Creative Camouflage.

[roy wood]

Hi all, I've got some Analogue footage that has the time and date stamp in the bottom corner which I'd like to remove but suspect isn't possible.
So next best I've tried some Creative Camouflage on it. I put a background matching Colour Clip (resized, positioned and Masked) in an Overlay track to cover the Stamp, then a semi-transparent Title or Logo superimposed on that.
It does look quite effective but I wondered if any one had used any other method to cover something similar.

[Ken Berry]

There are special programs out there for the task, but they are, in my humble opinion, rather rough in the end effect. Essentially, they erase the original logo but leave a fuzzy area in its space.

You see this sort of thing regularly on TV when stations are using footage from another station which has its own logo on the footage. To my mind, it looks singularly awful and distracting. And remember, TV stations have the money for fully professional programs and still can't do any better then this.

Your own work-around sounds just as -- if not more -- effective. And best of all, it's free and easily within the capabilities of VS10+.

[Ken Veal]

have a look in the tutorials section for the number plate blur or you could try
http://www.***/video/logo_re ... ex_en.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
and see if that suits regards Ken

[roy wood]

Thanks for your replies. I shall try out that Logo remover and see how it compares with my various efforts on VS and post back.

[Ken Berry]

Thanks. I for one will be most interested in your impressions.

[roy wood]

Hi all, I downloaded that Logo Removal software but couldn't open it because it has a .vdf file extension. A Google search reveals this as a 'Virus Database File' and given that the 'Licenser' of this software is a Russian University I'm a little dubious about trying any further.

If Ken Veal is still monitoring this perhaps he can shed a little light on it.

[NoM.O]

.vdf = Virtual Dub Filter (or something like that). The link Ken posted isn't a piece of software in itself, it's a filter for VirtualDub (FREE). Once you have extracted/installed VirtualDub, copy the .vdf file to the plugin directory, then access it via the video>filters menu.

I have it installed with no problems, it should pose no risk.

peace.

[Ken Veal]

I posted a reply re the logo removal in January and Ken B completed the
link as I did not add the underscore.As mentioned by NoM.O it leads to
VirtualDub MSU Logo Remover as Ken confirmed prevviously.Cant help about results as I have not had accasion to use it yet but Ken B did also say there was a bit of a blur in the samples.So we are all waiting for your
take on its use Ken

[roy wood]

Thanks for the clarification I'll be back.

[sjj1805]

I have used that logo remover some time ago in the past. I wanted to see how good it was and how it worked. didn't cause any problems on my computer. It sort of grabs surrounding areas and uses them to blur over the logo and sort of 'removes it' but you get a blurry box in its place.

To be honest on playback I found the blurry square just as distracting as the original logo so in effect it is a bit of a gimmick.

If you want to get rid of a logo or hide say a number plate or face - then there are alternative ways of doing it dependant upon the location of the item concerned (near the edge, quite well into the viewing area etc).

Three of the many options available are
1. Crop.
2. Use an overlay or picture in picture to hide that area.
3. Use a TV news Station style 'Lower third.'

[roy wood]

Steve wrote:

To be honest on playback I found the blurry square just as distracting as the original logo......

Yep total agreement it's like the Picture on the wall that you never look at until it's two degrees out of true, and then you can't rest until it's straight.

All the other suggestions though do have their individual merits dependant on the video. Thanks Roy.