1. Narrative Motion Graphics
Lesson F: Final Project Pitches
Building 3D Spaces
Depth of Field and Parallax
3D Tracking and Environment Compositing

2. Let’s talk about Final Projects 1: Summary
It’s midterms– time to decide your Final Project! 1-to-5 minute Narrative or Explanation Video For the final project you will create a longer video using audio of your choice or creation. Your final video will express strong narrative and visual elements in order to tell a story, or explain a concept, or provide the steps to accomplish a task. You will use animation and VFX tools in After Effects from the smaller 2-week projects, as well as techniques discovered in your own research. You will submit weekly stages from pre-production story pitch and storyboard through multiple production drafts. You are encouraged to watch a lot of videos, to read stories, and consider the story YOU want to tell with your project!

3. Final Projects 2: Modes
Remember to consider your audio and visual interaction mode:
Do you primarily want to create an Exemplar video, where the spoken text is directly represented in the visuals?
Are you more interested in an Exploratory video that may start exemplifying the audio but occasionally diverge into its own visual story?
Do you want Parallel visuals that offer metaphor to illustrate the concepts?
Do you want to undercut the narration with Subversive visuals?
Certainly your video can include 2 or even all 4, but asking the question of which of these will be your primary mode of storytelling can help you decide your audio and inspire visuals.

4. Final Projects 3: Schedule
Due week 7: Pre-production Story Pitch: Choose a topic to explain or a story to narrate. Submit a 3-sentence summary and full text to get feedback on the scope. Due week 10: Pre-production Plan: Write and sketch your plan: what techniques will you use? What materials will you need? Draw key shots (partial storyboard), gather elements, type shotlist. Due week 11: Pre-production Storyboard: Draft full storyboard, timed in AE, with audio. Due weeks 12-14: Production Drafts: Show progress on 30% of your film each week, for a full draft with all elements completed by week 14. Due week 15: Final Video: Submit the final revised film two days before the last class meeting for the final critique!

5. Make 3D Structures out of Textured Planes 1
Make a Comp in After Effects: 1280x720, 20 seconds. Set Viewport to 2 Views: Active and Custom View.
Download 6 square textures out of the 10 provided. Import them into After Effects, drag them into the Comp. Enable 3D, make all layers 3D.
Zero-out the planes: Select all layers, hit [p] to open their position settings. Set X,Y,Z values all to 0. Hit [c] in the Custom view to [Alt]+middlemouse drag the view over to re-center the planes.
Move and rotate planes to build a box: These textures are 512x512, so set the following parameters:
Layer #1 position Z=256 (backwards)
Layer #2 position Z=-256 (forward).
Layer #3 position X=256 (right), rotate Y=90
Layer #4 position X=-256 (left), rotate Y=90
Layer #5 position Y=256 (down), rotate X=90
Layer #6 position Y=-256 (up), rotate X=90

6. Make 3D Structures out of Textured Planes 2
Create a Layer > New > Camera, move it inside your cube.
Create a Layer > New > Null. Make it 3D, hit [p] to zero out the position. Parent all texture layers to the Null, then lock the texture layers so they are not accidentally moved on their own.
Scale the Null to scale the texture box as desired (try 225%).
Select the camera, and Layer > Camera Settings to increase Angle of View (over 100) to see more of the box interior.
Animate Camera position and rotation. Animate the Null to rotate box.
Each texture layers can be Pre-composed to add animations inside, to give those box planes more depth or dynamic energy.

7. Make 3D Structures out of Textured Planes 3
Each texture layers can be Pre-composed to add animation inside, to give those box planes more depth or dynamic energy.
In this image, the original plane was left 2D and the shape of the hole was masked-out using the pen tool.
5 Duplicates were made [Cmd/Ctrl] +[d], each one masked for one of the 5 missing stones.
Each stone layer was duplicated and cropped [Alt]+ [ or ] to either side of the frame when the animation was to begin. The left is 2D to stay perfectly synced with the wall, the right is 3D and animated to move and rotate away into the starry void.

8. After Effects: Depth of Field
In After Effects, create a Comp (1280x720, 10 seconds) and add a PNG with transparency.
Duplicate the PNG, change X position to shift horizontally. Make all layers 3D (but make sure top Draft3D button is turned off, or DoF won’t work). In Top view move on Z to add distance (-300, 0, 300).
Add a 3D Camera (preset 35mm, Depth of Field “on”). In Top view, with Camera selected, note the end of the cone should be at the middle layer. In Viewport panel options (upper-right), choose View Options. Set Camera Wireframe to “On.”
Open the Camera layer in the Timeline, increase APERTURE. The higher the Aperture setting, the more blur in the Depth of Field effect on the other layers/distances (in this example, Aperture=500).
Find FOCUS DISTANCE and set 2 keyframes relatively close together: one key with the Focus Distance at the middle layer, and one key with the Focus Distance at the front layer.

