i2c PP - Isolated Interfere

Hey!
So here is the long awaited i2c Presets Pack tutorial.
In this one, I'm going to be showing you some cool, advanced uses of the Presets. I'm currently using INTERFERE 2 BETA for this, but you can still use the one that comes with the Presets Pack, since it's essentially the same.
We're also gonna look at how to get the object to jump around the screen like that.

Let's get started!

C4D - Bouncing Lights with GI

Hello people!
So here's a first, a Cinema4D post.
Lately I've really been toying around in C4D. I'm sure you remember Abstraction.
Anyway, yesterday I was messing around with GI and trying to find a solution to the 'dirty' renders, as well as how to get descent lighting from a single light-source.
The results were interesting...

VIDEO: Abstraction

Hey guys!

I present "Abstraction":

[ Watch on YouTube ]

[ Watch on Vimeo ]

This was done in Cinema4D. Click the title for more info.

VIDEO: Fancy Holographic Watch

Hey everyone!
New video. Shot and edited yesterday (7th Sept), I was testing some techniques for an upcoming project! I've always wanted to something like this. I guess this would be Holographic 5.
Check it out here: (click <--- link to watch in higher res (1080p available))

(click the title for more info)

AfterEffects + Photoshop - Aligning Similar Layers

Hey people!
I was working on a cloning technique for a test video and, of course, it required various shots from the same angle that needed to be lined up before the masking could begin.

The problem was I had set the camera on a surface rather than using a tripod, so I ended up with slightly offset clips because the camera moved a few degrees every time I pressed Record.

Anyway, this isn't about how to shoot it, this is a quick tip on how to line up the shots in post! This process can be used for anything that involves aligning similar layers. Using Background Plates, creating clones, merging characters from separate shots etc.
This process would also apply to Photoshop, and any application that supports Blend Modes.

Create a 3D Scene in After Effects

Hey peoples!
In this fun post, we're going to look at how to create the 3D illusion using red-blue glasses (old school style) and also how to create the 3D glasses to view the scene!

AfterEffects - Joining Parented Points with a Line with Expressions

In the previous post we learnt how to join points with a line using the Beam effect and a very basic expression. In this tutorial, we're going to look at how to enable this to work with parented Null objects, since things appeared to get weird when we did that.

After Effects - Join Points with a Line with Expressions

Hey guys!
While working on the Mission Briefing video, I had to make the flexible line that joins the house to the text. This was because later the line had to move but still stay connected to the house. Here's a quick tip on joining objects with a line using a bunch of Nulls and some sneakiness XD

CC Particle World Producer and Nulls

Hey guys!
Most users I've met thus far are big fans of Trapcode Particular. If you've roamed around the net you'll notice everyone suggest as soon as you get into After Effects it's best to download it, rather than be tortured by the other particle systems. In fact some discourage you from using Particle World at all!
Well, sometimes a budget can be tricky to come across and we have to use CC Particle World. So in this post, I'm going to be showing you how to make the producer follow a Null, just like Trapcode can.

Photoshop - Create Soft Shadows

Hello peoples!
It's been a while since I did a Photoshop tutorial.
In this tut, I'm gonna be showing you how to make soft, falling shadows. It's may seem like a strange technique, but with explanation it's going to make a lot of sense.
So, let's get started! (if you find the images are too small, you can click to view the larger original version)

Spinner Advertisement (with some sound effects) with Monocollettivo

Hey peoples!

So you remember a while ago I posted an After Effects tutorial on how to make a spinning "preloader" style element? At the end I mentioned that you could probably make an advert that you'd use to sell it to your customers, but it didn't have sound.
So my new friend over at Monocollettivo in Italy thought "this is just sad" and went ahead and added sounds for me. So we can call this my first collab video XD

Monocollettivo is an artist project based in Italy that's into electro music and has some foraying into video.
The have a presence everywhere, so check them out. You can get to their spaces easily via their MySpace:


http://www.myspace.com/monocollettivo

Thanks again!!

What do you think? Drop a comment below, or like and comment on the Facebook page, or holla at Monocollettivo on their spaces.

After Effects Expressions Basics

Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present my first ebook: After Effects Expression Basics!

This ebook is for beginners to intermediate users and will cover:

• The basics of using and applying expressions;
• Arrays and variables;
• Using the pick whip;
• Using common expressions such as wiggle and valueAtTime;
• Using the expressions learnt in some fun and informative examples.

All the expressions will work with all versions of After Effects (except international versions in different languages)!

So what are you waiting for, get downloading!

Get it from any of the following:

• Download it from MediaFire
• Read it online on Scribd
• Read online on Google Docs

When you're through, why not come back and check out more posts on expressions that build on the knowledge gained!

• Interesting Expressions
• Using lookAt to create 3D Glow
• Using Expression Controls

Drop a comment below or on the Facebook page and let me know what you think! And use the Tweet/Like and Share buttons below to tell a friend!

Yours truly,

davdalx

After Effects - 3D Glow, LookAt Expression and Face Camera

That's right! 3D Glow!
I was working on an Iron Man-ish HUD and needed some of the objects to glow. One problem I had is that whenever the camera turned you could see that the glow was actually very flat. I eventually found a solution, and in this post I'll explain how I came to the conclusion, how to use the 'lookAt' expression, and give out a preset from the upcoming Presets Pack. :-D

New Video - Holographic 4 + Breakdown

Hey guys!

