Hey guys, just the other day I got an e-mail from a guy in Nicaragua asking me if I share with you guys the plug-ins I use and any tips about them which I might have. I picked a few plug-ins that I find really useful for after effects projects, check them out and be sure to download trial versions and see what you can do with them.
A combination of Knoll Light Factory’s ‘Chroma Hoop’ lens flare as well as Trapcode Form as the text disintegrates into sand (below). Frame 1, we have the text with some particles floating above it. Frame 2, the lens flare is turned on (notice how the lens flare isn’t too bright or garish). Frame 3, the text begins to particulate (like that word) into nothing and the lens flare’s light source follows the movement. Finally in frame 4, the text is completely gone and the particles blow of like wind to the left.
Knoll light factory is used a lot more than you think, lens flares add atmosphere and drama to shots, the are very simple to integrate and can make a simple piece of footage look much more dramatic. In saying that, I always hold the believe that actually using reality and doing what you can when recording the footage rather than adding them in later and trying to make things look real in post. For instance, it’s much better to have real rain in a scene rather trying to put it in later in After Effects or whatever composting suite you use.
Okay guys, what tuts would you like to see in the future? I’m all ears so show me links to cool stuff you’ve seen and I’ll see if I can explain how I’d go about doing it! If you’ve got any tips or want to share some of your own work be sure to share them here, I’m all up for discussion! I’ve been playing around in AE a little bith over the past week, just trying to learn a bit more about the software and I came up with this.
Last weekend I was worked on a short motion graphics piece. The idea was to record myself in front of a greenscreen and then incorporate an element of visual effects. As the recording and editing progressed I become more interested in abstracting the video to become a new medium, a sort of particular environment that I could explore. This intruiged me so I continued down this road. In this atricle I hope to share some of my own thoughts and techniques when it comes to working with after effects, etc. You’ll see that even with some rudimentary materials you can create some pretty impressive and vibrant visuals.
Ok so to give you a break down of what was involved it was something like this.
Film Greenscreen Content >> Capture/Cut/Key in Final Cut >> Particle Visuals, AE Camera Control, Sound FX & Music >> Final Ram Export
Thats the rough workflow, of course there were some forward-backward process as you can imagine. This isn’t going to be a tutorial but rather how you might approach working on something similar, I’ll go through each of the stages and fill you in on what worked and what didn’t.
I have been doing some thinking about aspect ratios, so I decided to read up about it and share what I’ve learned. There are many variations, they all have different purposes but the most common ones are 4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 1.85:1 and 2.39/2.4:1. Right so these numbers might seem a little confusing but I’m sure all of us are familiar with most of these ratios.
These are the most common formats which are everywhere around us. You see them on your television, mp3 player, computer screen, you mobile phone and about every other digital screen. I mentioned in the video that I came across a really really wide format screen, this was Alienware’s Curved Monitor. It’s aspect ratio is 3.5:1, which is very very wide indeed. It’s main market is the gaming industry, by having a much wider format it means that you must also use your peripheral vision to explore the game, while with narrower aspect ratios this isn’t as possible.
A run-through of the Keyframe Kid intro sequence. In the video I’ve shown the project file and what it is comprised of and what each of the layers are doing. There is a lot going on in the comp so I try to keep the detail sparse but giving enough information to knows going on.
Point-by-point here are some of the topics I discuss:
- Workspace optimisation to maximise workspace - Adjustment Layers - Working with 2D layers and 3D particle generators (Trapcode Form) - My workflow and how I could improve it, mainly descriptive layer naming
Just a little suggestion, you may like to go full-screen for this, some of the details are subtle.
If there are any areas that you want to know more about or if you’ve got any questions just ask and I’ll do my best to help. If you’d like to get in contact about anything then feel free to use the contact form or to keep up-to-date on the daily happening of the Keyframe Kid then you can follow me on twitter where I am quite active.
Hey, my name is Youssef Sarhan and I'm a graphic design student. I am from Dublin, Ireland and I'm studying at The National College of Art & Design. As a graphic designer I mainly work on printed design but hopefully this will serve as a platform to explore, share and discuss motion design, lets all get involved and share our experience.
