Blur License Plates on Video?

[Garibaldi]

I am thinking of taking some videos at the car shows next year but I will need to blur out the license plates on the cars. Is there a freeware app that will let me do this fairly easily (Vdub plugin maybe)? Plus, what features would you like to see from the shows next year?

[Barnabas]

delogo using repair mode

[Garibaldi]

I don't see delogo listed in the vh tools section?

[gadgetguy]

http://neuron2.net/delogo132/delogo.html

[Garibaldi]

Anything else that is a bit faster and user friendly?

[edDV]

Any video editing software that allows masking a blur filter. Consumer programs call it "overlay". Pro programs will call it a "masked key" or "matte".

[Garibaldi]

What are some freeware examples listed here at vh?

[edDV]

What are some freeware examples listed here at vh?

Are you prepared to get real technical in exchange for free?

You would find a blur filter to blur the frame and then mask it to the pixel coordinates of the license plate then overlay the blur frame over the base frame. If the car is moving you will do this for every frame or make the blured area move in X and Y with keyframes and splines defining motion.

You can do it with free programs like virtualdub and/or avisynth, or you can pay someone to do it quickly.

Someone with knowledge could do it in less than an hour. Someone starting from scratch could do it in a week to a month, but it would be "free".

Similar to drilling out a blocked EGR valve return path. You need to figure out where to drill and then learn about the speedometer cable as drill bit trick

[3Simon7]

http://tutorialoutpost.com/count/3862

Disable scripts in your browser before you click the link or
you'll be hit with pop-ups!!

[edDV]

"My Collector Car Website"

If these are stills, most picture editors will blur a selected area. Better ones will offer a "blur brush"

[3Simon7]

Speaking of blurring a license plate........

This isn't what garibaldi is looking for but..........

(Click the YouTube "Play" button)

http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/top/bullrun-tech-subterfuge-edition-electronic-license-pl...ect-189348.php

[Garibaldi]

"My Collector Car Website"

If these are stills, most picture editors will blur a selected area. Better ones will offer a "blur brush"

I only have photos on there but I will be taking video next year. It would be nice if I could just go through like Photoshop and blur the space on each frame, since the camera will be moving and the location will be changing. It sounds like it might be easier to just be careful to not film any plates

Speaking of blurring a license plate........

Nice! That's a cool effect, must be like that privacy glass stuff seen in newer bathrooms

[edDV]

"My Collector Car Website"

If these are stills, most picture editors will blur a selected area. Better ones will offer a "blur brush"

I only have photos on there but I will be taking video next year. It would be nice if I could just go through like Photoshop and blur the space on each frame, since the camera will be moving and the location will be changing. It sounds like it might be easier to just be careful to not film any plates

Speaking of blurring a license plate........

Nice! That's a cool effect, must be like that privacy glass stuff seen in newer bathrooms

If you are going to do alot of this, a $$ program like Vegas 5, 6 or 7 will allow fairly simple blur keyframing once you learn the basics. "Free" is much more diffcult.

[ZAPPER]

Just curious, why worry too much about blurring the plates? It is a public venue, and a good portion of them will be customized. It is not like you are giving out phone numbers or addresses. The tags are on display to the public all of the time anyways. But if you really have your heart set on it, do something trick or quirky. The porno black bar or a customized "collector car" plate or web address or an "OOPS!" with a jagged Batman type background.

A good 3-D type drawing program or photo program could let you distort and zoom for effect of perspective and distance and then overlay the drawing frame for frame into the vid. Personally I wouldn't go thru all of the effort unless it added artistically to the video (No matter how hokey)

Actually I do understand your concerns, but I would reccomend looking into the legality of it all before posting any plates or selling any of the footage. I am pretty sure that what happens out in public is public domain. For example, (And I could be wrong) If I took photos of a public wet tee shirt contest, I could sell the photos to East Riders magazine.

Lordsmurf being a journalist and Adam being a lawyer may have better information on the subject though.

[Garibaldi]

You bring up a good point, I'll try to clarify what I've seen on this issue. I didn't blur any of the plates from any of the 5000 photos on my site that I took at shows, its a lot of work and a real pain to do. Earlier this year, however, I recieved several messages from two guys who had photos of their cars on the site and wanted them removed. I removed them, even though their plates weren't even visible! Because of this I've decided to avoid further incident by blurring the plates, which is a pain but does add another measure of "security" for these car owners. I agree though, these are public car SHOWS, and what do you do but SHOW OFF your car. It sounds like it would be way too difficult to blur the video footage so I think I'm going to forget it. Also on the bottom of my Photo Gallery I added a disclaimer:

During the publicly hosted Automotive Events, we often photograph the vehicles on display. This news reporting task is to provide updates and information on the events after their conclusion. Any personally identifiable information from these photographs is removed in order to ensure the privacy of the owners. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more information