Help with removing object: stop motion animation.

[AndyB1972]

Hey all,

I do some stop motion animation and I'd like to remove a 'stop motion rig' from my photos so that it appears that the object is floating once the animation is put together.

Please see images attached.

In these pictures i need to remove the aluminum wire that's holding the cut out paper flame and also some parts of the flame so it appears to be floating over the wood and stones. I have over 100 frames I need to edit. (joys of stop motion!)

However I'm struggling to find the quickest way to do this.

Any suggestions would be most helpful please.

Apologies if this is a simple question (i'm no expert in Affinity).

Regards

Andrew

 

TEST_003_01_X1_0084.tif

[Old Bruce]

I would use the Selection brush to select the flame then Invert the selection and use the Stamp tool (use a slightly feathered basic brush for this) to paint over the wire and masking tape. When using the Stamp tool remember to  use the Alt/Option key to select the area(s) you'll be cloning from.

Under a minute

Post script: Are those dust spots on the sensor?

 

[h_d]

An alternative, at least for removing the wire, would be the Inpainting Brush tool.

 

Make it slightly wider than the wire and just paint along it. It'll sort out the dust spot too.

[AndyB1972]

5 minutes ago, h_d said:

An alternative, at least for removing the wire, would be the Inpainting Brush tool.

 

Screen Recording 2021-07-19 at 16.48.21.mov 88.96 MB · 0 downloads

 

Make it slightly wider than the wire and just paint along it. It'll sort out the dust spot too.

Thank you, this is much appreciated. I have tried this and it removes the wire perfectly, but less so the sticky tape behind the flame which is holding it to the wire. There is a 'smudgy' residue left and i can't seem to get it right. 😞

 

[AndyB1972]

35 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

I would use the Selection brush to select the flame then Invert the selection and use the Stamp tool (use a slightly feathered basic brush for this) to paint over the wire and masking tape. When using the Stamp tool remember to  use the Alt/Option key to select the area(s) you'll be cloning from.

Under a minute

Post script: Are those dust spots on the sensor?

 

thank you so much for this. Yes, they are dust spots...I've just removed them with my air duster. Thanks again!

[h_d]

Just now, AndyB1972 said:

less so the sticky tape

Yeah, the sticky tape isn't as straightforward. @Old Bruce's method may be better for that.

Whichever way (or combination of ways) you decide, 100 frames is going to take quite a while 😀

 

 

[AndyB1972]

Yes, its a learning curve...i think i will reshoot and position the flame over less tape, therefore only the wire to remove....much easier. Awesome, thanks very much for your assistance.

[Old Bruce]

37 minutes ago, AndyB1972 said:

Yes, they are dust spots...I've just removed them with my air duster.

Much better than a finger. [smiley face emoticon] Some where I have a special tool for my Pentax camera which worked a treat at cleaning the dust off the sensor. My Canon has an excellent auto sensor cleaning vibration system so I haven't had to search for one for that. Back in the day a friend of mine got a burr on the pressure plate which scratched all his film, it was cheaper for him to buy a used camera than send it to a shop for repairs. Ah, the good old days of film.

[AndyB1972]

Just now, Old Bruce said:

Much better than a finger. [smiley face emoticon] Some where I have a special tool for my Pentax camera which worked a treat at cleaning the dust off the sensor. My Canon has an excellent auto sensor cleaning vibration system so I haven't had to search for one for that. Back in the day a friend of mine got a burr on the pressure plate which scratched all his film, it was cheaper for him to buy a used camera than send it to a shop for repairs. Ah, the good old days of film.

Yes, i use one of those GIOTTO squeezy air duster things, well worth a purchase. I use a LUMIX S1 which is a great hybrid camera; great for shots and videos. I do have an old Fujifilm somewhere which is more old fashioned if you like. I love cameras...it could become an obsession if I tried. Thanks for the help!

[MEB]

1 hour ago, h_d said:

Yeah, the sticky tape isn't as straightforward. @Old Bruce's method may be better for that.

Whichever way (or combination of ways) you decide, 100 frames is going to take quite a while 😀

 

Assuming he's not moving the camera, it may be worth investing some time in getting one right no matter the time it takes. You can use the Clone Tool along with global sources to then copy the changes/corrections you made to the first one to the others.

[David in Яuislip]

Well, given that I don't know the rest of the frames and my expertise in stop motion is restricted to watching A Grand Day Out, my approach would be to marquee the bits to keep, delete the rest, put a blue fill layer at the bottom of the stack

To handle 100 frames you'll need some automation,the image below was produced by a batch job in less than a second

StopMotionSelection.afselection StopMo.afmacro

[AndyB1972]

Thank you all for the suggestions, much, much appreciated.

Is there not just a way of painting around the fire, like in this video? i.e. import a background/clean frame and then delete the parts you don't require with a brush? fast forward to 11:07.

fast foward to 11:07

[AndyB1972]

1 hour ago, David in Яuislip said:

Well, given that I don't know the rest of the frames and my expertise in stop motion is restricted to watching A Grand Day Out, my approach would be to marquee the bits to keep, delete the rest, put a blue fill layer at the bottom of the stack

To handle 100 frames you'll need some automation,the image below was produced by a batch job in less than a second

StopMotionSelection.afselection 47 kB · 1 download StopMo.afmacro 48.26 kB · 1 download

This looks perfect! but I am struggling to match what you've done here. I just thought you'd be able to load the image into Affinity you want to tinker with, then load a 'blank' reference image of the scene (without the fire) as another 'background' layer and then just rub out with a brush what you don't want, revealing the background perfectly. Sorry, I'm being a newbie here.

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, AndyB1972 said:

Is there not just a way of painting around the fire, like in this video? i.e. import a background/clean frame and then delete the parts you don't require with a brush?

Can't you do exactly the same as in th video using a small diameter & the Erase Brush Tool in AP?

[David in Яuislip]

12 hours ago, AndyB1972 said:

I am struggling to match what you've done here

Just what I said above, " marquee the bits to keep, delete the rest, put a blue fill layer at the bottom of the stack". Untick the last step of the macro and run it again, maybe that will help

To get a realistic flickering flame you'll need various selections of the outline and various cutouts so the floating flame bits appear in different locations. If you take this approach then the flame can just be a rectangular piece of card and the outlines produced entirely by Affinity. However, this isn't what I'd call stop motion, it's more like a flick book. See the 2frame animation, the free orange bits move around but the outline is constant which looks rubbish

It's not clear to me what you are changing between frames, is it the white and yellow bits that will be repositioned?