Removing object from video eg head and superimposing another on top

AA4362 wrote on 11/24/2020, 12:15 PM

I’ve seen some video editing programmes that can remove an object eg face from video using a pen tool and applying “ Bezier” effect and tracking motion and it seems pretty accurate. I’ve got movie edit pro premium 2021 and been messing around with blurring the original video and masking but the finished product doesn’t look great ie if I could accurately remove the head and overlay it with something else...problem solved ! Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
( Windows 10, high speed pc , good ram etc)

Comments

browj2 wrote on 11/24/2020, 12:37 PM

@AA4362

Hi,

MEP/VPX do not have drawing tools built-in. If the image is just a photo, you could probably use Photo Designer 7 that comes with MEP to draw around the head to create a mask and then use that. Better would be to use a graphics editor like Xara Photo & Graphics Designer or PaintShop Pro and make a cutout of the head. Import it into MEP, resize and move it using the Size/Position effects.

If you're doing it from a video, then that is a whole lot harder.

Also, when the head moves, what replaces it? Background?

So, explain in more detail what you are trying to do.

John CB

CubeAce wrote on 11/24/2020, 6:57 PM

@AA4362

Hi.

To do this with movie footage in MEP you would need a plug-in like Silhouette

Very computer intensive and not cheap.

Ray.

AA4362 wrote on 11/24/2020, 7:51 PM

Thankyou both. I put another head on top of the moving video head that’s been removed. Past efforts have left the area fuzzy/ blurred where I’ve used a mask and so it just doesn’t look as good as I’d hoped. Maybe I have to get better at masking. I’ve even tried replacing a section of the background where the head was and then stuck the new head on top of that but the introduced background doesn’t stick too well to the existing moving background. Hope I’m not complicating things for you 😂 I’m having fun though but want to do better

CubeAce wrote on 11/24/2020, 7:58 PM

@AA4362

To be honest, even if you mask accurately the result could still not look right if the lighting on the face is different to the lighting on the body. Not just intensity but the direction and colour of the light.

But have fun playing around. It's the best way to learn. Even if that experience teaches you what is next to impossible it allows you to appreciate the problems involved and the tools needed to get a good job done and the relative expense involved.

Ray.

browj2 wrote on 11/24/2020, 8:00 PM

@AA4362

You could probably have some success rotoscoping to make a mask that follows the head movements using Xara Photo & Graphics Designer from MEP. It takes patience after learning how to do it.

Maybe stick to something simpler like this.

John CB