So here is Holographic 4, a short video where I create a 3D holographic display. Click the title to see full details on the video::

Have you been following the holographic series? No? Well, you should check out my Youtube channel  and catch up!
The video inside the video is the freeTV advert I created a while ago, which will be up and explained in a future post. (click the title for more info)

Adventures of Explorer Jim - Breakdown

Hey everyone!
So there's nothing that pleases me more than having a fun shoot and being super-proud of the outcome, especially when it's something extremely random like the video I'm talkin' about today: Adventures of Explorer Jim!

Working with Dingbats

Hello peoples!
So have you ever taken the time to browse all your fonts? If you're anything like I am, you probably have hundreds of them. There's tons of places to find fonts, but this post isn't about where to find posts, it's about how to work with what seem like the most pointless fonts: Dingbats! These are fonts like Webdings, Wingdings etc Click the title to read the full article.

AfterEffects - Create a Circular Pre-loader and Preset

Hey guys!
In this quick tutorial, I'm going to be showing you how to create a spinner like the one in the title above, but we're going to make it very editable so it can be used for various things (heck, might as well save it as an animation preset while we're at it).
So let's get started!

10 Things I've Learnt in AE That I Wish You to Know Before it's Too Late

Hey guys!
So it's been a year since I started in After Effects, a very fun and interesting year. We've done action scenes, light sabres, we've had failed videos, experimented, experienced tons of crashes, created presets and struggled with controls we didn't understand until now (and feel quite foolish about it).
I've learnt a lot from AE, it's changed my perspective on some things (and slightly affected my social life) but most of all, it's frustrated me tons of times. There's things I wished I knew sooner, some things I'd like to tell you now (so hopefully you won't go insane like I almost did).

Understanding Expression in After Effects

Hello everyone. Here's another After Effects post on "Understanding Expressions". Here, I'm going to be explaining a few things about expressions and using them.

Long Time Exposure

Hey!
So a while back I did a post on taking streaking lights and recently I got an interesting idea... but first, let me explain how I got it!

When we was doing the fight parody video, which worked quite well but we had issues with planning, we were using a tripod and an unevenly lit room. So I was feeling cool and set the camera to "M" (manual), and I was messing around with the aperture.
I set the f number to something like f-29 (I think) and with the standard shutter of 1/15, the image came out BLACK!
So, I immediately learnt that I didn't know as much about aperture as I thought (I always figured it was a depth-of-field thing and it didn't affect light that much), so you can imagine the shock I got.

So, I got to thinking:
For a long exposure shot, could I set the ISO to 100, set the aperture, or rather the f-number, to as high a value as possible, and then use BULB to shoot some excessively long exposures?

Well, let's say it did come to be true! It worked out great, I'll have the photos up soon, but it was an interesting realization. I was, however, going through Cambridge in Colour and I found this interesting article about using large f-numbers! Check it out here:

{test_reel} Teleport

Hello everyone!
So I have a new video here, but before we watch, I'd like to say that we've gotten some great applications from great people, and we're still sifting through people's work so we'll have the news out soon.
In the mean time, I'm still working with silent footage :-S

Sad stuff!

Anyway, check it out here:



I'd also like to introduce you all to INTERFERE! An upcoming preset for my Presets Pack. It was used to create the offset and RGB-split effect for the intro logos.

INTERFERE will be available soon, if you'd like to beta test (or even use in its current state), drop a comment below! Here's another example:



Also, I learnt quite a bit while creating this video:

• Hold keyframes can create a great twitchy effect.
• CHOP DOWN LAYERS! I had this problem when I came back to it a day later and realizing I needed to change something, as well as when I revisited one of my first test videos, all the layers spanned from the beginning to the end. Use alt+[ and alt+] to chop down layers to the current time, or use [ and ] to reposition their start points. Also, nifty shortcut, I and O will take you to the IN and OUT points of the selected layer respectively.

{The worst part is, each layer in the project above is only visible for a few seconds/frames.
[the chopped ones are actually footage]}

CLICK TO ENLARGE: {over 50 layers!! Managing wasn't so difficult, but imagine if they all spanned full time as above!}

• TIP OF THE DAY saves lives! That pop-up everytime you open AE, read that ish. That's how I learnt the above point.
• CAMERA TURN! It screwed me over once again, it did the same for the Deathmatch video. if you turn a camera, the edges tend to be distorted and so you need to do some distortion to fix it. I'll explain this in an upcoming tut video!

Please drop any questions/sugggestion in the comment section below, or on the video on Youtube!

Thanks for stopping by!

davdalx

{test_reel} Holographic 2 + Breakdown

Hey guys!

So recently I've been on the buzz of Holographic stuff. If you've seen my first holographic video you'd know what I'm talking about. So here is the second attempt, this time I went for a more handheld style:

[click the title for info on how this was done]

Interesting Expressions - After Effects Tip

Hey guys!
I thought today I'd post something up about After Effects.

Lately, I've fallen in love with expressions, their huge life-savers. Some replace your everyday keyframes, others cause indefinite automation, other methods link two controls together and others are just plain cool!