Projectors/Self portrait project/AfterEffects projects.

April 29, 2022

Projectors/Self portrait project/AfterEffects projects.

We watched some examples of artists work including a dual screen piece which showed a split personality.

We also set up the projectors to see how a 3 screen piece would look. We first plugged the 3 projectors into the power (Using a different plug for each) We also needed to keep in mind health and safety when working with cables which we could trip over etc.

We then plugged in the HDMI leads which needed an adaptor to plug into the mac computers.

We then added the same video to all 3 of the computers and set it up to mirror the display and loop the video.

I also worked a bit on my first after effects project by finishing off the text which I added which used the vegas effect. This didn't work out exactly how I would have liked it too but I think it was still quite interesting. I also added a second text which said 'Best served cold!' and I used an alpha mask and rectangle to make the text appear. I also added a bit of a shaking effect (To imitate the text being cold) by duplicating the text, making the duplication a lighter colour and making it rotate a bit behind the original text. Finally I added a ice shape around the text to make it look like it had frozen. I keyframed the opacity and tried using an effect which was called something like shaking/broken tiles which made it look a bit like ice cubes. This effect didn't turn out perfect but it was fun trying a different effect.

I then went on to work on the second project the next day. I took a few videos which I could use but only one was really suitable since the other videos had people infront the area I wanted to use or the video was a bit shaky or too short. The downside of the video I chose is that I shot it in portrait by accident and it is also a bit shorter than I think the video needs to be. The main reason I chose this video is because there are two signs that I can put things on.

I first added the 3D Camera Tracker effect and let it analyse the video. I then added the camera and started adding some solids. I had to adjust the solids a bit since it put them at funny angles. I then thought about what I wanted to add. One of the places where I added a solid was a sign which said something along the lines of 'Staff only'. I changed this to say 'Digital Media Design Students Only' I added a background shape the same colour as the sign and added a mask which I feathered so it blended in better. I also had to change the aspect ratio of the text because where I had precomped the solid it became a square in it's own precomposition, therefore it was stretched in the main compostion. I did the same thing for a poster on the back of a bigger sign post, adding some gaussian blur and some feathering to make it look more realistic. I also adjusted the colours so they were less saturated (Since it was a bit cloudy in the video) I also lowered the opacity slightly.

I also censored a number plate which was in the video partially because often tv shows will censor number plates and also because I wanted to have a go at doing that sort of thing. I didn't follow any guide to do it so it didn't turn out perfect. |I essentally just added a noise effect called 'add grain' and made it monocrome I also added some blur and feathering to make it stand out a bit less.

Overall I am happy with how both the after effects projects went considering I had never used after effects before. It was a good opportunity to put into practice what I had learnt.