enough, it might still look right...

- Martin

What if you created a Null object, motion tracked to the null, then parented both layers to the null, pre-comp'ed it and THEN wiggled it?

That would require a number of separate layers and parallax within the objects (depth) would be somewhat off. Once setup, after separating all the layers, it would be very promising, though probably not perfect still.

That would require a number of separate layers and parallax within the objects (depth) would be somewhat off. Once setup, after separating all the layers, it would be very promising, though probably not perfect still.

Well fellas! i shot the video.. and i will be done editing in the next week or so.. i'll post a link for you guys to see the results.

THANKS FOR THE ADVICE!!

Chris