Explosive Chinook [now with BTS video]

[surenj]

I was keen to get your opinions on this image. I want to see how believable it is, given that I had to post-process it a little and deliberately shoot it with that in mind.

I haven't posted how I have done this just yet, but will give interested punters the chance to reverse engineer etc.

I think this will give a nice little break from all this talk about filum and other ridiculous entities.... Also this would give some prelude to the post-processing workshop that Matt is going to organise.

Comments welcomed as some would say, good, bad, fugly etc. Thanks for looking.

[rangie]

I think it's kind of cool... looks a little fake, but no worse than what I have seen in a lot of blockbuster movies. Well Done. I would be happy to be able to produce that PP

[Wink]

I don't think "believable" is a word you will ever use with images like this. Nor should you have to though. There's nothing wrong with knowing that an image is a composite. Take Tanya Rochat for example, all of the parts of her composites are real, but you'd never think the finished image was ever real. That doesn't detract from the fact they're great images.

This looks like a screen grab from a game and that's not a bad thing. Well done!

[Reschsmooth]

I think the image and the work done to get to that point are great. Is it believable? No. The reasons I say that are:

1. DOF doesn't appear consistent.
2. The reflection of the explosion on the front right of the helicopter doesn't make sense.
3. The explosions don't look real enough.

Like I said, this is to answer the question of believability, not about the quality of the image produced, which is top notch.

[Matt. K]

Cooool! It looks a little too clean....try placing some dry ice in the background, (or blow in some smoke), to add to the deception. Could make a big difference.

[biggerry]

nice concept suren, whilst I know reality is not what you are chasing, a few things come to mind, firstly the CH-47 is too clean, needs texture and some feathering/fog to blend it in more, the the aspect is what on earth is exploding? the helicopter has not hit yet a apache attack helio might have been a better choice...

The building on teh right is probably the best bit, it gives some depth to the image and leads teh viewer, i think more of this would help.

This looks like the cover of a video game and hats off to you for that.

[biggerry]

FYI

check this youtube video of a CH-47 ground resonance test, a oldie but a good one.. there is something satisfyign about seeing a good aviation machine being ripped apart by physics..

http://youtu.be/D2tHA7KmRME

[surenj]

Thanks for all your opinions. I have tried to take into account as much as possible what I thought was reasonable and make some changes....

there is something satisfyign about seeing a good aviation machine being ripped apart by physics..

needs texture and some feathering/fog to blend it in more

the the aspect is what on earth is exploding? the helicopter has not hit yet

I assumed that this was a last minute rescue mission before they made that place blow with air cover.....

a apache attack helio might have been a better choice...

I haven't bought one yet.... Most of them have the back part bare to save weight so looks naked. Might do a different version when I get one though. Does anyone have an Apache I could borrow for a few days?

This looks like the cover of a video game and hats off to you for that.

Ta!

It looks a little too clean....try placing some dry ice in the background

Done; In the dark room rather than real stuff as the physical living conditions don't necessarily permit such shanighans....Wish it did.

1. DOF doesn't appear consistent.

Fair call. Tried to correct this although I don't think I can fully correct now...

The reflection of the explosion on the front right of the helicopter doesn't make sense.

Sort of corrected...

The explosions don't look real enough.

Noted. Too much trouble to correct now as I shot that copter and explosions at the same time to avoid too much masking.

This looks like a screen grab from a game and that's not a bad thing. Well done!

Ta!

looks a little fake

Maybe compare the revision....

[surenj]

Remake 1


Remake 2

[Wink]

Remake #1 is a huge improvement. The chopper is much more realistic.

[surenj]

Thanks Adam for the followup.


For your infotainment....
http://youtu.be/gSjsGx8a1T0

[zafra52]

Your skills have improved dramatically, surenj.
Are you looking for a job in special effects?
Good work!

[aim54x]

Great work...that video that Gerry posted was a nice distraction as well!

[CraigVTR]

You have put in some time and skill, really well done. Loved both videos.

[biggerry]

reworks look heaps better Suren, the video is also neat, thats about 20 billion more layers than I have every used

This is a prime example where the final refinements are the key ones.

[surenj]

Thanks for the followup feedback.

20 billion more layers than I have every used

For the record, I think it was very useful that I used a mostly non destructive technique as the suggestions on reflections etc were easy as clicking once to remove it. You can see me doing it in the video as per Patrick's suggestions. I think there is one more reflection that I forgot to dial down.

The final file is more than 500Megs so became a PSB file. Its because of the smart layers and filters I assume.

I have some ideas for the next version...

Finally, this is the BTS lighting diargram. There is a LED desk lamp doing a bit of continuous lighting from the camera right (for the spinning rotors - while I held it down - this thing is violent when activated). The speedlite is doing a reflected number to bring out the camera left side generally without hotspots. As you can see, the explosions were already on my LCD monitor as the backdrop, saving me from doing masks to put it in later.

[Wink]

Airwolf theme FTW!