Creative Suite 5 Motion Graphics with Adobe phần 4 ppt

ptg 122 Fashion fades, only style remains the same. —Coco Chanel Stylizing Footage W e often find that the footage we’re handed is a bit flat. That’s not to say it’s poorly shot, it’s just usually lit and acquired in a way better suited to narrative storytelling. Rarely is the footage we’re handed specifically shot with the motion graphics artist in mind. So what can you do with that evenly lit, properly color bal- anced footage? That’s easy; mix it up. We don’t mean make mistakes; rather, dramatically alter the footage for stylistic purposes. Push the color, change the “film stock,” and add some grit. Photoshop and After Effects allow you to do lots of cool things to your footage. Both offer powerful image-editing capabilities. In this chapter we’ll focus less on individual recipes and more on practical techniques. By learning some core tools and technology, you’ll know how to cre- ate your own looks that match the mood and style of the project at hand. Processing with Photoshop Extended Chances are that you think of Photoshop as the most powerful image-editing application—for still photos. But the truth is that Photoshop is fully capable of working with motion footage as well. Included with the Production Premium and Master Col- lection toolsets is Photoshop Extended. Besides its ability to work with 3D models, the ability to use video layers is essential to a motion graphics designer. You can now open a video file as easily as any still image, really; just choose File > Open, and then choose any QuickTime compatible movie file (Figure 5.1). Download from WoweBook.com ptg 123 II: Design Essentials Figure 5.1 The Motion workspace in Photoshop CS5 gives you quick access to common tools you’ll need to process video files. Video Layer Considerations To appreciate the flexibility of Photoshop Extended’s video layers, you need to truly understand how they work. You can open a video file directly into a new Photoshop document with the Open command. This automatically sizes the document to match the video clip and adjusts the Timeline to match its duration. If you already have a design, you can add a video clip to an open document. To import video as a video layer in an open document, choose Layer > Video Layers > New Video Layer From File. This adds the clip into the existing layers. However, the best option may be File > Place (Figure 5.2), which adds the video layer as a Smart Object (more on this technology in a moment). To s ee a v ide o la ye r in m ot io n, you’ll need to call up its Timeline. In Photoshop you can view video controls by choosing Window > Animation or use the Motion workspace. Download from WoweBook.com ptg 124 Chapter 5 Stylizing Footage Figure 5.2 To constrain scaling the width and height when placing, hold down the Shift key as you drag. To scale from the center of an object, press Option (Alt). After you press Return (Enter), the video layer is sized. Unlike other image formats, video layers are linked, not embedded. So you’ll need to keep two details in mind. First, always keep the PSD file and the video asset in their initial location (or even in the same folder). If you move the video file to a new location or just copy the PSD file, you’ll need to locate the video source file and reconnect. Second, you use up very little space when adding a video layer. Because the files are linked, the Photoshop document will only contain details about what is added to the shot. With these facts in mind, you can see how technically easy it is to integrate video layers into your design workflow. Photoshop Extended supports several different movie and sequential image formats. Although there’s a wide range of formats that work, it’s best to avoid the more heavily compressed formats. Table 5.1 contains the video and sequence formats supported by Photoshop Extended. Download from WoweBook.com ptg 125 II: Design Essentials Table 5.1 Photoshop Extended Supported File Formats QuiCkTime video formaTs image seQuenCe formaTs MPEG-1 BMP MPEG-2 DICOM MPEG-4 JPEG MOV OpenEXR AVI PNG FLV (if Adobe Flash installed) PSD Targa TIFF Cineon JPEG 2000 If you’d like greater control over a video layer, you can adjust how Photoshop interprets it (Figure 5.3). Select the video layer in the Layers panel and choose Layer > Video Layers > Interpret Footage. If the video layer was converted into a Smart Object, double-click the Smart Object icon at the cor- ner of the image thumbnail in the Layers panel to open it. Figure 5.3 Photoshop lets you control properties like frame rate and interlacing. Download from WoweBook.com ptg 126 Chapter 5 Stylizing Footage Smart Filters If you try to run filters on video clips in Photoshop, it can be a frustrating experience. The filters apply to the clip only one frame at a time, which doesn’t do much when you’re trying to get real results. But there’s an easy way around