Motion Blur?


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By Foxstep - 8 Years Ago
Hi,

I am working on an animation and have a good amount of fast motions and spinning/rotations with props. I really like how it's turning out...except that it comes off rather hard on the eyes as-is.

Any tricks or tips on getting a motion blur? Or if CrazyTalk Animator 3 cannot do anything itself to help, what would be some options with the footage it creates?
By Kevin.S - 8 Years Ago
You can always use Hitfilm express after you render out for effects like motion blur and many more its free and a great program you should have ..


Hitfilm express
By garylearntech - 8 Years Ago
Are you sure about that Kevin?  I'm no expert but I was under the impression (from work with other apps) that motion blur was something that was produced when rendering out the scene to your video file – and not something which could be added retrospectively.

Foxstep – I've not done any before/after testing (not made enough progress with any projects yet), but would enabling the Super Sampling option in the export window not contribute to your improved quality?  (Apparently it should be used in conjunction with the Anti-alias option being turned on in CTA3's Preferences.)
By Foxstep - 8 Years Ago
Thank you, Kevin.S and garylearntech, for your input. :) 

I've been playing with Hitfilm Express for about a week now (Pretty cool stuff!) and it seems to be making things better, though there are many artifacts popping up.

I gave Super Sampling a try, making sure Anti-Aliasing was selected. I think it's as smooth as ever, if not more, which is kind of the problem. Fast moving things naturally have some sort of blur, like when you wave your hand in front of your face quickly. It's just kind of...ow to watch what I have without.

My current idea is to try to create a "green screen" within CTA for separate parts. Basically, throw in a green background and export separate videos of the different moving bits of the animation. Then hopefully, I can apply motion blur individually and just stack everything together as one video, all without the extra mess. I am thinking just applying it to the full screen is just not good and may be why what's happening is happening.

If anyone has any extra input or any different ideas, I am all ears! I think Hitfilm and the Super Sampling will prove useful, so I appreciate the input so far very much.
By garylearntech - 8 Years Ago
Sorry super sampling didn't solve your problem.  I can offer you a suggestion for your current compromise however - and this is one I have tested and used.
Instead of adding a green background in CTA3 and then removing it in post, simply hide your background layers/objects and export as Apple ProRes 4444.  The 4444 format includes an alpha channel which can be empty.  In the Scene Manager, temporarily hide the components you want to omit:

https://forum.reallusion.com/uploads/images/e37c3d57-9d41-474e-8a49-6b84.png


As long as you deselect the Render Hidden Objects checkbox (see blue arrow below) you'll get just your isolated objects in each of your output files.

https://forum.reallusion.com/uploads/images/c9db2965-b083-4821-9321-bc0f.png

I'm on a Mac and this worked fine when I produced a short prop animation which I added over the top of a real-life video, doing the assembly in Final Cut Pro.  I'm not sure if there's an equivalent WMV or AVI mode if you're on Windows…  Maybe you can still use the ProRes 4444 option if you have the Windows version of QuickTime installed?  Hope this helps…

Gary
By Foxstep - 8 Years Ago
Thanks Gary! I will have to play with that. That sounds like it will make things easier to deal with, for sure! Fortunately, I am on a Mac, so lucky me, haha.

Something else I played with in the meantime was inspired by these tips for stop-motion motion blur. The main problematic piece spins while zipping across the screen, being followed by the camera for a bit. So I duplicated it a few times, adjusting each piece to have the rotation be slightly more off and have a low opacity. It looked pretty good at a particular part, but while moving in a straight line with the camera kind of following it, not so much. I think the sort of cheesiness of the trick shows through there more.

But it's good to know I've got some different options to play with. Thanks again! :D
By seabat7 - 7 Years Ago
Is rendering out separate layers still the best method to simulate DOF? Is there a way to add blue to a layer that can be key framed? That would seem to make more sense than ha I gotta to pre- render each layer and assemble it all in something like After Effects.
By Ibis Fernandez - 7 Years Ago
motion blur can only be done in post using a NLE or FX tool.  You will not be able to do it natively in CTA.

You can simulate motion blur selectively either by using traditional animation techniques or flat out blurring out sprites using an outside program like photoshop. Just select the sprite you want to blur, export to editor, edit it, save and re-import. Not most efficient but it might work. for small selected stuff.

Simulating DOF from within CTA is also pretty eazy. Just a matter of exporting your BG elements to photoshop, apply gaussian blurr and reimport. 
By Ibis Fernandez - 7 Years Ago
Here's a tutorial on doing DOF inside of CTA.