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No, this isn't going to be an article on jui-juitsu. In fact, what prompted this article was more than just having to remove the photographer, I'd gotten myself into several shots also and needed to be removed.
If you've read very much of my stuff, you know I'm not particularly fond of either photographers or videographers getting into their own or each other's shots, and I've written articles about how to avoid this from happening. But it's inevitable that there will occasionally be shots that include a photographer or videographer. Sometimes it's not too bad and other times it's intolerable. This article will show you how to resolve the situation in post.
At rehearsals, we give brides several choices on our shooting positions - from fairly aggressive to being a fly on the wall. Often times they'll want a fairly agressive coverage of the processional, then have us fade into the background.
I was editing just such a video last month where the photographer had inserted himself into the processional by following each bridesmaid partway down the aisle as he flashed away. After garbage-matting him out of most of those shots, I decided to apply the same method to removing myself from any shots I'd gotten myself into.
I'll go over those methods here for those of you who haven't been introduced to garbage matting yet. There are basically two methods you'll need to choose from -
First, a disclaimer - these methods will only work with locked-down shots. You cannot readily fix a shot from a moving camera.
Study the immediate area from which you want to remove an offending camera person. Is there any other relevant motion? If there are people, flickering candle flames, banners waving in a breeze, etc. then you'll need a video clip for your matte track. If the immediate area surrounding your cameraman is static, you can use a still frame.
Setting the garbage matte
Above is a shot with a videographer whom we'd like to remove.
I first selected a still frame from an adjacent clip that did not have me in the picture. Usually, you'll find this right before or right after the clip you're repairing. Then I applied a garbage matte effect. Whether you select a four-point, eight-point or sixteen-point matte will depend on the amount of control you'll need to adjust the matte area.
In this case, I selected an eight-point matte. By turning off the track where I'd placed my still, I am able to see both my matte control points and the underlying clip, allowing me to precisely adjust the matte.
In some cases, you'll need to set keyframes and animate your matte.
In the screenshot below, for the purpose of this article, I continue to show the matte points, though obviously they will not show in the video. The videographer has been removed!
Once the bride arrived, I had to scoot out of that position, behind the bridesmaids. This required that I use a video clip for a matte, since bridesmaids are not static objects. It would look artificial if their bodies stopped swaying and they were frozen in position for five seconds, so I took the clip just after my exit for my matte.
In order to get that clip, I adjusted the workarea guide and did an export to movie. Again, I chose an eight-point matte and encircled the smallest area I could that would still block my movement. I allowed a bit extra on both ends of the matte for handles and gently dissolved both ends to hide any jump-cut effects.
Garbage matte settings
Obviously, the best situation for both the live event and for the video, is for photographers and videographers to stay out of each other's shots. We've covered this in a previous article. But it's good to know that there is still hope for those important shots that are marred with an unwanted intruder of any kind. Like they say, "Garbage in - garbage out". So when your wife asks you to take out the garbage, just tell her "I'll do it in post!".
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