That cheap projector paired well with the $5,000 worth of studio lights and stands. It would be cool to see this done on a budget comparable to the projector.
it's actually more expensive to go to Home Depot and buy cheapo lights and stands than to use the stuff we've already got. :) But I know I'm also a total weirdo when it comes to gear. Anywho -- you don't need these particular lights to do what we did. And unfortunately, we're probably going to do some even more expensive episodes later. That said, we'll make sure to do some super indie episodes too. So just hang tight
I was just about to say that. Not hating on the studio or anything, but perhaps the clickbaity title gives the wrong idea. It's not about introducing a cheap trick, but a technique that could be done for cheap, even though it probably never does. "It's just one $80 projector! Also, a RED camera, six Aputure 120Ds, a giant studio and all of the stands you could ever need." Not as appealing to the poor man as "you can up your driving scene production value for as little as $80."
If you wanna see it done on a real budget and done even better than in this video, check Mark Bone out. ua-cam.com/video/38UlGdgCF_4/v-deo.html&lc=z23kyrbalsqhx50e1acdp43b1cn3irciucpka1vnra1w03c010c
@@LaneCarter ok so this is lacking context, for oblivion they literally built a huge massive set and surrounded it in like 16k screens or something insane like that. That was for the sky scenes not flight scenes. Interstellar is more cgi because they had to build an entirely new lighting engine for the black hole, because every lighting engine in existence makes the assumption light travels in straight lines and black holes bend light, so they literally built the most accurate visual simulation of a black hole ever created for interstellar, and were totally surprised with the results
If you wanna see it done on a real budget and done even better than in this video, check Mark Bone out. ua-cam.com/video/38UlGdgCF_4/v-deo.html&lc=z23kyrbalsqhx50e1acdp43b1cn3irciucpka1vnra1w03c010c
@@Jeffe50 No problem. I think he's one of the best UA-camrs when it comes to anything film related. And his results were better than many Hollywood movies. I was shocked, considering how skeptical I was when he was using iPhone footage. lol
Damn! Indy Mogul is so sleek and sexy now. It's like that nerdy but cool kid you knew from high school who, ten years later, is still cool but now also looks like Ryan Gosling.
I know there is/was another thread on the same topic, but its most recent post was in Feb 2010, and I assume that things have changed since then. I'm currently studying engineering at uni, but my heart's just not in it, and if I can avoid paying too much HECS and still get a decent salary, while starting at 9am in a climate controlled office, then why should I waste my time and money with higher ed? How far up the ladder can I get in the APS (or equivalent state PS) before I hit a wall for not having a degree? I've heard a number of different numbers - everything from APS5 to EL2, but I really don't know what to believe. What types of roles would I apply for at the beginning? How do I prove myself so I can move up if I get in? I'm not really interested in defence force or police, and mental health issues probably stop me from taking those jobs anyway.
Sweet! All I need is an $80 projector. Plus access to a professional film studio and all their equipment. Good thing I already have that.... Super Time Lapse, wooo!
What draws me to projection rather than keying is just the fact that a little bit of camera movement can be done on set, rather than having to go through the effort of tracking your image in post. Just recently got a nearly 20 year old SVGA projector to play around with the technique.
Oblivion also had huge projection background for the skytower for an amazing effect. projection-mapping.org/oblivion/ Now that shooting and projecting in HDR is becoming easier and cheaper, I expect to see this used even more.
Another great video! This quote below really hit home for me. **********************"The point I'm trying to make here, is that with good lighting, you can completely transform even an average image." *************************** As of recently I have been spending hours on lighting for my studio...specifically hunting for professional looking color contrast...on a DIY budget. I bought every "blue" bulb on the shelf at several big-box stores...indoor and outdoor light bulbs. Also spent some time with standard interior light bulbs, but at different color temperatures(2700K-5700K). Blue lighting for the background, and the standard bulbs for fill lighting on the subject. After it was all said and done, there were over 10 lights used for subject, background, and set decoration accents. It turned out to be a worthwhile endeavor. I shoot with a Canon 7D Mark 2. So, it has some limitations; no 4k, poor chroma-subsampling, etc. But...just by messing with the lights, and creating color contrast, the image looks way more professional. I wish I would've experimented with lighting a lot sooner. Question for Ted: Which brand of gels did you guys use on set? Or which brand do you like to use?
As a gaffer I'm a massive fan of projectors! I've used em for TV emulation (give you WAY more nuance in color/movement/brightness than a single fixture on a dimmer. Looks fantastic.) And even as a poor man's programmable RGB light for music videos. Just take the song into your NLE, time up your coloured plates and render. Honestly shocked I don't see more of them in people's kits.
GlockBusterFilms in scenes where someome is watchimg tv, a lot of folks just throw a light on a dimmer to make it flicker, emulating the light coming off the tv theyre watching. However if you use a projector right behind the camera, the reflectef light looks way more convincing. You end up matching the color and movement EXACTLY with what it is theyre watching
The backgrounds don't have enough contrast compared to the foreground, that's the main giveaway with those end examples. If you were able to project an image and capture it with an equal amount of contrast to your foreground element it would improve it.