this limitation. Smart Filters allow filters in Photoshop to behave like ef- fects in After Effects. That is to say, you get infinite flex- ibility and the ability to make changes at anytime during the design process. To use Smart Filters, you’ll have to first convert a layer into a Smart Object. There are a few ways to create a Smart Object: . Choose File > Place and navigate to the video layer. . Right-click on a video layer and choose Convert to Smart Object. . Choose Filter > Convert for Smart Filters Every filter in Photoshop (except for Liquify and Vanish- ing Point) can be used as a Smart Filter. Once applied, the names of the Smart Filters appear in the Layers panel direct- ly below the Smart Object they’ve been applied to. Smart Fil- ters can be adjusted, masked, or removed at anytime (even after a document has been closed and reopened). AB C D E F A Double-click the filter’s name to modify the filter. B Click the visibility icon to disable the filter. C Double-click the double arrows to the right of the filter name to edit the blending options for the filter, including Mode and Opacity. D Drag the filter up or down in the stack to change the order in which the filters are applied to the image. E Drag a filter to the trash icon in the Layers panel to discard it. F If you’d like to mask the filter’s effect, you can paint with black on the layer mask that is attached to the filter. Download from WoweBook.com ptg 127 II: Design Essentials Adjustment Layers Besides Smart Filters, Photoshop offers another nonde- structive workflow for manipulating images. Adjustment layers are designed to be easy to use and edit. They’re add- ed as a layer above the actual image; they can be blended, masked, or deleted at anytime. Most of these adjustments can even translate to After Effects when you import a lay- ered Photoshop file as a composition. The Adjustments panel (Figure 5.4) contains 15 commands. Each of these (or a close equivalent) is available in After Effects. If there’s such overlap, why would you choose to work in Photoshop? Figure 5.4 The Adjustments panel offers large and precise controls to simplify the adjustment process. . The user interface is snappier in Photoshop for most adjustments. . You have advanced options like the On Image controls for adjusting Curves, Black & White, and the Hue/ Saturation adjustment layers with interaction with the source layer. Download from WoweBook.com ptg 128 Chapter 5 Stylizing Footage . Image quality does not dynamically adjust as you make changes to image adjustments. This allows you to make more accurate judgments for exposure and color. . Several starting presets are provided, and new presets are easy to store. . Photoshop supports additional color spaces, such as Lab, that allow for additional flexibility when adjusting color or exposure. The easiest way to control adjustment layers in Photoshop is the Adjustments panel. With the Adjustments panel, you have easy access to all the tools needed to nondestructively adjust or enhance the color and tone of footage layers. You’ll find the Adjustments panel directly above the Layers panel in the default workspace. A B D E C D E F G H I B A Adjustment icons. Provide quick access to each type of adjustment layer. B Adjustment presets. Lists of common settings, as well as custom settings, to use with adjustment layers. C Return arrow. Returns to the Adjust- ment layer list so you can add another adjustment layer above the current one. D Expanded view. Widens the panel to offer more room for the controls. E Clip to Layer. Isolates an adjustment layer to only the layer directly below it. F To gg le Layer V is ib il it y bu tt on . To gg l es the visibility of the adjustment. G View Previous State button. Click and hold to show the previous appearance of the layer. H Reset button. Resets the adjustment to its neutral starting point. I Delete This Adjustment Layer button. Discards an adjustment layer. Using a PSD File with a Video Layer A little-known technical secret is that the entire Photoshop engine is inside After Effects. This means that if a feature works in Photoshop, it should work in After Effects. Video layers are no different. Simply save your file as a layered Photoshop file. Yo u c a n s a ve an d a pp l y y o ur o wn presets for Levels, Curves, Exposure, Hue/Saturation, Black & White, Channel Mixer, and Selective Color. To s ave a pr es et , c li ck t he A dj us t- ments panel submenu and choose the Save Preset option. Download from WoweBook.com ptg 129 II: Design Essentials When you import the Photoshop file, you can choose ei- ther the footage or the composition option (both work just fine). When you play the layer, the file is treated the same as any footage layer. If you used adjustment layers in Photo- shop, those will import as well with the composition import option. If you want to return to Photoshop and make an edit, just highlight the