#dig120

One last thing i found helpful was the plan. In the end though it was hard to keep an eye on while trying to finish production. My plan can be viewed through the included link. Everything completed is in blue and to my surprise only one list item i never got the chance to explore and review more was lighting.

Some Reflection part 5 of 6

My experience of unit DIG120 was a rewarding one.

It was like an adventure really, the assignments challenging on numerous fronts but also fun.

A big personal challenge for me was to understand some of the AE basics, this I think was because I do have some Photoshop experience but the two packages could not be further apart. I was not prepared for the vastness, unique processes or shear power the AE software affords nor the issues encountered along the way.

A key issue for me was continual crashing of the software which initially I thought was shear processing power but after days of watching and learning where the software crashed and under what conditions it enabled me to establish it was more about the tolerance of certain elements within the package that caused the problems.

My project had a lot of green screen filming that necessitated the use of keylight that crashed at least 200 times during the weeks leading up to the final assignment. One reason for this I believe was discovered by shear observation. I noticed a small flicker in the screen during and around the time of the crashes.

On further analysis, I found that some of my settings were out of tolerance mainly due to a lack of understanding of the package. I found by rekeying the effected footage and reducing some of the tolerance I was able to stop the crashing but this also changed the complexion of my render which can be clearly seen in the sample 'dud'. It also had an effect on the VFX breakdown but it did correct the issue of crashing which enabled me to get a production out.

I think given another opportunity I could vastly improve on my efforts here.

Another cause was the use of adaptive resolution in the preview settings of the comp window. When set to adaptive my project would crash but when this was turn off or set to fast preview the crash vanished.

Many other crashes occurred during final render which affected the smoothness of the final output and even my last attempt has some of these staggering playback issues but with no time left I cannot eradicate them entirely. I get the feeling I also missed something about smooth rendering in the unit material but could not find a reference in my files and folders.

One thing i learned was to use the ‘about’ menu item, you can see at any particular point in time how much RAM you are using which helped detect and locate offending scenes.

Another key discovery was my poor arrangement of files, this I mainly put down to the crashing making sure I had every base covered but I can’t help but think this also caused many issues let alone the impact on efficiency and something I can take away for next time. basically i had to many files that were not needed.

I learned that the art of filming and setting up a studio regardless of planning has many unintended pitfalls that can affect the final production. One issue for me as mentioned in an earlier post was the lack of space.

This can be found in scene two of my project where I have used a fade in fade out of three different shots to give the illusion of movement over time. It is an effect I remember seeing in the opening scenes of the film ‘The Bourne Legacy.’ Overall it is quite effective and I was able to solve a problem but being a little creative.

The use of AE lighting effects was also something that I could not get my head around and something that I need to keep working on if I am to get better. Conversely one of my favourite scenes is the final 3D text. I did not break this down but possibly should have although I expect the complexity to be obvious. Just creating the text itself was an achievement, it required AE lighting so the third dimension became visible.

Dropping the text into the scene required a number of key frames and the use of white solid masks and CC Scatterize over time to complete the effect.

To make the scene better the use of the sound effect ‘thump’ makes it more realistic and helps to suspend the fact it’s not real, quite obviously. I also was really happy to be able to bury the bottom of the letter ‘Y’ in the snow. I used a mask of a snowboard photo to help that along.

It is amazing that 2D images can be used to create a 30 second video scene that is somewhat interesting.

One of the keys to my submission is the soundtrack and soundFX. I am really happy with my choice of soundtrack and effects, wind, breathing and footsteps. The music I believe sets the right mood for the production and the sound effects really add some impact.On reflection without the sound my submission would be pretty boring.

I think I have created a good story although the length is slightly over, 34 seconds long if you remove references and introduction.  

When i think about the unit i realise it would have been a great unit to take solo without other units getting in the way. This would have given more time to really explore its potential. I believe strongly students should be made aware of how intensive this unit is the work load is quite heavy for a level 1 unit and although it did not affect me personally because I was happy to do it I think the impact of time others was substantial and quite unexpected.

