what program/method is used to make that "fake 3d" I see in documentaries?

[mazinz]

I was not sure where else to post this so feel free to move the thread if need be.

I now see this very often and more so in documentaries. It is when they show you a 2d picture but it is either zooming in or zooming out and the picture itself has an almost fake 3d look to it in that you could almost see depth (or that depth was added)

below is a sample for what I mean. Does anyone know what this process is actually called or how it is done? -- thanks

[poisondeathray]

It's just 2d cut outs, put in 3d space with an animated composition camera . It's typically done in a compositing application like after effects

Because there is z-space , and the 2d layers are arranged in z-depth, there is a parallax effect (objects closer to the camera appear to move more with camera movement than objects farther away)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax

[mazinz]

Ahhhh so essentially it is like a lot of cutting and tracing. Almost like toying with red channel shift in photoshop to make some 2d to 3d anaglyph conversions but without the anaglyph and moving(or I should say panning) at the same time.

I do like the look of it and now it gives me something new to tinker with

[NoBuddy]

You can do this in webpages, too. With the jquery.parallax script.
Just use png files with transparency.
Check out asimple example here:
http://stephband.info/jparallax/

[Cornucopia]

Of course, you'll need a complete background(s), or be able to "fill in" the gaps generated by your cutout if you are using the original background that the foreground was cut out of.

Scott

[smrpix]

Of course, you'll need a complete background(s), or be able to "fill in" the gaps generated by your cutout if you are using the original background that the foreground was cut out of.

Scott

True. I was delighted to see OP knows photoshop. Clone tool is your friend.

[mazinz]

Of course, you'll need a complete background(s), or be able to "fill in" the gaps generated by your cutout if you are using the original background that the foreground was cut out of.

Scott

True. I was delighted to see OP knows photoshop. Clone tool is your friend.

I also found this guide that used just photoshop and flash 10 to create this effect (and yes they did re-create the background with clone). Pretty straight forward. link with video below

http://gotoandlearn.com/play.php?id=96

[TreeTops]

Thanks mazinz for posting that guide. It was well done. Can I do that in Photoshop Elements?