How to Remove a Stationary Object From a Moving Shot in After Effects

Use the "Clone stamp" tool of After Effects to remove a stationary object from a video sequence with a moving shot. This tool works by letting you interactively graft imagery from one part of a video onto another part. Choose carefully which imagery to use as the source of the graft. Imagery that looks out of place prevents a seamless removal of the stationary object. The "Clone stamp" tool allows you to sample imagery from any frame in your video.

Instructions

1. Click the "File" menu, then click the "Open" command. Use the controls of the dialog box that appears to navigate to a video file from which you'd like to remove a stationary object. Double-click the file to load it into After Effects. After Effects displays a thumbnail of the video in the "Project" pane at screen left.

2. Drag the video's thumbnail image from the "Project" panel to the "Composition" panel to enable editing the video. Click the vertical bar in the "Timeline" panel. Drag to the right until the "Composition" panel shows the first frame of the shot containing the stationary object you want to remove. The vertical bar is called the Current Time Indicator.

3. Click the toolbar icon shaped like a hand stamp to run the "Clone stamp" tool. Double-click the "Composition" panel to open the screen on which you can apply this tool. Press and hold the "Control" key, which tells After Effects you want to sample the imagery under the mouse cursor.

4. Hover the mouse cursor over video footage close to the stationary object you want to remove. Release "Control," then drag the mouse over the stationary object to replace it with the imagery you sampled. After Effects automatically resamples nearby areas as you drag the mouse.

5. Drag the CTI to the next frame in the moving shot and use "Clone stamp" to remove the stationary object as you did in the first frame. Remove the object from the shot's remaining frames with "Clone stamp."

6. Click the "Preview" panel's ">" button to view the shot, which no longer displays the stationary object. If you notice any irregularities in the shot, use the "Paintbrush" and "Eyedropper" tools as instructed in the remaining step.

7. Click the paintbrush icon from the toolbar to run the "Paintbrush" tool, then click the eyedropper icon from the "Paint" panel. Click a portion of one of the frames in your shot that has a color you want to use. Drag the mouse over the irregular portion to paint with that color. For example, if removing the image of a stationary car has left a red outline against a background showing a blue sky, click the sky to load its specific color into "Paintbrush." Drag over the red outline to make it blend with the sky.

References

• Adobe After Effects CS5 Classroom in a Book; Adobe Creative Team; 2010