I should express however the amount of work is certainly required and the value of the early unit material such as the heavy analysis I feel without it I would not have been able to get the result I did.

It gave me clear idea’s that translated to my animatic and then to my surprise I was able to replicate that into the final production quite closely. In the end I am really happy with the result as a first time user of AE and my first VFX unit.  

Final submission - Conquer

Take a peek.

References:

Graphics 

Porembiński, Kamil 2013. Tatra Mountains. Image. https://www.flickr.com/photos/paszczak000/11357576676/in/photolist-dY8EKq-ogDztp-hJ3mBb-djCqm-qifnLv-e7dAeG-9gzcds-iiCxRw-pY68Mt-cSFajq-8hYDeX-aEMmx3-pCbsNk-xq5Wdn-9s7swM-31Q2Nv-e3uCxg-b7mE44-9saryu-9o7R7j-eSRqPj-9iAjXj-te2T7f-uQwWLU-8JXZRg-7wX48Y-BuPdUS-gmqr7E-sgKVMj-6r481h-de4nDY-8FHsyZ-5fgocE-8dEbt3-dgbKja-cKLZqS-aESXM9-fqNGGK-aqzHtE-23v2p7-6kosBu-btpvcq-5aZgxW-nWCGGR-agpcaU-dofs6N-8mKxvq-7mWdSw-fDX5eA-5qQej4.

Scortegagna, Douglas. 2014. Mountain. Image. https://www.flickr.com/photos/douglucas/16447691210/in/photolist-r4qHyW-7n5hF3-6T6pTG-p3qaEk-m9Xjjc-acoPwx-xG5Zov-ai2Q6U-rBKqz4-2NkrCc-yJVjVY-xFZij1-aDSmPz-kBTGu-NB7jy-oY9bNu-4V8Nu8-436vzP-s8tSPh-mRaAK-dCboQ-raz8Xe-xzABC-zKiq7G-xhEHdo-e3AdyA-8t9uRd-rNrxz2-r7P5FT-p6uRF6-sk48u3-qEDnvN-9t55yq-dtJ8at-r5KSK6-4vFqea-5RvHNd-dTouxf-dGQt34-wY1iYk-w1wYPp-8MHsFb-qi8zR6-y8krpF-x2zjMJ-cjiR5y-a9nq86-fLEXVC-6Yfycn-5EJVfJ

Smith, Andrew. 2014a. Annapurna South. Image. https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew_annemarie/13575226843/in/photolist-mFAzZe-mE4ZCM-mE6QMr-p4264S-p434wk-mE9LCM-9oT6uS-9Hi9sG-X5dWd-HjiqA-mEb2RH-2hCoAV-bgPBCz-x7g4qM-65qy9y-66kBnH-66pLmj-65UEBD-66pSwy-66k6Sf-66pR2d-65Qhww-65ieXP-oPERwQ-q5B9oK-4NsdYJ-pkuigG-pjWFci-mEf83q-mEdrBc-mDV6E3-65zCES-65QjzL-64QTr4-4QsDuk-93JyW5-pjWxtT-phqrpq-4Nsb3m-e2CBQH-2hBHAx-9EUkRm-da92GW-pjWMgT-Ha9fK-mE8tYD-mFH7Fc-HjFeM-4NsbLq-4NsbJ1.

Smith, Andrew 2014b. Sunrise over Macchupucchre. Image. https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew_annemarie/13558552464/in/photolist-mE88gW-66k4Ko-93a6ri-mEaS3H-p1cPUS-rcHvB3-fodK3c-fot1jd-mE4Aax-6mUKcb-p3JDw1-pjszuM-mFAzZe-mE4ZCM-mE6QMr-p4264S-p434wk-mE9LCM-9oT6uS-9Hi9sG-X5dWd-HjiqA-mEb2RH-2hCoAV-bgPBCz-x7g4qM-65qy9y-66kBnH-66pLmj-65UEBD-66pSwy-66k6Sf-66pR2d-65Qhww-65ieXP-oPERwQ-q5B9oK-4NsdYJ-pkuigG-pjWFci-mEf83q-mEdrBc-mDV6E3-65zCES-65QjzL-64QTr4-4QsDuk-93JyW5-pjWxtT-phqrpq.

