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$5 Million Hollywood Effect for $50

Written by Eric Azares

Want to dodge bullets like Neo in the Matrix? Don’t have a multi million dollar movie budget? No problem! We have a solution for you.

Hollywood setups use anywhere between 50-180 high end cameras. But our system does it with 9 cheap action cameras from amazon. Best of all, it’s lightweight, portable and doesn’t require a green screen studio!

Materials Needed:

  • 9 Action Cams
  • 9 Memory Cards
  • 9 Tripods
  • Camera Remote (optional)
  • Flour
  • Access to a volumetric processing service:

Video Tutorial:

Step by step instructions

Step 1: Set the Stage

Set up cameras in a quarter circle or half circle. Stagger the heights to achieve more vertical coverage.

Step 2: Begin Recording, Establish Sync Point

Manually activate cameras or use remote control. Use clap board or handclap for and audio sync point

Step 3: Perform

Toss the flour in the air. Stop recording once performance is completed.

Step 4: Line up footage in video editing software

Transfer the footage from the 9 cameras on a computer and import into a video editing software such as Premiere, Final Cut or Sony Vegas.

Place each video on their own layer- 9 videos, so 9 layers. Remember that handclap from earlier? Line up tracks using the audio spike as a guide.

Step 5: Choose a Single Moment and Export

Select an interesting moment in the video sequence. In this case, its a moment when my hands and flour are up in the air. Export 1 frame from that moment from all 9 cameras.

Step 6: Feed the Images to a Volumetric Processing Service

Feed the 9 images into a volumetric processing service such as LumaAI, Polycam. Depending on the capacity of the servers at that moment, it may take 1 or 2 hours. Now would be a could time to sweep up the floor if you haven’t done so already.

Step 7: Enjoy

Enjoy that Hollywood effect with less than $50.

About the author

Eric Azares

Emerging tech expert with a ux background. Consulted with 30+ companies in Europe, Asia, and North America. Featured on the official NVIDIA website, twice.

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