9. After Effects: Setting up a 3D Camera Parallax Shot 1
Photoshop:
Break a long image into multiple layers (see City Parallax Sample): treeline, a couple city building layers, and sky.
After Effects:
Import all layers, create a 10-second Comp (1280 x 720 for the provided 4 layers), set all to 3D (but make sure top Draft3D button is turned off, or DoF won’t work). Add a 35mm Camera.
Open two views, and set left view to Top.
Set Z Positions of layers, the important ones to ~300 distances (-300, 0, 100, 800).
In Camera view, Scale and move layers to fill the screen.
Open the Camera layer in the Timeline, set Depth of Field “On.” Increase Aperture (300) to see blur of Depth of Field effect.

10. After Effects: Setting up a 3D Camera Parallax Shot 2
After Effects, Continued:
ANIMATE Depth of Field: Set 2 Focus Distance keyframes: one keyframe with focal distance at the first layer, and then keyframe focus distance at the middle layers (10-30 frames later).
ANIMATE Camera movement: select both Position and Point of Interest tracks, set keyframes to pan (X axis: left-right). Can also push forward (Z).
Hit Play to see parallax effect: layers sliding against each other at different speeds depending on distance from camera.
Optionally Enhance Motion: Set Comp Motion Blur on, then for image layers.
Source Notes: Depth of Field:

11. Photoshop Filling In Layers
Your 2D-to-3D project ultimately needs well-cut and filled Layers in Photoshop: cleaner layers with more careful cuts, and with missing areas filled in to remove any gaps that would be visible in the animated film. Here are the three main tools for filling gaps:
Use the Clone Stamp [s] to copy parts of one image elsewhere on the layer.
Use Content Aware Fill to get a head-start before clone-stamping: Select an area of an image (or a missing area outside of the image) and hit Edit > Fill > Content Aware to populate that space with the surrounding data. This can be used for removing thin objects like the wires in practical stunt effects
Paint details with Brush and Eraser. Try this in combination with a Marquee selection, like from the Polygon Lasso tool, to help make clean edges.
Save layers to overwrite originals, and in the AE Project RightClick to Reload those files.

12. Footage Tracking 1: Basic Tracking
EXERCISE : Track Panning Footage, and Composite
Download a provided panning clip. [Cmd/Ctrl]+[i] import into AE, drag into film-icon to make a Comp.
Open Window > Tracker. Select the footage layer in Timeline (one click) and hit [Track Camera]. This is a two step process: Analyzing and Solving.
When the initial Tracking is complete, scrub and jump through the footage second by second. Choose a “stage” area where you want the composited content to go.
Choose tracking points to define the stage: Click or ClickDrag around points ([Shift] to add) to select at least 3-5 points surrounding the area, to create a flat plane.

13. Footage Tracking 2: Add Elements
RightClick the red Target icon in the selection center, choose Create Solid and Camera (or Create Text and Camera if you want to add Text, or Create Null and Camera for quick 2D results– see next slide). To add additional elements to the scene select another 3-5 points, RightClick new red Target, Create Solid (or Text, or Null).
Select the Solid layer, RightClick to Precompose (Leave properties outside Comp).
DoubleClick to enter the Comp. Select and delete the Solid color layer. Add your new content (16 bit transparent PNG, masked 3D scene renders, etc.). Change nested Comp settings to larger square to fit around content.
Back in the main Comp, Scale the art as desired. Be careful about changing position or tracking fidelity can be lost.

14. Footage Tracking 3: The Null Alternative
Alternative to a Solid, we can Create Null and Camera, then:
Import the PNG and drop it into the Comp. It must be 16bit RGB in order for the transparency to work in AE.
Make it 3D, parent-whip it to the Null to make it a child of the Null.
Under the image’s Transforms adjust Position and Rotation parameters in 3D space as desired. NOTE:
If we are adding a sign or graffiti on a wall or floor, we typically want it to lay flat on that surface.
To make a character stand upright, rotate/orient the tracked Precomp in the main comp.
In some cases, we want this upright character image to always face the camera: RightClick the 3D layer to choose TRANSFORM > AUTO-ORIENT > Orient Towards Camera (it can be challenging to set this so that the object does not shift on the ground).
NOTE: We can also Stabilize footage with the WARP STABILIZER:
Search in Effect panel, drag onto footage. Program analyzes and stabilizes footage. Use “Smoothness” control to increase and decrease smoothness. NOTE: Warp Stabilizer is used before applying tracking!

