- After Effects, the Motion Graphics Application
- Greenscreen and Other A-Over-B Composites
- Split-Screens: The New Way to Tighten an Edit
- Refine a Color Look
- Wrapping Up
- Ready for More? Going Further with After Effects
Ready for More? Going Further with After Effects
In Adobe After Effects CS6 Visual Effects and Compositing Studio Techniques, I break the process of learning to composite into three basic parts:
- Section I: Working Foundations. Technical knowledge about video in general and After Effects in particular.
- Section II: Effects Compositing Essentials. Fundamental techniques that are the building blocks of most VFX shots: color matching, keying, rotoscoping, and motion tracking (as well as camera matching, expressions, and HDR color for advanced readers).
- Section III: Creative Explorations. Recipes to create specific types of shots: color looks; smoke, fire, and other pyrotechnic effects; changes in weather, atmospheric haze, heat distortion, and more.
All three sections will help you to raise your game as an editor. Even veteran After Effects artists have told me that they learned new tips in section I; section II features the techniques I've touched on in this article, as well as many others; and section III hosts the how-to steps and approaches for bread-and-butter visual effects scenarios.