Evaluation Question No. 6 What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

 

WHAT IS AFTER EFFECTS?

Adobe After Effects is a digital motion graphics and composting software published by Adobe Systems, used in the post-production process of film making and television production. Its main uses are the origination of 2D animation, visual effects com positing and finishing image adjustment, color correction etc .Adobe After Effects is primarily used for creating motion graphics and visual effects. After Effects allows users to animate, alter and composite media in 2D and 3D space with various built-in tools and third party plug-ins, as well as individual attention to variables like parallax and user-adjustable angle of observation. After Effects and some non-linear editing systems are layer-oriented, meaning that each individual media object (video clip, audio clip, still image, etc.) occupies its own track. In contrast, other non-linear editing systems use a system where individual media objects can occupy the same track as long as they do not overlap in time. This track-oriented system is more suited for editing and can keep project files much more concise. The layer-oriented system that After Effects adopts is suited for extensive effects work and key- framing. Although other compositing packages—especially ones that employ tree or node workflows, such as Apple Shake—are better suited to manage large volumes of objects within a composite, After Effects is able to somewhat counter the clutter by selectively hiding layers (using the Shy switch) or by grouping them into per-compositions. The main interface consists of several panels (windows in versions prior to After Effects 7.0). Three of the most commonly used panels are the Project panel, the Composition panel, and the Timeline panel. The Project panel acts as a bin to import stills, video, and audio footage items. Footage items in the Project panel are used in the Timeline panel, where layer order and timing can be adjusted. The items visible at the current time marker are displayed in the Composition panel.

Before this academic year, i knew nothing about After Effects, i never even knew that such an amazing software existed. I thought that this kind of software were only available to big movie stars and producers such as Steven Spielberg or Jerry Bruckheimer but Today i must say that i was very wrong! After effect is a software that is available to any one and anywhere around the world you just have to have a PC and your camera kit. Looking back at how i started, i was a complete amateur, but i had really good ideas of the effects i wanted to do in my two minutes intro film, and i was determined to make it work. So in order to make these effects happen, i started asking my friends for ideas and any information of any software that can make my imaginary effects become real. Since none my friends are any sort of computer wiz, i began to do lots and lots of research, in search of a programs or softwares that will bring my imaginations to life. I usually searched in  Google, forum websites just to gain more information about any available softwares such as After Effects, Sony Vegas pro and I-Movie. After all these researches i found out about After Effects online through an internet forum and a friend advised me to buy the Software and  follow and learn the tutorials on YouTube. Having watched the tutorials for while, i became slightly used to the software and now i have gained a lot form the tutorials. an example of the skilled i have gained is how to improve the contrast and brightness in after effects and another example is how to teleport this video is below.