Motion Extraction - how to detect motion in a recording? (film, 7 minutes)
In the latest video on the Posy channel, the creator takes viewers through the fascinating process of motion extraction from a video recording. It starts with a simple shot of a tree, which, after processing, becomes the starting point for the experiment. The author refers to this as 'motion extraction,' using an innovative method that involves duplicating the footage, inverting it, and setting it on a translucent layer. This way, viewers can only see changes over time, which creates an astonishing visual effect. It demonstrates how much can be derived from seemingly static scenes. Some effects can even be achieved with stabilized handheld footage.
The author explains that to highlight fast changes, one simply needs to shift by one frame, while for slower changes, one could move the video by one second. An example is the scene where the author shifts time by over five seconds, allowing viewers to notice subtle movements like swaying leaves or the setting sun. Additionally, the video showcases details that normally escape the eye, such as animals or the shimmering air.
In the next segment, the creator demonstrates how to use blurring to emphasize larger movements. They also experiment with various visual effects such as adding glow to motion, perfectly illustrating the movements of snails or insects. As Posy points out, one can be quite creative in this respect, limited only by the camera's capabilities and footage stability. In a more artistic sense, they also play with shifting RGB channels, although they admit that this effect is not particularly practical.
Posy notes that while changing colors is an option, a black-and-white effect allows for better detail visibility. Ultimately, they extract a beautiful cloud of color from their clip, showcasing how much can be accomplished in a short time when being creative. In just 7 minutes, viewers can learn new techniques that open the door to creativity in video editing. At the time of writing, the film has already attracted 1,245,670 views and 130,207 likes, which signifies great viewer interest in their motion extraction techniques.
Toggle timeline summary
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Introduction to a shot of a tree.
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Motion extraction of the same shot.
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Explaining the concept of motion extraction.
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Discussion on visible changes over time.
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The effectiveness of extracting small details.
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Applicability on stabilized handheld footage.
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Instructions to achieve motion extraction.
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Adjusting for fast and slow changes.
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Observing subtle details, like sunlight.
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Freezing the frame to analyze changes.
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Spotting movement like deer in the scene.
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Using techniques to highlight motion.
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Enhancing visibility of wind direction.
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Adding glow effects to movement.
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Demonstrating movement effects due to floor instability.
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Discussion on color changes in footage.
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Final montage of extracted motion.
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Closing remarks and invitation to subscribe.
Transcription
This is a rather insignificant shot of a tree. This is the same shot, but now with only the motion visible. I call this motion extraction. Only the changes in time remain visible. It's quite amazing how little things can be completely extracted from the scene. It can even work with stabilized handheld footage. It's quite simple to achieve. Duplicate the video, invert it and make it half transparent. Then you only have to shift the time and all changes within that time appear. And the result you can enhance in any way you please. If you want to highlight fast changes, you move it one frame. If you also want to see slow changes, you move it one second for example. Here I shifted the time more than five seconds. Can you see the rainbow? But did you notice the setting sunlight? Even when nothing seems to move, you can suddenly see all the tiny signs of life. And even the subtle movement of plants and trees. Let's freeze the duplicate and see the changes over time. The air is shimmering, the moon is setting and the sunlight is getting brighter. Can you spot the deer? And can you spot it now? To the eye it's impossible to tell which stones have moved. You can also use it to highlight the motion on top of the normal picture. To enhance only larger features, you can use blurring. Just in case you can't see the wind direction, here it is enhanced. How about adding a glow to the motion? Let's enhance the movement of snails. Or insects. You can go pretty wild with these enhancements. Only limited by the camera's ability and stability. This is a demonstration of how everything wiggles because of the wooden floor. When there's a storm, my entire studio moves. A more artistic way is time shifting the red, green and blue channel. Not very useful, but I like it. And you can of course change the colors. You don't have to make it black and white of course, but you can see the colors better that way. But sometimes it works nice in color as well. And now I'm going to motion extract this clip. And we're left with a beautiful cloud of color. And just like that 7 minutes go by. Thanks for watching and I hope to see you soon on this channel about anything. Subscribe right now.