{"id":618,"date":"2019-10-01T16:01:13","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T16:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/?page_id=618"},"modified":"2019-11-08T17:18:34","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T17:18:34","slug":"week-12","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/week-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 12"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Effects in After Effects<\/h1>\n<p>As the software&#8217;s name suggests, After Effects includes a lot of effects&#8230; much more than we have time to explore in this course. Some of these effects are better suited for live action video footage, some are specifically for text (see the <a href=\"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/week-13\/\">week 13 page<\/a>), but others present easy ways of adding some interest to your character animations.<\/p>\n<p>Here area few examples of traditional character animations that have been enhanced with After Effects:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/338887123\"><em>Senjo<\/em><\/a> by\u00a0Tamerlan BEKMURZAYEV Camille BOZEC Antoine CARRE Ada HERNAEZ Pauline MAUVIERE Alexandra PETIT, 2019<\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/333256188\">Cravings<\/a><\/em> by\u00a0Kim Mcmahon, 2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Seeing the Effects panel<\/h3>\n<p>Change the workspace to have a better view of the effects panel:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Go to\u00a0<em>Window &gt; Workspace\u00a0<\/em>and select\u00a0<em>Effects<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The effects are organized into folders. <a href=\"https:\/\/helpx.adobe.com\/after-effects\/using\/generate-effects.html\">This page from Adobe<\/a> provides a detailed overview of all the effects. Each effect has its own set of properties which can be adjusted\u00a0in the\u00a0effects control panel (where the project panel is usually located).\u00a0You can also change the effect over the course of the animation (when the effect appears\/disappears, changes etc.) with keyframes within the timeline.<\/p>\n<h3>Adding a lens flare effect<\/h3>\n<p>A lens flare evokes the quality of a real camera and can add depth to your animation. In order to apply a lens flare effect to your entire composition:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Go to\u00a0<em>Layer &gt; New &gt; Adjustment Layer<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Rename the new layer\u00a0<i>lens flare\u00a0<\/i><\/li>\n<li>In the timeline, position the new adjustment layer below the camera and above the other layers.<\/li>\n<li>In the effects panel, enter the\u00a0<em>Generate\u00a0<\/em> folder and drag and drop the <em>Lens Flare<\/em> effect onto the adjustment layer in the timeline.<\/li>\n<li>Look at and edit the options in the Effects Control panel (i.e: position of the flare)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Adding a brush stroke effect<\/h3>\n<p>If your animate character has very smooth lines, adding a brush strokes effect can give your animation a more hand-drawn\/organic feel:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In the effects panel, enter the\u00a0<em>Stylize\u00a0<\/em> folder and drag and drop the <i>Brush\u00a0Strokes<\/i>\u00a0effect onto the .swf layer that contains the character&#8217;s strokes.<\/li>\n<li>Look at and edit the options in the Effects Control panel (i.e: brush size)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Creating a vignette<\/h3>\n<p>A vignette can focus the viewer&#8217;s attention on a detail or the center of the action. In this case, we won&#8217;t be using an effect but a masked solid layer:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">In your composition, create a new solid above your footage by going to <em>Layer &gt; New &gt; Solid\u00a0*Keyboard shortcut: Cmd + Y<\/em>. This solid will become your vignette &#8211; so keep that in mind when setting the solid color (you can also always change the color of the solid after it has been created by dragging a Fill\u00a0effect onto it). Make sure the solid is the same size as your composition by clicking the\u00a0<em>Make Comp Size\u00a0<\/em>button.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Next, click and hold on the Shape tool in the toolbar and select the Ellipse tool (or whatever shape you want your vignette to be).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Double click on the Ellipse tool. It will automatically create a mask vignette that is the size of your composition.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Next, in the Mask settings on the solid layer, click the drop down box that says <em>Add<\/em> and select <em>Subtract<\/em> instead.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">If you wish to resize or reshape the vignette, click on the red points to adjust the shape to your liking.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Last, adjust the Mask Opacity <em>*Keyboard shortcut: T<\/em>\u00a0and the Mask Feathering <em>*Keyboard shortcut: F<\/em>\u00a0until the vignette is semitransparent and has the look you desire.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Creating a particle effect<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>You may want to add particles around your character or in the background (i.e: to suggest an explosion, bubbles floating around etc.