Most of the time I use After Effects for message intro videos and series openers. The program was created for compositing, taking media from a whole bunch of different sources (Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere) and meshing them together into one final output.
But sometimes you just don’t have the time or resources to make everything in separate programs.
Because of this most of the time I just use the tools in After Effects to create videos, using solids, the text tool, and plug-ins. Even though this might not be the “correct” way to do things, After Effect’s tools can create a decent video in a short amount of time.
But this week I decided to change things up a bit.
A new intern in our media department had a cool idea for the message video intro that involved some filming. I haven’t messed with video footage very much in After Effects so I thought it would be a good chance for me to learn some new tricks.
Allow me to share them with you…
1. Importing Your Footage Into After Effects
I imported the footage into a Premiere project and spliced together the clips to our soundtrack. Next I wanted to experiment with our footage in After Effects, using color correction and other effects to make the video pop.
I didn’t know how to export my timeline into After Effects so I just exported out the video as a single file and imported it into After Effects. Please learn from my mistake. I had to split the layer every time there was a cut in the video so that I could affect each shot individually.
I got about 1/3 of the way through the project when lunchtime arrived. Thankfully, it was Wednesday, and time for nerd hour with Seth. I had some questions to ask.
I told him what I had done and he showed me how to fix my problem. Instead of trying to export from Premiere into After Effects, I needed to import the Premiere Project from inside After Effects.
When I got back from lunch I tried it and voila, it worked. Importing the Premiere Project into After Effects places each clip on its own layer automatically, saving tons of time.
2. Color Correcting the Footage
Now that I had figured out how to import my footage correctly, it was time to work on color correcting. There are a couple ways to do this.
First, add an adjustment layer to the top of the layer stack. Applying the color correction tools to this layer will affect the entire project. This works great if all of the footage has roughly the same exposure and feel.
You can purchase different plug-ins designed specifically for color correcting footage, like Red Giant’s Magic Bullet. But if you can’t fork out the cash, After Effects CS4 comes bundled with its own color correcting plug-in by Synthetic Aperture, Color Finesse 2 LE.
I hadn’t even noticed it in the effects menu until my friend Seth told me about it. I applied it to my adjustment layer and it asked for the registration code, which is located on your software packaging. Once authorized, the effect opened in its own window and displayed tons of different options for adjusting the footage. I didn’t have time to play around with the settings too much, so I chose one of the many presets.
I moved on to adjusting each piece of footage individually as needed. The main tools used for color correcting are levels, curves, and hue/saturation. I experimented with different settings on each of the plug-ins until the footage looked the way I wanted.
3. Adding Fake DOF
Finally, I decided to add some fake depth of field. I filmed the shoot using a Canon XH A1S and manipulated the lens settings to produce some decent DOF, but a couple of shots could have used a bit more. To make the “fake” DOF I added a blur effect to the layer.
I liked the look of the Gaussian Blur best, but it didn’t have a “repeat edge pixels” checkbox, so it left a black border around the edges of the video. I switched to a Fast Blur effect, turned on “repeat edge pixels” and the black border disappeared. By keyframing the amount of blur throughout the shot I could believably simulate the camera going in and out of focus.
These were just a few tips that I learned while working with the footage. I’ve got a lot more to learn but it was fun trying some new things.
Do you have any tips or tricks that you use when working with footage in After Effects?
chris says
Actually, there is an even easier way to get your footage from premiere into AE. just select everything in your timeline, copy, and then paste into a new comp in AE.
easy! 😀
greenhornet79 says
Cool! Thanks for the tip.