F R O M    T H E    T R E N C H E S Post-Production Report: Visual Effects Revealed        continued...

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Boca Seca Saloon: Green Trees Replacement (Tilt-up Shot)

This one proved way more trouble than at first suspected. Primarily because it is a camera tilt, starting low at the foreground characters' feet, and following him up to this final position as he steps onto the porch. There is quite a bit of lens distortion in the plate, so a simple matte wouldn't do. And the tilt is slow, making the nearly-horizontal and nearly-vertical straight lines prone to buzz.

The solution -- executed nicely with some Commotion roto work by Todd Hara -- was a combination of tracked and roto'd lines, plus a set of mattes for where Charlie and Jake appear across the background. The roof matte had to be pretty soft to keep the buzzing down. The comp, which I did in After Effects, also includes tracking the background horizon into the tilt, and some heat distortion on the distant skyline.

If you know what to look for, you might see this one. If you don't, no one should ever notice. The overall effect I feel was worth the effort. The first version looks almost tropical. Definitely not the wasteland look we were going for.