Fake rain

[foxwood]

So this has been going through my head a for a while. I keep wanting to use fake rain, but I'm always trying to come up with a quick easy way to do it, and avoid CG, so what are people ideas opionions views critisisms of fake rain at the amature moviemakers level/budget.

This is also so that a new thread will appere in general chat.

[videofxuniverse]

I can do that, I have a particle render of realistic rain on a black matte its quite good to use, however it wont be too good if you do it on a sunny background or close up on somebody, because you would have to edit them getting splashed.

[kene555]

I believe at

www.detonationfilms.com

they have a free download of rain with a black background that you can luma key into your clips. That should be a bit more realistic than CG rain.

[videofxuniverse]

lol i have that as well

[Ornsack]

In Jurassic Park they used a similar video to the one at Detonation Films luma keyed on and it looks great! Obviously there were elements on set too, but you can't fault the effect side of it

But unless you have a hosepipe at hand the whole thing is probably best avoided in the world of amatuer film

[kene555]

Couldn't you just use a watering can just above and in front of the camera for the effect/ Would that work?

[MasterMike]

Eh?

[Knightly]

http://www.sticktowhatyouknow.com/lizap ... CF6960.JPG this rain rig was used for this video:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea ... ID=1525778

backlight your water (droplets are just little lenses) and make sure your shutter speed isn't too high so you can see it streaking a bit.

I think that rig cost about 25$ (they already had the stands, but you could make those out of wood just as easily).

[SammyJim]

Shoot the thing in rainy season.

But, I have been thinking about this as well. My idea is that you have a tiny rig for water to drip out of, and place that right in front of the camera, so that it's the first thing it sees. Have the actors sprayed with water before the shot. The illusion should work, but people might notice that there is no rain behind the actors. That'smy idea anyroad. I haven't tested it out yet.

SJ

[smokeythebear]

well heres a few of my ideas, 1 get a pressure washer and spray it, or get a hose and rig basicaly a shower head type of thing and if you need sounds or lighting ideas( thunerstorm) then just ask.

[Knightly]

technically, you can string a hose with small holes in it across the front of the frame...and another in back leaving a corridor of dry for the actors.

[Kentertainment]

Get a piece of PVC or galvanized steel pipe (maybe about 5-7 feet long) and on one end attach a hose and the other a sprinkle head. Have someone sacrifice getting wet while standing on a ladder or something overhead and spraying it. That is my best suggestion.

I have tried numerous times to do rain shots and I haven't succeeded very well at any of them.

[Zac]

okay this has probably been already said but im not screwed to go read everyones posts.
i got a pretty good effect when i simply sprayed the hose infront of the camera using that hose head thats sort a like a shower cap, just wet everything around the set so it looks like it is raining.

[rhys]

Couldn't you just use a watering can just above and in front of the camera for the effect/ Would that work?

Do you even pretend to have a brain anymore, lol!
Zac has a good idea.
The CC effect in after effects would be better then keying in rain.
Just try and shoot it for real! If you cant, just do what Zac said.

[kene555]

Do you even pretend to have a brain anymore, lol!

Are you purposely trying to cause trouble rhys?? We are are all filmmakers, supposedly sharing advice and tips... and you are setting yourself up for a fall if you continue... So please stop, kid.

http://www.videomaker.com/article/3525/

While there are several ways to simulate rain, some as simple as pouring water through a watering can or a colander held between your camcorder's lens and your talent,

Beyond the fact that rain doesn't pay attention to schedules, if you were to shoot a scene in the rain, you would find that it wouldn't register on the tape. You would end up with a dismal gray scene with muted colors. The gloomy news is that there is more to shooting a rainy scene than having rain.

The reason is simple. Water is a transparent liquid. When it is raining, the sky is a dull gray and the light is very diffused. In those conditions, transparent liquids, especially fast-falling liquids, don't photograph. For the camera to see the rain, it must be illuminated by a strong source of light from the side away from the video camera. The refraction of the water will then cause the rain to show up as white streaks. It helps if you have a dark background to make it show up better.

For a quick and dirty solution, trying drilling several dozen holes, smaller than 1/8th inch in diameter, in the bottom of a plastic bucket, hold it in front of the camera from a ladder. Don't forget that your background should be wet, as well as your actors.

This guys are pros, obviously smarter than you, and mention using a simple watering can.

If you don't have the time or money to create a rain device, or do not have a sprinkler or hose, it can work.

So yeah rhys, it works. A CC effect, which I have, is not as realistic looking as real rain. Honestly, if you take a shot of rain in front of black and a CG rain effect, I think the real think will look better than throwing a rain layer on top. But that's just me...

[Holdios]

Rather than avoid CG entirely, it seems to me that the best solution would be to figure out which of these suggested on site methods works, and then combine it with some of the luma CG footage, either to fill in the holes or just give it a more complete look. You'd have the guaranteed realism of the actual thing, but the CG could be used to enhance it more than anything.

[kg9491]

u culd buy a rain nozzle for a hose or imovie has a somewhat decent rain effect