LightFlow Project

Recently I have been doing an introduction to special effects project in After Effects.
The project I selected to begin was a light flow. A light flow is when there is a light behind an object or phrase that illuminates it as a shadow.
This effect is easiest to use in Adobe After Effects, so this was my program of choice.
There were many different parts to keep up with, but the most difficult part was definitely keyframing the shot to make it look clean and smooth. Thankfully, though, I didn't have to nix the tutorial and I was able to just move through from my last save, so I restarted keyframing itself a time or two, but never the entire project.
My favorite part was overlaying a music track on top of it to really give the entire project a kick.
I can use everything in this tutorial later, especially for intros. Any introduction or logo can be given the gloomy/baroque look to it, so I'll definitely be able to reuse everything I learned.
I had so much fun with this tutorial, and I can't wait to mix and match parts with others.
I am so proud of my final result, so I can easily look back in hindsight with satisfaction and pride.
To do this yourself, go to http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/advanced_3d_light_rays/ and follow the tutorial.
Another fun part of the project was looking back and watching how much progress was made as well as how many different parts were incorporated.
It begins with a simple phrase, so I chose to use my "production" name: Lewis Productions.

Of course, once completed, it requires to be on top of a layer to begin the 3D transformation. So, I simply made a new plane, enabled the 3D feature, and flipped it horizontally. Once that was done, I found it necessary to lower the plane a bit to capture the 3D effect.

 Once I got the plane in there, it was all little things until I got to the good part: movement editing. A timeline can be pretty intimidating and stressful the first time you use them, but if you take it all one step at a time, it's no big deal at all. The first thing you want to do is to look at what you have prior to any keyframing and time editing. In all simplicity, this is what I had.

You'll notice a few big differences, there's a background now and a shadow effect, but you'll also notice how much harder it is to read.  So you must go back in and add a light (and a hue to such light if you so choose).

 A few key changes include the big blue light behind the letters. Now, it doesn't look like much, but the process is only so far completed. The next step, the most noticeable, places a fractal noise in the production. A fractal noise is like a smoke that fills up a layer in the file. Think of it like a computerized smoke machine. This was the most difficult part what with adding different curves in the color, but the most rewarding in the final steps. 

Now we can begin the fun part: adding keyframes and bringing this 2D picture to a 3D opener.

All you have to start with is adding a new camera, and then you just swing the camera from one side to the other using keyframes and the top view. The camera is the little pink box towards the bottom of the pictures. 

 This allows for the following production to be made:

When this was, done, I figured I wanted some music involved to really bring it out and and to the effect, so I brought the file into Photoshop and dragged the music onto the video. This was the final result.

Music Provided by Three Days Grace and RCA Records

Plausible Impossible

Dopey is blowing on his finger and making the water burst out of his ears. This is plausible because it's common sense to know that if the air you're holding in isn't escaping from your mouth, it should naturally escape somewhere else. This action forces the water out of Dopey's ears.
The impossible aspect is that their is no canal that connects the ears to the mouth. Therefore, the air would escape through the nose.

 Gus Goose had eaten so much that Donald Duck got "fed up" and gave his cousin a hot dog that had the characteristics of a vicious Rottweiler. Donald had proceeded to get Gus Goose outside of his house so Gus would stop eating. Gus Goose, however, decided he hadn't had enough. In response, he ran so fast through the door that it left a hole.
This is plausible because one would think that with enough force, your body could bust through anything and with enough speed, nothing would be harmed in the wall/door except your outline.
This is impossible, however, because there is simply not enough force to implant your own outline into a wall or door. Even if you found a way to build enough speed to run through, the door would crumble and crack vs. leaving a smooth outline.

Snow White had taught the seven dwarves how to eat like a gentlemen. In the excitement, the seven dwarves would slurp the soup with such force, their mouths would act like a vacuum that the soup would fill.
This is plausible because you might think enough suction is possible to lift the soup from the soup, through the air, and into your mouth.
However, this is impossible. Why? Because there is no natural way to create enough suction to lift something through the air, especially in an upward motion.

Gus Goose had been sent to Donald Duck's house by Gus' mother. Donald didn't think much of it, and all concerns were disregarded once Donald read a note from Gus' mother that read, "He don't eat much." Donald was surprised in every way to learn that his entire feast that had been laid out for him was being engulfed by Gus. Donald, still without a bite, notices a stray pea that Gus had left. Gus noticed, too, and Gus tried to suck it up using a straw. Donald soon joined the battle for the pea.
This seems plausible because one might figure that the mouths of the two poultries work like two battling vacuum cleaners with a pea.
This is impossible because, like the previous picture, it is not possible to keep something suspended in air simply by using equal amounts of suction.

In this cartoon, Mickey Mouse finds himself within a parallel universe where objects are animate with personalities and feelings.
This may seem plausible because Mickey stepped through what may have been a magic mirror to transport him to the other side that contains the illogical.
This is impossible, though, because furniture are inanimate and aren't considered living. This comic strip displays them as animate with feelings and in the picture to the left, with offense being shown. It's simply impossible.