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">In your composition, create a new solid above your footage by going to <em>Layer &gt; New &gt; Solid\u00a0*Keyboard shortcut: Cmd + Y<\/em>. \u00a0Set its color to black.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Rename the new layer <em>particles.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>In the timeline, position the new layer where you want it to be (i.e: between the character and the background).<\/li>\n<li>In the Effects search panel, find the <em>CC Particle World<\/em> effect (inside the\u00a0<em>Simulation<\/em> folder) and rag onto the new solid.<\/li>\n<li>The Particles are generated from a central point call the\u00a0<em>Producer.\u00a0<\/em>You can click and drag it around your composition to place it where you&#8217;d like the particles to emanate from.<\/li>\n<li>The particles can take on a lot of different shapes, colors and types of motion. Play around with the options in the effects control panel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Creating a smoke effect<\/h3>\n<p>It is fairly easy to create a smoke layer in After Effects &#8211; you could apply it to the entire composition or constrain it to a small area, have it last for the entirety of the animation, or just a portion of it.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">In your composition, create a new solid above your footage by going to <em>Layer &gt; New &gt; Solid\u00a0*Keyboard shortcut: Cmd + Y<\/em>. \u00a0<\/span>Set its color to a light grey (i.e: #BDBDBD)<\/li>\n<li>Rename the new layer <em>smo<\/em>ke.<\/li>\n<li>In the Effects search panel, find the <em>Fractal Noise<\/em> effect (in the\u00a0<em>Noise and Grain<\/em> folder) and drag and drop it onto the new solid.<\/li>\n<li>Place your Time Indicator to the beginning of the layer.<\/li>\n<li>In the Effects control panel, click on the <em>Evolution<\/em> stopwatch.<\/li>\n<li>Go to the last frame of the layer and change the value of the <em>Evolution<\/em> setting. If you preview your animation, you will notice that the fractal noise pattern shifts overtime, creating a smoke like effect.<\/li>\n<li>You could decrease the opacity of the entire layer and have it cover the entire composition to evoke fog, but if you wish to constrain it to a certain area, you will need to apply a Mask to it:\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure the smoke layer is selected<\/li>\n<li>Select one of your shape tools (i.e: ellipse) or the pen tool to draw the shape you want the smoke to be constrained to.<\/li>\n<li>Toggle \u00a0the layer\u2019s <em>Masks<\/em>\u00a0and <em>Mask 1<\/em> tabs and increase the value of \u00a0<i>Mask Feather.\u00a0<\/i><\/li>\n<li>Look at the other Mask properties: it&#8217;s shape, opacity and scale could also change overtime.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h1>Final project \u2013 step 6: adding an effect to the walk cycle<\/h1>\n<h3><strong>Subject<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Add at least 2 effects to your walk cycle. Pick from the ones explained above or find something else that will enhance your animation online and\/or by exploring the effects panel.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Format<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Use the following composition settings: 24fps, width: 1920px | height: 1080px.\u00a0Save your .aep file and export your animation to Quicktime (review rendering instructions on the <a href=\"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/week-9\/\">week9 page<\/a>). Upload your animation to Vimeo or Youtube.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Submission<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Create a new post on your Open Lab portfolio. Your post should include a <strong>link to your Vimeo or Youtube video<\/strong> as well as a <strong>short description<\/strong>\u00a0(what did you add\/change from the previous version. Reflections on your process, challenges, goals etc. are also welcome).<\/p>\n<p>This assignment is due next week. Submit the following files on the following platforms:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blackboard: .aep file and all .swf and .ai files imported into it and a link to your Open Lab post.<\/li>\n<li>Open Lab discussion board: Reply to the \u201cFinal Project: step-6:effects\u201d discussion post with a link to your Open Lab post<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>This is part of the final project. It will be taken into account in the final grade for the\u00a0project (see full grading rubric\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/12Ys9uZKlckNuaiNLgR1GpDF8t3MBNEpqCD7bpGSDiRo\/edit?usp=sharing\">here<\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Effects in After Effects As the software&#8217;s name suggests, After Effects includes a lot of effects&#8230; much more than we have time to explore in this course. Some of these effects are better suited for live action video footage, some are specifically for text (see the week 13 page), but others present easy ways of &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/week-12\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Week 12&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-618","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":740,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/618\/revisions\/740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mmp260-1301-f2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}