Editing Professional VFX Compositing With Adobe After Effects

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== Overview ==
== Overview ==


Participants will learn how to create photo-realistic visual effects composites using Adobe's popular After Effects software. No prior familiarity with After Effects is required, however the techniques involved are complex, so a general fluency in computers and graphics software (eg Photoshop) will be a great benefit. In other words, this is an intermediate to advanced level class.
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Techniques covered will include rotoscoping and paint, motion tracking, color correction, bluescreen and greenscreen keying, film grain, warping, edge treatments, expressions, pre-compositions, general compositing theory and practice, and more. A strong emphasis will be placed on photo-realism - what it is, how to train your eye to see it, and how to achieve it. We will also discuss the modern VFX "pipeline" and how the various VFX disciplines function in this pipeline.
Taught by [[User:SFSlim|Aaron Muszalski]]
 
Each student will be provided with the elements needed to produce a "character replacement" shot: the removal of an existing character from a scene and their replacement with a new actor who was filmed against a greenscreen. This is a very fun project, and provides a great framework within which to explore many of the most commonly used techniques in visual effects compositing.
 
Here are some examples of similar projects created by former students of mine.
[http://www.finalkeyframe.com/VFX-H.264.html Fight Club character replacement] by Samuel Plainfield
 
[http://www.vimeo.com/3275668 The Big Lebowski character replacement] by Nathan Hackett, Vishish Kumar and Peter Hootman
 
[http://austineddy.com/vfx.html The Graduate character replacement (selected shots)] by Austin Eddy
 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J2Cwq5-eqw&fmt=18 Beetlejuice character replacement]
 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv8cf1TZbGs&fmt=18 The Godfather character replacement] by Raimondo Albinati
 
== Instructor ==
 
[[User:SFSlim|Aaron Muszalski]] is a professional visual effects artist and educator with over twenty years of experience. A veteran of George Lucas' Academy Award-winning visual effects facility, Industrial Light + Magic, he has worked on such films as Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Sleepy Hollow, Galaxy Quest, The Mummy Returns and Star Wars: Attack of The Clones. As a Visual Effects Supervisor he has overseen shots on The Last Mimzy, Grindhouse and Synecdoche, New York. He teaches visual effects at the San Francisco Academy of Art University and is a regular contributor to the art and culture blog, Laughing Squid.


== Schedule ==
== Schedule ==
 
This class is currently officially unscheduled (having not yet been formally presented to, or voted on by, the NoiseBridge membership). The proposed schedule is 7-10pm every Thursdays. Class duration is also undetermined, but will likely be between 5 and 15 weeks, depending on participant interest and my availability.
This class is no longer currently being offered. I do hope to offer it again sometime in the future. If you would like to be notified of this, add your name and email (or other contact information) to the [[Professional_VFX_Compositing_With_Adobe_After_Effects#Interested_in_Future_Classes|Interested in Future Classes]] section below.
 
== Cost ==
 
This class is entirely free, and open to all.


== Suggested Reading ==
== Suggested Reading ==
 
[http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Effects-Professional-Studio-Techniques/dp/0321499786|Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional Studio Techniques] by Mark Christiansen
There is no required textbook for this class. However, if you have a strong interest in learning VFX compositing in AE, I recommend purchasing "Adobe After Effects CS4 Visual Effects and Compositing Studio Techniques" by Mark Christiansen.
 
[http://www.amazon.com/Effects-Visual-Compositing-Studio-Techniques/dp/0321592018/|Adobe After Effects CS4 Visual Effects and Compositing Studio Techniques] by Mark Christiansen


Written by my friend and former LucasArts co-worker, Mark Christiansen, this is the single best guide to professional VFX techniques in After Effects, and the required textbook for my VFX2 class at the Academy of Art. Highly recommended, especially for anyone whose interest in AE is in the areas of photo-realistic VFX compositing, greenscreen compositing, and HDR workflow (the latter being increasingly standard in film VFX). If you're only able to purchase one book related to my class, this is the one.
Written by my friend and former LucasArts co-worker, Mark Christiansen, this is the single best guide to professional VFX techniques in After Effects, and the required textbook for my VFX2 class at the Academy of Art. Highly recommended, especially for anyone whose interest in AE is in the areas of photo-realistic VFX compositing, greenscreen compositing, and HDR workflow (the latter being increasingly standard in film VFX). If you're only able to purchase one book related to my class, this is the one.
NOTE: Initial versions of this page erroneously listed this book's predecessor, "Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional Studio Techniques". While either will work, the most current edition is obviously preferable, and is in fact what I'd meant to specify (and thought that I had, until Vlad helpfully alerted me to my oversight).


[http://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Digital-Compositing-Second/dp/0123706386/|The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Second Edition: Techniques for Visual Effects, Animation and Motion Graphics] by Ron Brinkmann
[http://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Digital-Compositing-Second/dp/0123706386/|The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Second Edition: Techniques for Visual Effects, Animation and Motion Graphics] by Ron Brinkmann
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[http://www.amazon.com/After-Effects-Expressions-Marcus-Geduld/dp/024080936X/ref=pd_sim_b_26 After Effects Expressions] by Marcus Geduld
[http://www.amazon.com/After-Effects-Expressions-Marcus-Geduld/dp/024080936X/ref=pd_sim_b_26 After Effects Expressions] by Marcus Geduld


An "expression" is the name After Effects gives to its ability to re-wire any keyframeable parameter to any other parameter, either directly, or run through a script. And since the expressions engine uses javascript, these scripts can be made to do some rather nifty stuff. I've not read this book, as I don't yet own a copy, but the title makes it sound as if it would make the perfect gift for a die-hard After Effects addict and expressions junkie (hint hint).
An "expression" is the name After Effects gives to its ability to re-wire any keyframeable parameter to any other parameter, either directly, or run through a script. And since the expressions engine uses javascript, these scripts can be made to do some rather nifty stuff. I've not read this book, as I don't yet own a copy, but the title makes it sounds like it would be the perfect gift for a die-hard After Effects addict and expressions junkie (hint hint).


