Cool Flash video tour...umm...thingy

[DarthJay]

Okay - so I FINALLY found an example site of what I want to try and replicate, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this sort of thing to point me in the right direction as far as equipment I might need for it.

http://www.sonystyle.com.mx/lounge/

So, this is obviously a nice bit of Flash video work -- but I can't imagine it's as simple as going out, shooting the video, putting in the additional layers and POOF -- cool site. Do you guys know if I need special camera equipment or a specific program to clean up the video in (like After Effects). Any thoughts/help would be appreciated. I've seen this effect a couple of times on the web and would really like to know the steps needed to replicate it.

Thanks!!

[sleekdigital]

This looks more like realistic 3D animation to me. And even if it isn't, its probably the only practical way to go for most people. Maybe movie studios have equipment that can do stuff like this in real life, but its nothing an individual or small company could easily afford.

Perhaps there is a way to do the motions by hand-holding the camera and then editing the video to get the desired effect, but I doubt that is how Sony did this. I would bet this is actually 3D animation, done in a rather realistic style.

[billingsgate]

I agree that this is most likely a 3D model. The layouts are pretty simple and an experienced modeler could have done the whole thing in a week. The camera moves definitely have that created-in-Maya look. The only way to do it with real cameras would be with tracks and cranes, and spotlights to control the lighting, all of which are surprisingly not all that expensive at the lower end of the market. Even some professional wedding video makers use them, so it is potentially affordable. Nevertheless, I somehow think that for a shot like the Sony Style one, 3D animation is the preferred option.

I do think that a makeshift imitation could be done with a still camera and a tripod, moving a few centimetres forward at a time, while cranking the tripod up or down a notch inbetween shots. Then put the whole thing together like a stop-motion animation.

[DarthJay]

Well I think I'm going to move forward and give it a go. If it's successful, I'll post the link to the file here and let you all know how I did it.

Thanks for the input!

[XDudedotcom]

Agreed. That is definitely (GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS) 3D work.

[gromit]

I still think this is possible with video and a decent editing suite. That particular example is definitely 3D imho, but if you look closely at the transitions between rooms there are not actually that many frames involved so it could easily be replicated with still photography and/or video footage.

Please let us know how you get on with this because I have a client who may be interested in this sort of thing and I would be interested to know how you went about it in the end...

[DarthJay]

I just spoke with my video guy, and we have a video shoot setup for September 5th. It's not going to be EXACTLY like what they have on the Sony site, but we are going to bring in a still-camera and some tracks and run it through the location. We'll stop the video in the locations we want to do a still frame on and I will cut up the video into different SWFs/FLV files depending on what room you are in.

BTW - This is for a nightclub here in Dallas that will be opening on the weekend of the September 8th (the video tour will be part of the Phase II launch, though ) called the Glass Cactus.

http://www.glasscactusnightclub.com

I'll keep you all updated on the progress. Thanks for all the input!

[gromit]

Thanks again - the guy I use as a video partner has tracks etc, so I will be extremely interested in seeing your finished site. Let us know how you get on!