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VFX take on that probably fake Steph video



I dabble in VFX so here’s my take on [Steph making 5 full court 3’s in a row](https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1599554509373468672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1599554509373468672%7Ctwgr%5Ef90ae6f176db52084d273dce39833c5dd5bba67a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbssports.com%2Fnba%2Fnews%2Fstephen-curry-is-a-superhuman-shooter-but-his-latest-full-court-viral-video-is-too-ridiculous-to-believe%2F). The reason it looks so good is because none of the shots are actually fake. Steph made all those hits, just not in a row. It’s a stationary camera man and the pans are where they cut it to make it look like a continuous sequence. Steph always leaves the frame allowing them to insert the next make. Animating and rendering a fake ball and splash is harder than one might think, and when you have the best shooter of all time (heard that before?) why not just film the real thing.

IMO the tricky part is where the balls land. Every time the camera pans back to Steph we lose sight of the back court meaning they can comp the balls that went in, and key out the misses. That sounds like a lot of tracks and mattes (and those reflection are clean). What I’d do is have someone clear the ball if Steph missed, leaving only the makes in the scene. Problem with that is you always see the previous ball rolling away with his fresh makes. So no matter what, there’s some comping and/or a few 3d balls rolling around.

Then again, it could be real. It’s fuckin Steph.

by jackwizdumb

3 Comments

  1. Hopeful-Ad-6835

    I am choosing to believe the video is real

  2. bubbabrowned

    LOL the fact there’s even a discussion (even in r/nba) about the real/fake-ness of this is a testament to Steph’s intergalactic-scale greatness at shooting.

  3. I don’t dabble in VFX. I just assume that it can be done. Even if it takes effort.

    There’s no way they got a dude worth hundreds of millions of dollars to chuck 50 or 100 or 1000 attempts until he makes 5 real ones… on a single shoot date. Especially with the concern of keeping his body in shape (a la home run derby slump).

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