Video Capture
If you think static video frame capture images are for lone fanboys and rabid fangirls guess again. The infinite possibilities come together when editing skills and image file manipulation resources become very normal to navigate, instead of manual-thumbing special occasion, index checking exercises. Potential character emphasis in the editing arena might also be possible.
This accidental image overlay capture made me wonder what kinds of effects might be possible layering transparent effects in other image scenarios. The characters here happen to be (one of them) a vampire, and the ghostly effect visually rendered is chilling. I experimented with emphasizing the ‘ghost’s” definition but it came too much into the forefront, so I reverted to an earlier saved version.
How could you do this? Reduce the resolution to 50% or lighter and paste it over the existing destination (bottom layer) image? I used to use a program called Adobe Pagemaker for this type of stuff but it is long out of fashion.
The alarmed look on Edward’s face is the key image. I thought about bringing the ghost into frame more. I used some fleshtones paled out in the bitmap layer, but combining the effect simply lessened the spooky feel of the shot. The moment when Bella pricks her finger on a paper cut, the young uncontrolled vampire Jasper instinctively leaps across the room to suck on her. Edward barely saves her.
The combination of the scene the audience is leaving and the scene the film is threading to creates a mirror effect. The characters seem to be looking at each other, yet straight at the audience in a rare display of theater in the round (from a film). This “through the looking glass” effect has another layer of meaning.
This frame capture is from a preview of the upcoming Twilight series film “New Moon.” The story traces how Edward (the man on the left) leaves Bella (the girl) when he realizes how dangerous interfacing with the vampires will be. This picture perfectly illustrates this concept.
The two male characters are vampires, and in the split second the blond in the middle (Jasper) starts to run and attack Bella (the girl) we see Edward (the young man at the left) apprehend his his intention in the vampire world of super senses and amazingly quick hypersensitivity to others. The image above is a stunning reveal of super-slow motion of what this moment actually is and how the gazes intersect between characters.
But if you are familiar with the Stephanie Meyer Twilight story, you can see yet another layer of meaning. Jasper is the vampire in the clan closest to having been human. He is in effect still in training to be a vampire, and is running toward that life.
 In the story, Edward gives himself away as a vampire the first time he saves Bella from a runaway truck. in this picture we see Bella does not see the danger she is on, but Edward does. This underlying motif forms the principal drama of the film, and as such I believe it serves as a stunning stock image for fan sites and blogs about this movie.
For more about Twilight, check out www.Twifanatics.com.
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