Element 3D Virtual Set Tutorial

*UPDATE* Element 3D V1.6 makes finding your 3D position much easier than the method I go over in this tutorial. Just use the "Generate 3D Position" tool under the Utilities tab. It'll save you a huge amount of time and effort. Everything else will hopefully still be of some value. Hope you enjoy. This is a tutorial on some of the methods I used to create my Film Riot Monday Challenge Explosion video. I incorporated live action green screen footage into a fully 3D city street scene. Element 3D doesn't cast shadows, but I go over the technique I used to fake shadows on the back sidewalk and wall, as well as how to position a character into the 3D scene. The model was purchased from Daz3D and it's the Backstreets by Stonemason. I exported it out as an obj using Poser. Daz Studio is a free alternative that should be able to do the same. I then found the corresponding textures and saved them to my My_Models folder along with the obj. Action Essentials and Element 3D are available at www.videocopilot.net. Here are the texture names I mapped to the Backstreets model. _______ Road SMU3RoadDIFF _______ Concrete02 SMU3crete002DIFF _______ Concrete SMU3crete001 DIFF _______ Pipes1 SMU3Pipes_DIFF _______ Props2 SMU3Props2DIFF _______ Building4 SMU3Bldng04DIFF _______ RustyMetal SMURustymetalDIFF _______ AirCon SMU_AC _______ Props1 SMU3SignsA _______ Building5 SMU3Bldng1DIFF _______ Brickwork1 SMURustymetalDIFF _______ Windows I used Frost _______ Drums SMU3DrumDIFF _______ Building3_C Building03_C _______ Building3_B Building03_B _______ Lights I left White _______ Roof Top Glass Things Glass Preset _______ GarageDoor SMU3Door001DIFF _______ RoofingIron SMU_Roof _______ Garage Sign Used metal grunge painted 07preset _______ Wood SMU3WoodDIFF _______ Power Lines Black Steel Preset _______ WaterTower SMUTowerDIFF _______ Paving SMU3PaveDiff _______ Wood02 SMU3Wood02DIFF _______ Wood3 SMU3WoodDIFF _______ Fence SMU3Wood02DIFF _______ Building3_A Building03_A _______ Building3_D Building03_D _______ Building2 SMUBuilding2DIFF _______ LampPosts SMULampPostsDIFF _______ Trash SMU3_Trash002 _______ TrashBags SMU3_Trash001 _______ TrashBin SMUTrashCanDIFF _______ WireFence SMU3WireDIFF