Unsplash. 2015a. Mountain-Peak-Summit-Altitude-Top. Image. https://pixabay.com/en/mountain-peak-summit-altitude-top-690104/.

———. 2015b. Winter-Snow-Mountains-Sky-Clouds. Image. https://pixabay.com/en/winter-snow-mountains-sky-clouds-690741/.

———. 2015. Snowboarder-Snowboarding-Snowboard.  Image. https://pixabay.com/en/snowboarder-snowboarding-snowboard-690779/.

Valcker. 2013. Thamserku Mountain (6608) as Seen from Namche Bazaar.  Image. https://www.flickr.com/photos/valcker/14236853241/in/photolist-nG4AsV-p1sLv1-8v21ua-8YheiM-B4VJgF-dSZsiy-BS2Z1N-i7rZpU-oiuQ7e-7bV9FR-7n3fG1-BwSCh5-fUESpD-mnBRr4-xofv18-oE2gNp-3N6EM-7Qhdtp-nCkkxU-86u9U5-sy4Jfh-SWcEn-iJfHAy-9PxVUQ-s5Q93U-qd2WAL-a9ndV4-hLnvRU-A7BZNz-g5kh23-a1jnLp-9PUb3C-ogDztp-hJ3mBb-djCqm-qifnLv-e7dAeG-9gzcds-iiCxRw-pY68Mt-cSFajq-8hYDeX-aEMmx3-pCbsNk-xq5Wdn-9s7swM-31Q2Nv-e3uCxg-b7mE44-9o7R7j. 

Woelber, Paxson. 2007. Walking Below Crow Peak. Chugach Mountains, Alaska. Image. https://www.flickr.com/photos/paxson_woelber/5434552264/in/photolist-9hev3Y-bWi7hZ-ajaSvk-fmuXkJ-paFE3T-8t9vPJ-6nRt9s-fVcjSS-aC4cWU-5xg7y5-48jeAi-6C65PN-65HgGu-dvEpm8-egccbo-8v1ZKp-dMK1eG-a1DkRh-4iqGvH-fwJGHm-BbtGNi-5x49vL-3JmMJ6-mNkJ8s-fg61Rg-pT5YV4-9GqW3C-a1n4he-eUeLc7-61mkbv-7B5zC5-HQf9p-4mi1Xx-699MfH-dPZ9u2-aEP81z-5is1k3-aF368K-5x3Vz7-aw4n3o-qmydWc-6dWhqJ-6ZSaMd-FFDJH-i1GWi8-bJbAZB-rgg8p1-oaa6ef-9p5maJ-bHpp4r. 

Woelber, Paxson 2011. The Summit of Flattop. Chugach Mountains, Alaska. Image. https://www.flickr.com/photos/paxson_woelber/5644945827/in/photolist-9APPJc-9APQtZ-9gshCv-9gw4FB-9hbkji-9heqNq-9gsygH-9hbkAr-9hev3Y-9gM2ym-9gsHj8-aFHXr2-6zVKNg-64h855-pfhzTc-qFUErS-2dXYE8-e9PRjY-9gsFBr-6fitnp-6WNr5a-s7ipbm-yg9QT2-bA9Eo4-e5gHhY-ogvPnb-qzenEz-8jM8ZV-BczJG-8jQjJu-8jMaSi-nwi9ox-8qm9BX-8jQnBC-wJ6cFV-qpPW3j-4Pp3ix-4PmVtm-8qm9Ft-3Kyo1y-yg2Yb3-zaJ4NA-9gsfFx-9gsCte-yVrx7q-rNMD64-4Pp4fR-4Pp4KX-usonz-usjhW. 

