Ozzie's other thread.. Behind the scenes...!

Post by **LoneRanger** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:58 am

Nice job! he looks real good!

carlys_guy · Post by **carlys_guy** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:54 pm

good job ozzy looks like a mini excavator in the background of those pics.

carlys_guy

funke · Post by **funke** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:10 pm

A great job Congratulations I like it very much

scooter_ca · Post by **scooter_ca** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 9:32 am

OlmanOz wrote:Scooter another method I use is a small hobby clamp to help balance the figure.. This is not actually the clamp
I use, I could not find it in a hurry.. But you get the idea.. Any spring loaded hobby type clamp that has a
soft grip will be fine and good for the soft footed Phicen's without detachable feet, or any figure you find hard to
balance like a barbie doll for example.. The type of clamp I used in this picture works better anyway I think.. And
They are low so plenty of space for most of the legs in the photo and won't damage "soft flesh" either...

I followed your advice and picked up a clamp for about $10 USD.
Giorgi used it for an upcoming photoshoot.
It works great.
I also picked up some blue tak and will use that in shots where I want her feet showing.

: Clamp_001.jpg (613.17 KiB) Viewed 974 times

Thanks,
scooter

Post by **LoneRanger** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 10:19 am

Unless they are soft footed they god damn better stand on their own or into the trash bin they go!!

And so far they have not had to visit the trash bin...

OlmanOz · Post by **OlmanOz** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 10:40 am

Hey Scooter, that's cool... Glad to be of help... Those clamps do work wonders.. And as for blue-tac,
I cannot remember a photo shoot in the past two years where I did not use it in some way..

Ha-ha, yes agreed LR, unless you want to use a Barbie doll with small feet or have a Phicen running..

Ps: That's odd, last time we saw those cave girls they were all laying down... :haha4:

The triple level picture trick....

Sometimes no matter how hard I try some backgrounds that I need are just too hard to find..
So the next best thing is make one..

The last few episodes of JBD have been rolling around in my head for a long time.. I bought a "World peace keeper"
figure that came with a jack hammer, and the road worker scene was born..

I had to use the jackhammer somehow...

But as you know if you are familiar with my story, there are many tangents and my original plans Evolved somewhat...

But I finally got to the point where I could make an attempt to photograph the "Road worker" scene..
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=96837&p=1695413#p1695413
Back on the 4th of may 2018 I bought three 1:50th scale trucks to make background shots..
(Yes that is how long ago I dreamed it up)..

I wanted bigger ones, but they were just way too expensive..

: s-l1600.jpg (255.46 KiB) Viewed 970 times

But size does not matter..

You just have to know how to use what you have...

It is easy when you know how...

Picture level 1) I set the trucks up how I want them to sit on top of a box so I can get my camera real low to ground level..
Turn on the tv and find the appropriate background for the trucks.. In this case it was bush by the side of the road..

Picture level 2) Using the close up lens photograph the trucks a few times from different angles, load them to computer and
choose the ones I wish to keep.. Then load them to the thumb drive..
The following picture is displayed to show you the actual size of the machinery compared to the figures..

: 20200420_203001.jpg (3.49 MiB) Viewed 970 times

The finished product looks like this.... (One of several)..

: 20200413_144018.jpg (6.25 MiB) Viewed 970 times

Then of course the third and final layer..
Picture level 3) Plug the thumb drive into the tv, display the picture and photograph the figures in front of it..
A little editing once back in computer and there you have it.. The triple level picture trick..

: 20200413_191047.jpg (5.68 MiB) Viewed 970 times

Now as I said before this set had been planned since may 2018.. Originally I wanted to animate the trucks, but time
and my health these days did not allow..

plus I want to keep the story moving as fast as I can.. But you can do some
really cool stuff using this idea... The following gif is one such example.. Posted way back in MTBWTTM.. on Tue Oct 31, 2017

Some of you will remember the episode called Cranking the Corsair, from Part 7 of Heros, hearts and hopes..!
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=77576&p=1199431Par ... 1#p1199431
To produce this gif I photographed the corsair rotating the blade for each picture.. The camera was on a tripod and I used about
15 pictures from memory. Once I had each picture on thumb drive I placed Harrison in front of the displayed picture.. Each time
I moved Harrisons arms I changed the background picture on the tv so the propeller blade was in a different position.. Finally when
Harrisons arms came back down to his side I made sure the corsair was back to the first picture so the gif would just play continually..
You can see the result..

(Oh, and be sure to check out the 2 gifs in part 8 of "Heros hearts and hopes" as well)..

: cranking the Corsair.gif (16.13 MiB) Viewed 970 times

Now go have some fun, See what you can come up with.. Maybe a photo challenge entry...

Wolferich · Post by **Wolferich** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 11:06 am

Thank you for sharing your great techniques with us.

carlys_guy · Post by **carlys_guy** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 12:38 pm

nice tips and great equipment ozzy.

carlys_guy

OlmanOz · Post by **OlmanOz** » Sun Apr 26, 2020 1:39 am

Your welcome Wolfreich.. Sharing my secrets will hopefully inspire you and others...

carlys_guy wrote:good job ozzy looks like a mini excavator in the background of those pics.
carlys_guy

Sorry Carly , I intended to make comment about this in the previous post.. But wanted to finish the
road worker set before I did, and then I forgot...

You may have also noticed a piece of cardboard on top of the Tv.. This is what I use to stop reflection from the lights
Shining on the screen.. It hangs down very low when but shooting pictures from a low angle it is never seen..

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hollows+fentiman · Post by **hollows+fentiman** » Sun Apr 26, 2020 6:12 am

As I’ve said before, I wish I had your patience and dedication! However, I do try to do some of those ‘tricks’ occasionally! The biggest problem I have is digital interference with the tv screen when trying to focus on the foreground figures as well!

OlmanOz · Post by **OlmanOz** » Sun Apr 26, 2020 7:48 am

That would have to be the biggest drawback of using a tv for backdrops.. I have that problem constantly myself..

However there are a few things you can do to overcome this phenomenon..

1) Adjust the distance of the figures from the tv until you find the "sweet spot"..
2) Use smaller pictures on the tv.. ie if the picture is 4000 pixel reduce it to 3000, 2500 or 2000 what ever looks best.
3) Reduce the sharpness level of the tv display.
4) Put the tv on a slight angle sometimes helps..
Ie, the trick is you want to have the picture on the tv slightly "Soft" and out of focus..

Oh, and one final trick.. Move your camera back about 6 to 8 inches.. set the manual focus on the figure you want as the
centerpiece and them move the camera forward a little.. In other words everything in the picture will not be 100% sharp
but it should cut out that interference and still be good enough to post and view. especially when viewed in the thumbnail
size here on TDF.. Hope this helps..