I have seen a lot of written articles on this subject, and it seems to be a hugely popular effect. I mean some guy even did a roundup on the subject last week or so… anyways, I am going to be putting out the first of its kind, yes, the acclaimed Tilt Shift photography technique is possible with After Effects, and there is now a video tutorial for it. What is different about this tutorial from all the others, is they are usually trying out this effect on still images, when that really doesn’t do it justice when applying it to video. We will be using the Posterize Time effect along with Lens Blur and some handy adjustment layer masking to create the toy, stop-motionish feel to the footage. This kind of effect is always better when created with an actual tilt shift lens, and a DSLR camera such as the Canon 5D MK II or Panasonic GH1, but hey some of us just have a cheap Canon Vixia HV30 and a parking garage nearby… and sometimes, if you are handy with your techniques, you can very well pull it off, just as well as the pros do.
Hey everybody… have you ever gotten failed renders and error messages when you try to render out your high definition H.264 video in After Effects? I do all the time, and it is in part because the H.264 Output Module is not designed to render HD video. There is a separate workaround, that I get asked to explain all the time on forums. This is a great technique to know when you have to submit proofs to a client many times within a day, and maybe are uploading via FTP, have to burn to disc, or otherwise have limited space. You obviously can’t give them full resolution Quicktime Animation mov’s… that would be preposterous! Instead of outputting gigabytes of information and running them through a compression program, you can output to H.264 no problem with my handy little workaround. This tutorial uses After Effects CS4 and runs on Windows Vista.
Just like I promised, I found some amazing Canon 5D MK II videos for you to see what I am talking about when I say I am pumped about this camera. The colors get so vibrant, and the depth of field is just, absolutely perfect. The thing is, you have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to get this kind of look with an actual video camera, but your alternative… and in my opinion BETTER route to take… you can use one of these cameras for cheaper, get better color, better control in low light, shallow depth of field, interchangeable lenses, and be one of the cool kids in class like JJ Abrams.
This camera is beginning to revolutionize digital film and is completely changing my attitude on being confined to a video camera. Not only does the camera shoot video, it also takes amazing stills, can have all kinda of film gear adapted onto it, such as matte boxes, steady cams, and more lens adapters just to name a few. Below are a few of my favorite videos I found throughout the net to demonstrate how great the video taken with this phenomenal camera really is.
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The recent collection competition generated over 3000 fantastic entries, and judging has been no easy task! Thanks to everyone who created a collection and entered. Here’s our top 10 entries. The one with the most votes will win US$3,500 to spend on their ultimate creative set-up!
by ahmednaguib
“A collection about cities, modern buildings, industrial sounds, videos of a town in motion, or a building in color, you will find it here, brought and made by some of the greatest authors in their fields, enjoy!”
by idrawdesigns
“The Eco-Friendly Collection (Web and Print) is a compilation of items across the Envato Marketplaces that relate to going green and being environmentally friendly. Templates can be used as a base for websites and printed material that promote recycling, preserving nature, and anything that has to do with being eco-friendly. Sounds and flash animations can be used to accompany work created on the web.”
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I just recently had a conversation with a friend of mine, who is new director, and I was emphasizing the importance of why he should implement cameras with that sweet, sweet looking depth of field for that film look that everyone strives after. As always, budget is an issue, and like me, he can’t afford 35 mm lens adapters, or even the lenses for that matter. We got to talking about how to get that film look for the least money possible, and it brought up a lot of good points that I figured my readers would like to have some insight on. This one is for you, new comedy troupe, or aspiring music video director. I am gonna give you an indie filmmaker’s point of view on what I have my eyes on these days, and why.
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Whenever I am explaining what I do to a client, or trying to pitch an idea to someone who knows nothing of the video production field, they always say the same kinds of things: “Oh, so you’re the one that does those special effects when you’re, like, editing and stuff…?” or “We can add the special effects, like explosions and ray guns later right?” or one of my favorite, “that lighting doesn’t look right, oh well you can fix that with some visual effects anyways, you seem like you know what you are doing”. Fact is, special effects and visual effects are two completely different realms of the production process. I have had to explain this so many times, I usually just nod my head and say yeah, and continue on with my day, because its almost an everyday occurrence. Perhaps you are new to the video production/post production world, so this could inform you a bit, and help in your quest to not look like an idiot if you were to let something slip.
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Tilt shift photography is a huge trend lately it seems, and it is not slowing down. What I find so captivating about it, is the fact that the video and the picture is almost manipulating your mind, and forcing you to think that the subjects you are looking at are in fact miniatures. While there are specific lenses made to create a very narrow depth of field, you can produce this effect in programs like After Effects, Photoshop, and even iMovie if you wanted to. This is probably the reason tilt shift videos have gained so much steam in the last few months.
Creating the effect on a still photograph is actually pretty simple, just blur the top and bottom of your photograph, and keep your subject framed in the middle and very sharp focus. Of course, that is a very rough way of going about it, but it gets even harder when you implement this technique into video. There are a few ways to go about it, but the way to really nail it is to get the timing of your timelapse just perfect, so that your video actually looks like stop motion instead of just a really fast timelapse. Usually the video isn’t actually video at all, but full framed photographs taken every four to eight frames, then brought into an application as an image sequence. Then you can make your colors more vibrant, adjust your timing, add pans and tilts, and your blurs to create the polished look. Below are some of the best and my favorite tilt-shift videos I have found on the net.
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You asked for it over and over, so we decided to finally give it to you. That’s right folks, I’m talking about After Effects CS4 project files! We are now accepting them and invite you to begin submitting some immediately! Just be sure to specify CS4 in the version drop down 
.
Oh…one more thing (for those of you hoping for the “one more thing” bomb at the most recent Apple keynote), in addition to opening up to CS4 projects, we have also decided to do one better.
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I am at the point in my career where it seems imperative that I can implement 3D elements into my projects for clients, whether I create them myself or not. 3D can be intimidating, and being at the same point you are probably at… I am sharing the anxiety with you. Keep in mind while reading this article that I am by no means a 3D artist. I know some very minute 3D principles and design techniques, but perhaps we can share the journey, and learn from each other, or at least from what I have learned myself, in the past few months.
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Today is the first day for sales in the project file competition. We had an astonishing 86 entries, and all can be seen here.
As you all know, the 2nd half of the competition will run from today (June 8th) until 11:59pm EST, July 8th. Soon after, the totals will be tallied up and the winners will be announced. Remember that only sales aquired between now and July 8 2099 count towards the competition standings. Sales made before June 8th will not be accounted for. This allows all 86 files, the same equal playing field to start from.
So good luck everyone, the entries are all brilliant, this is set to be our best competition ever! Regardless of the fact that it’s our first competition ever.
Great job everyone!
