After Effects

Yesterday I took part in the After Effects workshop for beginners. I thought that it would be benificial to me to try and take part in all the workshops available to further my skills in working digitally, which is what this project requires. At first I thought found the idea very daunting but once I got into the workshop I feel like I picked up the basics quickly.

http://vimeo.com/41984907
The following link is an example we were shown, at the beginning of the workshop, of a previous 3rd year student who used After Effects and Stop motion to create this outcome.

https://mycourse.aucb.ac.uk/baill5/files/2011/11/after-effects-tutorial2.pdf
This is a link to the handout which covers the basics that we learnt during the workshop. Before starting we were told that it is important to keep all your files for After Effects organised and in one folder, as it works like InDesign where you must keep your files in one place in order for it to work.

Starting off in Photoshop - to create basic shapes.
It is important to be aware how big the files you create are.
Unit of measurement - Pixels - 1920 width : 1080 height. - These proportions are typical of most motion films.
150 Resoloution - 300 is too high used mainly for print.
Colour Mode - RGB - CMYK is for print. And After Effects won't accept a file if it isn't in RGB mode.

We began by creating 4 different shapes in 4 different colours on photoshop. Each shape had to be created on a different layer (this enables the shapes to be moved once the file is opened in After Effects) and for each layer we had to 'Rasterize' the layer (this means the whole layer is saved rather than just the shape.)

Finally on photoshop we have to save the file as a PSD. photoshop file before opening After Effects. When importing the file into After Effects it is important to import it as a 'composition'

To keep track of different layers it is a useful idea to colour code each layer. That way you know which layer you are working on at each time and you can lock the other layers to prevent them from moving. 

For the duration we stated with 30 seconds - keeping it short and easy. The time apears like this 0;00;30;00 Hours;Minutes;Seconds;Frames

Once the layers are draged into the composition to be worked on it is imporatant to either delete the background layer or simply move it to the bottom (the appear alphabetically) because otherwise the white background will cover the rest of the image and you wont be able to see the movements you're making.

Using the little arrow on the left hand side of the layer name brings up a drop down menu containing all the 'transform' controls. There is also a reset button at the top of the transform control list. Next to each movement there is a little stopwatch, you simply click on this for each layer in order to start recording the movements and then set the timeline to when you want the movement to stop.

We then played around with these movements on different layers to create our moving shapes file.

For exporting the file:

Composition - add to render Que.
lower the resolution the smaller the file size.
for test files drop down from full to Third.

Output Module - lossless (brings up a new box)
Format - Quicktime
Video Output - format options
Video codec - Animation is the default setting but we need to change it to H.264 - this is what every online video uses, it compresses file size without loosing quality.
(If there is audio click the audio output box)
Output to - select where you want to save the file and name it.
Finally click the Render button on the right hand side of the screen underneath timeline.

For the next part we went a little more complicated. We created 3 circles in photoshop using exactly the same technique as before and imported the file the same as well. With this we wanted the 3 circles to all move together at the same time and then have one deviate off at the end. We achieved this by using the parenting tool. This is the swirl symbol you click on this and drag the other layers to the one layer that will be the 'Parent' these other layers will then copy what the parent layer does. 

The video below is the outcome I created using this exercise:

The final thing we went over how to make 3D objects move using After Effects. This time we used the 3D cube symbol. This brings up new values in the transform options. Z values brings the object forwards and backwards. Minus numbers bring the object forwards and Plus numbers move the object further away. In 3D mode we can use the custom view mode to look at out shapes from a different angle - however we have to go back to 'active camera' view when we begin to animate our object. 

This video is an example of what I created using this process: