11.5.2022 - 26.5.2022 (Week 6 - Week 8)
Chung Yi Ki / 0345014 / BDCM
Motion
Graphics and Compositing
Task 2: Channel bumper
Lecture
Week 6 / Keying overview
For this week, we are shown a tutorial video from YouTube on how to remove green screen in After Effects.
Fig 1.1 Removing green screen tutorial video
It's easier to key a well recorded video with the subject over a plain background, for example, a green screen than to key a video with a messy background. If there's minor messes in the background, remove it with a mask first, then apply the keylight 1.2 effect.
In the keylight 1.2 effect, when the view is switched to key matte, it shows that the parts that are removed is in black and while the parts visible is in white. Clean the keying by adjusting the black and white levels in the screen matte function. Adjust the other functions as needed. Remember to soften the edges as much as possible.
To clean up keys further in areas like hair, change the keylight to intermediate result and add an advance spill suppression effect.
Week 7 / File linking
Fig 2.1 File linking between Premiere Pro and After Effects tutorial
To bring a clip in Adobe Premiere Pro to After Effects, select a clip and right click it, and choose replace clip with after effects composition. The clip will be brought to After Effects automatically and anything done in After Effects is then rendered in real time in Adobe Premiere Pro. Linked clips are automatically coloured pink in Premiere Pro.
Tasks
For project 2, we are tasked to choose an existing or fake channel/brand and
create a channel bumper for it. The channel bumper should be 10-15 seconds
long and include an audio with a good tempo to the video.
Visual reference
Fig 1.1 Burger king rebrand motion graphics animation
Source: https://youtu.be/xwH4oVnuIAs
Fig 1.2 B'Coffee motion graphics commercial
Source: https://youtu.be/Twozd0aOHCU
Fig 1.3 Casio G-shock product teaser
Source: https://youtu.be/pnUI287gFkk
Fig 1.4 Casio channel bumper
Source: https://youtu.be/qtvJrv8aCQs
I first went to search for videos of existing channel bumpers to get an idea
on what it's supposed to look like. I found out that a lot uses typography,
but a common theme is that every one of them has a smooth and seamless
transition from one scene to another. So, that will be my aim for my channel
bumper. As I was searching, I thought about having a look on Casio's
contents and realised they have product promos but no existing bumper yet on
their channel, and as a consumer of their watches, I decided to use Casio
for my project.
Fig 1.5 Moodboard
I also went to search for visuals style that I want to include in my channel
bumper. I wanted to try out a grainy shading kind of style as I think it would
suit the lighting look seen in photoshoot of watches. It will also be a high
contrast look to pull more focus onto the watches.
Thumbnail storyboards and animatic
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| Fig 2.1 Thumbnail storyboards |
Fig 2.2 Animatic
Fig 2.3 Test animation of first scene
I started by first doing some thumbnail storyboard sketches of the idea I want
in each scene, then I further change it in my animatic, which I would be
basing my channel bumper off on. I wanted to showcase the process and
mechanics of both mechanical and digital watch, to show that Casio is a
trusting watch brand. I also made an animation test of the first scene to test
out the shading and lighting. Though after receiving feedbacks from Mr. Fauzi,
this idea is more suited for Project 3. So, I decided to come up with a new
storyboard idea but keeping the visual style.
 |
| Fig 2.4 Reworked thumbnail storyboards |
For my new storyboard idea, I decided to make a kind of teaser to my initial
idea (which is now Project 3). My idea is to first do a subtle reveal of the
face of a mechanical watch, and the scene then zooms out to reveal the logo
through the "O" in Casio and a digital clock time format will flash through
the logo until it settles again at the end of the video.
Digitization of sketch
Fig 3.1 Tutorial on grain shading in After Effects
Source: https://youtu.be/h9uxAmqt5aQ
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| Fig 3.2 Creating the watch illustration on Adobe Illustrator |
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| Fig 3.3 Applying effects and animating second hand and shine |
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| Fig 3.4 Motion speed graph of light shine |
I created a watch illustration in Adobe Illustrator using shapes, pen tool and
gradients to colour it, and combined assets into their respective layers for
animation work in After Effects. Moving on to After Effects, I shaded the
illustration with grainy textures by following the tutorial video showed in
Fig 3.1, I also did some colour corrections to get a more high contrast and
bluish look. I then animated the second hand of the watch, ticking every
second, and a light shine on watch face by using shape layer in addition
blending mode and position keyframes with easing.
