Assignment

ROBOCOP 4

Using video footage me and a friend recorded I tried to make a humorous spoof film trailer by cutting and editing the footage I filmed and using as many effects I had learnt and found that would be appropriate for the video and to demonstrate the techniques I had learnt specified in my module guide as well as new ones. I didn't want to include too many effects in the short video because it would have ended up impeding on it.

Unfortunately the audio has been disable by youtube but I chose a track that I felt was appropriate for the trailer and I timed the footage with the music to improve the viewing experience.

Fly-through

Unfortunately this is rather fast and you can't see all the particle effects but you can see the work properly in the rest of the blog.

KEY

10. Rendering

• Composition > Add to render que.
• Recommended, Quicktime, Photo Jpeg.
• Use 16bpc if colour banding occurs.

9. Expression

• To add an expression to a value, Alt + Click on stopwatch.
• Type in box: wiggle(12.25), first number is Times per second object will wiggle, second number is how much it will wiggle.
• Effect > Expression control > slider control, need to intergrate with expression.
• Delet '25' set cursor to right after commar. Now click and drag pick whip to parameter (slider) creates code: wiggle(5, effect("slider control")("slider")).
• Now to change wiggle value, change in slider parameter window to 25 or what ever you want.
• Can link more than one parameter, to a parameter line a slider.
• Alt + click also removes expresion, the crossed equals symbol means don't use expression.
• Can copy and paste expressions between different parameters.
• Set to ratation aswell to move camera even more, but rotation is too much so add /10 to end of expression to divide it by ten.

8. Titles

• Add text.
• You can cycle through fonts with the arrow keys, and it will change in real time.
• Edge size and colour, sizes.
• Key frame Text Animation effects.
• U key frames UU Animated properties.
• Browse pre-sets, brings up Adobe Bridge.
• To nest layer as a single layer, select layers, Layer > Pre-Compose, Name comp, ok.
• Effect > Generate > Ramp = Gradient Background.
• Layer > New > Camera - can now orbit text.
• Layer > New > Solid, Particle World Effect.
• Particles producer (emitter), Physics, Particle Type, are some of the options to choose from.
• Glow treshold = How bright pixel has to be to glow.
• Effect > Perspectives > Drop shadow. (Duplicate to make darker). to change name

To have better control of the camera:

• Layer > New > Null object.
• Parent Null object with the camera.
• F9 smooth keyframe.
• To move pivot point, use pan behind tool.
• Move null (change z, x, y) to move Camera.
• Hold shift to move objects faster.
• Line up key frames for good animation, key frame position is key. This just means certain things happening at the same time can make things look more effective such as keying a layers opactiy at the same times as it's rotation.
• Particle effects don't work with motion blur, so Add new adjustment layer.
• Effect: Force Motion Blur
• Particles: Animation: Vortex Velocity = Give them some life.
• Go to top view to see everything.
• Put logo on Null object so can camera looks at it.
• Trimming layers is very important and so is opacity.

7. 3D Intergration

• Click 3D layer switch to make layers 3D.
• Create Layer > New > Camera.
• Choose settings.
• Orbit camera tool allows you to move around layers. C toggles move tools.
• Hold shift to move the layer faster.
• Key Frame Camera transform.
• Layer > New > Light, Point, blue, cast shadows.
• Layer > Light settings to change.
• Layers also have to be told to cast or recieve shadows.
• 3D options AA Material options, turn cast shadows ON.
• Can do multiple layers at once if select layers first then AA then ON.
• Shadow diffusion = Softness.
• Depth of field = Like real camera, can move it in and out of focus.
• To create particles - Create new solid, then use the Particle World Effect.

6. Time Remapping

• Select layer, right click, Time > Time Stretch
• Change the stretch percentage, to slow down or speed up (200% = 2x longer).
• Turn on frame blending.
• If you click twice you get Pixel Motion (blends frames based on their motion).
• Time > Enable time re-mapping, to have different speeds of motion at different times during the video clip. Use key frames.