15. Footage Tracking 4: Shadows
Shadows add realism by grounding your elements in the space! To add a shadow:
Duplicate the image layer (the one parented to the Null).
On the lower copy layer apply Effects > Color Correction > Hue Saturation and set Master Lightness = 0.
Set the layer opacity to a low value (try 10%-30%).
Reset rotation and orientation to get floor angle, and lower position so it is actually below the original.
Apply puppetry pin work to the color copy, and see the shadow copy follow the motions!

16. Footage Tracking 5: RotoBrush
Use the RotoBrush to let foreground elements pass in front of your composited content (like the red “Hi!” in this Comp):
Duplicate the footage layer in the After Effects Comp and put the copy above the composite layer. Double-click the new upper footage layer to open its own view window.
Click RotoBrush in the tool bar (person-with-Brush icon). In the Brushes panel choose brush Diameter size (try the default size=20 to start).
Choose the frame when the composite passes under the foreground shape. Draw over the shape. RotoBrush has good edge detection; just gesture through the middle to get a purple outline of the shape. Draw more to add, or hold [Alt] to erase extra bits.
The RotoBrush can resolve 20 frames before and after the draw point. Click around that 20 frames to check results, then 40 frames beyond that to Roto-draw again, if needed.
Move the view-timebar scrubber to the start, hit [Spacebar] to calculate the full Roto (only calculates the gray area in the View timeline). Hit [Freeze] to lock in.
DoubleClick the main Comp to crop the RotoBrush layer to the length of time needed and see the full composite.

17. Footage Tracking 6: More Tracking Point Notes
TRACKING POINTS SELECTION METHODS:
Triangulate moving the curser: place curser between 3 points to see automatic triangle/target.
Click on points by hand ([Shift] + select to add)
Lasso man tracking points at the same time
POINT SIZE / VISIBILITY: A ton of big points selected may obscure the target. In the 3D Camera Tracker Effects properties panel, reduce track point size to 10%.
TRANSFORMS: Click on the center of the red target marker to drag it around (change Position). [Alt]+ click-drag to Scale.
For a Text layer, Scale the size of the Marker to get the size of the text.
For a Graphic layer, the size of the Marker is not as important.
OPTIONAL/ADVANCED: Delete extra tracking points from lit areas far from your stage, to focus tracking (if stage has too few points). Return to frame 1 ([Home] key), and select in order: (a) the Layer, (b) the 3D Camera Tracker Effect name, and (c) Viewport Window name. Click-and-drag in Viewport to select around unwanted tracking points (footage should not move out of frame). Hit [Shift] to add more points to selection. Hit [Delete] key, AE re-solves the camera.

18. AFTER EFFECTS FLY THROUGH: Addendum
ANIMATE CAMERA:
Choose initial camera position/orientation, open camera transforms and enable all animation switches. By default, all keyfreames are type linear (point to point), and we want to convert them to a more gradual, bezier system: With all keyframes selected, RightClick/Keyframe Assist/Easy Easy.
At desired time (3 seconds later) set new camera position/orientation. 
Go one step further: Add Depth of Field!: 
a) Under transforms, go to Camera Options, turn on Depth of Field, and keyframe Focus Distance (rightClick to change to Easy Easy). 
b) In 2-view (top view), set camera depth of field line to initial distance desired. 
c) Increase aperture = 150 and increase blur =200%
Try using puppetry pins to animate characters in the scene.
Fly Through Clouds:
Turn an alley photo to a 3D Projection Render: youtube.com/watch?v=121LECJZ2zg
Using Projection for moving between walls/floors: youtube.com/watch?v=cf21za9iuCo
After Effects 3D Flythrough Steps
AE:
AE:
PS:

19. HOMEWORK 6
Due on Piazza hw6 an hour before class next week: HOMEWORK: FINAL PROJECT: Choose a topic to explain or a story to narrate, like a personal reflection story or re-envisioning of a fairy tale. Your final video can use any of the techniques learned. Submit text and get scope feedback. ALSO: 2Dto3D #2: Choose a second high-resolution painting or photograph which you want to interact with the first. Cut out object-layers. Clean up any gaps in the layers from both paintings/photos with Edit > Fill > Content-Aware, the Clone Stamp tool, and Brush painting. FINALLY: Please acquire and read David Mamet's "On Directing Film" before week 9 class (very short, exceptional insights into visual storytelling for film).