Young, Dave 2011. First Snow on the Mountain. Image. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dcysurfer/5501152930/in/photolist-dY8EKq-ogDztp-hJ3mBb-djCqm-qifnLv-e7dAeG-9gzcds-iiCxRw-pY68Mt-cSFajq-8hYDeX-aEMmx3-pCbsNk-xq5Wdn-9s7swM-31Q2Nv-e3uCxg-b7mE44-9saryu-9o7R7j-eSRqPj-9iAjXj-te2T7f-uQwWLU-8JXZRg-7wX48Y-BuPdUS-gmqr7E-sgKVMj-6r481h-de4nDY-8FHsyZ-5fgocE-8dEbt3-dgbKja-cKLZqS-aESXM9-fqNGGK-aqzHtE-23v2p7-6kosBu-btpvcq-5aZgxW-nWCGGR-agpcaU-dofs6N-8mKxvq-7mWdSw-fDX5eA-5qQej4/

Sounds

Bosk1. 2012. Wind Howling. Audio file http://www.freesound.org/people/Bosk1/sounds/144083/.

iujhu. 2015. Snow Footsteps.  Audio file http://www.freesound.org/people/iujhu/sounds/269865/.

Karstenholymoly. 2013. The Thunderstorm.  Audio file http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Karstenholymoly/41792.

numar. 2011. 7 Thump. Audio file http://www.freesound.org/people/numar/sounds/118401/.

Owens, Erin 2006. Wind.  Audio file http://www.flashkit.com/soundfx/Nature/Wind/wind-Erin_Owe-8719/index.php.

UncleSigmund. 2007. Breath.Wav.  Audio file http://www.freesound.org/people/UncleSigmund/sounds/30709/.

 Special thanks to:

Climber - James Henry Traeger

Scene 5 assumed discovery

In scene 5 there is no subject movement however using the tutorial i trialled for the 3D text layer i was able to create snow accumulation on the subjects boots and pants. 

To create this effect i used a white solid expanded over time each solid had the pixel feathered to a large degree basically making the white solid invisible. At the other end of the timeline the mask was expanded to its final position and the feather reduced making the mask more opaque to produce the build up effect. 

To accentuate it i rotated the foreground snow layer to an angle so it appears like the snow is wind effected which will suit the sound effects planned for the final project construction.

Overall i actually like this scene and fits well with my animatic produced for assignment 2. The matte is a combination of more mountain layers and although there is a distinct blue filter i have decide to leave the color effects until i piece all the scene compositions together.

Heath, J. Robert. 2013. Silvretta Mountains, Austria. Image  https://www.flickr.com/photos/67769979@N06/17869114222/in/photolist-dY8EKq-ogDztp-hJ3mBb-djCqm-qifnLv-e7dAeG-9gzcds-iiCxRw-pY68Mt-cSFajq-8hYDeX-aEMmx3-pCbsNk-xq5Wdn-9s7swM-31Q2Nv-e3uCxg-b7mE44-9saryu-9o7R7j-eSRqPj-9iAjXj-te2T7f-uQwWLU-8JXZRg-7wX48Y-BuPdUS-gmqr7E-sgKVMj-6r481h-de4nDY-8FHsyZ-5fgocE-8dEbt3-dgbKja-cKLZqS-aESXM9-fqNGGK-aqzHtE-23v2p7-6kosBu-btpvcq-5aZgxW-nWCGGR-agpcaU-dofs6N-8mKxvq-7mWdSw-fDX5eA-5qQej4.

Porembiński, Kamil 2013. Tatra Mountains. Image https://www.flickr.com/photos/paszczak000/11357576676/in/photolist-dY8EKq-ogDztp-hJ3mBb-djCqm-qifnLv-e7dAeG-9gzcds-iiCxRw-pY68Mt-cSFajq-8hYDeX-aEMmx3-pCbsNk-xq5Wdn-9s7swM-31Q2Nv-e3uCxg-b7mE44-9saryu-9o7R7j-eSRqPj-9iAjXj-te2T7f-uQwWLU-8JXZRg-7wX48Y-BuPdUS-gmqr7E-sgKVMj-6r481h-de4nDY-8FHsyZ-5fgocE-8dEbt3-dgbKja-cKLZqS-aESXM9-fqNGGK-aqzHtE-23v2p7-6kosBu-btpvcq-5aZgxW-nWCGGR-agpcaU-dofs6N-8mKxvq-7mWdSw-fDX5eA-5qQej4.

