BY "SCUBA" STEVE HOLMES
Creating a compelling movie title sequence can be quite a daunting task. However, armed with some great stock footage clips, some Illustrator files and some new-found After Effects knowledge from little old me, you will be amazed at how easy it is to build a highly-detailed backdrop with some crazy randomness in a short amount of time.
The specs for this project are a 720x540 square pixel composition, 29.97 frames per second, at a length of just 6 seconds to play with. I have an Illustrator logo graphic and the director's title, and a selection of video source files from Artbeats' "Mad Scientist" and "Virtual Insanity" collections - all of which will lend themselves very well to the feel required for this movie. NOTE: You'll need to use your own logo, director's title and Artbeats footage. Everything we will cover can be achieved with the Standard version of After Effects. Let's get busy!
STEP 1: Create Project, Import Files & Create Comp
Start with a new project window open (default when you launch AE) and double-click that window to access the Import dialog box. Locate and import the various footage items you wish to use in your title sequence. First, drag the backmost movie clip to the timeline of your new composition at 0 seconds. Obviously, it will come in slightly too small for the square pixel comp, so simply hit Option-Command-F to stretch it to fit. Don't worry, it will be stretched back to DV res in the final render.
STEP 2: Add Matted Background Movie
Now drag the Artbeats clip (I using MAD107.mov from Artbeats' Mad Scientist collection, this clip comes with a matte version) into the top of the timeline at 0 seconds, and stretch it to fit the comp. Also, drag the clip (MAD107M) matte to the top of the timeline, and stretch that to fit. This is a grayscale matte movie supplied by Artbeats, which will allow us to remove the black solid background from the 2nd clip. At the bottom of the timeline, click the Switches & Modes button to view the Track Matte options, and next to the 2nd layer (MAD107), set it to use a Luma Matte from the layer above it (MAD107M).
STEP 3: Use Blurred Adjustment Layer
In order to build these layers up with some form of perspective or depth of field, we can use an Adjustment Layer to add different effects to achieve that. Again at 0 seconds, go to Layer>New>Adjustment Layer. Now go to the Effects palette and type "Gaussian" in the search area at its top to locate the Gaussian Blur filter. Drag that filter directly onto the adjustment layer in the composition window, and set the Blur value to 8 pixels. This adds a blur to the layers in use, and any new layers added above this will retain their focus.
STEP 4: Add Matted Layers
Now we can add more elements to build up the depth of the scene. Drag another Artbeats clip (I'm using "MAD106.mov") to above the Adjustment Layer, and stretch it to fit. Then drag its matte clip (MAD106M.mov) to the top, and stretch that also. All these layers should be starting at 0 seconds. Now use the Track Matte feature again to make a Luma Matte on the MAD106 clip using the matte movie above it. Making sure they're both selected, drag them off to the right slightly, so they don't encroach too much on the imagery of the background.
STEP 5: Add Foreground Elements
Let's add some elements in the foreground by dragging yet another clip (I chose MAD122.mov) to the top of the pile, and dragging its matte movie to above it and again making another Luma Matte to reveal the background. These two electric conductors look so cool, they're very "Frankenstein" and really pull the depth of the composition together. Again, they sit slightly odd as they have no floor, so drag both layers down in the composition window until they touch the bottom. As always, feel free to hit the 0 key on the keypad to perform a RAM Preview to check the speed of everything.
STEP 6: Adjust Color and Levels
Now that the main background elements have been finalized, it's time to pull them all together with some effects to make them look like they really are all in one vast room. Once again, go to Layer>New>Adjustment Layer (at 0 seconds), and then in the Effects palette locate both the Hue/Saturation and Levels filters and apply them to the Adjustment Layer. First, click the Colorize button in the Hue/Saturation effect window (F3) and set the angle to around 27*. Then adjust the Levels to around 11 and 188 for the Input Black and White values. Looking good!
STEP 7: Add Craziness
Now to add the craziness to this composition, mostly thanks to one single movie clip from Artbeats' Virtual Insanity collection (ANT120.mov). Drag this clip from the Project window to the top of the timeline at 0 seconds, and again use Option-Command-F to stretch it to fit. Now, again under the Switches/Modes section, scroll down through the Layer Blending Modes and set the layer to Overlay mode. Pow! All of a sudden, the color, contrast and white bleaching effects are added with one fell swoop. Beautiful!
STEP 8: Add Title & Matte Effects
The title of this movie is "Retro" and we can now add that title to the shot (you will use your Illustrator logo). Drag the logo from the Project window to the composition, leaving it at 100% size, setting it to 70% opacity and turning on Anti-Aliasing in the Switches section. In order to blend it a little more with the background, let's duplicate (Command-D) the ANT120.mov layer and drag it to the top, and set its mode back to Normal. Then, under the Track Matte options, set the Retro title to use it as a Luma Matte, giving it a wonderfully rough and angry edge.
STEP 9: Use Motion Sketch
Now go to Window>Motion Sketch, and make sure the Retro word layer is selected. We are going to animate the frantic motion of this word even as it is masked and revealed by its matte. Click Start Capture in the Motion Sketch window, and then click (and hold) and drag the Retro title around in the composition window to make it seem like it is vibrating or shaking with energy. It doesn't need to move far from the center point, it is more effective to make it move faster and more frantically. Stop when you reach 6 seconds.
STEP 10: Add Final Title
Drag the logo again from the Project window to the comp at 0 seconds, and scale it to 50% by hitting S on the keyboard and keying it in. Then drag director's title, in my case "Un Film De Jean-Pierre Marsaudon" to the timeline, and position it below the title - this is the director's name. Finally, let's trim everything down to 4 seconds. Move the Current Time Indicator to 4 seconds, and hit the N key to set the Work Area to there. Then control-Click in the top of the Timeline and choose Trim Comp to Work Area. Do yourselves a final render - congratulations on a beautiful title sequence!!
