Are you ready to dive back into our 3D integration project? In our last article, we showcased some amazing features in PFTrack, including 3D object tracking. This time, we’re taking it up a notch and completing our custom video clip with even more improvements in 3D integration.
We’ve already created a short clip of myself over a green screen and introduced a 3D mask that accurately follows my head movement. But there’s still work to be done. The laces, for example, don’t have a proper shape around the head, and we need to add additional elements for a polished final result.
To achieve this, we need to tackle a checklist of tasks, including solving lace positions, creating matte geometries, shading matte geometries, building a shading network for the mask, lighting and rendering, green screen removal, compositing, color correction, and final export. It may seem like a lot, but trust us, the end result will be worth it.
After exporting from PFTrack, we play the shot in our preferred 3D software, but we encounter two significant issues. The side laces don’t encompass the head adequately in a few frames, and they’re visible through the mask hole. But don’t worry, we’ll show you how to fix these problems.
Solving the lace position may take some time, but it’s crucial for an accurate result. We recommend using less destructive techniques and iterating over the clip repeatedly to ensure the laces match the head profile for every frame. In Maya, we found the lattice tool to be a great solution, allowing us to manipulate the model without causing strange deformations.
So let’s get started and tackle these issues head-on. Our final result will be something to be proud of!Check out these amazing images of lace from different angles! But creating a perfect 3D model requires precision and attention to detail. That’s why Maya offers a range of sculpting tools to help you smooth out any geometry issues. The smooth, relax, and grab tools are particularly useful for this task.
But what about masking hidden parts? If you’re rendering out with a mask and laces, you’re not preparing your scene correctly. You need to add additional meshes that act as matte geometries to hide what needs to be hidden from the camera’s point of view. Check out these self-explanatory images to see how it’s done.
And don’t forget about shading properties on the additional geometries. Whether you’re using Maya, 3ds Max, or another tool, it’s important to apply the correct settings. Arnold’s aiStandardSurface shader is a great option, with a matte section that includes options for matte color and opacity.
With these techniques, you can create a perfect 3D model of lace that looks amazing from every angle. So why wait? Start sculpting and masking today!Get ready to witness the magic of original footage reappearing where it should be! Let’s take a visual example to understand it better. Check out the amazing Matte Opacity set to 0, which creates an alpha where the holes have a black color, ensuring that the original footage will be visible through the holes. If we had set up the Matte Opacity to 1, the alpha channel would have been totally white, making it impossible to merge the original footage in post-production. So, keep in mind the previous simple setup, which works almost all the time, especially when integrating 3D models with video clips.
Moving on, let’s talk about Jason’s mask and its PBR textures. PBR stands for “Physically Based Rendering,” a trend in CGI that aims to enhance the way light interacts with 3D objects, resulting in better materials, accurate shading, and so on. Jason’s mask has a set of PBR textures, including the Albedo map, Roughness map, Metalness map, and Normal map. Working with these textures means adopting a metal/roughness workflow, which can be easily achieved with some simple tweaks on the roughness, metalness, and general mask color.
Now, let’s shed some light on lighting. In the original footage, two softboxes were used, one from the left and one from the right, serving as light sources for the green screen. However, since the original character doesn’t have a very strong light from a precise direction, we have enough room to customize our Maya lighting. So, let your creativity flow and experiment with different lighting setups to bring your 3D models to life.Get ready to be blown away by the dramatic look we achieved with just a two-point lighting scheme! By decreasing the intensity of the left area light, we added a sense of tension and contrast to Jason’s mask. Check out the render test below to see the dark colors on the cloth and the high lighting ratio that really amps up the drama.
But that’s not all – we also added a bit of fog from the Shutterstock Library to really bring the scene to life. And in case you’re wondering, we achieved this stunning result using only the Maya Arnold renderer – no other corrections have been made so far.
Now, let’s talk about color correction. While it’s an important element in post-production, there are many ways to achieve good integration. We typically work on RGB components separately, but you can also try adding a tint effect to a target layer by sampling the white and black points from another. Give both solutions a try and see which one works best for you!
And before we wrap up, let’s not forget about removing the green screen from the main subject. With the help of the Keylight plugin in After Effects, we easily extracted the chroma key and achieved a seamless integration with the original footage. Check out the video below to see the final result – we think you’ll be impressed!Are you ready to take your green screen game to the next level? Check out these essential steps to get the perfect extraction! First, pick up the color from the background and adjust the Screen Gain and Screen Balance. Then, play with the Edge Color Correction parameters to avoid an artificial contour. Don’t forget to try the Lumetri Color Effect to refine the color match with the background.
Once you have the animation in PFTrack, it’s time to clean up the mask and refine the details. Check the animation frame by frame and use an editor in your 3D software to polish the result. Pay attention to details like the lace position, which needs to match the head movement during the clip.
If you notice that the lace position needs adjusting in a few frames, don’t worry! You can use the Mesh Warp effect in post-production to make minor adjustments. Just make sure to have a solid animation from the 3D software before applying it.
Check out the before and after images and video to see the amazing transformation! Remember, spending time on details is crucial to achieve a perfect composition.Check out this amazing Mesh Warp Effect applied to custom footage! The new exported clip has more contrast and a different LUT, making it even more captivating. We used a mask to cover the face, ensuring that the original black markers are almost all covered. Even if a few markers appear in the clip, they don’t distract the viewer at all and work fine in the final shot. If the markers had been more visible on the skin, we could have used the Content-Aware Fill in After Effects to remove them from the original composition. With that functionality, you can track a mask around each black marker, and After Effects finds the best sampling area to replace. I hope you learned a lot from this two-part series and now comprehend the workflow involving integrating elements in custom footage. If you find the article interesting, follow me on my Linkedin page for more news to come.
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