Smith, Andrew 2014. Sunrise over Macchupucchre.Image https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew_annemarie/13558552464/in/photolist-mE88gW-66k4Ko-93a6ri-mEaS3H-p1cPUS-rcHvB3-fodK3c-fot1jd-mE4Aax-6mUKcb-p3JDw1-pjszuM-mFAzZe-mE4ZCM-mE6QMr-p4264S-p434wk-mE9LCM-9oT6uS-9Hi9sG-X5dWd-HjiqA-mEb2RH-2hCoAV-bgPBCz-x7g4qM-65qy9y-66kBnH-66pLmj-65UEBD-66pSwy-66k6Sf-66pR2d-65Qhww-65ieXP-oPERwQ-q5B9oK-4NsdYJ-pkuigG-pjWFci-mEf83q-mEdrBc-mDV6E3-65zCES-65QjzL-64QTr4-4QsDuk-93JyW5-pjWxtT-phqrpq.

Unsplash. 2015a. Mountain-Peak-Summit-Altitude-Top. Image https://pixabay.com/en/mountain-peak-summit-altitude-top-690104/.

———. 2015b. Winter-Snow-Mountains-Sky-Clouds. Image https://pixabay.com/en/winter-snow-mountains-sky-clouds-690741/.

Scene 4 exhaustion 

 This scene took a bit longer and although not totally finished it does replicate my animatic. I have however fallen a little behind as the scenes are taking longer to create. 

I’m not sure if this is because i am trying too hard or if it is a lack of experience in getting the job done. I think i am actually spending too much time per scene but what is too much time who would really know.

The subject was filmed indoors on green screen and keyed using keylight 1.2 and placed on several mountain layers. To create the matte i used a similar process to my opening sequence to build a 2.5D environment.  Using 3D layers and a 35mm camera i created a fly through that zooms forward into the next scene.

I had an enormous amount of trouble colour grading and in fact i am nowhere near finished but just had to move on. If you look closely you can see a blue green tint in the rock over the subjects right shoulder. At first i thought it would not be too difficult to neutralize but my lack of experience with AE really came to the fore and i was unable at this stage to achieve my goal. 

The layers themselves were created and imported from Photoshop. I chose this method because the mask in AE with my limited knowledge appears not as accurate and i just seemed to be spending way too much time getting an unsatisfactory result. 

As with the other scenes i have multiple snow layers on black solids at different depths. I have experimented with changing the angle of the snow so it can replicate the wind which i am yet to include but it does have a strong sound which would mean the snow should be more horizontal. In the next scene below you can see further results of this approach.

Heath, J. Robert. 2013. Silvretta Mountains, Austria. Image https://www.flickr.com/photos/67769979@N06/17869114222/in/photolist-dY8EKq-ogDztp-hJ3mBb-djCqm-qifnLv-e7dAeG-9gzcds-iiCxRw-pY68Mt-cSFajq-8hYDeX-aEMmx3-pCbsNk-xq5Wdn-9s7swM-31Q2Nv-e3uCxg-b7mE44-9saryu-9o7R7j-eSRqPj-9iAjXj-te2T7f-uQwWLU-8JXZRg-7wX48Y-BuPdUS-gmqr7E-sgKVMj-6r481h-de4nDY-8FHsyZ-5fgocE-8dEbt3-dgbKja-cKLZqS-aESXM9-fqNGGK-aqzHtE-23v2p7-6kosBu-btpvcq-5aZgxW-nWCGGR-agpcaU-dofs6N-8mKxvq-7mWdSw-fDX5eA-5qQej4.

