Hey guys, welcome back to another video. You guys really wanted to
know how we created the hologram visual effects in our Free Guy sketch. So today,
Zach is gonna show you how to do just that. Let’s get started.
Hello everyone! I’m Zach and welcome back to another HitFilm tutorial.
Hologram effects are a great way to add some futuristic flair to your footage,
whether it’s a sci-fi blockbuster or a cyberpunk style music video.
Holograms come in a wide variety of styles, but to replicate this look, Express users will need
the VFX: Retro add-on packs, and the 3D: Generate add-on. Speaking of add-ons, if you’d like the
chance to receive an Express add-on pack of your choice for free, reply to the pinned
comment below with the name of the add-on within the first 2 hours of this video going live. You
can find the project files for this effect in the video description if you’d like to follow along.
If you want an actor to appear as a hologram, you will need to film them in front of a green screen.
This is so you can easily isolate the actor from the background to apply the hologram
effects and composite them into the main shot. We have an in-depth tutorial covering how to
green screen in HitFilm linked in the card on screen. Keep in mind that hologram effects are
often designed to look glitchy and distorted, so your green screen key doesn’t have to be perfect.
Dragging the keyed footage into our main composite shot, we can see that it doesn’t match the
movement of the underlying video. If the camera or hologram projector in your video is moving
you will have to track the motion in HitFilm. I decided to use Foundry’s Camera Tracker in
HitFilm Pro, but you could also film your footage using our free iOS app CamTrackAR,
preventing the need for motion tracking in post production.
Other ways to track include Mocha HitFilm and HitFilm’s 2D point tracker.
Detailed tutorials for all of these tracking methods are linked in the description below.
Since I did a 3D Camera track, I’ll make the actor layer 3D, then position and align it in 3D space.
I also decided to add some color correction and Light Wrap effects
to make the green screened actor better match the environment.
The Light Wrap effects will also add to the glowing appearance of the hologram.
Now that we’ve removed the green screen and tracked the actor into the scene, it is time
to make them look like a hologram. Most holograms in pop culture have a blue tint. I used the Color
Vibrance effect for this, but you could also use one of HitFilm’s many color correction effects,
such as Curves, Gamma, or Color Correction Wheels. To make the hologram appear at the start of the
shot I used the Pixel Sort effect. Adjust the various settings to disintegrate your hologram,
then animate the Reveal value from 100 percent down to 0.
We can add some glitchy details to the hologram by using some of HitFilm’s grunge effects.
For this shot I kept it simple and used the Scan Lines effect,
but be sure to play around with other effects like Block Displacement, Dot Matrix, and TV Damage.
We now have a hologram, but it needs to be brighter and glowing.
Duplicate the hologram layer and set its Blend Mode to Add. Woah! A little too bright. Adjust the
Opacity of each layer to control the brightness and make the hologram slightly transparent.
On the second layer, add a Glow effect to enhance its bright appearance. HitFilm Pro
users can also add a Chromatic Aberration effect. Cool! We have turned our actor into a hologram!
Let’s make our hologram more interesting by adding some floating graphics surrounding the actor.
The image files I’m using are included in the downloadable project file,
but feel free to design your own! Drag the graphics onto the timeline and make them 3D.
Then position them in 3D space around your actor layer.
To make this easier, enable multiple views so you can see the scene from different angles.
If a graphic should appear behind your actor, duplicate the actor layer and hide it.
Then use the Set Matte effect sourcing that layer to cut out that area.
To give the graphics some color, use the Tint effect.
To make these layers appear, animate their Position or Scale to increase over time.
In between those two animation keyframes, add another keyframe that overshoots the desired
position. You can also animate the Opacity to fade in. Set all the keyframes to be Smooth,
and enable motion blur. Our graphics now pop in with a fun animation!
Next let’s add some holographic text rotating around our actor.
Add a new Text layer and type out your text, then select a custom font.
Add the Bend Geometry effect, and adjust the settings to bend the text into a half circle.
Make the layer 3D, then adjust the layer’s Anchor Point so it is centered in the circle.
This will make it easier to position and rotate the text.
Place this layer so it surrounds your actor in 3D, then animate the rotation over the whole shot.
Repeat the animation process from before so it flies or grows into frame.
To give the text a more digital holographic look, add the Stutter effect, and set the
Freeze Frames to 2. Use the Tint effect to color the text. I want the first part of the
animation to look smooth, so I’ll animate the Frames value on the Stutter effect.
Duplicate the layer and change the color.
Parent it to the original text layer and reset its transforms.
Then reduce the Scale and adjust the Position to create a ghosting effect. With all the graphics
in place, select the layers, including the hidden actor layer, and make them into a Composite Shot.
Add a new Grade layer and apply your hologram effects,
such as Glow, Scanlines, and Chromatic Aberration.
Back in the main comp, duplicate the graphics, set the Blend to Add,
and adjust the Opacity like we did before. You may also want to reduce
the brightness of the lower layer if the effect is too bright and hard to read.
I chose to add additional effects to the graphics, such as a slight Angle Blur and a Diffuse effect.
I also adjusted the yellow color using a Hue Saturation effect.
And that’s how you can create your own hologram VFX in HitFilm! If you haven’t already,
be sure to check out our other Free Guy-inspired tutorial for creating video game HUD effects. Feel
free to leave a comment if you have any questions or suggestions, and to hit the like button if
you learned something new. Remember to subscribe for more tutorials like this. See you next time!