ReelSmart Motion Blur Examples

ReelSmart Motion Blur (RSMB) Fusion Examples.

NOTE: You need RSMB 3.0 for these examples. You also need Fusion 5.01 or later.

This directory contains several projects to help explain features of RSMB.

Important: These tutorials assume you have read the manual that was put on your disk with the plugin upon installation.

1_SimpleExample.comp

Simple example of applying RSMB to a piece of footage. Notice that the alpha of the source footage is blurred correctly. Also note that the footage itself is used for the tracking.

To do: Play with the motion blur amount to increase or decrease the amount of motion blur.

2_RSMBWithAlternateTrack.comp

The footage to be blurred is dark and does not track well. There are two ReelSmart Motion Blur nodes in this example. The node labelled "RSMBProblemShown" shows that motion blur is not added because the footage is too dark for RSMB's tracking to "see" properly. In "RSMBProblemCorrected" a brighter version of the footage is used for the RSMB's tracking. Note the difference in the motion blur added to the scene.

3_LayersExample.comp

This sample project shows how you can use a matte to separate foreground and background for even better results when an object in front passes other objects. Compare the difference between regular RSMB (the "RSMBProblemShown" node) and using RSMB's foreground layer separation (the "RSMBWithLayers" node). The matte movie used to separate the footage into foreground and background layers was rotoscoped by hand.

In particular, note how the motion of the hand affects the blurring of the neck in the "RSMBProblemShown" node. This inappropriate blurring is corrected in the "RSMBWithLayers" node.

4_MBWithTrackHelp.comp

This sample project shows how, with RSMB Pro, you can get better results by guiding RSMB the use of a few judicial rotosplines.

The node "RSMBProblemShown" exhibits what happens with regular RSMB. Note that the motion blur does not follow the motion of the footage in the lower left corner on the first frame. The problem is really apparent on the second frame of the frootage.

The node "RSMBWithTrackHelp" shows how you can guide RSMB.. in this case with 4 splines.
For you to do and notice:

The splines have been animated to follow the salient features
The splines' "Use" setting is set to ON (this is the default)
The splines' "Layer" setting is set to Main_BG (this is the default).
Note that the motion blur, especially on the second frame, has been corrected.
To see which frames that RSMB's is using which splines for guidance help, Draw Geom to ON. Note also that RSMB must be have the Use setting for each spline set to ON at both the current frame and the frame used to track from (which is either the previous or next frame, depending on RSMB's settings).
Because we've helped with tracking guidance, we've set the Motion Sensitivities to 100.

5_MBWithGeomOnly.comp

This sample project show how, with RSMB Pro, you can add motion blur by simply using the movement of splines, with no image tracking performed. To illustrate this point, the motion blur in this example has been applied to a still image.

For you to do and notice:

Note that RSMB's Image Track checkbox has been turned off.
Note that the Motion Sensitivity is set to 50, limiting the extend of the applied motion blur. Turn the Motion Sensitivity to 100 and note that the motion blur is now applied to the entire image.

6_LayersAndSplines.comp

This project shows a very complex example with 2 layers (1 foreground matte supplied) and several splines used to help guide RSMB's tracking.

The node "RSMBLayersOnly" exhibits what happens with RSMB Pro, even with layer separation. In particular, note that the stripes in the shirt over the course of the sequence.

For you to do and notice in the node named "RSMBLayersAndSplines":

Note that the motion blur has been corrected
Because we've separated the image into layers, and because we've helped with tracking guidance, we've set all layers' Motion Sensitivities to 100.
Not all splines are used at all frame times to help guide RSMB. Note that we move the splines off the image when not needed. In particular, note that the BG_MiddleOfShirt spline has its Use parameter animated to OFF when it is off the image and no longer needed.
Remember, to be helpful in guiding RSMB, you must animate the spline (and have it active via the Use setting) on at least two successive source frames.
To see which frames that RSMB's is using which splines for guidance help, Draw Geom to On. Note also that RSMB must be have the Use setting for a spline be ON at both the current frame and the frame used to track from (which is the previous frame, except for the first frame where the next frame time is used).
It is really important is to note that the splines used for guidance often show RSMB where objects move as they are obscured or move on/off screen.