Porembiński, Kamil 2013. Tatra Mountains. Image https://www.flickr.com/photos/paszczak000/11357576676/in/photolist-dY8EKq-ogDztp-hJ3mBb-djCqm-qifnLv-e7dAeG-9gzcds-iiCxRw-pY68Mt-cSFajq-8hYDeX-aEMmx3-pCbsNk-xq5Wdn-9s7swM-31Q2Nv-e3uCxg-b7mE44-9saryu-9o7R7j-eSRqPj-9iAjXj-te2T7f-uQwWLU-8JXZRg-7wX48Y-BuPdUS-gmqr7E-sgKVMj-6r481h-de4nDY-8FHsyZ-5fgocE-8dEbt3-dgbKja-cKLZqS-aESXM9-fqNGGK-aqzHtE-23v2p7-6kosBu-btpvcq-5aZgxW-nWCGGR-agpcaU-dofs6N-8mKxvq-7mWdSw-fDX5eA-5qQej4.

Smith, Andrew 2014. Sunrise over Macchupucchre. Image https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew_annemarie/13558552464/in/photolist-mE88gW-66k4Ko-93a6ri-mEaS3H-p1cPUS-rcHvB3-fodK3c-fot1jd-mE4Aax-6mUKcb-p3JDw1-pjszuM-mFAzZe-mE4ZCM-mE6QMr-p4264S-p434wk-mE9LCM-9oT6uS-9Hi9sG-X5dWd-HjiqA-mEb2RH-2hCoAV-bgPBCz-x7g4qM-65qy9y-66kBnH-66pLmj-65UEBD-66pSwy-66k6Sf-66pR2d-65Qhww-65ieXP-oPERwQ-q5B9oK-4NsdYJ-pkuigG-pjWFci-mEf83q-mEdrBc-mDV6E3-65zCES-65QjzL-64QTr4-4QsDuk-93JyW5-pjWxtT-phqrpq.

Valcker. 2013. Thamserku Mountain (6608) as Seen from Namche Bazaar. Image https://www.flickr.com/photos/valcker/14236853241/in/photolist-nG4AsV-p1sLv1-8v21ua-8YheiM-B4VJgF-dSZsiy-BS2Z1N-i7rZpU-oiuQ7e-7bV9FR-7n3fG1-BwSCh5-fUESpD-mnBRr4-xofv18-oE2gNp-3N6EM-7Qhdtp-nCkkxU-86u9U5-sy4Jfh-SWcEn-iJfHAy-9PxVUQ-s5Q93U-qd2WAL-a9ndV4-hLnvRU-A7BZNz-g5kh23-a1jnLp-9PUb3C-ogDztp-hJ3mBb-djCqm-qifnLv-e7dAeG-9gzcds-iiCxRw-pY68Mt-cSFajq-8hYDeX-aEMmx3-pCbsNk-xq5Wdn-9s7swM-31Q2Nv-e3uCxg-b7mE44-9o7R7j.

Scene 2 - The climb

This is my attempt at scene 2 of my project. 

The first thing that posed a problem which i alluded in my last post was the time frame. For this scene in my project i allowed 3.5 seconds, so to get from one end of the frame to the other the raw footage was way too long so i came up with the idea of showing the subject a t various positions in the frame to simulate moving forward into the distance. 

The middle of the scene where the subject is edging along with hand raised to cover his face from the snow i change to a 3D layer so i could rotate it differently. I'm sure this is not the correct way but it seemed to work for me.

The shot has 3 separate pieces of green screen footage. This action was to overcome the problem of not having enough distance in the initial scene that allowed for enough footsteps with the subject in frame. So basically each shot has only a few steps.

To create the scene i keyed the 3 subject pieces of footage but had trouble with a bug in keylight so the process took far more time than i anticipated other than that this process went reasonably well.

I made a matte of three mountain images masked to enhance the look of the drop away and included two snow layers on black solids set to screen, one in the foreground and other layered between it and the final layer in the sequence. 

If you you closely you can identify two rates of fall that give it a more realistic effect, I also rotated one black solid layer to change the angle of the falling snow.

There are two white solid mask layers treated to show foot marks, which are basically undetectable if you didn't know they were there, these appear in the first few seconds and remain for the entire scene. 

On the shoulders and hood of the jacket i have used the same effects treated slightly differently. These were then tracked to the subjects movement attached to a null object and then connected using the pick whip so the jacket snow would follow the movement of the shoulders and hood, they were then faded by reducing the opacity to match the the fading subject.

