Ruined wedding video due to 'interview' background person

[DVRproblem]

Hello,

My Sister was married about 15 years ago, and my whole family has never really been able to watch the video.

Our father passed away shortly after the wedding, and on the video he is interviewed - of course, saying some nice things. However, my mother's ex-husband shows up behind him without him realising and stands behind him for the interview doing silly things on purpose (he didn't like my dad, and was pulling faces, etc... he is not a nice guy).

For that reason, it has always been difficult to watch the video for my family. Is there any way that we can make it so that the ex-husband is not seen behind my father ruining it... even if that means taking the background out completely? It's my mother's 70th birthday in a couple of months and the family would love to be able to give her a copy of the clip of my dad (with others) on a video - but we can't include it as it is now.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Kind regards,

Steve

[Barrythecrab]

An NLE with tracking for masking would probably work, Cyberlink has a fairly robust app. ColorDirector may fit the bill, then you can blur or replace the area outside the mask.

[DVRproblem]

Thank you Barry, I will have a look into that. Will it require any particular skill level, or could a novice do it?

[DB83]

I would have thought it a quite 'expert' process.


What I suggest is you upload the offending sequence as an attachment here and people might be able to do something with it. You can use a program such as avidemux to select the start/end using A/B markers and save that sequence using 'copy' for both audio and video. It will then be easier to edit the sequence back in.


I have just one concern. People have long memories and I am sure your mother still remembers the day and the episode. Even with masking there will still be the memory of who was there in the first place.

[Barrythecrab]

There are plenty of tutorials it it shouldn’t be too difficult.
There are other programs that perform this task also but CDr is what I am familiar with.

[Barrythecrab]

DB83, it's more tedious than expert, and if an object or something cause the masking to go astray, you need to stop and restart at that point.

[DB83]

I have another suggestion which, of course, depends on timing of the 'annoyance'


Ideally we have the start of the interview but when the issues start one edits in to the video other footage of your sister maybe from the wedding itself or even stills that illustrate what your father talks about You would still require use of an NLE (30 day trials are available) to keep all original sound in place. Result is nothing to bring back bad memories etc.

[smrpix]

Picking up on DB83's suggestion. You may be able to use a cropped inset of your dad's face, as vloggers and gamers do, within that other footage.

[october262]

Hello,

My Sister was married about 15 years ago, and my whole family has never really been able to watch the video.

Our father passed away shortly after the wedding, and on the video he is interviewed - of course, saying some nice things. However, my mother's ex-husband shows up behind him without him realising and stands behind him for the interview doing silly things on purpose (he didn't like my dad, and was pulling faces, etc... he is not a nice guy).

For that reason, it has always been difficult to watch the video for my family. Is there any way that we can make it so that the ex-husband is not seen behind my father ruining it... even if that means taking the background out completely? It's my mother's 70th birthday in a couple of months and the family would love to be able to give her a copy of the clip of my dad (with others) on a video - but we can't include it as it is now.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Kind regards,

Steve

would something like this work ?? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBq6ZJBHABU

[babygdav]

Thank you Barry, I will have a look into that. Will it require any particular skill level, or could a novice do it?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rX-Xmr-v57k
As long as you can paint, you can do it.

...

A touch more complex if the camera is moving around a lot.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zvlAS9mAyGE

But there's nice tools to get rid of people even with moving cameras!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tq9299aCB0
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QBq6ZJBHABU
Bye bye annoying background people in a dozen minutes!

And can even make people look younger
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DkE8fXFxVuU

[Barrythecrab]

Hello,
My Sister was married about 15 years ago, and my ...
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Kind regards, Steve

would something like this work ?? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBq6ZJBHABU

That is really impressive. Without rushing off to Ask Jeeves I imagine that’s a bit pricey. But wow it looks easy.

[DB83]

The problem with all these yt examples is that the guys talk about moving objects to remove but make no attempt to illustrate how to do it. They only deal with still objects.


And this software is expensive. Fine if you already have it but not cost effective for just one video.

[babygdav]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw0JcsgEhZI
Tracking.
Any of the appropriate programs can track moving people, then get rid of them (rotoscoping).

Hitfilm Express can do it and is FREE.
https://fxhome.com/hitfilm-express
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PHQhrOCJ3Ys

And, as necessary, GIMP replaces Photoshop for free photo editing of the replacement backgrounds.
https://www.gimp.org/

...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0lXrMk5MWd8
Create a mask around the father, tracking over time to move with him, then bamn! Bye bye background annoyance - replace with any nice shot, like Hawaii, Paris, etc.

