Invisibles

December 14, 2002 8:43 AM

Invisiblesare scenes from films with the actors removed. Can you guess the film? Its pretty hard actually. I would imagine actually making the images is hard as well - clever colour matching in Photoshop, or is there another way?
posted by Orange Goblin (26 comments total)

I imagine they overlap it with a neighbouring frame in which the actor's head is in a different position.

Good find! I thank yaw.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 8:44 AM on December 14, 2002

Some of them are pretty damn good though - this is from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Silent Bob's hat doesn't look edited..
posted by Orange Goblin at 8:50 AM on December 14, 2002

Wow. This is great! Thanks for the link.
posted by Stauf at 9:07 AM on December 14, 2002

Slightly off-topic, but this is yet another example of something that will become illegal, and punishable by criminal penalties under the DMCA, if Microsoft and Hollywood get their way on DRM.
posted by fuzz at 9:55 AM on December 14, 2002

Er...why?
posted by Orange Goblin at 10:09 AM on December 14, 2002

wow. never would have thought it'd be so difficult to distinguish a movie without the faces, even with all the background scenery still intact. great stuff. would love to know how they did it.
posted by poopy at 10:12 AM on December 14, 2002

I agree these are really fun.

But it's pretty easy to do this in photoshop. As Pretty_Generic suggested, all you need to do is erase the head and replace it with another frame. The task in made easier by the fact that the images are small, so it's hard to see any mismatches. And these are probably all scenes in which the camera was locked down (as opposed to panning or zooming). So the background from the other frame should line up perfectly.

It's MUCH harder to do this with still photography. If you want to remove someone (i.e. an ex boyfriend or girlfriend), you don't have any background to put in his place. So you have to clone background from nearby or pull something from a totally different source and try to make it match.
posted by grumblebee at 10:20 AM on December 14, 2002

Whenever I see something like this, I realize that the photoshopping skills used by the people at these other places are the minor leagues compared to the invisibles stuff.

I mean, look at the one that is second from the bottom in the right column. That's brilliant.
posted by grum@work at 10:24 AM on December 14, 2002

Actually, I don't reckon that would be too hard. The nails are so small, all you have to do is use the magic wand tool to remove large portions of the face, then use the rubber tool to get rid of those last bits 'by hand'. The background has no detail so is easily recreated. Infact, I think I might give it a go.
posted by Orange Goblin at 10:32 AM on December 14, 2002

I saw something similar once where it was scenes from porn video, but with the people entirely removed -- it was all cheap interior decoration and carpeting. I can't find the link any more, but it was genius. Anybody know what I'm talking about?
posted by john m at 10:36 AM on December 14, 2002

OG, to create an Invisible, you need to be able to rip stills from DVDs. Microsoft's Palladium will prevent this from being done without prior authorization from the copyright holder.

If you have installed Windows XP, you have already agreed to a license agreement with Microsoft that allows them to automatically update your operating system to disable ripping stills from DVDs, without your explicit permission. Note that this means that even though you have already paid for a DVD, in the future you will only be able to play it if Hollywood grants you permission.

Bypassing the Palladium protection on DVD players might be possible, but it falls under the clauses in the DMCA that prohibit circumventing copyright protection mechanisms and provide for criminal penalties. I'm not sure if they will also need to get Photoshop to be changed to check content licenses before opening images (in the same way that all Windows Media-compliant software has to do today).
Note that today, this falls under "fair use". Up to now, fair use has been a default right that you can exercise unless copyright owners tell you to stop. Tomorrow, fair use will require explicit prior consent from the copyright owner.

