ghost effect

[rcwright]

Is there a way to overlay a live video from a webcam on a background to make it look like you are a ghost? Just playing around for halloween in a couple of months?

[filmboss80]

Of course! You can either either do it with a multi-track video editing program (as a transparent overlay) or (better yet) in-camera with highly reflective glass angled at 45 degrees from the camera lens. The camera is aimed at a broadly-lit normal subject and background, while the angled glass reflects only a tightly-lit "ghost" in front of a black background (staged off to the side of the camera). The transparency of the glass reflection makes the ghost a "see-through" specter.

[manono]

AviSynth's Overlay command with the Opacity set for some value of transparency. Some of the other parameters can create other effects:

http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Overlay

VC Mohan's EffectsMany filters can create many weird looking effects on video:

http://avisynth.org/vcmohan/EffectsMany/EffectsMany_index.html

[rcwright]

I do appreciate your help, but as I can tell these are all post production. I want to be able to take a picture of my background and have a live video of myself in real time transparent over it. Maybe this stuff does it and I just don't understand......?

[jagabo]

Some examples:
http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/VeeScope/Products/VeescopeLive.overview.htm
http://fxhome.com/compositelab/pro

[rcwright]

I downloaded fxhome and don't see where this will do it either.....?

This is what I am looking for except for a PC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N7p_vW0PmM

[jagabo]

They Camera first takes a snapshot of the background then blends the live signal with the background image. With the live signal at ~50 percent transparency. This only works because the camera isn't moving.

[rcwright]

I first want you to know that I really appreciate your response. Many times I feel that people just want an answer and don't really appreciate someone taking their time to help. I am not one of those people.

That being said..... Can you do this with fxhome? if so is there a walkthrough or cheat sheet on how? If not, do you know of another. I looked at the software and just can't figure it out.

[mazinz]

we used to do this all the time with one video camera. Disney's dancing ghost in the ballroom effect is made like this.

This may help you since you have to do it live.

We put a video camera on a tripod. We then took the glass from a picture frame (I think it was about 9x10) and we had this at a 45 degree angle in front of the camera (we used something around the base of the frame to keep it steady, possibly we had books lying down on each side of the frame to keep the frame standing and still). We made it so if you look in the camera you cannot see that you are looking through or at a picture frame.

We then had a person on whatever spot we wanted in the room (spot where the camera lens was faced). The other ghost person would be off to the side but at the same angle as the glass picture lens. We then turned on a light by the ghost person and this reflected off the glass which then in turn gives you a ghostoeffect with our live footage going on at the same time.

it can take some adjusting but if you need to do this in real time that is how it is done

[guns1inger]

Realtime in software, for webcams, is restricted to this type of thing : http://www.shiningmorning.com/

There are dozens of tools to add images or effects to a webcam image in real time. However taking a webcam video and superimposing it on another video is generally not supported. I suspect that this is a) because it is more trouble than it is worth for the very few people who would use it, and b) because webcam footage quality is too low for green/blue screen type effects.

[manono]

I do appreciate your help, but as I can tell these are all post production. I want to be able to take a picture of my background and have a live video of myself in real time transparent over it. Maybe this stuff does it and I just don't understand......?

Right, sorry. I didn't realize you wanted it done without reencoding. It's no big deal to reencode and put the video with (for example) half opacity over a still image (a BMP or something like that). If the source video is from a webcam it's not as if the video is going to be degraded all that much more, given the probable low quality of the source.

[jagabo]

I was able to do it with a webcam and a combination of GraphEdit, ffdshow, and AviSynth. It's pretty convoluted though. And I can't get it full screen.

[craigarta]

Are you looking to do this
http://www.hauntedprops.com/category-s/274.htm

[rcwright]

You guys are really trying to help, I thank you.

I really just want to pull off the effect like the guy on the video I posted....? I thought it would be kinda easy and truthfully if you are making a ghost the quality wasn't the most important thing.

I thought this would be pretty easy to take a picture and then use a web camera that was never moved from the first picture to have a live video feed (with the same exact background) and mask it over it around 50%.

This guy did it, why can't someone else?

[jagabo]

You need whatever software he was using. He mentioned something in the video -- a plugin for some program I think.

[rcwright]

Oh well, he's using a Mac with OS 10. It isn't that important. I appreciate everyone's help.

Thanks.