Creative Discussion: How would you have used After Effects in this video?

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yabyum

Well-known member
Hey guys, I think this might be an interesting thread as well as something that would help my knowledge out.

The story: I shot and edited a piece for a company. I was then asked to make a much shorter version of it, somewhere around 30-45 seconds. I wish I was an After Effects expert as I felt it could have made the shorter version better. So I'm curious, what would you have done with After Effects in making a shorter version?

Here's the original, long version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I7dbisCRuM

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I AGREE

Below is the shorter version. Again, how would you have enhanced this or what would you have done differently using After Effects (or anything really)?


password is: gh1

Both videos were edited with Sony Vegas only. What do you guys think?
 
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I'd have considered making a transition wipe that looks like how the swype ui looks(the blue lines) for your cuts. I'd also move the swypeing/product shot up much sooner in the video. Pictures of people staring at cell phones in slo-mo is kind of boring. Especially that starting shot. It's 20 seconds, and doesn't show the product or the logo/t-shirt. As a rule having the only spoken words be "holy crap" seems kind of crude (plus the audio there is kind of weak, if you must have it, make it clearer--though it might just be Vimeo). I liked it when your editing/cut speed got faster. It's a commercial, be Michael Bay. Cut, Cut, Cut. The end logo should come on animated/be animated. That hand icon just screams move me.
 
Yeah, that would be awesome if the hand formed the Swype logo by tracing it with a blue line... that'd be really cool.

As far as the audio goes it is crappy. Shot with the onboard mic, not much I know to do that could clean it up. I already denoised it in Izotope RX. Though it's understandable and usable imo.

Not sure if I could manage moving the product shot up closer. The rhythm of it now is:

long / short / short / short / short / long (product shot) / short

Actually I don't know. I think it might work actually. I'll try this later though, done a lot of editing today.


I think the transition wipe idea is brilliant too.
 
yabyum said:
The rhythm of it now is:

long / short / short / short / short / long (product shot) / short
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Here's how it feels:
long / long / long / long /long / long /long / long /long / long

Get in there and beat it up - the edit is really loose and needs to tightened up. The shots hang forever. Geez, the first shot alone is 20 seconds and that's the short version. Fix the edit first and then figure out how it could be improved with motion graphics. You've put the cart before the horse.
 
milksac said:
Here's how it feels:
long / long / long / long /long / long /long / long /long / long

Get in there and beat it up - the edit is really loose and needs to tightened up. The shots hang forever. Geez, the first shot alone is 20 seconds and that's the short version. Fix the edit first and then figure out how it could be improved with motion graphics. You've put the cart before the horse.
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Really? I think the edit as it stands is pretty good in my eyes. Everything was done to fit the music, so shortening it up more would change the whole feel of the video...
 
I would start by shortening the music, and the recut. Again the intro is way to long - edit the intro music first so the tempo change occurs earlier.

The story is rather simple:
1. People curious about new technology
2. A moment of discovery
3. A moment of amazement or joy.
4. The reveal.

At the beginning you establish the curiosity. Repeating this over again is a waste time and doesn't move the story forward. Time to move on to the more interesting parts - discovery and joy. A smile, a laugh, a simple facial expression; all these things are read very quickly by the viewer. They see the emotion whether the shot is one second or four seconds. No need to dwell.

Anyway, just my opinion. Here in the U.S., about 90% of the spots are 30 seconds long. If you do advertising work for any length of time you learn to tell stories quickly. Sometimes you start out thinking there's no way I can make this spot work in 30 seconds, but you find a way and more often than not you're pleasantly surprised at the end result.

shortening it up more would change the whole feel of the video...
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Yes it very well could change the feel of the video, but are you certain that it will change the feel in a negative way? What if it turned out better? You'll never know for sure unless you give it a shot.
 
Good suggestion about shortening the music up so the change occurs earlier. Definitely could work, I'll see what I can come up with.
 