[lordsmurf]

I'd need to see a clip of the problem footage.
It may be possible, it may not.

[babygdav]

Don't believe that - anything can be done in modern computer special effects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyXiximLMDs
Let's use Mocha in After Effects (It can be used in Hitfilm, standalone, etc).
There's other ways to do the auto rotoscope tracking as well.

...

1.
[Attachment 52131 - Click to enlarge]
let's rotoscope the legs out. (Watching The Rookie - no time to focus on the specifics of the hair/hands in the upper body).
Drop the original footage into the timeline, Animation -> Mocha to add the Mocha effect to the video.
Double-click the Mocha icon on the left to open up Mocha.

2.
[Attachment 52132 - Click to enlarge]
Click the Pen x tool in the toolbar, draw around the legs.
Once that's done, simply click the T > Track Forward button in the bottom toolbar.

Adjust the track for each frame to closely follow the legs (this is always the part that takes a bit of time).

Close the Mocha window, select SAVE.

3.
[Attachment 52133 - Click to enlarge]
Back in After Effects, you can click the VIEW MATTE option to see if you've got a good matte from Mocha. yes.
Turn off the VIEW Matte option.

4.
[Attachment 52134 - Click to enlarge]
Turn on the Apply Matte option.
POOF!!!!

THE ENTIRE BACKGROUND IS ERASED! Bye Bye Annoying background person/etc.

5.
[Attachment 52135 - Click to enlarge]
Import any other video or photo for use as the background.
Place it in the timeline lower/behind the legs and resize to fit

See before and after examples - a dozen minutes without even trying to matte carefully while watching TV.

Seriously, you CAN DO IT!
The only thing that'll take the most amount of time is making sure the matte is tight around the hands, hair and head, but nothing too hard - just move the points of the matte.

Many other ways to create the matte, too - see youtube for your program of choice.
eg soft matte around hair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJt55bR16yk

[DVRproblem]

Wow, you guys are amazing - thank you so much.

I have attached the clip, in case as per DB83's suggestion it could be looked at by the pros. I can pay, if someone is able to help (I imagine the end result would be far better than any attempt I could manage). And if not, then I will try my best with the tutorials you have recommended.

It starts off with my dad having a bit of a drunken laugh (he was an amateur theatre actor), and then around a minute in, he gives a more serious message. I think it's about 1:18 that the ex-husband shows up. I assume to keep the video consistent it would be best to just take any/all background out for the entire clip or something - is it maybe even possible to loop the background from before he shows up?

[DB83]

Thanks for the clip.


I will leave it to the experts to see if the idiot (clearly drunk) can be removed. But do also consider my other suggestion of a sound bite with other footage and smrpix's equally good idea of combining that other footage/images with a head shot of your father in a lower quarter of the screen. As it happens, most of the message is intact and only a small part has been 'ruined'.

[smrpix]

Here's an idea based on DB83's original suggestion:

Note the audio cut at 1:08.

[DVRproblem]

Thank you, I will have that as a good fall-back, in case I don't find any other way

[smrpix]

My thought was in excising that one line you not only lose the clown, you get your dad's message across more positively as well. Best of luck.

[lordsmurf]

anything can be done in modern computer special effects.

No.

I have attached the clip,

That camera work is terrible. It shakes, your father is blurred out of focus, lousy exposure.

It may be "easiest" to stabilize the entire clip where he speaks (was there more before the sample, or after?), cut out and rebuild a background, then overlay him. Almost like a green green, but after that fact in post. There is far too much crap for a simple content-aware removal.

Can the moron be removed? Yep!
Easy to do? Nope! Although it's more tedious (time-consuming) than difficult.

[babygdav]

[Attachment 52151 - Click to enlarge]

A quick example of using Mocha in After Effects to rotoscope dad out and eliminate the background people.

Without thinking much:
1. Take a snapshop of a couple frames of the video where he moves to the left and right - this reveals the background.
2. Per example attached, use a paint program like Gimp or Photoshop to merge the people-less parts of the background together so when dad moves left and right over the background, we don't see any people - just the building.
You can go all out and repaint an entirely new background.
3. Stick both original clip and background image in the AE composition.
4. Do the mocha thing noted earlier.
open the layer for the video clip, add mocha, edit the mask in mocha, close and save to go back to AE.
5. Turn on the matte, feather (to a few pixels wide), and check.

