<p>Is the camera moving? If it's a still shot you could make a clean plate of the empty city in Photoshop and use a green screen for the actor. If you don't want the shot locked-off you can cheat add some movement to the frame in post, but big changes in perspective would require recreating the city in 3D. </p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/tosC6.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/tosC6.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>Interestingly one of the earliest photographs of a human being was by accident — owing to the extremely long exposures required by the early emulsions, anything moving would blur out. In a photo by Louis Daguerre there was a guy standing having his shoes shined and he appears to be the only person in Paris. You could use the long exposure technique to get your background.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-04T23:08:58.800Z
The frames are most likely going to be still, as I don't have a steadicam and would prefer the frame to not be shakey
Jodast
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-02T07:09:54.427Z
2019-11-02T07:09:54.427Z
stib
<p>I'm trying to film in a city with one person being the focus point, and the goal is to make the city look deserted.  If the city is always busy and full of people, is there a way for me to remove the people in After Effects or Premiere Pro?  I would think that one could just make a composite shot of only the parts of the image that stay constant, but I have no idea how to even approach that.  How can I do this?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-01T14:02:13.243Z
Have you looked into the new Content-aware fill feature? It might be what you're looking for. 
https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/content-aware-fill.html
Joshjurg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-01T14:48:09.930Z
@Joshjurg I've definitely used that a lot in photoshop, didn't know it was in ae.  Thanks!
Jodast
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-01T14:49:33.167Z
Yeah, it was a new feature added this past spring. On the rare occasion I used it, it rocked for what I needed.

For this need though, the scene may be too busy for this approach.
Joshjurg
<premiere><after-effects><editing><adobe><compositing>
How can I remove a crowd of people from a scene while keeping one person in the shot
Jodast
# How can I remove a crowd of people from a scene while keeping one person in the shot

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-11-01)

I'm trying to film in a city with one person being the focus point, and the goal is to make the city look deserted. If the city is always busy and full of people, is there a way for me to remove the people in After Effects or Premiere Pro? I would think that one could just make a composite shot of only the parts of the image that stay constant, but I have no idea how to even approach that. How can I do this?

**Tags:** premiere, after-effects, editing, adobe, compositing

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Have you looked into the new Content-aware fill feature? It might be what you're looking for.  https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/content-aware-fill.html  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I've definitely used that a lot in photoshop, didn't know it was in ae.  Thanks!  
> **username_1**: Yeah, it was a new feature added this past spring. On the rare occasion I used it, it rocked for what I needed.  For this need though, the scene may be too busy for this approach.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-11-02. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Is the camera moving? If it's a still shot you could make a clean plate of the empty city in Photoshop and use a green screen for the actor. If you don't want the shot locked-off you can cheat add some movement to the frame in post, but big changes in perspective would require recreating the city in 3D.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/tosC6.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/tosC6.jpg)

Interestingly one of the earliest photographs of a human being was by accident — owing to the extremely long exposures required by the early emulsions, anything moving would blur out. In a photo by Louis Daguerre there was a guy standing having his shoes shined and he appears to be the only person in Paris. You could use the long exposure technique to get your background.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: The frames are most likely going to be still, as I don't have a steadicam and would prefer the frame to not be shakey  

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