There is no colour correction or grading added to the scene as yet. Overall i am reasonably happy with the result particularly overcoming shortcomings of the footage to achieve what essentially is my animatic scene 2.

This scene was initially to be 3.5 seconds but i have extended it by 13 frames  to 4 seconds overall.

Once the matte was made i could start the process of creating a new text composition to add to my pre-comp final matte. This was very time consuming and tested on screen literally over 100 times. What i wanted to do was get the snow under the text to shift as it landed and perhaps use the same process to accumulate the snow on the lettering.

It was really hard to find any tutorials at all n this process and after looking for almost two weeks i posted to the tutor forum on DB where Andrew Taylor came up with something that might work with trial and error hence the 100+ times.

So you can get a feel for what i am trying to achieve here is one of my attempts which i was quite pleased about. As you will see the snow shift on landing with the timing a little off, the color caused by lighting errors is also obvious and as mentioned in another post lighting is something i am really having trouble with.   

To get this far i adapted the tutor response trialling multiple masks on white solids expanding and contracting over time and various effects such as turbulent and fractal noise also applied over time.

Here is the basic tutorial i used and adapted to get some of the results posted here.

1.        Create a solid and give it a name like 'snow'

2.        Set the colour to white

3.        Create a lumpy, organic looking mask shape

4.        Set a keyframe for the mask shape and a second keyframe further down the timeline and change the shape of the mask to make it morph or expand over time.

5.        Apply a Turbulent Noise effect and crank up the contrast so that you have pure black and white patches

6.        Change the complexity and evolution as much as you want and set 2 keyframes for each property

7.        Add a 'Roughen Edges' effect and experiment with the properties until you cannot see a distinct mask outline

8.        Add a bit of Gaussian Blur to finish it off.

9.        Set the Layer mode to Screen to make the black transparent.

10.     To create a drop shadow, you won;t be able to use the default layer effect as it will take on the whole mask shape so make a pre-comp of the snow solid, duplicate it, place it underneath the original and set the layer mode to multiply.

11.     Last of all, use the Invert effect on the duplicated layer and nuge it down a bit in order for it to display correctly.

Taylor, Andrew. 2015. Accumulating Snow, January 17, Andrew Taylor, Discussion Board.

This is another version with more impact on the snow.

In this test i wanted to see how i was going to fit the entire text from my animatic and while i only have one effect on one piece of the text naturally it is planned to have effects applied to both.

What i struggled with here was the positioning of the text and lighting which is obvious in all these test pieces. I could not get the lighting right at all and will have to undertake further tutorials as mentioned in my planning document to get the lighting right.

I also need to play with the text position, including the letting scale and individual height and kerning of the letter to perhaps achieve a better result.

The final test was to pull the text forward in the shot and and apply a similar approach to the snow breaking underneath it. I was looking here for a different angle with heavier effect which i think i managed to achieve although the timing is slightly off. 

This is one of the final testing pieces in a progression that lasted days and from the very first attempts which were totally disastrous. I do intent to keep experimenting with this effect hopefully to apply it to give an accumulation on the top of the text itself. If i can make this work then i might be able to apply it to my subject in the final assignment. 

This particular effort has has 3 masked white solid applied, both ends and the middle of the text have been used so the effect is moving in opposite directions so they overlap and enhance the look. Again the lighting was problematic and the adjustment layer was used more strongly to darken the scene.

Geocache final scene text V1

This is my first attempt at 3D text and the beginning of a process for the final scene of my project. This looked fairly straight forward but i found using the lighting extremely confusing. 

As i write this i am totally perplexed at how to accurately position of the lighting. What i found was even subtle movements and i would lose all lighting on the text. You can see from this first attempt one side is very dark and the other not much better. At times the composite view was totally black and the other views such as top and side were not helping me at all. 

I had similar problems with the camera and null object during my animatic experiment. I compare using some of the tools in AE like using the pen tool in Photoshop for the first time. It took my forever to get that worked out only to find even the pen tool in AE is slightly different also.

I was able to animate the text by using key frames and the blue colour is from the spot light i used.     

