To start of the session - we just had to add titles over a coloured background. We were then able to play around with the different transitions available in after effects.
I added a timecode to the top left corner of the screen as this may be a helpful tool to use in our news production (perhaps for the live package).
I also decided to add as many transitions as I could to see if I could get a lot of them to work together at the same time. The maximum number I managed to get to work together at once was three - after that it became very messy and un readable. I thought this would be a good experiment as using many transitions together allows you to create your own custom transition that will be unique to your work - this will be good in our news production.
We were then shown how to make 2D letters look 3D. One way to do this was to add an 'alpha bevel' effect. This adds shadow to the text in order to create the 3D look.
Another way to do this is to duplicate the current text and add it behind your first layer of text but slightly repositioned and in a darker colour. I personally prefer the look of the 'alpha bevel' effect and I also think it is more simple in terms of positioning the text but it is handy to know there are options for creating 3D text.
Next we were set the task of creating moving titles using the key frame options on the position and opacity settings. The first step was to create a piece of text and change the title settings to 3D layer. Then we had to add a camera and set that to 35mm.
To add the key frames in the positions I wanted, I clicked on the timeline in the relevant places. To make the title move, you need to add keyframe in the position setting. For the first key frame, the text was so big that it was out of shot. For the next key frame, I changed the position so the text was smaller and slightly more to the right. For the next key frame, I did the same again (made the text smaller and slightly more to the right). I did this until the title was in the position I required. When the title was in the position I wanted it in, I let it sit there before adding another key frame where I changed the position and opacity - to make the title look like it was fading out into the distance. I added more key frames, changing the position and opacity, until the title was gone.
I then added a motion blur and alpha bevel. The bevel made the text look 3D and the motion blur gave the effect of the title moving - (it does this by slightly blurring the titles). I then duplicated the layer, changed the writing and moved it across in the timeline. This gave the effect of one title appearing and then disappearing into the background being followed by another title doing the same. This may be useful in our news production as we may want to do this for our title - The Bunker.
Learning Outcomes:
- Feel a lot more confident using after effects and creating moving titles
- Know how to make a title look 3D using different methods
- Aware of many different transitions that already exist - but also confident in making own transitions
- Know how to use key frames - something I previously wasn't aware even existed
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