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CINEMATIC MULTIMEDIA • CFV 426
Grand Valley State University
Winter 2009
Professor Jennifer Proctor  

AfterEffects In-Class Exercise #2

Goal: To become proficient in the basics of motion paths, parenting, masks, and garbage masks.

  1. Save Project as YourLastName_2.
  2. Create a new comp using DV settings and length of :30;00. Name the Comp “YourLastName_2”
  3. Import various .psd images and video footage from the folder provided
  4. Easing keyframes
    1. Using a .psd image, create a motion path by creating several keyframes with the Position property.
    2. Add an ease-out and an ease-in to the starting and ending keyframes
    3. Compare the results to the original!
  5. Motion sketching
    1. Using Motion Sketch, draw a path for a .psd image
    2. Use the Smoother to smooth it out
    3. Auto-orient the image to the path
  6. Parenting
    1. Animate Rotation for a .psd image
    2. Parent a second image to the first so that it orbits around the first based on the rotation of the original (like a planet around the sun)
  7. Simple Masking
    1. In the video footage, use the shape tool to create a mask around a person’s head (or a facial feature, like an eye)
    2. Animate the mask’s path to follow the movement of the head
    3. Feather the mask
  8. Garbage mattes
    1. In the video footage, use the pen tool to draw a garbage matte around a person’s head
    2. Animate the matte’s shape (and path, if needed) to follow the movement of the person  (TIP: Use the selection tool to select multiple control points at once and animate sections of the mask in one movement)
  9. Expressions
    1. Using two .psd images, create an Expression that allows the Scale property to be controlled by the Rotation property, and animate.
  10. ALL of these animations should be visible in your final movie (e.g. you will turn in evidence of all of these techniques).
  11. Render the movie out at half-resolution (CompositionàMake Movie and click on “Best Settings.” Under Resolution, change to Half. Click OK.) Under “Output to” click on your comp name and choose to save to the Desktop. Hit “Render.”
  12. Save resulting movie file to the “Student FilesàExercise2Movies” folder in MACDATA.

HELPFUL TIPS:

0 (zero) = shortcut for RAM Preview

Shift+0 = shortcut for RAM Preview of every other frame (quicker)

In the Time Controls panel (default is upper right), decreasing Resolution can speed rendering time