Learning After Effects: Adding Effects Tutorial

Good Afternoon, design friends!

I recently revisited a project tutorial that I started a year ago. It was from the first class I took in the graphic design program for After Effects. Here is the link:

https://www.adobe.com/learn/after-effects/web/add-video-special-effects?x-product=CCHome%2F1.0&x-product-location=Search%3ATutorials%3Alink%2F3.2.3&mv2=cch&locale=en&learnIn=1.

When I began this class, I had very little knowledge of Adobe applications. Now, I'm retaking the class with a much better understanding of how to use these programs and a stronger grasp of design principles. I thought it would be a great idea to revisit this tutorial.

I started by taking the moon layer and adding it to my background image. Then, I created a rectangle that completely covered the moon image layer and cut off the bottom of the moon to create a mask. I applied a classic color dodge effect, lowered the opacity, and feathered the moon to about 180. Next, I shrank the moon image down to around 50% and adjusted the levels and saturation to create a more realistic looking moon that fits seamlessly into the scene.

After that, I added the UFO footage. I began the clip a couple of seconds in, and I adjusted the tint highlights to match the foreground shadows at the beginning of the film, where the UFO was closer. I used the eyedropper tool to sample the shadows from the distance, allowing the UFO coloring to adjust as it moved farther away. I added a pale yellow tint for the lights on the UFO and animated its path by changing the direction using the pen tool.

I also added a lamp post to the foreground and used the rotation tool to adjust its position. To help it fit into the scene better, I applied a camera lens blur effect.

The final step was a bit challenging. I needed to create a new composition layer with settings of 1280 by 720 and 24 frames. I dragged my background footage into that new composition, a process known as nesting. I then shrank the background image so I could use the scale and position tools to create a handheld phone recording effect. Unfortunately, it didn't work as I had hoped, so I left that effect out for now. I plan to work on it a bit more as I continue to learn this program.