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Here is the Script:

Lets take the opening scenes of Hugo, of course the film bagged Academy awards, In the scene that starts by following the kid (Hugo), carries on and on for some time with many complex movements and dynamics and finally reaches at a decent close frame.

Yes, in the making it was revealed that it was 3 different boys acting the scene.
What I ask here is an easier way, or maybe easiest among the lot (in the sense of both production cost and human resource/effort) to imitate a continuous shot effect using multiple cameras.

I have heard from my friend (a professional CG artist) that it can be done using 3D techniques. It involves the creation of the entire stage (the area where the scene occurs in real film) in the 3D virtual space. and then intelligently filling up the cuts between cameras using this 3D virtual fillers.

I am really open to that idea. But, are there any real life (no virtual/3D) techniques to establish a continuous looking scene?

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1 Answer

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CG is probably the best bet. Motion controlled cameras would be the second best bet, but it would still be pretty tricky as the real world has a remarkable ability to change subtly, but substantially enough to result in a jump cut pretty quickly. Even if you could manage to stop the camera on something that is static, resuming the movement at the same speed would be difficult at best without a computer controlled camera.

If you are able to have the camera stop movement on scenery in between, that might make a possible stop point, but it would still have to be done pretty quickly to avoid changes in lighting conditions that would be noticeable in the final shot.

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hmmm yes, @AJ HEnderson you are right about the real world inconsistency of marker objects , may be we can use programmable rigs or jibs (but i think the movements will be limited right ? ) in a non natural ( sets ) to some extend. Still without CG its hard to get that natural flow, right ?. Is there any low cost (or low rent ) gadgets with such memory capacity to store the trajectory , also to continue from some point in between the start and stop of the recorded trajectory. – Abhijith Jan 31 at 5:01
@Abhijith - someone else would have to comment on that, I have never personally had the priviledge of working with any motion controlled rigs, I just know of their existence and rough capability. I know they could potentially be helpful in this case, but know basically nothing beyond that. – AJ Henderson Jan 31 at 14:20
@Henderson , thank you AJ. :-) seekers finders ;-) i will post here if i am able to get some info :-) – Abhijith Feb 1 at 9:07
@Abhijith - one other thought, I suppose you might be able to get a rough but workable result with a basic PTU that has a fairly consistent max velocity and the ability to lock an axis. You could capture with the movement along X at max speed and recapture over the same transition once you make a quick move of your subject. It might be possible to align and cut the clips (or even just cross fade them) smoothly in post. – AJ Henderson Feb 1 at 15:51
link You mean like this clip (an old Indian film ). But the freedom of movement would be limited na ? i didn't makeout what PTU means. – Abhijith Feb 2 at 5:10
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