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Semester Highlights

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Thanks for all of your hard work and creativity throughout the semester!  Here’s a short highlight reel featuring some of the projects completed over the last few months.  Have a wonderful summer!

The Worst Credits Ever?

We’ve talked a lot about exemplary design work in film and television credits – but what’s at the other end of the spectrum?  Compiled (unscientifically) from various online lists, here are some of the worst TV credits ever.

Final Project Details: Main Title Sequence

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Your final project will also be the most open-ended: create a compelling opening title and credits sequence for the film, show, or event of your choice.  It should include name credits and some sort of title reveal (which does not need to take place at the end of the sequence) and it should be between 45 and 90 seconds in length.

Studio Spotlight: Blur

California-based Blur Studio is doing some really interesting work in film and television credits; check out the creepy title sequence for Mindhunter, the ultra-violent CG-heavy credits parody for Deadpool, and the very Bond-inspired opening sequence for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Lesson 12: Odds and Ends

Today will mostly be a work day for the final project, but there are a few more techniques I’d like to cover before we wrap things up.

Studio Spotlight: Method Design

Check out these sequences by the studio Method Design: gritty TV credits for HBO’s The Night Of and Netflix’s Godless, as well as the patriotic closing credits for Captain America: The First Avenger.

Project Details: Tracking Text

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For this week’s in-class exercise, I’d like you to find a piece of footage on Videoblocks, use the 3D Camera Tracking effect, and put your name into the footage.  The finished shot should be between five and ten seconds long.

Lesson 11: 3D Tracking

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This week, we’re going to learn a really slick method of integrating three dimensional text into live footage.  It’s the kind of effect that looks really complicated, but is actually fairly simple to pull off.  It involves an effect called 3D Camera Tracking.

Studio Spotlight: Imaginary Forces

We’ve looked at the great title sequence work being done by Elastic already, on shows like Westworld and True Detective.  Another major player is the studio Imaginary Forces, who created the iconic sequences for Stranger Things, Mad Men, and Jessica Jones.

Project Details: Parallax Photography

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This is another in-class project, so feel free to work on it during the lesson.  Take one of the classic film images in this folder and create a moving 3D image in After Effects.  The finished shot should be less than five seconds long.

Lesson 10: 3D Photo Conversion

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Now that you’re starting to get familiar with After Effects’ 3D workspace, we can start to create scenes with depth.  This process can get a little tedious, but the results are really compelling.

Studio Spotlight: Elastic

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One of the most exciting graphics studios today is the LA-based Elastic, whose title sequences include Westworld, American Gods, Altered Carbon, The Americans, True Detective, and many more.

Project Details: Now In 3D!

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This is a simple exercise that I’d like you to complete during class.  Using the media at this link, create a 3D scene with a moving camera.  It should be between five and ten seconds long.

Lesson 9: The Third Dimension

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In our 2D work, we used the After Effects composition window sort of like a collage board; flat layers were placed on top of each other, rearranged, and adjusted.  When we switch layers from 2D to 3D, that collage board becomes more like a shadow box; objects can move forward and backward in space.