It’s not a true backlit silhouette, because random elements are still quite visible.
For instance, you can see the pattern on the doo-rag but not the face. You can see a pocket on a shirt, but no buttons. You can see a belt, but no loops.
So, it’s obviously not an exposure phenomenom. It’s an artificial effect. But… what’s it called? I would like to download a similar effect plug in if anyone’s yet done one for my PhotoShop and try some different subjects with the same effect.
Ideas?
Or, how would you go about emulating the effect on PS or Illustrator?
PC, WinMe, PS 6.0+ and PS Elements 2.0, Illustrator 9
I also have access to a Mac G4, OSX, Illustrator CS and PS CS in addition to non Adobe products like Corel Draw and others… Would have to double check what my friend has… He might not let me download anything on his machine.
I know next to nothing about Photoshop, but I assume there’s a fairly easy way to do a regular silhouette. From there, can’t you add back in the details you want, like the pocket or whatever? Keep the original image as a separate layer or a separate file or something, you know?
I’ll report your post and ask them to move it to GQ, but… can’t you report it yourself? Or is there some rule that says you can’t report your own posts?
Which I did. By copy and paste the URL into another thread’s RTP box. pain in the ass. TJ, that might work. The more I think about what they did with those commercials, the more impresed I am.
The trick is to photograph them against a plain colour background, a contrasting to how they’re dressed, carefully lit to be as even as possible.
Then you can select the background in a paint program with the magic wand, invert the selection, and fill with black to get a pure silhouette. Adding details like buttons and belts etc is a simple case of drawing (on a new layer) over the original image where they are, then moving that layer to above the silhouette.
With stills it’s easy. With video/animations it’s painstaking and therefore expensive.
A doo-rag is a rag is a decorative rag that people with hair tie over their heads. Football players wear them a lot (I think they may be banned now or forced to match the team uniform) because it keeps them from getting helmet hair.
I’d just like to point out that the “iPod effect” for lack of an official term didn’t always have the detail you speak of. That only came out when Apple hooked up with U2 and did the Vertigo video (I guess they felt they had to make the band members identifiable).
Before that it was a flat, all black silhouette with just the white of the iPod unit & headphones visible. Like this.
That said, these guys will probably be able to help you out. They’re always holding photoshop contests and a lot of those folks use the Apple “look”.
I thought the effect was a little different than what they first did, but I’ve only paid close attention to the latest ads because that little subtle hint of detail really caught my eye.
Seconded. There’s a billboard next to I-80 in Emeryville, CA that’s always got Apple ads on it, and its iPod ads have had transparent components in its silhouettes for at least a year.
Here’s some information on the production of the I-Pod commercials here. It’s basically an effect known as “rotoscoping”, with the white I-Pod and wires drawn back in by hand in post production. Presumably all details (such as the aforementioned do-rag) were also drawn by hand, since that is basically what rotoscoping is. It’s a very old technique actually, where live action is traced or silhouetted and used as a basis for animation.
Here is a tutorial on making the “iPod effect.” I also remember reading about a company that would take a picture you sent in and render it iPod-style, which apparently turned out to be a nice racket last Xmas with all the people giving iPods as gifts. I can’t find the link for it now unfortunately.
I haven’t a clue. I’m the least trendy person out there and am utterly out of any loop you care to name. But if my observations are correct, they aren’t worn down here so they don’t have a name.