Again, the time waster would be you'd have to sit and adjust the mask in Mocha to tightly mask dad out without including the background.
Just boring moving matte points around - nothing amazing because even a kid could do it.

When the matte is tight and good, then jump back into AE and render out the composition.
The example is the first 1 second of the video using a rough matte. Tighten it up and it'll look great.

[lordsmurf]

nothing amazing because even a kid could do it.

This is dumb statement. Anybody, period, can do it. Probably even a primate. But how well will depend on patience and experience. It's nothing simple like using a microwave or toaster (which, FYI, many kids and adults alike don't know how to properly use either item; sad but true).

What you're describing is what I already described. There will be no easy way to remove that person from the video, but it can be done with compositing. The tougher issue will come when it's time to cut out dad. Feathering the edges will be needed, but feather can differ in locations of the moving object. In this sense, it's no different from Photoshop.

So, really, not that easy after all.

[DB83]

[QUOTE=babygdav;2574896}

Without thinking much....


[/QUOTE]


That kinda sums it all up.


The OP does not have the tools (even the free ones) or the expertise/time to do what you even dare to suggest.


If you really want to be useful in this topic then use your 'expertise' to process the entire clip (and he does not move sufficiently do expose the background) which was the whole purpose in asking for the clip in the first place.


PS That mask you posted looks pretty ugly. Almost as ugly as the drunk.

[DVRproblem]

You're all lovely people, giving up some of your time to try to be helpful to me and others. Please don't fall out with each other about the how... you'd all get on really well if you met in a pub

Anyway - it is true that if I tried to do it, no matter the faith in me, I would make a hash of it. My plan now is to look for someone I can pay to do it, and if I can't find anyone to go with the suggestion to have a photo with voice-over in that part.

You have all been wonderful, and this is a great forum, full of high expertise and kindness. Thank you

[DB83]

The whole spirit of 'help' is not to have to pay for it.


Very few of us are 'Pro' in the proper sense of the word. lordsmurf is a 'Pro'


What annoys me is when people, who have not been on here long, come on and spout off how easy something is. Maybe it is 'easy' for them yet they forget that they had to learn as well. And maybe, just maybe, they are just bluffing.


I have modest video editing skills and can handle the image substitution and/or the PIP (picture-in-picture) since both of these are fairly basic tasks.


One thing I must ask is that your source is clearly VHS. Do you still have the original tape since, as lordsmurf points out, the sample you posted is not in the best of condition and appears to have been resampled to mp4 and a fresh capture of the whole may certainly help.


And I'll do it all FREE OF CHARGE (the image substitution/PIP with supplied assets)

[babygdav]

The basics of matting and background replacement can be taught in less than half an hour.
It's merely clicking the icons and menus in the right order.

Another 30 minutes can be used to train proper matting and feathering, but again, a mechanical process.

Ie. Nothing a ten year old can't handle and again, mostly a mechanical process. (Ie. Drag that matte point tight against the outline of the person.)

The rest of it is literally just a boring mechanical process of dragging matte points and checking the matte, adjusting points as needed.

Davinci Resolve and Fusion, both free, along with free Hitfilm Express can do this.

Premiere / After Effects has a free 1 week trial - ought to be enough time working on it 8 hours a day.

The project isn't even due for months, so matting can be a lazy weekends project.

....

This isn't even like a climb up K2 where there's a big chance of screwing everything up.

It's like a lazy climb up a baby mountain on a nice day in Yosemite.
Yes, rotoscoping will take time, but not hard to understand - only repetitious like putting one foot in front of another to get up a hill.

...

As for the rough matte example, that's merely a proof it can be done - background replacement. Again, cleaning up the matte is merely the boring time consuming part that I'm not doing because it's not my project.

...

Now, for boring tasks, there are tons of crowd sourcing sites where you can find people to do such things.
E.g. https://www.mturk.com/

[DB83]

To quote John McEnroe


"You can't be serious man !!"

[poisondeathray]

Do you have the original recording ? That "CA Wedding Dad Clip.mp4 " clip is "29.97p", but it should probably have been "25i" (or properly double rate deinterlaced to 50p) . You're missing 1/2 the information.

Also , every 5,6th frame is a duplicate - a 25p to 29.97p conversion. You could decimate the duplicates, but it would be better to start with the original

[DVRproblem]

Thanks guys. It is indeed from a VHS, but it's one that was in awful condition and wouldn't play very well, I had to send it away to get sorted. I must confess, I have no idea what's meant by 29.97p and 25i though.

I do still have the original tape, but wouldn't be able to do anything with it, I don't think.