I have to agree with everything milksac pointed out.

Plus, I've watched the longer version before, and what I thought made it that strong was the authenticity. I think the biggest "selling point" you can have for this product is the natural reaction of the people, which is excitement and fun. It's catching. I'm afraid every artificial effect, be it transitions or speed changes might work against these pure and natural emotions and situations you managed to capture by using your "stealth" cam. But I guess you'll have to just try.

The only place any effects might fit in in my opinion would be the logo in the end, being the (technical) cause for the natural fun and excitement.


I really really enjoyed the longer version, including the audio (being not perfect, it even emphasized the authenticity of the situation and peoples emotions to me), but I didn't really connect to the short version yet somehow.

EDIT: maybe it's worth a try to open the short version with the first explanation of the swype girl found in the longer version and the guys reaction (think it's about 12-15 seconds), then speeding up to the rythm of the song and showing the other people's reactions in the remaining time before revealing the product in the end like you did. I like the fact that it only takes 10 seconds to explain the whole concept of the software and that she only quickly shows once how to use it before people immidiately can do it on their own. Easy, fast and fun. It also might be an important hint that they aren't playing any game or watching a video but using a practical application that still makes them smile.
 
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milksac is right ... that feels long as crap

Here's my initial thoughts ... keep that music, lower the dB, and keep the audio from those people. CUT THAT FIRST SHOT! "Holy crap", cut, "oh my God" cut, 'swooshes' for transitions, and an animated blue possibly running through the bottom... initial thoughts.
 
If you're trying to make a commercial to keep people's interest, you've missed the mark big time. With a short spot you need to think about every little detail, every shot has to have a have a purpose, a meaning, impact, etc. And I mean every little detail.

First off, be more selective with your shots/footage. Drop the shots where you can see the spokeswoman chewing gum, especially when you can see the actual gum in her mouth as her jaws are yapping open and shut. Highly unprofessional, and a major turn off for a lot of people. With the exception of gum commercials, you never see people chewing gum in commercials, and when they do it in gum commercials it looks smooth, hip, and/or fun. Here it looks like a 17 year old indie girl teeny bopper talking about how OMG that LOL was.

Furthermore, cut the shots of that guy with a wrinkled shirt. Again, looks bad and when was the last time you saw someone with a wrinkled shirt in a commercial?

I'm not going to mention much about the edit since most people have pointed that out already. I will say it needs to be redone from the ground up. That first shot is boring as hell, and, actually, most of them afterwards are too. I don't know anything about the product until 35 seconds into the spot. You've lost everyone by this time.

Regarding the music, I would personally change it. It's harsh and that repeating melody is really annoying. You need to think about how each piece affects the whole and your audience. Generally with short form, commercial stuff you're trying to keep people's attention and cast a wide net. By selecting off-beat music you're automatically limiting yourself right off the bat.

I would rethink this entire spot. It's not effective in any way and it fails to showcase the product. It doesn't get me excited or interested, and, quite honestly, I wouldn't even make it 35 seconds in to see what it was about. You need to grab the viewers attention right off the bat, especially with something that is pretty much an unknown. Let them know what they're looking at and why they're watching. Think about it like this: tell them what you're going to show them, show them, tell them what they just saw. In it's most simplistic form, that goes something like this applied to your spot: pose a question about tap texting and it's drawbacks and/or introduce something that says "a new, revolutionary way to text", show them the Swype product & make it look good, then show people using it (a couple of quick shots, smiling, etc) and cut to an artcard that tells them everything they just saw.
 
stip said:
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I was using the most generic example to illustrate the point. I would never say anything like "new, revolutionary" about that product. It was just a device to illustrate that you need to set your viewer up. There are many different ways to do this, I just typed out a few, and I made them so stupid in hopes that one would bypass their literal meaning and see them within the larger context. You know, the bigger picture, what's important.

Any other questions? Don't take everything so seriously...
 
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