Greetings everyone. I know I've been fairly inactive when it comes to posting, but I lurk quite a bit lately. As some of you may know, I'd been moving into shooting my own material, and after my effects-free drama, I figured I would see how well I could do some special effects, so I've been learning After Effects, which is a lot cooler than I thought it would be. Here is my favorite so far: the reason you should look both ways before crossing the street. I can see the weak points in it, but it's still cool to watch. It's also all of 8 seconds long.

Since html is off, here's the link to YouTube.

Looks pretty good George, how long did it take?

Though why couldn't you embed it?

Quoted from mcornetto Looks pretty good George, how long did it take? Though why couldn't you embed it?

I tried to embed it, but it didn't seem to respond. Maybe I was impatient. The actual time it took boiled down to probably two or three hours, interruptions and such aside.

Yes, I shot the elements of the video, and then I put the effects sequence together.

The girl is my middle daughter and I coached her on what to do. She did a good job of looking surprised.

Poor daddy.

"It's always funny when daddy gets hurt".

:(

Quoted from RayW Poor daddy. "It's always funny when daddy gets hurt". :(

That's actually the uncle. It's hilarious when the uncle gets hurt.

What else this GW will do more?

great work, Georgie! Now you have to mix a sound efect in it. BUMP!
cheers
Hélio

Quoted from Helio great work, Georgie! Now you have to mix a sound efect in it. BUMP!

And one of these: http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=13797

Oh, I have a copy of the wilhelm. It's required material. I've considered putting that in there (ok, I have a copy here with that in there), but I figured the comedy of the scream would blow the moment.

I also considered a tire screech followed by a body thud, but rejected that for the same reason. As is, it is a bit surprising since it did turn out well.

Oh, and I've got all kinds of torturous ideas for my brother. Next up: Lightning.

By the way, GW, are you twins?

Quoted from Helio By the way, GW, are you twins?

Not at all. He's 18 months younger and bows to my every whim. Ok, not totally, but he's fairly agreeable to my strange schemes and ideas. We're a sort of team where I handle the abstract and he's the engineer.

It's actually pretty good. There's a moment in 'Edge of Darkness' where someone gets slammed out of nowhere - you have no idea it's gonna happen, and it did make me jump. Your thread title kinda sapped the suprise, though. :) Why not group all future efforts into a "Oh my God, you killed my brother! You bastard!" type affair?

There's a slightly weird thing going on with the lighting in the first few seconds, but I'm guessing you know that.

Yeah, I know. The clouds were all over the place the day we shot it. If I could have had consistent sun or consistent clouds, we'd've been better.

And I do plan on killing my brother in many different and interesting ways.

He knows.

Good stuff, George!  

Good to see you around the boards, too.

Yep, that is quite impressive!  Well done...

GW, here is my two cents for your effort in make a great workwith AfterEffects:

Wilson Brother, will go to visit his neighbor Bert to collect a debt, when his daughter ask him:

- Hey dad, where do you go?

- I go to Bert…

- Dad…

- Yeah…

- Take care with the road…

- I know, dear. Like I said it is so danger now days…

- Can I go with you, dad?

- No, dear. Keep here with your uncle George.

- Okay, but I’ll just to follow you on the garden. - said the little girl.

-Okay. But remember: don’t cross the road without look both sides, okay?

- Don’t worry, dad.

Wilson Brother gets out from his home with his dear daughter that stays looking his dad crossing the road.

- Bye, dad.   – She said goodbye.

So, Don, the famous SS father, drives his truck calling on his cell phone. He is talking with Wesley, when lots of short screenplays follow on the ground of the truck…Don downs to pick the shortscreenplays...So...

THUD!

- Oh god! Daddy! Uncle George, please, come out of here! - shouted the girl.

- Don’t’ worry, dear. Your dad will be fine…We will buy a great funeral to him. He deserves it, isn't it. - Uncle George said as he was drinking a Bud, whatching Ophar Show.

