T354 Week 10 - Spring 2008

Agenda:

• 3D (Cont.)
• Lights (Part 1)
• Review homework

Please place your homework in the week 10 folder.

Notes from viewing midterm projects:

Some of you aren’t turning in what you are supposed to. I only received proposals from about about 2/3 of the class. I didn't receive critiques from many.

Some aren't fulfilling the "original artwork" aspect of the assignment. You should be focused on making strong additions to your portfolios that show what YOU can do. Moving photos around or placing text over moving pictures can be done in a pleasing manner, but doesn't say anything about you as a designer.

Try something different! I've seen the similar artwork pop up in different projects spanning a month or so. If you ar eusing the same art you are likely getting locked into a room and aren't experimenting enough.

Just a few projects are suffering from basic design issues. It doesn’t matter if you use cool effects or 3D layers and lights if you ignore the basic principles of good design. Early in the semester we looked at how commercial graphics are designed. They don’t have to be complex to be good. You just have to be able to identify good work.

If you are looking for guidance review the rules of good design we covered in the first few weeks. Remember the essential tips from the Williams book:

• Contrast – (Focus attention on the message)
• Repetition (repeating the simplest of motifs can create a nice design)
• Alignment – Align objects horizontally or vertically on the screen
• Proximity – place objects that relate to each other close to each other

These ideas are central to having good graphics. Only about a third of you seem to be getting it. I’ve been trying to make more time to work with you individually on technical and aesthetic issues- like I did this past Tuesday. Only about half of the class showed up to take advantage of this work time.

(Review T354 Week 9)

Cameras in AE only interact with 3D layers. They see regular layers- but they simply don’t have any 3D characteristics.

The Meyer book makes a good point: It’s fine to have cameras, which are stationary along with moving layers. It’s also fine to have stationary 3D layers and move the camera between them. But if you move both camera and layer, you are asking for trouble. This is best left up to the very experienced motion graphic artist who is looking for a specific “look.”

3D Lights (Meyer Chapter 15)

Last week we looked at manipulating 3D layers and cameras. Next up is lighting.

Lighting can be used to create effects that are impossible to get through any other means. Through lighting we can establish a mood and present our elements in a unique way. Those who learn to manipulate and control lighting will be able to bring their work up to an even higher level.

The downside is that lighting takes time and patience, and also bogs down previewing and rendering times. Shadows in particular take a long time to render.

Be sure to have your comps set to at least half resolution and be selective about setting your work area.

How lighting works in AE

Without any lights, AE will light a 2D or 3D layer at its full visible value. This is AE’s “default light.”

When you add a light, the default light is overridden, and only the light(s) will illuminate the comp’s 3D layers you place. 2D layers will remain unaffected.

It’s possible to add 4 different types of lights in AE:

• Parallel
• Spot
• Point
• Ambient

With each of these 4 types of lights you can change and keyframe the color and intensity. It’s not possible to change from one type of light to another- though you can fade one up and one down instead.

And just like in most film and video, most scenes call for more than one light. (Key plus fill for example.)

Spotlight – This is the most dramatic light in AE. You can modify the cone angle (think spot or flood) and the cone feather (the falloff near the edges).

Point light – This is like a bare bulb in space. While you can’t adjust the cone angle, you can adjust the feather. SInce the rays are parallel to each other, this type of light only casts sharp shadows.

Parallel light – This is like a point light, but all of the rays point the same direction.

Ambient light is the only type of light that doesn’t cast shadows. It works well as a fill light.

Miscellaneous notes:

All lights can have intensity (T) set to above 100%.
Lights can be used to tint a layer a little. It’s not a great idea to try to make drastic color changes with lights. You can manage some very creative effects with colors- you just need to think like a lighting designer.
Be aware that you can turn off all lights, shadows and depth of field controls by pressing the Draft 3D switch. This provides a quick way to look at your 3D layers.

Materials

As you’ve discovered, only 3D layers can react to lights. There are a number of ways you can adjust how a layer interacts with lights.

Select a 3D-enabled layer and press AA to reveal the Material Options. Note the following parameters:

Casts Shadows – can be set on or off (no key framing)
Light Transmission refers to the ability to block light.  Can be key framed from 0 – 100.
Accepts Shadows & Accepts Lights can be on or off (no key framing)
Ambient refers to how sensitive a layer is to ambient light.
Diffuse and Specular affect the falloff and hotspot of a light.
Shininess refers to how small or focused the hotspot is
Metal refers to if the hotspot reflects the light.

In-class lighting exercise:

• Start off with a 15 second 4:3 comp
• Create at least 2 3D layers
• Create 1 spotlight
• Position or size the layers so that one casts a shadow on the other
• Animate the layer casting the shadow
• Experiment with different focal/zoom settings
• WHen you are satisfied, make a movie called "shadow"
• Place it in your week 10 folder

Good lighting tutorial

http://forums.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/new_page_wrapper.cgi?forumid=1&page=http://www.creativecow.net/articles/oneil_bill/shadows2/index.html

Point of Interest

Some of you have experimented with parenting in AE. You can parent a light's POI using the pick whip to another layer's position. This is the perfect time to use a Null Object layer.

This technique is a great way to control a follow spot, a camera, or both. (CHeck out "follow me" example.)

Gobos

Gobos are patterns or cutouts placed between the light source and an illuminated object or wall. The purpose is to create interesting and sometimes suggestive patterns of light (jail house, Venetian blinds, branches, etc.)

In-class Exercise

Create a short (eg 15-second) corporate or station identifier or logo (your name for example) for TV, which employs two specific types of lighting effects:

• One should be an animated gobo (animate either the light or the gobo)
• The other should be a spotlight tracking a null object

Save it as gobo.mov
Place it in your week 10 folder

 

Homework:

• Make a 15 or 30-second animated sequence for TV. While it can be about *anything* you must have:
  • audio (sound effects,  music or both)
  • At least 1 camera
  • 2 (or more) 3D layers
  • At least 2 lights interacts with at least 1 of your layers
  • An animated gobo/cookie
  • Turn in a full-size version (DV-sized 720 x 480) using either MPEG-4 or H.264.
  • Be sure to note what you did with your 3D camera, lights and layer in the accompanying critique form.

Back to Jim's T354 Home page