Vfx

Still early days of delving into Aftereffects so enthusiasm and trail and error are the skills i can utilise during this project. That and using knowledge of other adobe products and language to identify functions within the interface. I am Looking forward to developing my skill set further and exploring more detailed aspects of the program. Basic functions are easily manageable, its the audio key framing that might take some time figuring out.

These are the actions i have taken from opening Aftereffects.

-new project

-1440x1080

-import footage

-Size alterations. When i was sizing the layers of video, i accidentally placed it in the wrong position leaving a black strip along the bottom of and the top. (Wide screen) I liked the contrast of the black and the blue so much and found that the slightly distorted footage worked great, that i decided to incorporate it into the final video. I feel it adds a slightly surreal element, assisting a differentiation away from other music videos. Having said that i have seen this used on a D-fuse video where they use a strip of across the frame, and then have shapes and objects appearing as if they are coming out the screen by layering them over what you believe to be the edge of the frame.

-Layering the video in the correct order will determine the layers that will be made more opaque.

-Making the water droplets. I got a slow motion video of a single water droplet. Sharpened it, then pasted it into different sizes and opacities, allowing for a 3d effect.

-The colour correction for the main footage, was managed by the hue/saturation settings. Trying to emulate some of the character of the 'windowlicker' video, i wanted to make sure the colour was vibrant and full, opting for a slightly off sky blue, teal in places, and with the saturation setting, was able to add in some further purples, pinks, and reds for expression in relation to the audio.

-Where the audio almost falls in on itself, i decided to tint the overall image with more purple. It needed a subtle change at this point and the blues led perfectly into the purples of a vice sky.

-There is a a layer of cloud in the video that has a psychedelic/ kaleidoscope effect. For this i just used the mirror/reverse and rotate functions to organise a square comprised of 4 separate pieces of video playing the same thing at the same time. Then layered this in an opaque layer to the whole project. This had the effect of making the clouds moving on other layers swirl into the kaleidoscope layer and all morph and blend into one. A surprising and interesting result.

-The video now set up, i wanted to see what some of the functions of Adobe Bridge had to offer. Now, a lot of these are basic and 'Office' style effects, but they are obviously ripe for modifying.
I ended up using a program of floating squares. I added a new 'solid' layer, this became the basis for the program to run on. Set the colours, adjusted the size and speed at which the squares moved, then duplicated the set to another layer. 1st layer was kept small, and positioned in the bottom right corner, half off the comp, half on. The 2nd layer was made 5 times the size, and positioned over to the left of the comp. This added another layer of depth.
(I would like this to be linked to the audio keyframe so the squares all move in accordance with the waveform. Fully syncopated to the audio)

-The second thing i used from Bridge was the spiral from the left during the first minute and a half of the vid. (This will also be audio key framed to react to the sound)
This was made opaque and discreet, being positioned on the left of the frame. Again resized and placed well outside the composition, only allowing fragments of the set program to be seen. Added subtly and discreetly layered, these programs from Bridge can be used to dynamic effect.

Colour Corrected and and general housekeeping complete. Layers and effects in place. The next big section is the Audio Key framing. This should bring the sequence to life. It will syncopate the sequence and tie the piece together.