After Effects Design Thread

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oneinfiniteloop

Veteran
I thought I would start this thread to discuss some of the more aesthetic aspects of design within After Effects. There is a lot of good technical info here, but it would be good if we can share some knowledge on the other end of the spectrum.

So, I'll start it out...I think a discussion on preplanning/boarding your design/project is a good place. Lately, I have been giving a lot of thought to this and I'm going to start putting the pencil to the paper a little more and perfect my design there, then bring it into After Effects. I think something gets lost in translation from your head straight to the screen.

What is everyone else's thoughts on this, and maybe we can share our techniques at the beginning stages of projects.
 
lost in translation :D I loved that film:D

anyway, maybe a good idea... because I am not a great designer....
 
Great thread.
My background is in fine art and then it branched out to desighn, film, motion etc etc.

I always sketch out and story board my ideas. Agree with you that something is lost from mind to screen. You have so many other things running through your mind that way. But sometimes i go over board and draw up whole comic books. lol
 
Great idea.

I usually start ideas by sketching. Even if they don't end up making sense, the time you save by just using a pencil vs trying a million ideas on screen really makes a difference. You can visualize something (even if completely rough) very quickly and even sometimes come up with elements you can scan in and use in your work.

Keep a moleskin notebook lying around, it works wonders. I also have a stack of storyboard templates printed out ready for quick ideas.
 
With storyboards, do you think it's good to have frames that are in scale with the frame size you'll be working with, or do you think it's better to get the composition right in the computer and just sketch quick ideas on paper?
 
...on the other hand I never had to use storyboards, it's all visualized in my mind. Apart from some guidelines for the motion graphics script. When time is less, storyboards are a luxury. Anyway no idea drops if I don't get on the software and put the first layer.

You can check some stuff from works I've done here, only a small set:
http://88.218.97.22/motion_demo/
 
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oneinfiniteloop said:
With storyboards, do you think it's good to have frames that are in scale with the frame size you'll be working with, or do you think it's better to get the composition right in the computer and just sketch quick ideas on paper?
Click to expand...


I usually work on 16x9 frames even if the project will be 4:3. With alot of HD work coming down the pike lately, it's good to think wide from the onset, because alot of the material will be downres'd and centercut for 4:3

Then again sometimes I just sketch on a blank sheet (camera path ideas, element ideas, etc)
 
i'm just now starting in HD as of this weekend(48 hour filmfest), but i visit a lot of sites such as xplsv.tv and i look at a lot of design books and magazines as of late to spark some ideas. but i've been doing a lot of doodl'n on the bus and stuff for a project i'm working on, but i feel design needs to be more a major part of films these days. like take for instance the intro and kiss kiss bang bang and intros similar, i think it adds just a little something more to the film. i usually sketch on a full sheet and i have a sheet of paper with a 16x9 hole cut in it and move it around for ideas.
 
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