layer and press Command+E (Ctrl+E) or choose Edit > Edit Original. Rendering Video from Photoshop If you’re looking for a more permanent solution that cre- ates an actual video clip, you can export a new video file from Photoshop. Unfortunately, the export process is not quite as easy as the After Effects render queue, but it is fairly straightforward. Photoshop uses the standard QuickTime export engine to render. This will support most third-party codecs if they are loaded (including those from Avid, Apple, and Cineform). To start the process, choose File > Export > Render Video to generate a new QuickTime movie. You’ll have to manu- ally set export settings to write the correct file (Figure 5.5). The process is very similar to the render queue (except you can’t save presets for future jobs). Figure 5.5 The Render Video dialog box contains most of the controls you’ll need (left). Click the Settings button to open the Movie Settings dialog box (center) to control Video or Audio properties. You can click either Settings button in the Movie Settings dialog box to access advanced controls over video or audio codecs (right). If you want to use a batch process, you can bring your Photoshop documents with embedded videos into Adobe Media Encoder. This allows you to batch process and output several different file types as needed. If you want to deinterlace the video when you export it, click the Size button in the Movie Settings dialog box. Choose Deinterlace Source Video. This option combines the two fields in each interlaced video frame. Download from WoweBook.com ptg 130 Chapter 5 Stylizing Footage Color Grading The process of color grading goes well beyond simple correction. The goal is not just to fix problems with color or exposure. Rather, it’s to manipulate the color and tonal values for narrative purposes. There are no wrong answers here, merely opportunities to explore. Photoshop and After Effects provide some rich features that will open up new creative opportunities. Let’s expand your toolbox. Photo Filter Both Photoshop and After Effects offer an adjustment called Photo Filter. The effect is designed to simulate colored glass filters that professional photographers often place in front of the camera lens. These filters can be used to “cool” or “warm” a picture, or to add special effects (Figure 5.6). Photoshop offers 20 presets to choose from, and After Effects offers 18 (miss- ing are one warming and one cooling preset). There is no major advantage to Photoshop or After Effects because this effect functions identically in both applications. Figure 5.6 The Photo Filter controls change the temperature of a shot. The before shot has been composited on top of the after shot so you can see the change. In this case, the apparent time of day is four hours later. Yo u’ l l o f t en n ee d to c ha n g e t i me of day to maintain continuity in a scene. Photo Filters are a great help for color temperature. Download from WoweBook.com ptg 131 II: Design Essentials Here is an overview of the Photo Filter choices: . Warming Filter (85) and Cooling Filter (80). These adjustment layers are meant to even out photos that were not properly white balanced. The Cooling Filter (80) makes images bluer to simulate cooler ambient light. The Warming Filter (85) makes images warmer to simulate hotter ambient light. . Warming Filter (81) and Cooling Filter (82). These adjustment layers are similar to the previous filters but cast a more pronounced color. The Warming Filter (81) makes the photo yellower, and the Cooling Filter (82) makes the photo bluer. . Individual colors. The Photo Filter also has 14 pre- set colors to choose from. These can be used for two primary purposes: to add a complementary color to a scene to remove color cast or for stylistic reasons. . Custom. In addition to the built-in presets, you can also choose custom colors from the Photo Filter interface using the standard Color Picker. Black and White Conversion It may seem odd initially to discuss black and white conver- sion in the same context of color grading. But a true black and white image in film is heavily influenced by the colors present in the original image. Although some motion graphics artists choose to simply strip away color to make a grayscale image, there is a better way. Black & White Effect Both Photoshop and After Effects offer a Black & White adjustment. In Photoshop, it’s easiest to use as an ad- justment layer. In After Effects, you can apply the effect directly to a clip or an adjustment layer. With the same effect in both places, how do you choose? Well, in our opinion this is where switching to Photoshop is worth the effort. The interactive controls and On Image tool make it much easier to create a custom black and white conversion. As you modify the Photo Filter adjustment layer or effect, be sure to select the Preserve Luminosity check box. This option ensures that the footage doesn’t darken from the effect. You can then use the Density slider freely to increase the intensity of color without changing the brightness of the shot. Download from WoweBook.com [...]