Controlling how and when you view content is far more important to the MPAA and RIAA than piracy, which is a smokescreen. Enjoy Invisibles while you can.
posted by fuzz at 10:39 AM on December 14, 2002

The part I'm really impressed with is how they did the insides of the shirt collars. They couldn't have taken them from another still, so I guess they had to create them from scratch, complete with gradient shadows. They're incredibly well matched.
posted by fuzz at 10:41 AM on December 14, 2002

The part I'm really impressed with is how they did the insides of the shirt collars. They couldn't have taken them from another still, so I guess they had to create them from scratch, complete with gradient shadows. They're incredibly well matched.

yeah, that's what impressed me also, the parts of the picture that they couldn't copy, the tiny details. selection tools and the rubber stamp are easy enough, but it's pretty difficult to create a believable shadow without spending a good amount of time. But like grumblebee said, it is easier when you're dealing with smaller images. Anyway, it's one of the more impressive examples of photoshopping that i've seen.
posted by poopy at 10:47 AM on December 14, 2002

Orange Goblin: I was referring to the "Basic Instinct" invisible, not the Pinhead one. The "Basic Instinct" one is tough because they show the insides of her dress (where her legs and ass would be) and it looks well done.
posted by grum@work at 10:57 AM on December 14, 2002

Bah, grum@work, I just realised that you are taking about the image above the one I was talking about. Yours does indeed look pretty hard/ However I only realised this after attempting my own...the original and mine which probably could have done with more time.
posted by Orange Goblin at 10:58 AM on December 14, 2002

john m: The people aren't entirely removed, they're more like grey silhouettes, but you're probably thinking of Obscene Interiors (which is indeed brilliant).
posted by Hjorth at 11:09 AM on December 14, 2002

Orange Goblin: You forgot to remove his hands while keeping the blood that's on them floating there. Good job, tho.
posted by dazed_one at 11:29 AM on December 14, 2002

john m: here
posted by snez at 11:32 AM on December 14, 2002

I left the hand on purpose - too lazy to remove them as well :p
posted by Orange Goblin at 11:53 AM on December 14, 2002

They also have a user created section with some good ones and some terrible ones. I also love their text quizzes (Yoda Auditions: Name the roles that Yoda was trying to land.)
posted by golo at 12:39 PM on December 14, 2002

Previously discussed here

I've found that people either do really well with the Invisibles or they get very frustrated and give up. I have friends whose knowledge of movie-trivia is absolutely amazing, but ask them to guess what movie some of these Invisibles are from and they get stumped every time. Granted, the guys at Filmwise sometimes choose some very forgettable movies (or non-memorable scenes from better movies).

I'm also frightened by my uncanny ability to name a lot of the Invisibles for movies I haven't seen -- I watch waaaay too many trailers!
posted by filmgoerjuan at 1:48 PM on December 14, 2002

great photoshopping. unfortunately every modified shot now evokes memoirs of an invisible man.
posted by donkeyschlong at 2:01 PM on December 14, 2002

This should be standard procedure for every movie scene Tom Green appears in.
posted by gsteff at 2:05 PM on December 14, 2002

Great stuff -- excellent link. Much tougher than I figured it would be, and definitely added to the blogroll.
posted by davidmsc at 11:54 PM on December 14, 2002

john m, you may also be interested in the film Removed, by Naomi Uman, wherein Ms. Uman uses bleach to erase the woman in a porn film from the 70s.
posted by faustessa at 2:20 AM on December 15, 2002

If you want to take a look at some talented photoshoppers, and what they can do with the "invisibles" concept as a theme for photoshop contests, check out Worth1000 Invisible World 6 Movies Redux or this one - Worth1000 Invisible World 5 People in Uniform. This one was an interesting contest, too - Worth1000 Invisible World 4 Hate. My own personal favorite is SPQR - Gladiator. Check out all of the galleries for the top images on Worth - Best-of-Worth1000 Galleries.

The talent on this site, which has been around just short of one year, is amazing. It's definitely not Fark or SomethingAwful. There is a real artistic community on this site. And, the site has a tutorials section, although we're still waiting for someone to post a good one on invisibles!
posted by Corky at 5:17 AM on December 15, 2002