How to build an element into the scene instead of pasting it over the top
Tell Vizard Agent the element has to sit inside the scene rather than on top of it. It studies the shot for the angle and scale it would have to match, cuts only the relevant part out of your reference photograph, places it in perspective, and builds anything that should be moving, such as water, smoke or traffic, as a separate layer over the top.
What do you type into Vizard Agent?
Say what you don't want as well as what you do. Naming the wrong outcome, a picture sitting on top of the place, is the fastest way to rule it out, because it is the default reading of "put this in the video".
Prompt
What does Vizard Agent actually do?
It measures before it cuts. A structure photographed from the ground and dropped into a shot looking down the valley will never sit right, however well it is masked. The first attempt on a real landscape shot was a picture card, the obvious reading of the request, and it looked wrong immediately. In the session behind this article it:
- Reviewed the reference photograph for what it could use, then pulled frames from the target location to read the angle and scale.
- Reviewed the footage for the position and the direction of flow, and opened a full frame of the moment the element appears.
- Chose which part of the reference to use and cut out only the concrete structure, leaving out the sky, hillside and road, which carry their own light.
- Checked the cut's boundaries and details, and checked the moving water layer ran the same way as the valley.
- Built the composite with the structure in perspective and the water as its own layer over it.
When does this not work well?
Compositing needs a plausible geometry to work from. If the camera moves, the element has to move with it in three dimensions. If the reference was taken from a very different angle than the shot, there is nothing for Vizard Agent to reconcile the two against. Shadows are hard to fake convincingly, reflective surfaces should show the element too, and a low-quality reference won't hold its detail at full size.
Common questions
Can it use any photograph? Almost. Vizard Agent will tell you when the angle is too far from the shot.
Why did my first attempt look like a sticker? Because the whole photograph was used, including its own sky and light. Vizard Agent cuts out only the part you name.
What if the camera moves? Then the element has to track. Say so and Vizard Agent plans for it.