Hello there!
This forum has saved my brain more than a few times, thanks to google. Now I seem to have a question that I can’t find an answer for, so I’m making it my first post.
I deal almost exclusively in live action videography, the bit of compositing I do is through After Effects and up until now the only 3D work I’ve done was through the Element 3D plug in (for those unaware, Element 3D handles only basic .obj files, no animation, and has a custom UI right inside of After Effects). I’m about to begin work on a project that is going to require multiple CG integrated sequences, so I’m trying to do as much research and testing as possible before we begin shooting.
One of these tests is just a simple slug that i modeled in about five minutes, going over a curb onto the street. The camera is locked off, so theres no need to motion track. My question is, in this scenario and others like it, what would be the best way to simulate a CG element integrating with a live action environment that is more complicated than a basic flat plane?
I feel like I have a general idea how this would be done, create a quick garbage model of the environment and overlay it, but if that’s the case, how would I properly mask off the slug while keeping the garbage model invisible to the camera? Maybe theres an entirely different solution that I’m overlooking? And would the solution be the same if the shot did require motion tracking?
Again, I am practically still a CG virgin, so please go slow with me, and thank you very much, to all of you! You’re a damn talented commune of artists if ever I saw one!