Progressive work - Breakdown Structure 4

The Finale Sequence

The finale sequence consist of the image of the last frame of scene 6, which fades off, when the camera panes down from it. Giving a transition to the finale sequence from scene 6. I use a grunge image that is being scaled up, which I accidentally created a pulse effect, using radical fast blur to create a organic pulse, by giving a wiggle expression to the amount affecting the image. Using the ancient times tittle sequence tutorial's wispy flow effect and animated light source from a direction to enhance the flow of the camera movement. I followed the cloud sequence tutorial on videocopilot to animate the clouds and create depth as the camera panes around the grunge image.

As the camera moves around, the credits appearing are enhanced using the energy wipe tittle sequence tutorial which is color corrected to blend well with the overall background.

The sequence then ends with a thank you message appearing, while a orb starts to appear slowly in the middle, and flies forward and knocks onto the camera, creating a camera shake. I have done this, as I have considered future improvements considering that I might be able to create the orb to flow out like 3D movies that we have been watching in cinema's recently. The objective is to make the viewers think that the demon orb also passed through them, and it might just cause them to become demons too!

The output of finale sequence:

Rapping Up

Using iMovie to piece all of the scenes together, and add in simple transitions and synchronize music using garage band.

The final footage:

Progressive work - Breakdown Structure 3

The 5th & 6th Scene

Scene 5 has buildings and sky blended replacement. I aligned the energy field effect that I created during my experiment in the previous posts to fit scene 5, and made some corrections the to color and opacity. I animated the twisting energy to appear from the actor's mouth first, before the other elements start to appear, which I feel that its more logical. The footage is pre-composed and duplicated to have 1 of the same footage to have a position wiggle expression when the energy field starts to appear in a certain period.

The view then switches to scene 6 which continues the energy field effects, as well as the wiggle expression, which stops when the actor 'cools' off. As the actor stands up and moves forward to weave a action, I self-experiment a effect which I come out by myself without any tutorials, base on my own imaginary thoughts of how a person is dispersed as lights explodes out of him before he disintegrates. I also added a quick low opacity version of the actor with a polar coordinate effect to curl out of the actor as he disintegrates into thin air.

The output of scene 5 & 6:

Progressive work - Breakdown Structure 2

The 2nd-4th Scenes

All 3 scenes crosses each other quickly in the final production. This is done to give extra tension and also to distract viewers from the actor who is locking the gate. It is enhanced with the synchronization of the music used to increase tension. All 3 scenes has its sky replaced, as well as extra buildings photoshoped to enhance the over exposed areas.

However, I was not able to blend the edges of some complicated areas in my original footage for scene 2 and 4. It would have look better if I could blend it as well as scene 3, where i only use still images for the background and foreground. It consist of close view buildings, far view high rise buildings as well as a sky image. I feel that I have manage to blend the background buildings with the sky that created a lot of depth between the buildings with the sky. I also added a extra piece of sky with a small mask to it, so that the orb that is flying down looks as if it crosses the clouds. The whole composition was then pre-composed and given a wiggle expression to its position to create a dramastic camera shake.

Scene 4 is complicated to do as I need to ensure that the masking done to the actor covers the orb appropriately, to stop it from appearing in front of the actor, as it hits the actor's back. At the same time I have to consider that the orb have to pass through the actor. Thus, I had to make sure the mask fades off at an appropriate timing, as well as the shape of the mask, and how much it was feathered.

Vignette is added again. Adjustment layers are also added to color correct the scenes so that it has the same shade of color.

The output of scene 2-4:

Progressive work - Breakdown Structure 1

After weeks of planning and editing, the final product is finally created.

Now! Let me talk about the technical process of creating this production.

Tittle Sequence

The opening scene's original plan was actually suppose to be a video taken from a high rise building. However, I couldn't find a high rise building near by my town area which I have access to. I then came across Avatar's trailer, where a plane flies downwards, followed by a cloudy scene, where the camera moves forward, passing through the clouds.

I felt that I could actually composite the cloud scene using still images to be created into 3D layers, where I could pane my camera to move in various directions and rotations, so as to get the same effect of a camera moving forward in the cloud scene of Avatar. The clouds in my composition are also enhanced using liquidfy effect to create a slight movement.

As seen in my first experiment for my opening scene in the previous post, the smoke that follows the orb did not have much expression to it. I finally realized that the speed rotation, speed distribution rotation, and the random rotation, the life of the particles, as well as the opacity of the whole particle and the opacity life for each particle, greatly affects in creating a realistic smoke trail, which I feel what I have improved on, which allows my smoke trail to be much more refined compared to the videocopilot tutorial.

Vignette is being added over the layers. I added extra cast shadows to the tittle 'Demon Soul'. I created a extra feathered and lighter opacity solid to be added to the orb to create a light source. and a few more color corrections to enhance and fit my plan in creating a spooky effect.

The output of my tittle sequence:

Progressive work - Opening Scene

This opening scene for project 1 was partly self thought and tutorial based. The whole idea to composite this composition was quite hard to grasp. I have first photoshop the cloud layers to 4 sided cloud layers. The cloud layers are then duplicated in after effects to be converted into 3D layers which allows me to gain depth in my composition. It looks as if the clouds are far apart from the camera view. Animating the clouds to move forward, as well as moving the camera forward, creates a camera movement animation. Using various copilot tutorials to edit my opening title "Demon Soul", to add in more depth to look as if its popping out, and casting its shadow. Using the smoke trail tutorial, and installing a particular trapcode effect to be used, to create a smoke trail for the orb that i created earlier, which is animated to fly around the scene. I also added a slight glow which tracks the orb, so that it cast a light on any object that it is shinning on to as it passes them. I further enhance the mood of the scene, by adding a venette and various curve color corrections.

However, future improvements that I would like to consider are using better quality photos, as well as creating a more realistic smoke trail.

Progressive work - Experimetal

Using videocopilot tutorial 68, Energy and tutorial 77, soul removal to enhance the look. If you notice, the energy emitting from the energy field fades in back and forth, this is done use a wiggle expression which i manually entered. Expressions allows animation to be done automatically judging by the expression written. If animations could be done using expression, less manual keying work could be done, and time would not be wasted in keying the keys 1 by 1.

Progressive work - Experimetal

I combined 2 tutorials to improve the light casting tutorial, to create a more advance orb effect that emits energy. Using the soul removal tutorial to create the energy emitting form the orb. However, I have to do the tutorial separately, as it takes a long time to render the whole scene due to the complications of many particles that are produced.

Progressive work - Experimetal

Using videocopilot tutorial 43, demon wrap face to wrap my brother's face into a demon look for a few seconds. This tutorial might be great for creating uniqueness in each character in a scene, if I am to replicate the same person a few times in a scene. It could also be a good method to exaggerate an expression of a person.

Color Correction Techniques

Video 1

Original color of video 1

Using Lynda.com tutorials methods to produce video 1 color corrections.

This exercise is good for manipulating the hue and levels of brightness and darkness of the video.

Hue plays a great role in changing the mood of the scene.

Video 2

Original color of video 2

Using secondary color correction in after effects to produce video 2 & 3 color corrections.

This exercise uses a extra software "Color Finesse". Using this software to target specific colors, which can easily change the hues of the specific chosen colors within a area.

Video 3

Original color of video 3

Video 4

Original color of video 4

Using videocopilot tutorial 14 to bleach bypass and produce video 4 color correction.

This method of color correction allows the video to look more dynamic and striking.

Video 5

Original color of video 5

Experimenting various methods to color correct the 2 bad versions of video 5 & 6, and producing the color corrected versions.

Video 6

Original color of video 6