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Fig 3.5 Casio logo Source: https://www.iconspng.com/image/140329/casio-logo |
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| Fig 3.6 Vectorizing and changing the logo to white |
I found a png file of Casio logo online and changed the logo and changed it to
white as well as vectorized it in Adobe Illustrator using the image trace
function.
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| Fig 3.7 Animating the spotlight effect using masking |
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| Fig 3.8 Zooming out the camera to reveal the logo |
I then brought the watch composition to a new composition together with the
Casio logo. I used mask feather and expansion to animate a reveal of the watch
face, to simulate the look of a spotlight reveal. Then, I enabled 3D layers
for the watch and the Casio logo and positioned the watch further away from
the Casio logo in z space, of which I used a camera to zoom out from the watch
to the logo. I also had to reposition the watch and logo while the camera is
zooming out to make sure the elements fall into the right place. A subtle
reflection shine is also animated across the logo. The keyframes are eased by
using either easy ease or further refined in the motion speed graph.
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| Fig 3.11 Animating the digital time text |
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| Fig 3.12 Overlaying the digital time over the logo |
For the digital time flash, I downloaded a font called
Digital 7 from dafont.com
and used it in another composition. I added a glow effect to the word to give
it a more digital look and animated the flashing sequence by manipulating its
mask opacity to create different region of opacity percentage. I brought the
text composition to the main composition and overlayed it on top of the Casio
logo, which I also added some flashing sequence and a mask expansion reveal at
the end.
Adding audio
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| Fig 4.1 Adobe Premiere Pro workspace |
Fig 4.2 Draft 1 of channel bumper
I went to Freesound to search for suitable audios and music, and edited them
in Adobe Premiere Pro according to the beat of the video. I layered the music
track with a drumbeat so that it suits Casio's modern identity more. I first brought the After Effects composition to Premiere Pro directly, and then exported the After Effects composition using Media Encoder later on for a smoother playback and export purposes in Premiere Pro.
Sound source:
-
Automatic Wrist Watch Ticking by bySeb
https://freesound.org/people/bySeb/sounds/326478/ -
TimeLift (Rhodes Piano).wav by Erokia
https://freesound.org/people/Erokia/sounds/337146/
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3/4 beat.wav by symphoid
https://freesound.org/people/symphoid/sounds/173853/
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Glitching, Vinyl Record Player, A.wav by InspectorJ
https://freesound.org/people/InspectorJ/sounds/427848/
Further development of motion graphics
Fig 5.1 Custom clock in After Effects tutorial
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Fig 5.2 Code to copy from comments Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14N1JQr5RrU |
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| Fig 5.3 Animating the time counting up using slider control |
I thought the digital time looks too static so I decided to add a counting up
animation to it. I followed a video tutorial shown in Fig 3.9, and copied the
codes needed for the expression from the comments. I animated the digital time
to count up two minutes as it flashes so that it won't be too vigorous, and
matches the audio better.
Final channel bumper
Fig 6.1 Final channel bumper
Feedbacks
Week 7
Channel bumper is a simple idea to reveal the brand while a channel identity is to promote certain products from the brand. The initial idea for Project 2 is more suitable for Project 3. The idea and visual style can be kept for Project 3, but the video idea needs to be a new one for Project 2. Fig 1.4 is a good example for a channel bumper, while Fig 1.3 is like a teaser but a bit too long, you can refer to them.
Reflection
This project was fun for me to do as I got to try different effects in After Effects to get a different visual style. It also helped me to understand how to use the camera tool and the effects of 3D layer more. Other than that, I also got to practice on how to use only shapes, masks and adjustment layer to colour correct and achieve certain lighting look, instead of just relying on the light tool in After Effects which I did often in my past works. I found out by lighting this way it gives me more flexibility on the visual look. Although, it was challenging to try and come up with a achievable idea and execute it in a short period of time, but I'm still glad that I'm able to finish it and come up with something pleasing.
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