"$80 projector trick" Uses a $150 projector plus thousands of dollars of equipment and hundreds of dollars in labor in a full studio and it STILL looks mediocre. Okay...
If you wanna see it done on a real budget and done even better than in this video, check Mark Bone out. ua-cam.com/video/38UlGdgCF_4/v-deo.html&lc=z23kyrbalsqhx50e1acdp43b1cn3irciucpka1vnra1w03c010c
Check how they did the VFX shots for First Man - it's basically ALL rear projection stuff. They actually built a full sized gemini capsule, put it on a motion controlled robotic arm and shot it in front of rear projection of the Earth from space. It's crazy simple but complex at the same time and it works beautifully.
The prediction from 5 years ago line up real good. We actually do use live projection a lot nowadays especially Netflix studio. The tech is so good now you barely could see the difference between real life and projection.
There is some great BTS from Rouge One where they used live projection when shooting in the cockpits of the spaceships. Some of it was just the previs animations also.
Dude, Kubrick used that city street projection in such a way in order to represent the context of the scene, that is, the emotional state of the character.
Shouldn't the windscreen reflection be projected both backwards and horizontally flipped? When the background moves right (car veering left) the windscreen reflection should track the other way.
Saw Alex Buono do this, and he puts two lights pointed down spinning over the car to simulate streetlights. It's a little easier, and more realistic. Cool stuff.
After watching this I am looking into just towing the car behind a truck in a car dolly and film it... feels easier and totally real. Thank you for helping me decide.
5 років тому+1
Interesting topic and great result, but the best part is that I'm watching Indy Mogul again. I like the direction where you have taken this channel.
I always thought the front projection shot in Eyes Wide Shot was deliberately unrealistic; they'd built a replica of a city block in New York in London anyway. The front projection sequence reflects Cruise's state of mind.
They also were using live projecting on pretty much every space scene in Inception! Its such a magic technique and such a great wink to the older days of special effects.
I remember live projection being one of the reasons Citizen Kane is deserving of so much praise, as there were a few scenes that used it and it was a big deal for the time.
This looks great, except the top projection reflected in the windshield is too shaky and doesn't correspond to the movements of the vehicle. The lighting is spot-on though!
I've lost count of how many times I've shot driving scenes with the actors actually driving the car and me pushing myself against the passenger side door with a 24mm lens, not wearing a seatbelt, to get a good frame. And in a film I directed, we couldn't use a car rig for the two-shot so we strapped the DP in the trunk of my car and had the picture car follow it. I was laying in the trunk of the picture car, monitoring the scene on my iPad and trying to hear the dialogue over the sounds of the engine.
For the car reflecting the green screen you can get rid of the car , have only the actors and the dashboard and make everything else cg, you could even use the render to project perfect matching environment lighting onto the actors.
Love using projectors, but more as a practical effect. I feel like the vlogging scenes alone here that were filmed while driving were vastly superior to what we got with front projection. Love this channel tho and the new vibe!
I might be wrong, but I think the overhead footage needs to be reversed. Right now the background makes the car look like it's going forward while the windshield reflections make it look like it's in reverse. Notice how the streetlights move down the windshield instead of up. Obviously, just reversing the reflected footage would mean it no longer syncs to the bg footage. That probably wouldn't be noticeable until the car came to a stop or maybe took a turn. Best bet would be to record the projected footage with a rear facing and forward facing camera; however, this likely is not an option if your planning on using stock footage.
I would argue the 6d is more sellable with this effect, as the details are less crisp / harder to identify as fake. Great work Ted and Indy Mogul team!
Another fantastic video. Question. With these projectors, or if using a large monitor for close up rear projection, do we have to worry about the projected video’s frame rate or frequency matching the frame rate of the camera filming the projected background, say 24 fps?
We have run screens and projectors on many film sets. We never have any issues on set by using 3 techniques. The first is simply making sure to check all gear during pre-production camera tests. The second is to genlock the camera with the playback system and projector (or screen/monitor). Most professional gear has genlock inputs. And for on set screens or computer monitors, which rarely have genlock inputs, we run our gear at 60fps. With the camera filming at 23.98fps we haven't had any issues with flickering.
I am have been trying to figure out how to do some close up shots of a character who is reacting to what he sees on a a series of screens showing news events. I was really wanting to capture the reflection in his eyes and I think I just found it. Thank you for making this.
I did something like this last year on a film. I actually shot some stock footage of a liqueur store and then masked it on to the front window of the car in post and blurred it, so that it would look like they were getting a reflection from the building. Wish I knew about the projector method, as it would have saved me some post time. For the rest of the film I just used black curtains and the poor man's process, which worked, because it was a thriller. But the projector would have been a nice effect. I guess there is still much to learn. Great video, TED!
