Posted on Apr 30, 2008 - 1:25am by John P. in Sports, Videos
Ok folks. I’m not really into skateboarding, and this video starts out a little slow, but if you’ll stick with it, after about one minute I think you’ll find it’s mesmerizing.
I’m not exactly sure how they did it, but I’m guessing that these guys must have painted their skateboards entirely pink or bright green or something like that, then had the video editing software delete that information.
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Yeah, not seeing skateboarders littering our street and shopping centres would be great
Great video though, amazing what we can do these days.
Well I don’t know how they did it, very clever. How would the backround show through if they just blue screened the skateboards?
That’s pretty awesome. I enjoyed watching that. Of course, I can also appreciate skateboard tricks even when I can see the skateboard (probably because I know that I sure can’t do them). I also liked how the music made it seem like such a relaxed and carefree video.
There is quite a bit of skill and fx talent in this video. Here’s how it’s done.
1. The skateboards are painted green or blue so they can be digitally deleted later.
2. The DP (Director of Photography) or the kid with the video camera shoots an empty plate of the scene. This means that you do the shot without the skateboarder in the shot.
3. Shoot the scene with the skateboarder in the shot.
4. Layer the videos in the editing program. I used Final Cut Pro, but this could be done in Avid, After Effects, Shake, or any of a number of other video editors. I don’t think iMovie can composite video yet.
5. Output the video for youtube, vimeo, dvd or whatever.
The difficult part is matching the camera moves for the empty plate and the skateboard shots. In Hollywood they use specialized motorized dollys, and cranes connected to computerized controllers to make sure everything is the same. These guys may have just winged it and then spent some time in editing to match up the shots.
Let me add that the order the scenes are shot is not important. The empty plate could be done after the shot with the skate boarder.
Also I meant to say that I use Final Cut Pro. The way I wrote it makes it seem as if I did the video. I didn’t, but I wish that I had.
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation - I sort of get it now…
That is so bad a$$!!! It’s eerily similar to my constant dreams of skating/flying effortlessly at the drop of a hat - I just decide to skate and/or fly - and boom - I’m starting to coast - I LOVE those dreams!!!
The video is really mesmerizing.Firstly i was stunned to see this.But i got it after the explanation by Philip.Really takes some time.But the out put is amazing.
Saw this video a few years back but it never fails to entertain. Philip is right, they have simply painted the skateboards green and then used special video editing software to edit them out the video. Apparently they have a DVD and you can see how it’s done in the extras.
What amuses me the most are the people commenting on the video on other sites saying “man this is fake” and “not possible”. They are some smart cookies
I noticed the “float”, (not exactly matched frames), and guessed they might have overlayed the video tracks, but I wasn’t thinking these guys were using a program as advanced as Avid, or similar.