I attempted a series of tests for different types of VFX using Adobe After Effects. These tests were practices created to test out the software during lab sessions and study time, as well as to try out the functions I intend to use in my final video submission.
Practice Tests:
My first test consists of a water bottle evaporating into particles. This test isn’t representative of the type of effects I’ll be using in my final video production, but it was a good test to begin with as it familiarized me with the software Adobe After Effects and the potential of VFX utilisation. This test’s media source is entirely mine.
The theming of my sequence is ‘elemental emotion’, therefore I want to incorporate VFX that represents the elements in relation to the weather. Strength, fluidity, brightness, intensity and other factors of these weather VFX will be determined by what is happening on-screen corresponding to the overall mood and emotion present in each segment, in order to artistically metaphorize the narrative.
With this in mind, the next test I attempted was creating rainfall. My sequence is set on a cloudy and rainy day to reflect the overall glum mood of the male protagonist meaning lots of rainfall VFX will need to be utilised. In this test, I toyed with certain parameters against a separate background photo to reach my desired outcome, like the spread, directional randomness and weight of the droplet particles. For this particular test, I wanted to convey a ‘drizzle’ during a wet afternoon – not too intense, but also still present. I believe I successfully portrayed this, however looking back I see that increasing the visibility of the droplets would improve its quality. I’ll keep this in mind when producing my final video submission. This test’s media source is entirely mine.
I mainly decided to use VFX for the rainfall instead of relying on real recorded rainfall as it allows me to increase and decrease the intensity and severity of the rain depending on the situation. This will mainly be seen when certain characters are present and perform certain actions in relevance to the plot.
Part of my final video submission will feature the female character floating above the water whilst lightning strikes down around her, to reflect her unstable elemental powers. To convey a ‘strike’ I applied a wiping transition and focus point attached to the water. My outcome here isn’t as stylised, or ‘cartoony’, as I was initially imagining, however, I think the more realistic-looking lightning will serve better in the final production as it helps to juxtapose the cartoony characters against the real environment. This test’s media source is entirely mine.
This final test shown above features falling leaves during autumn and was created to demo how the autumnal background part of the final production’s psychedelic scene may look. I tried to convey the delicate falling of an autumnal leaf through the use of easy-ease and tweaking the parameters, though I believe my final result looks rather janky and unnatural. However, this may be due to the size of the leaves and the speed at which they are falling, so having many smaller leaves falling at a faster pace will most likely look much better. The leaf asset in this test was created by me, however, the background was sourced from the internet, and its reference can be found at the bottom of this page.
References:
Country Living (2023) 60 Best Fall Quotes to Celebrate the Beauty of Autumn [Photograph]. Available online: https://www.countryliving.com/life/g1897/fall-quotes/ [Accessed: 31/07/2023].