The end

Not quite as good as the videocopilot effort, but a decent effort.

Quoted from Scar Tissue Films Not quite as good as the videocopilot effort, but a decent effort.

Busting my source. Yeah, I'm digging through their tutorials and learning the program. Great stuff on that site. I figured I would get more out of doing my own footage rather than using the files they provide. I'm learning.

As for scripting it, it's just an exercise on my part in special effects. No plot needed. You can if you want to though. Studios come up with "cool ideas" and then make writers write something to fit them. Can you write an entire script based around a single, climactic moment? To be fair, I'm not going to expand my exercise, but it's not a bad premise.

Quoted from George Willson Yeah, I know. The clouds were all over the place the day we shot it. If I could have had consistent sun or consistent clouds, we'd've been better. And I do plan on killing my brother in many different and interesting ways. He knows.

I think this needs a set up. I'm guessing this is meant to be funny since your daughter's reaction is more like "Oops" rather than, "Oh my god!"

If I am correct, the point of view is in the pretending that you hate your brother and imagine all of the ways he might be killed. Is this correct? Then, I'd like to see you with shifty eyes, imagining the hell out of the scene, each time, perhaps, the death getting more ludicrous.

I would love to hear some mysterious sound effects. Nice work, George.  :)

Sandra

Quoted from George Willson Busting my source. Yeah, I'm digging through their tutorials and learning the program. Great stuff on that site. I figured I would get more out of doing my own footage rather than using the files they provide. I'm learning. As for scripting it, it's just an exercise on my part in special effects. No plot needed. You can if you want to though. Studios come up with "cool ideas" and then make writers write something to fit them. Can you write an entire script based around a single, climactic moment? To be fair, I'm not going to expand my exercise, but it's not a bad premise.

It's amazing how Andrew Kramer makes it look so easy. I've had a dabble on it myself, but I get frustrated with it...can never quite get what I want.

It's a fantastic tool, if you can get the hang of it and learn how to direct VFX shots then the sky's your limit...you can make anything you want.

Quoted from Scar Tissue Films It's amazing how Andrew Kramer makes it look so easy. I've had a dabble on it myself, but I get frustrated with it...can never quite get what I want. It's a fantastic tool, if you can get the hang of it and learn how to direct VFX shots then the sky's your limit...you can make anything you want.

That's pretty much what I thought going through the videos he made. It's an incredible tool, but it takes A LOT of patience and heightens my respect for those who do this all the time. But I love his step by step method and I know if I take the time to go through what he's done, not even the sky will be the limit.

So I'm practicing with it before actually sitting down to make something real. This one is actually my fifth video with it, but the first one worth showing. I actually had to shoot it twice because my first attempt did not work at all.

So I didn't just grab an camera and go. It still took some work and trial and error. Just like learning anything else.

I think you did a good job with this, Wilson with a double l. The body may have bent a smidgen early but that's the smallest of gripes.

Looks good George! I won't slow-mo it and nitpik an amateur effort, its has good shock value...

Did you use a dummy full of beans for the impact? I see a bunch of stuff rolling around after....

James

Body bent early? If you could roll it frame by frame, you'd find he actually bends when the truck is in the same space he is. The two pieces were shot separately, so it was a simple matter of lining up when he physically acted like he was hit, and the truck reaching that point in the shot. I also trimmed a few frames out to make it a little more jarring, and thinking about it, I suppose you would get hit first and then bend over the hood, but when he does bend, the front bumper is right on him.

The form on the front of the truck is my brother the whole time. No clever swapping of forms or multiple passes. The truck drove by once.

The stuff rolling around is supposed to be (represent) headlight glass. It's created using a particle effect in AE which explodes for one frame and hits a virtual 3D plane lined up with the surface of the road. I specified the amount of debris, the color, and how long it stayed there. I figured if it disappeared before the video ended, it wouldn't be realistic.

I still think the "damage" to the front of the truck looks cool...