Just one more thing ... blur your video a bit before you project (maybe add a bit of brightness). Out of focus projection eliminates the need for the back screen to be distant as well as covers up the "soft" back projection issue. Cheers!
In my experience, projector fidelity is FAR less important than brightness. With production lights running you just end up with too soft of edges on your comparatively dim projected image. This can be helped some by managing light spill so that you aren't washing your projection surface but it's a losing battle. You will never achieve crisp edges and good color transitions in the image unless it is VERY bright and your projector is close to the wall (mount on rear of car perhaps?). I suppose this could be offset a bit by using less production light and a big sensor camera but we don't all have the budget for cameras that do good low light work without grain. Since both those cameras and very bright projectors are expensive ... Probably easier to either rewrite your script to eliminate the shot or go with a shallow depth of field. Alternatively, since modern DSLRs are so small you can mitigate the issue WHILE getting a more interesting shot by moving the camera somewhere in the interior at more unique angles (which you're actually using to hide the exterior). Just some thoughts.
@@sebazistan - Always going to be an issue it seems. Never even got the chance to try really nice equipment for it. I guess you can always punch up the contrast in post but you lose the realistic look :-/
@@sebazistan - Well, considering that even freeware editing software lets you draw a mask I don't know why you would do it to the entire frame, haha. --- But the points are all still the same ultimately. It is just hard to get to look good. Darks aren't dark enough and if you choose a well lit background then lighting your subject equally will cause some wash out. --- Bottom line, it always looks like crap, haha
The end result is great, but the image on the back projector is really washed out by the ambient lights. Interesting you got the end result as you did. Very good.
Guys, cutting the residual light from your sources, which is affecting the background is a must.... is a projection.... look at the shots with the motorbike.....is extremely obvious.... just saying. Common sense. Keep working, nice video.
Projection was used in Terminator 2 in few scenes. In canal chase, the projection greatly enhanced actor safety. The bit where T800 grabs John and the overcoming truck is seen in the background would have looked bad with any other technique, in 1991. And about Eyes Wide Shut, you sure Kubrick didn't do this on purpose to emphasize some themes of that movie like living unsatisfying life, imagining the grass is greener on the other side, fakery, being out of touch with oneself... I think the projection serves its purpose quite well when it's used right. :)
@11:23 The reflection looked like he was driving in reverse... On-coming lights will go from bottom-to-top, or go from center-out depending on angle intended. You spoke correctly about playing in reverse, you just didn't do it. I only noticed to see if you would because you mentioned it. Good video, very informative. I didn't know they still did this (I'm not in the biz.) Thumbs up!
Just a heads up: the entire opening portion of 2001 with the apes was shot using front-projected backgrounds, so Kubrick wasn't new to the technique when it was used on Eyes Wide Shut.
Rear projection and front projection are two similar but different techniques. And now movies like Star Wars and First Man use giant LED walls as backdrops so the brightness and contrast is much higher. You can even do a projected set that shifts perspective to match the camera POV using real-time 3D digital environments and motion tracking sensors on the camera.
Live projection or something like it will replace green screens as the screens and camera movement coordination get better. Look at the Mandalorian, it is shot in a room that is a very advanced live projection. More people will use this technique as time goes on. I think it is funny that a video from 2019 calls this a budget option.
As an enthusiast I agree that the more ways we have of shooting videos the better. This is a wonderful video showing the complexity of and how to shoot with a projector-thanks!!! But the contention that shooting with a projector is easier or cheaper, sure don't see the evidence from this video: 1. rent or have an enormous indoor white screen top, sides and bottom covered area; 2. have several thousand dollars of lights and audio, computer, equipment. 3. have a crew to set all of this up, etc. This actually looks like much more work than setting up a few cameras inside a car and just shooting the occupants. I disagree that in a budget film the actors cannot be driving. Yes, if you are doing stunt work that holds, but for basic dialogue, you can find a few easy quiet streets and do your dialogue there. If that were the case then carpool kareoke with James C, or comedians getting coffee would never work! Again, the process of making a quality film is complex, and not for the faint of heart!!! Thanks so much for this great video!
How does live projection help with timing? The video in the background is prerecorded so the timing there is fixed. Whereas if it’s a real background, you can always just drive slower
But in Eyes Wide Shut you could argue that the rear projection was supposed to look off, to create a dreamlike setting for an adaptation of a book who's title is literally "Dream Story"
They used it in starwars solo to do the space warp speed, also in interstellar when in space ship and earth in distance. Also the overhead projector image needs to be connected to car cause you can see the projected road scene wobble which makes it look fake, if reflector screen or projector are connected to car as it moves it should look more real.
The professor has a really mellifluous voice. With just a little training he'd make a really good announcer/narrator/animated character actor. I hope his students are capitalizing on that.