... Width 5 | Edge Brightness 11 |Smoothness 8 | Screen Mode | 50 % Opacity Poster Edges: Edge Thickness 6 | Edge Intensity 4 | Posterization 3 | Overlay Mode |100% Opacity Box Blur: Radius 25 pixels | Soft Light Mode | 50 % Opacity 142 Download from WoweBook.com II: Design essentials Look 2 Dark Strokes: Balance 4 | Black Intensity 4 |White Intensity 3 | Multiply Mode | 75% Opacity Surface Blur: Radius 25 |... 140 Download from WoweBook.com II: Design essentials Film-Look Video sources often look a bit flat, lacking contrast and saturation This is often on purpose because many shooters are instructed to provide lots of latitude for adjustment during postproduction Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to spice things up with just a little effort (Figure 5. 15) Figure 5. 15 The original footage has been spiced up with. .. eyedropper, choose the color you want to leave 4 Click the Match colors menu and choose the Hue model The Hue method is much more limiting than the other match color models (which is generally what you’d want with the Limit Color effect) 5 Drag the Amount to Decolor slider toward 100% A value less than 100% can create good emphasis (Figure 5. 14) Figure 5. 14 The figure on the left has a Decolor amount... from start to finish As a motion graphics artist, you will often be excluded from the field production stage Footage will be shot without you (and often without regard to your needs) We learned an important lesson early on: If you’re at the end of the line (which is where video editors and motion graphics folks are in the process), you’re responsible for everything that’s wrong with the final product... Trace Images) You can then render an image sequence Process Footage with Adobe Illustrator Adobe Illustrator offers powerful tools for creating and modifying vector objects Normally, you’d use Illustrator to create original vector artwork for your motion graphics projects In this case you can convert raster images to vector files with a great tool called Live Trace The interface is a little daunting... a name that’s easy to remember 5 Click Cancel and skip applying Live Trace for now You Custom Is King Although you can reuse your custom presets from job to job, we don’t You’ll get far better results by tweaking your settings for each project can close the open document without saving it 147 Download from WoweBook.com Chapter 5 Stylizing Footage Process Footage with Adobe Bridge Converting your images... can process your image sequence using Adobe Bridge This batch process allows you to open and apply the preset to several images with minimal work 1 Launch Adobe Bridge and navigate to the folder where you stored your image sequence Select the first image in the folder, and then press Command+A (Ctrl+A) to select all the images in the folder (Figure 5. 20) Figure 5. 20 Adobe Bridge offers an easy way to... with the temporal smoothing option to adjust a clip quickly Try softening the footage slightly with a Bilateral or a Box Blur effect (Figure 5. 18) to produce smoother vectors Select the Colorize check box to restore the original image color 1 45 Download from WoweBook.com Chapter 5 Stylizing Footage Figure 5. 18 The Box Blur effect is a quick way to simplify an image (left) Be sure to select the Colorize... involve color and opacity stops (Figure 5. 11) with gradual blends in between Noise gradients (Figure 5. 12) contain randomly distributed colors within a specified range To switch between methods, click the Gradient Type menu Let’s explore the Solid gradient type and its options first: A B E C A B C D E Smoothness Opacity stops Color stops Stop Editor Midpoint Figure 5. 11 Solid Gradient Editor D Smoothness... a launching point for your own designs If you create a look you’d like to save, you can always choose Animation > Save Animation Preset to store it Converting Footage to Vectors with Creative Suite A hallmark of the Creative Suite is how multiple applications can work together Although there are several workflows for “tooning” footage, including the excellent Cartoon effect in After Effects, there are . generally what you’d want with the Limit Color effect). 5. Drag the Amount to Decolor slider toward 100%. A value less than 100% can create good emphasis (Figure 5. 14) . Figure 5. 14 The figure on the. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to spice things up with just a little effort (Figure 5. 15) . Figure 5. 15 The original footage has been spiced up with a blur adjustment layer. Changing its blending. acquired in a way better suited to narrative storytelling. Rarely is the footage we’re handed specifically shot with the motion graphics artist in mind. So what can you do with that evenly lit,