Just like in Premiere Pro, After Effects is very weird about using files created in one version of the software with another version. Going from old to new is fairly painless. After Effects will give you a warning screen, saying that it is creating a new version of the file and that the old version will remain intact. Just click OK and re-save the project with a new name. Going in the other direction is where we run into trouble.
Several of you have had difficulties with using different versions of Premiere on the same project. Although all of the computers in the Digital Video Editing Lab and Marts Studio are currently using Premiere Pro 2018, the specific version numbers may be slightly different. This causes problems, because Premiere won’t let you use older versions of the software with newer project files.
Most of this week’s class is meant to be work time for your animated logo project. However, I thought it might be useful to highlight a few more effects and options in After Effects as you work.
As its name suggests, After Effects is full of effects that an be applied to stills, video, and audio files. Here are a few videos counting down some users’ favorite effects and plugins.
Create a True Detective-style credits sequence for the class.
Your next project is the sort of thing that motion graphics artists deal with all the time – logo animation.
Now that you’re a bit more familiar with the After Effects workspace, we can start to look at some of the advanced options within the program. This week, we’ll focus on adding effects, creating and manipulating text elements, and blending layers together using transfer modes.
In the 1990s, X-Men: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series were hugely popular. Both had evocative opening sequences – dark and moody for Batman, colorful and energetic for the X-Men.
After Effects works a little differently than a dedicated video editing program like Premiere. Instead of working with lots of shots simultaneously, After Effects is really designed to create single shots or sequences.
Since we’ve been working with royalty-free footage, I thought it might be interesting to look at trademarks and copyright use in film. Here are two video essays that dig into the subject.
Create a title sequence using archival and royalty-free stock footage.
For your next project, you’ll be creating a longer title sequence using footage that we film in class together. Each member of the class will be filmed against a black or white void. You’ll be given the footage to stylize, composite, and edit together to the music of your choosing.
The opening credits for True Detective are evocative and iconic – which makes them perfect for parody. Here are three homages swap in characters from Star Wars, Batman, and Key & Peele.
Some of my favorite television title sequences are from the HBO anthology series True Detective. The credits were created by the design studio Elastic, which is also responsible for the memorable credits for shows like Daredevil, Westworld, and Halt and Catch Fire.
This week, we’re going to take a break from software and do some filming. Our next project is going to involve double exposure photography, so we’ll be going over the process of filming for double exposure in class.
We’re mostly concerned with title design in film and television, but there’s also some very cool work being done in the world of video games. Check out this joyful montage (from Art of the Title, naturally) that looks at video game titles over the last few decades.
There are dozens of video effects built into Premiere Pro; some are useful and some are pretty tacky.
Did you know that there is an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Main Title Design”? Here are the 2018 nominees; the Starz series Counterpart took the statue home.
For your next project, you’ll be creating a title sequence using stock and royalty free found footage.
This week, we’re going to look at the different methods for creating simple text elements in Premiere Pro. While I prefer programs like After Effects for complex graphics, Premiere is perfectly adequate for many tasks. If you’re creating relatively straightforward, simple graphics, Premiere is a good choice. There are also a number of graphics presets available, if you need to create something quickly.