I use live projection in my photography, a lot more hassle than a green screen to learn to setup, but it gets rid of the problem of the green halo of the green screen around the model.
i owe a lot of my prop making ideas/skills to Indy Mogul, so happy to see more videos and this trick is going to help me out as i’m filming my first short film! just wanted to say thanks 🖤
The only thing you guys messed up Was the direction of movement the reflection in den windscreen showed. You should have played it backwards so it looks like the car is driving forward. Great video anyways:)
I shot a projection music video last year. I didn't do the background per say, but I ended up Filming a Model Dancing and singing, then Played that back on a projector with the Lead singer reacting to it. I never done something like that before, and I was hoping and praying that it worked. It was a experience that is for sure.
The scene in Eyes Wide Shut wasn’t supposed to look real. Kubrick’s vision for the film was for it to have a dream like quality, like this surreal lucid nightmare with a lot of the windows just having blue light shine through it, the city streets being empty except for the 1 or two taxis passing by. As well as a lot of the characters changing between night and day.
Wouldn't it be cheaper to hire a wrecker? Where I live, if the cops stop you and you explain what is happening, they will probably volunteer to help you out. Working around the windshield could be a problem, but you could film the reflections first, remove the windshield, film until the take is right, and restore the reflections in post, which would give you control of the image.
But who actually still shops at Best Buy?
Lol.
Me. Whatchu got against Best Buy 😂
🙋🏾♂️
It's all about that return policy duhhhh!
I do
That cheap projector paired well with the $5,000 worth of studio lights and stands. It would be cool to see this done on a budget comparable to the projector.
it's actually more expensive to go to Home Depot and buy cheapo lights and stands than to use the stuff we've already got. :) But I know I'm also a total weirdo when it comes to gear. Anywho -- you don't need these particular lights to do what we did. And unfortunately, we're probably going to do some even more expensive episodes later. That said, we'll make sure to do some super indie episodes too. So just hang tight
:) I was thinking the same thing. It's like the classic Story 'Stone Soup' and the $80 projector was the stone... But I enjoyed the video!
@@chrischristenson yeah I still liked the video. It was just weird to see a single cheap soulution used with everything else high end.
@@indymogul oh don't get me wrong. I'm still a big fan and if I get even one little bit of info out of your videos it's all worth it for me.
I was just about to say that. Not hating on the studio or anything, but perhaps the clickbaity title gives the wrong idea. It's not about introducing a cheap trick, but a technique that could be done for cheap, even though it probably never does. "It's just one $80 projector! Also, a RED camera, six Aputure 120Ds, a giant studio and all of the stands you could ever need." Not as appealing to the poor man as "you can up your driving scene production value for as little as $80."
I had no idea that scene in Eyes Wide Shut was projected!! So I guess it worked as designed...
I'd say that the live projection in Eyes wide shut is supposed to emphasize the surreal dreamlike quality.
I agree
$80 projector on a $100,000 studio! That works!
Salahudin346 You can hang a bedsheet anywhere
If you wanna see it done on a real budget and done even better than in this video, check Mark Bone out. ua-cam.com/video/38UlGdgCF_4/v-deo.html&lc=z23kyrbalsqhx50e1acdp43b1cn3irciucpka1vnra1w03c010c
I like how they used this technique in Oblivion. That's probably the most convincing use of live projection I've seen.
Lane Carter first man is fucking amazing too
@@LeonGreg Didn't realize they used it in that. I haven't seen it yet. Makes sense, I believe Interstellar used projectors too.
Yeah, both of them did, but honestly I think first man is the best implementation yet
@@LaneCarter ok so this is lacking context, for oblivion they literally built a huge massive set and surrounded it in like 16k screens or something insane like that. That was for the sky scenes not flight scenes. Interstellar is more cgi because they had to build an entirely new lighting engine for the black hole, because every lighting engine in existence makes the assumption light travels in straight lines and black holes bend light, so they literally built the most accurate visual simulation of a black hole ever created for interstellar, and were totally surprised with the results
@@HoodlumMedia Yeah I know which scenes they used projectors for. I wasn't under the impression that the black hole was achieved with projectors.
Windscreen reflection is going the wrong way! How did nobody see that after all that effort???
Guksack it’s just supposed to be light noise chill you can’t even make out any detail in the final reflection
Yeah...
Reflection source should be reversed!
Yeah the windsheild reflection makes it look like the car is backing up
it also looks completely flat and just... bad
Uses 20k$ gear to make the 80$ projector work ...
Christian Domeier can I get your cost breakdown?
I was going to say the same thing. Rigging Cameras on a car would have been more realistic and far far far cheaper
If you wanna see it done on a real budget and done even better than in this video, check Mark Bone out. ua-cam.com/video/38UlGdgCF_4/v-deo.html&lc=z23kyrbalsqhx50e1acdp43b1cn3irciucpka1vnra1w03c010c
@@AutoFOCUSED. Thanks for sharing! Using an iphone to shoot template footage is genius
@@Jeffe50 No problem. I think he's one of the best UA-camrs when it comes to anything film related. And his results were better than many Hollywood movies. I was shocked, considering how skeptical I was when he was using iPhone footage. lol
Damn! Indy Mogul is so sleek and sexy now. It's like that nerdy but cool kid you knew from high school who, ten years later, is still cool but now also looks like Ryan Gosling.
