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for a crowd replication in a stadium what technique would be recomended.
I use Cumbustion and Fusion for compositing.
regs
3dfArtistUsually crowds are made in 3d. Advanced 3d software have plug ins to do it. About your problem it depends on the camera if its still or moving?
Is the camera locked down or moving? If it is moving, is it a slight drift or push? or is it a rotating & panning compound camera move? How closely do you see these crowds that need to be duplicated? Many times you dont have to use 3D for these situations. could just be a lot of gmasking and tracking. may also use the projector in action. for all of the above reasons, you really want to get specifics ahead of time. unless the camera is locked, shoot supervision is recommended.
good luck.
t
Planning ahead is really important for any compositing shot. I recently did a stadium shot. The camera was locked and they shot a group of people in several different positions.
One problem you might encounter is the edges where the groups overlap. A garbage mask may not be easy to do, so you might try keying out the edges of the people.
I did a long shot of a single group first and then replicated them using different points in the clip. To introduce differences I flipped and skewed the people and placed them in the stadium.
Hope this helps, we could help further if you could give us some more specs of the shot.
Sinan Vural
When I have had to duplicate a crowd in a stadium setting with the camera locked off I shoot the crowd furthest away from camera first. Then mix up the extras (hiding their replication) and place them in the next seating section, using a greenscreen to separate them from the previous section, so as not to have to rotoscope any problematic overlap (you usually can’t get away without doing at least a little roto). The greenscreen really only needs to be used when the crowd overlaps. If you are shooting dead on then you may not have to use it. As well, keep in mind what the crowd is doing in the scene and have them recreate that action at several different levels of intensity. It might also be a nice touch to shoot some passes of people walking up and down the stairs for realism.
In the case of a moving camera, a motion control rig should be used with the above mentioned technique. If motion control is not a feasible solution (usually the case) then mapping extras onto CG cards and placing them into the match moved shot should work well (hey it worked for Gladiator). If anything, get the people walking about, up and down the stairs, loitering, etc. in one of the takes. All in all do not forget to shoot as many plates as possible for safety.
Examples: Last Samurai (click thumbnail of movie poster): http://www.flashfilmworks.com/gallery.htm (not a stadium, but same concept)
BioGraphic Technologies offers a plug-in called AI.implant for Maya that does just what you are looking for. Particularly for when the camera is not locked. Recently used by Stargate Digital in USA Network’s remake of Spartacus. Crowds in Rome and a shot with flaming cows. Yes, flaming cows. http://www.biographictech.com
I used a Milo motion control rig last time I had to do this. It was a snap from start to finish. We just moved a small crowd to a different position take after take. I applied the Milo’s motion control file to the camera in a 3D app and it was a done deal.
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