Sarah introduced us to new After Effects techniques that can be effectively and quickly used to create short animations to publish on TV. Initially, I was shown motion graphic videos with some of the techniques I will be learning today, to express the limitless possibilities of what can be done. I was then taught, all videos being published on to TV have to be investigated in the case of seizure awareness. All motion graphics on telly have to be categorised before being published, to tell viewers the well documented quote, 'some scenes may have flashing images'.
30 motion tests in 30 seconds from
Steffen K on
Vimeo.
This is one of the videos Sarah had shown me. Every second for 30 seconds is a different clip of motion graphic footage and basically this is what we are going to create, but lasting 10 seconds. This will be a good way of showcasing our motion graphic skills for our portfolio, so it was important that I payed good attention to what Sarah had to teach us.
After Effects, Tutorial One Exploration from
Charlie Hamnett on
Vimeo.
First of all in the Production workshop, Sarah taught us how to apply transitional frames to the one second clips and how you can create many of different transitions to create a reel of simple but visually appealing footage. I learnt how to add transitions and how to work with them using time frames and their tools to arrange the transitions and make them appear and disappear in different ways. In the video above, you can see the transitions that I have learnt. My favourite one is the white diamond to blue reveal around 7 seconds into the video.
Next we learnt wiggle path techniques and how to apply them to objects and shapes. There are two different wiggle techniques that I learnt. One technique I clicked on the shape task bar and added 'wiggle paths', this enabled me to create the outer parts of the shape to wiggle, bringing it to life. you can see this effect 2 seconds into the video. Also, there is a different wiggle path technique that I learnt. This different wiggle technique wiggles the object as a whole, not just its outer regions. To apply this effect you find it in the animation toolbar, then you drag the wiggle path option either onto your shape in its composition or onto the shapes control panel. This is what you see 6 seconds into the video.
After we was shown various new techniques, we applied our new and existing knowledge to practice and create the 10 second video. I really liked the transitional effect that I had newly learnt and will defiantly take this further into my final video that I will create after practice in the studio.
Charlie Hamnett's Motion Graphic (Updated) from
Charlie Hamnett on
Vimeo.
Here is my final show reel of my process and production motion graphic one. I have applied techniques that I have learnt from Sarah this week and from last year, as well as studying to learn new skills for my own benefit. I have applied transitions, wiggle paths, audio spectrum waves, motion of shape layers, type animations, bounce effects, coding, draw along a line path and more. I also created a logo with my initials, as I thought that idea worked to good effect in the video that Sarah showed me.
The newly learnt skills that I discovered in tutorials to develop my skills was coding audio wave spectrums to create the right beat/scale effect to relate to the music in the best way. I coded it to create larger scale beats using * to do so. I learnt how to create a bounce effect through coding the shape layers and to also code a pop effect in the one second bouncing ball transition mid way into the video. Also, I furthered my knowledge on how to make an object move along a line. Sarah taught my this last year to apply to my EURO 2016 re-branded logo. But, I watched tutorials to learn how to make it move along its path at different rates. I created mine to start fast and finish slow along the line, using easy easy for the first time. I then duplicated this to create a moving pattern around my logo.
All in all, I enjoy learning more about motion graphics. I like the idea of working in TV so it is important I enhance my knowledge around the subject and keep doing so. It is difficult to get your head around at first, but i find the more you play about with the new skills acquired the more likely it is they will stick with you and not have to relearn them over and over. I guess that is the same with most stuff really, the more you do it the more you know it.