I know there is/was another thread on the same topic, but its most recent post was in Feb 2010, and I assume that things have changed since then.
I'm currently studying engineering at uni, but my heart's just not in it, and if I can avoid paying too much HECS and still get a decent salary, while starting at 9am in a climate controlled office, then why should I waste my time and money with higher ed?
How far up the ladder can I get in the APS (or equivalent state PS) before I hit a wall for not having a degree? I've heard a number of different numbers - everything from APS5 to EL2, but I really don't know what to believe.
What types of roles would I apply for at the beginning? How do I prove myself so I can move up if I get in?
I'm not really interested in defence force or police, and mental health issues probably stop me from taking those jobs anyway.
Jacob Carlson lol @ this comment
Dang, things have changed a WICKED lot since the days of Erik Beck!!
American Asian LA version of Toronto Canadian Ryan Gosling yeah maybe ;) I digress this dude is cool in his own right.
Sweet! All I need is an $80 projector. Plus access to a professional film studio and all their equipment. Good thing I already have that....
Super Time Lapse, wooo!
Who doesn't have that? Clearly you don't live in NY, LA, ATL, T.O, Vancouver LMAO
What draws me to projection rather than keying is just the fact that a little bit of camera movement can be done on set, rather than having to go through the effort of tracking your image in post. Just recently got a nearly 20 year old SVGA projector to play around with the technique.
I recall Rogue One using the projectors for shooting the X-wing scenes. If a technique works, it works.
They did it on Solo too. All the falcon cockpit scenes were done with live projection.
To be fair, they dont yet have the budget to actually film in space
Interstellar also used live projection for space while inside the spaceship.
Oblivion also had huge projection background for the skytower for an amazing effect.
projection-mapping.org/oblivion/
Now that shooting and projecting in HDR is becoming easier and cheaper, I expect to see this used even more.
Consider trying a black projection surface. (60% Flat Deep Onyx Black Glidden paint and 40% Rustoleum White). I think it would look more convincing.
Another great video! This quote below really hit home for me.
**********************"The point I'm trying to make here, is that with good lighting, you can completely transform even an average image." ***************************
As of recently I have been spending hours on lighting for my studio...specifically hunting for professional looking color contrast...on a DIY budget. I bought every "blue" bulb on the shelf at several big-box stores...indoor and outdoor light bulbs. Also spent some time with standard interior light bulbs, but at different color temperatures(2700K-5700K). Blue lighting for the background, and the standard bulbs for fill lighting on the subject. After it was all said and done, there were over 10 lights used for subject, background, and set decoration accents. It turned out to be a worthwhile endeavor.
I shoot with a Canon 7D Mark 2. So, it has some limitations; no 4k, poor chroma-subsampling, etc. But...just by messing with the lights, and creating color contrast, the image looks way more professional. I wish I would've experimented with lighting a lot sooner.
Question for Ted: Which brand of gels did you guys use on set? Or which brand do you like to use?
$80. no more like - $149.99 projector and $5000+ in other equipment.
Surprised you didn't mention the house in the clouds in "Oblivion". Best modern use of front projection I've seen
As a gaffer I'm a massive fan of projectors! I've used em for TV emulation (give you WAY more nuance in color/movement/brightness than a single fixture on a dimmer. Looks fantastic.) And even as a poor man's programmable RGB light for music videos. Just take the song into your NLE, time up your coloured plates and render. Honestly shocked I don't see more of them in people's kits.
What do you mean by TV emulation?
GlockBusterFilms in scenes where someome is watchimg tv, a lot of folks just throw a light on a dimmer to make it flicker, emulating the light coming off the tv theyre watching. However if you use a projector right behind the camera, the reflectef light looks way more convincing. You end up matching the color and movement EXACTLY with what it is theyre watching
Jackson Peters Thanks for the clarification. Very helpful.
@@jacksonhpeters_ My dude, thank you so much for the clarification and idea!
The backgrounds don't have enough contrast compared to the foreground, that's the main giveaway with those end examples. If you were able to project an image and capture it with an equal amount of contrast to your foreground element it would improve it.
I wonder if some colour grading couldn't have improved this.
@@reanetsemoleleki8219 i don't think so, its a limitation with this method. This is where leds walls come in......
"$80 projector trick"
Uses a $150 projector plus thousands of dollars of equipment and hundreds of dollars in labor in a full studio and it STILL looks mediocre.
Okay...
Actually was a $450 Projector. The Epson they used was an EX3260 and they cost $449
Mmmm, no that was worse than mediocre.
You van do it a lot cheaper. He did this in one day.
10 extra minutes on aligning the top sheet projector would really improve the car scene.