[http://www.amazon.com/DV-Rebels-Guide-All-Digital-Approach/dp/0321413644/|The DV Rebel's Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap] by Stu Maschwitz
[http://www.amazon.com/DV-Rebels-Guide-All-Digital-Approach/dp/0321413644/|The DV Rebel's Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap] by Stu Maschwitz
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Not strictly a VFX text - or rather, not solely a VFX text - this book from my former ILM co-worker (and subsequent Orphanage co-founder) Stu Maschwitz is a manifesto for no excuses filmmaking, in which the clever use of VFX is but one part. Still, what VFX advice is there is vital, and infused with Stu's irrepressible passion for film and filmmaking. Like Robert Rodriguez (see "Rebel Without A Crew", below) Stu WANTS YOU TO STOP COMPLAINING and MAKE YOUR MOVIE and the DV Rebel's Guide is a guerilla training manual to help you accomplish that. (And do overlook the now rather outdated title; the book's techniques are just as applicable to cheap HD filmmaking.)
Not strictly a VFX text - or rather, not solely a VFX text - this book from my former ILM co-worker (and subsequent Orphanage co-founder) Stu Maschwitz is a manifesto for no excuses filmmaking, in which the clever use of VFX is but one part. Still, what VFX advice is there is vital, and infused with Stu's irrepressible passion for film and filmmaking. Like Robert Rodriguez (see "Rebel Without A Crew", below) Stu WANTS YOU TO STOP COMPLAINING and MAKE YOUR MOVIE and the DV Rebel's Guide is a guerilla training manual to help you accomplish that. (And do overlook the now rather outdated title; the book's techniques are just as applicable to cheap HD filmmaking.)


[http://www.amazon.com/Rebel-without-Crew-23-Year-Old-Filmmaker/dp/0452271878/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238835537&sr=8-1 Rebel without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player] by Robert Rodriguez
[http://www.amazon.com/Rebel-without-Crew-23-Year-Old-Filmmaker/dp/0452271878/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238835537&sr=8-1 Rebel without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player]


Not a VFX text, but included here for its potential utility as a guide to hacking your way into a career in filmmaking. Armed with only $7,000 (much of that earned by repeatedly checking himself into the hospital as a test subject for drug trials) aspiring director Robert Rodriguez produced his first feature-length film "El Mariachi" at the age of twenty-three. Originally intended to be sold to the Spanish-language direct-to-video market, the film was eventually picked up by Sony, who polished the audio and gave the film a theatrical release, thus launching Rodriguez' (From Dusk 'Til Dawn, Sin City, Spy Kids) Hollywood directorial career. An honest and thoroughly entertaining book, you'll learn how his "edgy editing style" was a workaround necessitated by his inability to record sync sound (his camera was too loud), how he lit his scenes using color-balanced bulbs in whatever standard light fixtures were available on location, and how he used a borrowed hospital wheelchair for all his "dolly shots". Pure genius, brash and inspirational.
Not a VFX text, but included here for its potential utility as a guide to hacking your way into a career in filmmaking. Armed with only $7,000 (much of that earned by repeatedly checking himself into the hospital as a test subject for drug trials) aspiring director Robert Rodriguez produced his first feature-length film "El Mariachi" at the age of twenty-three. Originally intended to be sold to the Spanish-language direct-to-video market, the film was eventually picked up by Sony, who polished the audio and gave the film a theatrical release, thus launching Rodriguez' (From Dusk 'Til Dawn, Sin City, Spy Kids) Hollywood directorial career. An honest and thoroughly entertaining book, you'll learn how his "edgy editing style" was a workaround necessitated by his inability to record sync sound (his camera was too loud), how he lit his scenes using color-balanced bulbs in whatever standard light fixtures were available on location, and how he used a borrowed hospital wheelchair for all his "dolly shots". Pure genius, brash and inspirational.
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http://www.digitalgypsy.com/vfxlog/
http://www.digitalgypsy.com/vfxlog/


== 2009 Classmembers ==
== Interested Parties & Designated Codenames ==
[[User:jtfoote|Jonathan "Pb" Foote]]
[[User:jtfoote|Jonathan "Pb" Foote]]


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[[User:rubin110|Rubin110 "0.4 Rubins and Counting"]]
[[User:rubin110|Rubin110 "0.4 Rubins and Counting"]]
Leah "Four Barrel" Cooper
Steve "Malderor" Courtney
Jason "the unspeakable" Araujo
Toshi "Doktor" Hoo
[[User:jmne|Jonathan "Jiminy Cricket" Mayer]]
[[User:Mattbot|Mattbot "Mattbot" Mattbot]]
== Interested in Future Classes ==


[[category:events]]
[[category:events]]
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