Tutorial #3 -Animating in After Effects

Ive never worked with After Effects before so the whole process was slow and difficult.

Following tutorial three i was able to import the organized layers, they imported in a jumbled order but it wasnt that difficult to navigate through.

I kept the opening screen simple, the crests transitions was a slide apart, i attempted to shatter each side for dramatic effect but it wouldnt work a they were two separate layers and they shattered at different times. 

A problem i nearly missed was i didnt include the logo as a constant in after effects, so it was visible at the start but not after the first screen, this was a simple matter of stretching out the frame to fit the whole composition. 

The second screen would be where most of the assets changed, so for now i kept it as the background, it was the last thing i swapped. to swap the screens i trimmed and changed the alignment of the layer.

The Intro originally was  simple zoom to actual size - pause - zoom further than the screen, but after alot of experimenting with the top view and its tools, i was able to have the asset rotate as it moved in. Then with the use of auto bezier in the keyframe interpolation i made the zoom in and out have a softer effect, giving it a more professional appearance.   

This asset took the most work but im very proud of how it turned out in the end, i think the twirl gave a more equalized feel to the opposing team crests. 

After learning the basics of how to create a 3D feature with the use of the top view, the Pitch Layout assets transition was easier to create. I originally thought i would keep it simple fade in - fade out or slide from top-pause-slide to bottom. However i found a more dynamic looking transition was just as simple to create in after effects, it scrolls out from a specific point ie the middle of the screen and asset. It then pauses and retracts to the same point.

At this point i had to unexpectedly change the composition in the properties menu to make the animation longer. 

The Banners transition was created with the same animation technique, except horizontally and with a different path tool. The problem with this was i thought the time and score could change by new keyframes, however they also needed trimmed and positioned correctly on the timeline, however it took alot of editing to get the time and the banner to appear at the same time with no glitches. The score was a simple matter of trimming and placing the three score layers appropriately. Once the text was all in order and timed correctly i back tracked and cut the full pitch view, and added the close up view just after the first goal was scored, whilst the clock still continued. 

Like the paper prototypes i included the same generic RTE match of the day theme tune and rendered the video and audio out at the highest possible quality. At first i was worried this wouldnt render out properly but i double checked with the useful title action save option, which gave me similar guidelines to the set i created in tutorial one, allowing me to understand how much each screen would see.

After Effects was complicated  software in my opinion but it was worth it for the final result.