If you wanna see it done on a real budget and done even better than in this video, check Mark Bone out. ua-cam.com/video/38UlGdgCF_4/v-deo.html&lc=z23kyrbalsqhx50e1acdp43b1cn3irciucpka1vnra1w03c010c
Check how they did the VFX shots for First Man - it's basically ALL rear projection stuff. They actually built a full sized gemini capsule, put it on a motion controlled robotic arm and shot it in front of rear projection of the Earth from space. It's crazy simple but complex at the same time and it works beautifully.
DangerousDac Yeah they did the same for most of the shots in space in interstellar as well to blend all the practical effects with the backgrounds
HELL YEAH INDY MOGUL IS BACK!!! This channel helped introduce me into the world of filmmaking, and now I'm out here in Los Angeles doing it!
The prediction from 5 years ago line up real good. We actually do use live projection a lot nowadays especially Netflix studio. The tech is so good now you barely could see the difference between real life and projection.
What's done in every movie truly amazes me. That's hardwork+skills in one to be successful!
Awesome job hosting Ted. Glad to see this channel back up and running.
There is some great BTS from Rouge One where they used live projection when shooting in the cockpits of the spaceships. Some of it was just the previs animations also.
Did they use the projection for the final shot or just for lighting and actor reactions?
I’d never considered using my projector for backgrounds. I like the idea of it providing more texture than a green screen. Great tutorial! 😁👍🙌🙌
reflections on windshield are moving the wrong way!
Dude, Kubrick used that city street projection in such a way in order to represent the context of the scene, that is, the emotional state of the character.
I went even more indy than indymogul and just laid down on the hood of my car with my camera while my actor drove around the block.
I actually ride backwards on my boostedboard whilst filming, but that works too
Same here hahaha
My friend and I were out in the desert and I just held on to his windshield wiper and tried not to fall off
you too ? ig sunpeopleproduction
now one of my favorite channels! collab with Potato Jet, he's entertaining
And conspiracy cameras, that guy is hilariously awkward
I didn't realized that Kubrick used this technique until you pointed it out.
Holy crap... the production value of this is insane! Looks stellar.
Dude, syncing things up with the video looks like so much fun to work on as a crew.
Shouldn't the windscreen reflection be projected both backwards and horizontally flipped? When the background moves right (car veering left) the windscreen reflection should track the other way.
Film makers and videographers are really very skilled people. I am always amazed!
I was gonna be a hater about this because of greenscreen, but it looks great!
Saw Alex Buono do this, and he puts two lights pointed down spinning over the car to simulate streetlights. It's a little easier, and more realistic. Cool stuff.
After watching this I am looking into just towing the car behind a truck in a car dolly and film it... feels easier and totally real. Thank you for helping me decide.
Interesting topic and great result, but the best part is that I'm watching Indy Mogul again. I like the direction where you have taken this channel.
I haven’t watched this channel in a while so I’m not sure if this format is different, but the theory (learning) section and the practical section.
I always thought the front projection shot in Eyes Wide Shot was deliberately unrealistic; they'd built a replica of a city block in New York in London anyway. The front projection sequence reflects Cruise's state of mind.
They also were using live projecting on pretty much every space scene in Inception! Its such a magic technique and such a great wink to the older days of special effects.
@@pavilionbugProbably meant “Interstellar”.
I remember live projection being one of the reasons Citizen Kane is deserving of so much praise, as there were a few scenes that used it and it was a big deal for the time.
Very cute, thanks! Used to use back projection a lot, but have since forgotten about the technique completely. Maybe I'll revive it after this.
What I usually do is roto mask the background so I can grade the black values to match the foreground.
This looks great, except the top projection reflected in the windshield is too shaky and doesn't correspond to the movements of the vehicle. The lighting is spot-on though!
Oh shit! Indy Mogul is finally about to be at 1 million subscribers. Ted, Griffin, rejoice!
The projection on the windshield is going in the opposite direction. Like the car is going backwards.
Noticed that too, not natural at all lol.
its all VERY shaky, it could easily be zoomed and stabilized
@@Splexity It needs to be the other way too, as in seeing red tail lights, not the headlights...
Yes!
Their side lights were also going in the wrong direction...
In Eyes Wide Shut i thought is was a bad camera artifact... OMG. It was projected... OMG
it was on purpose because all scenes were suppose to look dream like
I've lost count of how many times I've shot driving scenes with the actors actually driving the car and me pushing myself against the passenger side door with a 24mm lens, not wearing a seatbelt, to get a good frame. And in a film I directed, we couldn't use a car rig for the two-shot so we strapped the DP in the trunk of my car and had the picture car follow it. I was laying in the trunk of the picture car, monitoring the scene on my iPad and trying to hear the dialogue over the sounds of the engine.
For the car reflecting the green screen you can get rid of the car , have only the actors and the dashboard and make everything else cg, you could even use the render to project perfect matching environment lighting onto the actors.
Love using projectors, but more as a practical effect. I feel like the vlogging scenes alone here that were filmed while driving were vastly superior to what we got with front projection. Love this channel tho and the new vibe!
