For Tuesday's class

A big reminder: by Tuesday's class, you need to have two things –

1. Raw footage for your (non-post production tweaked) special effect. We'll have an hour to edit that footage into shape on Tuesday's class.

2. A storyboard (which can be stick figures) for your cloning project idea. This will help you think through the number and composition of the shots you'll need.

We'll also be starting to work our way into that "cloning" assignment. I'll want you to have your footage shot, and ready to be manipulated, by Thursday of next week. We'll have two hours of Tuesday's class to shoot footage for it.

Here are a couple of tutorials I'll show in class to lay some groundwork for the cloning project.





And here are some cloning project parameters:

1. It doesn't have to be too long. One or two minutes is plenty.

2. There must be one shot where there are at least three "clones" of the same actor in frame.

3. There must be at least one moment where two of the clones physically interact – where one visually crosses the space the other one is occupying.

4. You'll get extra points for creating an interesting scenario – some sort of "story" to frame the action. Think of this as an opportunity to create a short film, not just to do an After Effects exercise. That's the difference between the footage in the first tutorial and the second tutorial – the first is just an exercise, and the only reason you'd watch it is to learn the exercise – the second has a bit more intrinsic value, to be watched on its own terms.

First assignment (in two parts)

I'm giving you two assignments right out of the gate: one that's due next class, and one that's due a week from the first class.

Due Thursday (8/22), I want you to bring a scene or shot from a movie or TV show that shows some sort of special effect that you find interesting or effective. If it's on youtube or vimeo, embed it on this blog, or at least have the link ready in the comments to this post. You can also bring it on DVD/Blu Ray for us to project. I'll want you to show the clip, then explain to the class what you like about it. If you know, or can find out, how the special effect was actually achieved, I'd like you to present that as well. If you can't find a definitive answer, I want your best guess as to how the special effect was accomplished. The highest grade you'll be able to get on this assignment, if you can't present how the special effect was achieved, will be a B+.

Due this coming Tuesday (8/27), I want you bring footage you have shot for a "special effect" of your own devising, so that it can be composited/edited in class. Keep it simple, so that you can do the editing/post-production in an hour or so. As I said in class, I think the essence of "special effects"" is to make the viewer believe that they've seen something that didn't actually happen in real life – something beyond what a camera could capture without post-production interference. You will present something that you shoot and edit yourself (you're encouraged to work in teams), that shows something that did not actually happen in "real life." I don't want you to use any special effects software to get your result - you can build models or costumes, use double exposures, and any sort of framing or editing trickery you like – but the special effects you use should be "practical effects." You choice of the effect is up to you. Is it a car crash? A monster attack? A ghostly haunting? A stunt? A firefight? A natural disaster? An act of magic? A space flight? Time travel? That part is up to you to figure out. This doesn't have to be shot on HD video – a video camera on your phone or computer will be sufficient. It's more important that this be clever than pretty.

In class I talked about the difference between effects that are supposed to be "realistic" and effects that are intended to be stylized. You can choose to go either route for this project.

And here are two things I'd like to show in class:




Lights Out - Who's There Film Challenge (2013) from David F. Sandberg on Vimeo.



Tuck me in (short film 2014) from Ignacio F. Rodó on Vimeo.

And just for laffs, when special effects go wrong:


The Manster (starting at 1:09:30 or so):

 

Megalodon:

Welcome – Spring 2015 class

Welcome to the "After Effects and Special Effects" class.

The syllabus can be downloaded here.

And here are links to tutorials for some of the effects we'll be covering in this class:

Cloning (using and keyframing masks):



Motion tracking for titles:



Physical Transformation:



"Stunt work" – making someone fly:



Green screen effects, digital "matte painting," and virtual cameras:



And if we have time, simple animation with puppet pins: