Thanks Shelley. Actually the effect is created using a single JPEG image which I put in a top layer in Sony Vegas and then use the composite/multiply effect. I find that to be much more direct and faster than setting up a mask within something like AE.
I have control of the image plate in Photoshop so I can vary the fade and add other noise or chaos to the image if needed. I can also colorize the mask(s) if I want to apply some color grading at the same time.
I suppose one benefit of using native AE masking would be to animate the mask or tweak endlessly but for me it is just easier to import the mask image file (I have a set of image plates with various fade designs on them to use by the way) and mulitply and keep moving. If you have Photoshop or if your NLE supports the multiply setting for layers I would recommend you experiment with making some noise/fade plates to see what it can do.
I just did a quick search on the web for a multiply tutorial to illustrate, maybe not perfect but it touches on the concept:
The pop-thru method is actually a holdover from the days when animators had only one take to get it right, as they were shooting on film and couldn’t see their results right away. Reshoots were costly.
These days, about the best thing you can do for yourself is get ahold of a framegrabber (Stopmtoion Pro for PC or FrameThief for Macs) and scrub through the audio you’ve recorded for the film and broken down into sections. Let the AUDIO track guide you, especially if there is dialog- find the most important parts of the sound, the frames where there is the most emphasis, and make a note of those key frames. Then, as you animate, try to hit your marks. It is SUPER easy to do this with a framegrabber that has audio scrubbing, because you can just animate by feel. I shot both Storytime With Pram this way, and I’m almost halfway through my second film, hardly even glancing at the X-sheets I drew up. Audio scrubbing is where it’s at. It teaches you timing and pose to pose fater than anything else out there.
Wow, that was a lot of spelling mistakes, but you get the gist, hopefully. I’m developing carpal tunnel in my right hand, so it’s getting hard to type accurately.
4 responses to “Plant a Tree: A Pop-thru Test”
LOVE the burned edges of the screen… Aftereffects? Or?
Thanks Shelley. Actually the effect is created using a single JPEG image which I put in a top layer in Sony Vegas and then use the composite/multiply effect. I find that to be much more direct and faster than setting up a mask within something like AE.
I have control of the image plate in Photoshop so I can vary the fade and add other noise or chaos to the image if needed. I can also colorize the mask(s) if I want to apply some color grading at the same time.
I suppose one benefit of using native AE masking would be to animate the mask or tweak endlessly but for me it is just easier to import the mask image file (I have a set of image plates with various fade designs on them to use by the way) and mulitply and keep moving. If you have Photoshop or if your NLE supports the multiply setting for layers I would recommend you experiment with making some noise/fade plates to see what it can do.
I just did a quick search on the web for a multiply tutorial to illustrate, maybe not perfect but it touches on the concept:
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2004/08/04/multiply-mode-in-photoshop/
Hey Grant,
The pop-thru method is actually a holdover from the days when animators had only one take to get it right, as they were shooting on film and couldn’t see their results right away. Reshoots were costly.
These days, about the best thing you can do for yourself is get ahold of a framegrabber (Stopmtoion Pro for PC or FrameThief for Macs) and scrub through the audio you’ve recorded for the film and broken down into sections. Let the AUDIO track guide you, especially if there is dialog- find the most important parts of the sound, the frames where there is the most emphasis, and make a note of those key frames. Then, as you animate, try to hit your marks. It is SUPER easy to do this with a framegrabber that has audio scrubbing, because you can just animate by feel. I shot both Storytime With Pram this way, and I’m almost halfway through my second film, hardly even glancing at the X-sheets I drew up. Audio scrubbing is where it’s at. It teaches you timing and pose to pose fater than anything else out there.
Wow, that was a lot of spelling mistakes, but you get the gist, hopefully. I’m developing carpal tunnel in my right hand, so it’s getting hard to type accurately.