I might be wrong, but I think the overhead footage needs to be reversed. Right now the background makes the car look like it's going forward while the windshield reflections make it look like it's in reverse. Notice how the streetlights move down the windshield instead of up. Obviously, just reversing the reflected footage would mean it no longer syncs to the bg footage. That probably wouldn't be noticeable until the car came to a stop or maybe took a turn. Best bet would be to record the projected footage with a rear facing and forward facing camera; however, this likely is not an option if your planning on using stock footage.
I would argue the 6d is more sellable with this effect, as the details are less crisp / harder to identify as fake. Great work Ted and Indy Mogul team!
Locke- one of my favourite film. your video reminds me of that. thanks.
Another fantastic video. Question. With these projectors, or if using a large monitor for close up rear projection, do we have to worry about the projected video’s frame rate or frequency matching the frame rate of the camera filming the projected background, say 24 fps?
We have run screens and projectors on many film sets. We never have any issues on set by using 3 techniques. The first is simply making sure to check all gear during pre-production camera tests. The second is to genlock the camera with the playback system and projector (or screen/monitor). Most professional gear has genlock inputs. And for on set screens or computer monitors, which rarely have genlock inputs, we run our gear at 60fps. With the camera filming at 23.98fps we haven't had any issues with flickering.
It is really important that you know how to use it. An affordable tool becomes awesome!
I am have been trying to figure out how to do some close up shots of a character who is reacting to what he sees on a a series of screens showing news events. I was really wanting to capture the reflection in his eyes and I think I just found it. Thank you for making this.
The best projection done was on the mandalorian…they even made a set with tv monitors surround every wall and ceiling of the set called the “void”
This is the Indy Mogul reboot we needed! Great work!
How about a budget breakdown for all the lights, crew and other stuff involved in the actual shoot.
YT compression makes the 6D look a lot better than the Helium
This needs way more views
great video breakdown and tips 🔥🔥🔥
I did something like this last year on a film. I actually shot some stock footage of a liqueur store and then masked it on to the front window of the car in post and blurred it, so that it would look like they were getting a reflection from the building. Wish I knew about the projector method, as it would have saved me some post time. For the rest of the film I just used black curtains and the poor man's process, which worked, because it was a thriller. But the projector would have been a nice effect. I guess there is still much to learn. Great video, TED!
thanks mate! And filmmaking never ends -- we learned a ton of new stuff while doing this too
Love this - super practical info to keep in the back pocket for the next time I need a moving car shot!
much love Curtis!!
The man, the legend, Curtis Judd.
@@makatron Hi Isaac!
Just one more thing ... blur your video a bit before you project (maybe add a bit of brightness). Out of focus projection eliminates the need for the back screen to be distant as well as covers up the "soft" back projection issue. Cheers!
I havent watched Indy Mogul in years but I love this new host.
It looks great, but I´ve had great results straping the tripod at different angles for each scene and letting the talent drive the car.
In my experience, projector fidelity is FAR less important than brightness. With production lights running you just end up with too soft of edges on your comparatively dim projected image. This can be helped some by managing light spill so that you aren't washing your projection surface but it's a losing battle. You will never achieve crisp edges and good color transitions in the image unless it is VERY bright and your projector is close to the wall (mount on rear of car perhaps?). I suppose this could be offset a bit by using less production light and a big sensor camera but we don't all have the budget for cameras that do good low light work without grain. Since both those cameras and very bright projectors are expensive ... Probably easier to either rewrite your script to eliminate the shot or go with a shallow depth of field. Alternatively, since modern DSLRs are so small you can mitigate the issue WHILE getting a more interesting shot by moving the camera somewhere in the interior at more unique angles (which you're actually using to hide the exterior). Just some thoughts.
@@sebazistan - Always going to be an issue it seems. Never even got the chance to try really nice equipment for it. I guess you can always punch up the contrast in post but you lose the realistic look :-/
@@sebazistan - Well, considering that even freeware editing software lets you draw a mask I don't know why you would do it to the entire frame, haha. --- But the points are all still the same ultimately. It is just hard to get to look good. Darks aren't dark enough and if you choose a well lit background then lighting your subject equally will cause some wash out. --- Bottom line, it always looks like crap, haha
@@sebazistan Or budget more than we can imagine ... lol
I don't know too much about this but i was thinking you could fix it at least a little with editing
Amazing it is to imagine that a simple setting can turn into a very beautiful movie with the perfect video skills!
The end result is great, but the image on the back projector is really washed out by the ambient lights. Interesting you got the end result as you did. Very good.
Watching this almost two years late.. now this is starting to become the standard. Look at how they do the Mandalorian.
Guys, cutting the residual light from your sources, which is affecting the background is a must.... is a projection.... look at the shots with the motorbike.....is extremely obvious.... just saying. Common sense. Keep working, nice video.
