[Music]
Jordy here for cinecom.net! And welcome to copy cat Friday
where we recreate an effect or technique from a popular film or music video.
Now, in Kendrick Lamar's clip Loyalty,
you can see people falling through the asphalt
and that's exactly what we'll be recreating today.
First up we'll create a platform in which Yannick, our great actor, can stand in.
This could be some sort of container or existing platform.
We made a construction out of C-stands and some plates
in which we had a hole in the middle to stand in.
After this, I covered that hole with some plastic, which we'll cut open later.
First, Yannick added some edges with some carton and tape
to make sure the gravel will stay on the platform,
which we'll pour in now.
Important is that the color of your rocks will be somehow the same
as the surface that you'll eventually blend this clip with.
Since our street had a light grey color,
we chose to go for these rocks.
This gravel was laying around on the premises, so we could just borrowed that for moment.
Many drive ways have this too,
just make sure to ask the owner first if it's not yours.
Once the gravel was in the self build container,
we cut a small piece in the plastic through which Yannick could climb.
[Music]
Alright guys, lets have a quick break, because I am starving!
Let's go Yannick, or... better yet,
see you after the break, Yannick!
And as Yannick is almost finished with his break too, we can start filming.
And because we where filming a little bit lower with the camera,
I also added a green screen in the back.
It's going to help us later in post.
But you can also film a little higher
and make sure that your actor's head sits entirely within the gravel.
Important is that you have a steady shot, preferably on a tripod or a jib,
if you need to go a little bit higher.
And we'll also measure the height of the camera towards the platform
and the distance to the actor.
When taking our shot on the street, we could use this measurement data
to make sure that we'll be at the same height and angle.
And now that we have these two shots, we can start blending them together.
And since the blending process is so easy, it will work in any program.
For some more controls, After Effects will be more convenient
but Premiere Pro will do the job just fine as well.
Put both shots on top of each other
and use the mask tool to cut around your actor in the gravel.
If you're working with a green screen, take the ultra key effect to remove the green.
Next, play around with the feather of your mask
and try to find a good balance to make the blending look realistic.
Important as well is that the colors of the street and the gravel will perfectly match together
so I'm using Lumetri to dial into the white balance,
tint and exposure controls.
And for the final touch,
I will group the two layers by selecting them both, right clicking and selecting Nest.
On this group I will add a fake camera motion, so that it doesn't look so static.
This was, by the way, a preset that I got from Jarle,
and you can download it for free from premierepro.net,
and I'll leave a link to it in the description below.
And for the final touches, add your favorite color grading to it.
What's used a lot in hip hop videos is a deep teal and orange look.
So, I'm adding teal into the shadows and orange into the mid tones.
You can click the playlist in the card up there to see more music video breakdowns.
Thank you so much for watching,
and, as always...
...stay creative!