Resolved How to overlay image/gif into video

[keysofanxiety]

So at the moment I'm using iMovie, but I really don't think it can do this.

Basically I'm looking to isolate a small part of a gif/video and drop it on top of a video. Any ideas what application I can use? I've tried looking for iMovie tutorials on this, but they just seem to be split-screen videos which isn't really what I'm wanting.

Any ideas which apps I can use and how I can do it? Can it be done through iMovie?

Heck, I can't even figure out how to do effects as crudely as Birdemic!

 

[musique]

In FCPX you can overlay one video on top of another. I'm not sure of the terminology, but if the one you put on top has a transparent background you could do what they have in the video you show.

 

[Zwhaler]

This can be done in Final Cut. FCP X has fairly powerful compositing tools, especially when you factor in third party effects. But, you can do compositing in Final Cut without third party plugins.

 

[keysofanxiety]

This can be done in Final Cut. FCP X has fairly powerful compositing tools, especially when you factor in third party effects. But, you can do compositing in Final Cut without third party plugins.

Thank you! Can you recommend any good video or online tutorials? I'm definitely commited to take a lot of time to learn, but my knowledge is non-existent. I've just figured out how to plop clips together in iMovie, so I'd need to be starting from scratch.

 

[Zwhaler]

Download Final Cut Pro X and start playing with it. You can find the compositing options in the inspector (Command 4) at the bottom of the list. You can basically utilize blend modes and opacity % to layer multiple clips on top of each other and adjust the look.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Download Final Cut Pro X and start playing with it. You can find the compositing options in the inspector (Command 4) at the bottom of the list. You can basically utilize blend modes and opacity % to layer multiple clips on top of each other and adjust the look.

Thank you again for your patience Zwhaler. May I ask if there's a way to almost 'photoshop' an image, frame-by-frame onto a video, as painstakingly long as that would take?

 

[Zwhaler]

Well there is masking, now included in the latest update to Final Cut. I use third party plugins such as Advanced Masking Tool from MyFCPEffects. Not sure if that's what you mean... the compositing blend modes are like Photoshop. If you are trying to do motion tracking as well you might end up using Motion, After Effects, or use a third party motion tracking plugin within Final Cut like TrackX with Mocha.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Well there is masking, now included in the latest update to Final Cut. I use third party plugins such as Advanced Masking Tool from MyFCPEffects. Not sure if that's what you mean... the compositing blend modes are like Photoshop. If you are trying to do motion tracking as well you might end up using Motion, After Effects, or use a third party motion tracking plugin within Final Cut like TrackX with Mocha.

Ah right. Well all I'm essentially going to be doing is an ... umm, I'm not sure if 'overlay' is the correct term. If you imagine a face or an image, but just with a different face/image on top instead (though looking as un-crude as possible). So I was thinking of literally editing images frame-by-frame to ensure it's smooth. If there's a way to do that level of editing I don't mind how painstaking it is, it'll just ensure that the end product looks good.

I'll definitely get FCPX on the download tonight and try the tools you suggested. I'm not sure if I'm making any sense for what I want to edit, do you think there's a different tool I can try to use?

 

[Zwhaler]

Yeah After Effects would be your best choice followed by Apple Motion. If you only are doing this as a one time thing more or less you can get the 30 day trial of After Effects and do it from there. Final Cut Pro isn't the best for this but it can be done with the right plugins. You're talking about motion tracking (assuming the object is moving) with masking.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Yeah After Effects would be your best choice followed by Apple Motion. If you only are doing this as a one time time thing more or less you can get the 30 day trial of After Effects and do it from there. Final Cut Pro isn't the best for this but it can be done with the right plugins. You're talking about motion tracking (assuming the object is moving) with masking.

Amazing, thank you sincerely for patiently answering my queries. I was actually downloading some Stop Motion software to get what I needed to! I'll get a trial of After Effects & download Motion. Thank you again, I really do appreciate you taking the time.

 

[Unami]

if you haven't filmed the thing you want to overlay in a special way (think: greenbox), then isolating/masking out frame by frame is probably your best bet. "rotoscoping" is the term you're looking for, maybe also "animating masks", "motion tracking" and "compositing". as z-whaler said, go with after effects, or motion. and be prepared for hours, days or even weeks of work to make it look good. depends on the complexity of the object you want to overlay and the length and complexity of your clip.

the birdemic scene is probably animated 3d images with transparent backgrounds overlaid over the video footage. the "overlaying" part can be done in a few minutes, but if you have to model and animate the bird by hand, this will probably take you a day (or more, if you're doing it for the first time).

try to think about what you want to do before filming - this can save you a lot of time. e.g. in your face - replacing example: if the head where you trying to replace the face is not turning/moving, it can be relatively easy to replace it with another face filmed at the same angle/light conditions. but if it's moving, you're probably looking at a complex 3d-scene, which can take a whole lot of work and expertise to get right.

 

[RCAFBrat]

Blender can do some 3D tracking - might be useful or not.

Like unami says, if you know beforehand you can set up for best results / ease and it could be as simple as using green screen.

Cheers

 

[keysofanxiety]

OK, well I figured out what application would best suit my needs for this.

1) Open Photoshop.
2) File > Import > Video frames to layers

This then imports it frame-by-frame for editing. To render back into a video, go to File > Export > Render to video.

It's a bit painstaking but for what I wanted (frame-by-frame edit for best precision), this works the best.

Hope this helps somebody else!

 

[rachalmers]

So at the moment I'm using iMovie, but I really don't think it can do this.

Basically I'm looking to isolate a small part of a gif/video and drop it on top of a video. Any ideas what application I can use? I've tried looking for iMovie tutorials on this, but they just seem to be split-screen videos which isn't really what I'm wanting.

Any ideas which apps I can use and how I can do it? Can it be done through iMovie?

Heck, I can't even figure out how to do effects as crudely as Birdemic!

iMovie can do this. It’s an option on the top right hand side menu bar. Picture in picture, or overlay, and I think a couple of others.

 

[keysofanxiety]

iMovie can do this. It’s an option on the top right hand side menu bar. Picture in picture, or overlay, and I think a couple of others.

Thanks for the response - waaay ahead of you partner. Learned how to use overlay/masks in FCPX and that's done the trick.