This is gold. So glad Indy Mogul is back
Projection was used in Terminator 2 in few scenes. In canal chase, the projection greatly enhanced actor safety. The bit where T800 grabs John and the overcoming truck is seen in the background would have looked bad with any other technique, in 1991. And about Eyes Wide Shut, you sure Kubrick didn't do this on purpose to emphasize some themes of that movie like living unsatisfying life, imagining the grass is greener on the other side, fakery, being out of touch with oneself... I think the projection serves its purpose quite well when it's used right. :)
@11:23 The reflection looked like he was driving in reverse... On-coming lights will go from bottom-to-top, or go from center-out depending on angle intended. You spoke correctly about playing in reverse, you just didn't do it. I only noticed to see if you would because you mentioned it. Good video, very informative. I didn't know they still did this (I'm not in the biz.) Thumbs up!
This is awesome. i loved the fact u did one on top to reflect off the windscreen. so inspiring thank you
Instead of projectors, people also seem to use a lot more of big LED screens and things like that, like they used in episode 7 for the cockpit shots.
Just a heads up: the entire opening portion of 2001 with the apes was shot using front-projected backgrounds, so Kubrick wasn't new to the technique when it was used on Eyes Wide Shut.
As drones get more advanced, they could have an impact on how scenes like these are made... Effectively they will become intelligent flying cameras.
Rear projection and front projection are two similar but different techniques. And now movies like Star Wars and First Man use giant LED walls as backdrops so the brightness and contrast is much higher.
You can even do a projected set that shifts perspective to match the camera POV using real-time 3D digital environments and motion tracking sensors on the camera.
Live projection or something like it will replace green screens as the screens and camera movement coordination get better. Look at the Mandalorian, it is shot in a room that is a very advanced live projection. More people will use this technique as time goes on. I think it is funny that a video from 2019 calls this a budget option.
Fantastic video! To be honest I thought it was done green screen now days. Learned a lot.
As an enthusiast I agree that the more ways we have of shooting videos the better. This is a wonderful video showing the complexity of and how to shoot with a projector-thanks!!! But the contention that shooting with a projector is easier or cheaper, sure don't see the evidence from this video: 1. rent or have an enormous indoor white screen top, sides and bottom covered area; 2. have several thousand dollars of lights and audio, computer, equipment. 3. have a crew to set all of this up, etc. This actually looks like much more work than setting up a few cameras inside a car and just shooting the occupants. I disagree that in a budget film the actors cannot be driving. Yes, if you are doing stunt work that holds, but for basic dialogue, you can find a few easy quiet streets and do your dialogue there. If that were the case then carpool kareoke with James C, or comedians getting coffee would never work! Again, the process of making a quality film is complex, and not for the faint of heart!!! Thanks so much for this great video!
Good example of live projection is Superman's flight sequences in Richard Donnor's "Superman: The Movie".
Wow. An informative 7min. video crammed into 13.28min...
How does live projection help with timing? The video in the background is prerecorded so the timing there is fixed. Whereas if it’s a real background, you can always just drive slower
But in Eyes Wide Shut you could argue that the rear projection was supposed to look off, to create a dreamlike setting for an adaptation of a book who's title is literally "Dream Story"
They used it in starwars solo to do the space warp speed, also in interstellar when in space ship and earth in distance.
Also the overhead projector image needs to be connected to car cause you can see the projected road scene wobble which makes it look fake, if reflector screen or projector are connected to car as it moves it should look more real.
The professor has a really mellifluous voice. With just a little training he'd make a really good announcer/narrator/animated character actor. I hope his students are capitalizing on that.
I use live projection in my photography, a lot more hassle than a green screen to learn to setup, but it gets rid of the problem of the green halo of the green screen around the model.
i owe a lot of my prop making ideas/skills to Indy Mogul, so happy to see more videos and this trick is going to help me out as i’m filming my first short film! just wanted to say thanks 🖤
The Top Plate (Projection) isn't locked with the Car Shake ... Throws it off for me .. IMO
The only thing you guys messed up Was the direction of movement the reflection in den windscreen showed. You should have played it backwards so it looks like the car is driving forward. Great video anyways:)
Bump it baby.
As Indie as it gets.
It would be good to use different footage, or reverse the footage for the front projection. It kindof made the car look like it was moving backwards.
I shot a projection music video last year. I didn't do the background per say, but I ended up Filming a Model Dancing and singing, then Played that back on a projector with the Lead singer reacting to it. I never done something like that before, and I was hoping and praying that it worked. It was a experience that is for sure.
what type of material did you use for the white screen?
The scene in Eyes Wide Shut wasn’t supposed to look real. Kubrick’s vision for the film was for it to have a dream like quality, like this surreal lucid nightmare with a lot of the windows just having blue light shine through it, the city streets being empty except for the 1 or two taxis passing by. As well as a lot of the characters changing between night and day.
Wouldn't it be cheaper to hire a wrecker? Where I live, if the cops stop you and you explain what is happening, they will probably volunteer to help you out. Working around the windshield could be a problem, but you could film the reflections first, remove the windshield, film until the take is right, and restore the reflections in post, which would give you control of the image.
I forgot to add that when filming the reflections, you black out the background to get a clean shot.