To create the text i used the following tutorial which was fairly good i thought.

Please use the following link to access my project plan

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XrT7Te7V0tunoBiqjVumWeat8xPGUKH5PPFHVSy7JbA/edit?usp=sharing

Changes to my plan are as follows.

Line 9: Organise popup film studio - completed.

Line 12: Collect possible image assets

This was completed quite early and while I have not ruled out finding more at the moment I have been able to execute my tests and plan for the final assignment using around 16 images.

Line 13: Research sound effects assets

Found ahead of schedule this was an interesting process and while I have found what I believe to be appropriate wind assets for my sound effects and I have been trialling the sound of exhausted breathing.

Line 14: Music track asset

Found ahead of schedule I was looking for a music track that had some drama so the mood of the scene would be enhanced, it also needed a crescendo. I used ccmixter to find my track under creative commons choosing the thunderstorm by Karstenholymoly.

Line 16: Begin back plate creation

This has been started using some of my assets in my visual tests however I have extended this in my plan as further mattes will be required once my filming is completed.

Line 17: Film scenes at popup studio

Has not changed but has not started either I had hope to beign filming early yet I didn’t have enough knowledge to begin the process and so while I am still on schedule the early filming idea did not occur. Filming will take place at the end of this week, which is still within my original schedule.

The following Lines 18, 19, 20 and 21 I had originally penned thinking I would be  using footage filmed but as that did not happen these have become part of my test series. Essentially they crossover so they have been flagged as completed and ongoing. Red blocks indicate completed tests with the green to be used on my actual filming. These have been extended in my plan to accommodate that process.

Line: 18 Keylight removal of green screen - completed and ongoing

I used some available green screen footage to complete this test.

Line 19: Composite filmed scenes – completed and ongoing

Line 20: Test cloud effects changed to mountain - completed and ongoing

This test I changed from moving through clouds to moving through mountains

Line 21: Test snow particles - completed and ongoing

Tested and added an additional test for snow accumulation/displacement

Lines 23 – 31: Apply colour grading, Add sound effects wind, Add music track, Composite snow particles as storm effects, Composite remaining assets, Add text overlay, Add text sound effects, final render

These have not changed as they relate to filmed footage but all have been tested to some degree in my visual tests.  

Tutorials

Lines 34 – 38 Snow particles (YouTube), Camera tracking 2D & 3D (Lynda), Understanding compositions (Lynda), Exploring AE Interface (Lynda), What is after effects (Lynda) - completed

Line 39 Clouds (YouTube) Changed to fly through - completed in visual tests

Line 40 Colour grading (Lynda) - completed and ongoing

Line 43: Matte painting

Matte painting (Lynda) I have extended this research as I have not had enough time to look at this element properly and it will possibly become more useful after filming

Line 44: Keylighting

I have extended this as I figure it will be appropriate after my filming.

Line 45: Understanding frame rates (Lynda)

I have added an extension to this should issues arise after filming

Line 46: Green screen filming techniques

While I have completed some tutorials I have extend this as it will apply to my yet to be filmed footage

Line 47: General After Affects techniques – extended

Line 49: Text overlay

I have completed some tutorials on and have applied it in my visual test

Line 50: Animatic - completed

Line 51: Assignment due date - completed if you are reading this.

Addition Line 52: Lighting

This is an addition as I have had trouble working out the use of lighting within After Effects which you can see in my visual tests that include the 3D text layers. Getting the positioning and choosing the right light I have so far found difficult and matching it to assets has also been a bit of a nightmare.

Line 53: Green screen 

I ordered and have since taken delivery of a green screen. A friend has a frame so i have this enormous screen 2.7 x 6 meters.

Line 54: Lights 

Lights have arranged through another friend so that should be covered although i am yet to see them

Green screen

Today i ordered a large green screen on ebay to remove the anticipated hassle i might have using 3 pieces of green material i purchased a week ago. It will fit directly onto the stand a friend of mine has.    

I was worried about the effect 3 long strips one meter wide might have on the keying process and conversely on the finished project.

If anyone is interested here’s the page i used to find a range of options.