5. Motion Tracking Notes

• Start with video footage

To stabilise part of comp:

• B - Move start of work area (time line)
• Right click bar - Trim composition to work area = Trims composition to just that area of the clip.
• Double click footage....
• Window > Tracker Controls > Stabilize motion.
• Click inner square (click and drag) = Track Area, Outer square = Search Area - the larger it is the more it will help find tracking area if shaky, but the larger it is, the longer it can take to work/render and the more inaccurate it can be.
• So make as small as possible but it will still find the track point.
• The tracker needs to be at a high contrast point (DISTINCT) so that it knows what it is following.
• Space bar = drag composition.
• If there is any rotation, then click the rotation box to also track it.
• Once both track points are set up, begin to analyse (click analyse forward button).
• Click apply, image should now be stable, but side effect is black bars may appear at the side. The simple solution for this is to scale the footage up, hit S.

To remove something from the footage:

This is a useful technique to cover up things that others do not want you to have in your video or pictures such as advertisement signs.

• Add new solid.
• Use colour picker, choose colour you want to use to block out what ever you are blocking.
• Double click movie
• This time click track motion instead of stabilize.
• Track type: Perspective corner pin.
• Track area does not have to be in the same place as the track point, but make sure on the same plane! The Track area moves relative to the track point.
• Now analyse.
• Do not apply this to footage, but to the solid layer.
• Click edit target, select solid layer, click apply.
• Should now cover sign with same colour.

To create your own sign:

To replace the original..

• Layer > Pre-compose (leave all attributes).
• Alt + double click on solid composition to reveal layers inside.
• Add text
• Probably need to add fast blur so looks more real (matches rest of image) adding a glow might also help.

To follow

motion track:

• Choose track point.
• Analyse forward.
• Layer > New > Null object
• Go back to layer, click edit target, choose null target, ok.
• Make new white solid, make it comp size.
• Pen tool to cut out shape from white solid.
• Insert text (speech bubble).
• Hold shift select both layers, parent with null object.
• You can still move layers around but it won't effect the parenting.
• This is only one use of the motion tracking technique.

4. Keying and Transparancy Notes

• Track Matt (transferring transparency from one source to another).
• Order of layers IMPORTANT
• Use an elipse sub track and feather to give soft edge.
• Effect > Keying - Keylight - To cancel out blue/green screens!
• You can then click the Toggle Transparency Grid to show transparency not just black.

• Pen tool, draw shape, when close (finish) it creates a mask (hides everything around the shape), now mask is in the layer properties.

• Feather = Blur edges of mask.
• Transfer modes = F4 - Multiply - shows just white (how effect, texture is applied) screen - just black, play with different options!
• TrkMat - add transparency to a layer that doesn't have a transparency track.
• Luma -> Get rid of black
• Use colour correction > Curves to brighten an effect. Shut layer off to show layer through the effect. Brightening it means layer will show through better.
• Put picture layer under video layer, picture TrkMat - Alpha (get iPod advert type effect).
• New solids layers for solid colours, with one layer as background, one under video layer and use TrkMat Alpha again.

Video Copilot

http://www.videocopilot.net/basic/

For a lot of my learning other than work I have done in class I have carefully followed the 10 videocopilot.net basic training tutorial videos. They have been very helpful indeed, they are very easy to follow and are full of useful information. I have made notes for all of the tutorial videos, and have made relevant pictures and/or video clips to demonstrate what I have learnt from them.

I won't write up the first two tutorials because the first is just an introduction and the second has things I have already covered is in this blog. The way I work is to make notes on paper while I watch the video of any information I think will be useful and then sometimes I try to use what I have just learnt straight away on a video or picture or I just keep the notes to help me later. I then write the notes up on here at a later stage because it is neater and less easy to lose and more easy to use, it also means I can make this blog my log book so I can print it off and hand it in with my assignment.

