Hey Guys, it’s Gaba VR, and this time I show you how to create another Insta360 Shot Lab effect
on your computer, even without having to use an Insta360 camera,
or using professional cameras, like Pro2 or Titan.
In the previous video I talked about the so-called Parallel Planet effect,
and now let’s jump into another one, called Clone Trail.
In early 2020 I already posted a tutorial about a very similar technique
I developed to create a freeze frame effect with cool camera movements,
without actually moving the camera during shooting.
Then, a couple of months ago Insta360 added a new feature to the mobile app,
allowing us to create a Clone Trail effect using AI.
Of course, it’s not perfect, as the app can’t make precise selections,
you don’t have the freedom to select the freeze frames,
and of course, you can’t export your video in high resolution.
On the other hand, working on a computer we have full control over almost anything.
So let’s see how we can easily shoot and edit such videos with more options, even in 4K.
Just like in most of the cases in shooting Shot Lab effects, the shooting itself is really quick,
while we have a little bit longer editing to do.
In this case the fastest way for me is working in Premiere and Photoshop.
And I think this little extra work really worth it,
because we get a much better result than simply letting AI to do the job on smartphone.
And I can shoot in real time or in slow-mo, depending on my scene
and I can play around with the camera height, too.
This time I use a mini tripod and the invisible selfie stick.
Then I just simply walk in front of the camera.
Of course, I walk around it in circles, or I could play around with other movements,
but this time I just keep it simple.
And as I’m done with recording, it’s time to focus on post-production.
After importing my footage, I pick up the best take,
cutting the beginning and the end of the scene.
Then I start selecting my freeze frames.
I make a cut at the first one; duplicate the clip after this cutting point,
and add a frame hold.
So actually, I get a still image instead of the moving clip,
and I create a rough mask around myself and my shadow.
And at this point I can decide which version of the effect I’d like to create.
The first style is when all the future clones are on the scene,
and as I’m walking along, they disappear step by step.
And the other one is when these clone trails remain after me,
when I leave certain points of the scene.
Let’s start with the first one!
So after creating a rough mask I drag and move the freeze frame to the beginning of the scene.
This way the future trail will be there from the beginning.
Then I just make more and more cuts, freeze frames, masks,
and move all the still images to the starting point until my clones fill the entire path.
Then I fit the end of the these freeze frames at the cuts, where I just created them,
so as a result, they will simply disappear, when my character arrives to these points.
It’s such a cascading pattern on the timeline, making the clones disappear in the right order.
But what if I want to create an inverse effect with clone trails appearing after me, wherever I go.
Well I just put these clone trails in a different order.
Instead of aligning all the clones to the beginning of the scene,
I move them to the cutting point where I had created them,
and of course, I expand the length of these frames to end of the scene.
This way I create a different pattern on the timeline, and an inverted version of the same effect.
Working with the same raw materials, here you can see the differences between these styles,
and how their structures look like on the timeline.
And now, it’s time to turn this scene into a traditional, non-360 video,
and add fake camera movements.
In my previous tutorial I showed you the difference between a couple of reframing techniques,
so this time go on now I just go on with my favorite one,
working with Adjustment layers.
I drag an empty Adjustment layer above my whole scene and apply a reframing plugin, called Reframe360.
It will instantly affect all the layers underneath just like they were one single video,
while I’ll have the freedom to go back and edit any of the previous steps if needed.
And this function will be very helpful, soon.
Of course, I can play around with other popular plugins, like GoPro Reframe, too.
This time I create a simple camera panning, so I set up the starting and ending points,
and the timing of the movement with a couple of keyframes.
This way I get an idea about how my final video will look like,
but as you might observe, the outlines of my characters look horrible,
so as a finishing step I refine them.
I’ve already mentioned that this non-destructive workflow,
using an Adjustment layer to reframe my 360 video
is very useful in this case.
Let me show you why.
I turn off the Adjustment layer, and I see the spherical view of my video.
While, I also disable all the clone layers and then I enable them again, one by one,
while I turn off the masks I’d created before.
I make a snapshot and export the frame as a png image.
And I repeat this process with all of the clone layers, naming them in their order upon each other.
This way now I have all the stages as panoramic photos.
And I will open them in Photoshop to create a perfect mask around the main subject.
Of course, you could play around with the masking tool in Premiere, too,
but I prefer Photoshop, because there are much more possibilities in refining the mask.
So this is the way I do it.
First I make a rough selection around my subject, and the shadow,
and then I refine the mask, painting on it with black and white,
until I get a perfect outline.
I have full control over setting up the edges.
And finally I have transparent psd files which I use to replace the freeze frames in Premiere.
I import all of them in Premiere and put them in their place in order, from 1 to 5, in this case.
That’s how I get perfect transitions with really nice edges in each and every case.
And of course, working with psd files, I can go back anytime to refine anything, if needed.
But in most of the cases it looks fine for the first time,
and all I have to do is turning on the Adjustment layer again,
and render the final video.
And that’s all.
That’s how I make Clone Trail effect manually, in high resolution
with perfect outlines and full control over the freeze frames.
If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment section,
and if you like this short tutorial, please thumbs up,
and for further 360 contents and tutorials, please subscribe to my YouTube channel!
See you next time!