3. Animation

• Anchor point = Pivot point for layer (for all transformations). Use pan behind tool (Y) to change anchor point.
• Hold shift when changing position of the point, to move in a straight line.
• When setting work area - B sets to beginning N sets to End.
• F9 when a key frame selected to bezier key frame, which smooths the transition between key frames to make the animation look better/smoother.
• The motion blur effect works for most transformation properties and can be applied to a layer or globally (to all layers).
• Click and drag key frames to re-order them, click and drag last key frame to move all key frames simultaneously.
• Click the stop watch to get rid of key frames on that parameter. Click Reset to go back to default settings. You will lose your key frames this way, to get back, click Edit Undo (Ctrl + Z).
• Just like in other programs I am use to such as Blender, letters on the keyboard represent Transformation Parameters, for example S is for scale, this also saves workspace to just bring up one parameter to change rather than all of them.
• Pressing U brings up all parameters that have key frames applied to them, so basically just the properties you are working with, this is very useful!
• Double press U (U,U) brings up any edited parameters.
• Click and drag the Pick Whip (parenting spiral) to layers to parent one to another so when you change the parent parameter the parented parameter will follow suit.
• Layer> New > Adjustment layer. Adjustment layer will effect all of the layers underneath it in the composition window. This is useful to apply one effect to many layers. Effect > Colour Correction > Curves, lower opacity so less intense effect.

NOTES

• Ramp Effect = Gradient.
• You can right click the work area and then click trim to work area.
• F3 - Toggles effects and project windows.
• Order of effects is important!
• To create an animation preset, select the item you wish to preserve and choose Animation > Save Animation Preset.
• The time control panel is just for previewing the clip, the real clip when rendered may have different timeing.
• Num 0 = Ram preview
• Not all computers support all options in After Effects!
• With the glow effects, only makes lightest pixels glow.
• Hold space while click and drag to use Hand tool or press H, V to go back to Selection tool.
• Click and composition into new composition box to quickly create a new identical composition.

Experimenting

In this short intro video I used particle effects to make a pretty cool rain effect, which you can't really see in this clip because it is too small but I will include all my work on a disk with my logbook when I hand in my assignment so all video footage will be able to be viewed properly.

Shatter and Paint effect

Use the paint effect and draw lines, key frame the start parameter in stroke options of each brush you use.

In the effects and presets panel you can search shatter and it will find the effect.
You can click and drag this effect onto an image in your composition.
To easily import an image double click in the project window and a browse window will pop up.
There are many attributes within the shatter effect you can play around with to get the effect you want.

I was trying to make another shatter effect happen after the first on the same image, so once one hole was blown out of it the whole thing would fall apart, one way of achieving this is to duplicate the layer and have another effect happen to it later in the video, you can change the size of the grey bar to choose the timeing and lenght of each layer.

You can click and drag on the parent symbol, (the spiral) join the line to the source name to parent layers.

To render go to Composition and press Add to Render Que. Then choose your render settings, output module settings and output to. Then press render. For some reason it only works if you stretch to 720 instead of 1080 which is just the resolution size.

Note: To choose when your layer shatters Add a gradient layer, key frame gradient in order to choose time of shatter during the video clip you are editing. Also make sure shatter is Rendered to the 'Layer' not 'All'.

Animating Paint

Short cuts:

Keypad num 0 = play/ RAM PREVIEW

Home = First frame

First open a Paint workspace.
In bottom composition window, right click new > solid...
Choose the options and colour, click ok.
Draw a line.
Go to effects > Paint.
Add keyframe for the Start option change the percentage for two frames so when it plays it plays the line being drawn. Use End option to move the line in the other direction, Start needs to be on zero.
You can click and drag the yellow markers in the timeline (workspace area) to change the lenght of the video.

On main composition right click, keying > Extract. This will open new window with options such as removing colours and adding softness.

Animating Text

Click animate arrow, then select position.
Change the start and position amounts and use key frames just like before.

DAY ONE