Some of my favorite film/TV tittle sequence:
-Better Caul Saul (seasons 1 to 6) (2015-2022)
The title sequence of “Better Call Saul” features various images and shots that provide insight into the show’s themes and characters. It typically begins with fast-paced shots of everyday objects, legal documents, and urban landscapes, all set against a desert backdrop. As the sequence progresses, it delves into more symbolic imagery, including references to law, justice, and morality. The sequence concludes with the show’s title, rendered in a gritty, neon-lit style reminiscent of Saul Goodman’s flamboyant personality. Throughout, the music sets a tone that is both suspenseful and slightly off-kilter, reflecting the show’s blend of drama and dark comedy.
-Jessica Jones (2015-2018)
The title sequence of “Jessica Jones” is a dark and moody introduction to the show’s gritty world. It features close-up shots of various urban landscapes, focusing on the details of New York City streets, buildings, and alleyways. These shots are often distorted or obscured, reflecting Jessica’s fragmented psyche and troubled past. The sequence is accompanied by haunting, atmospheric music that adds to the sense of unease and mystery. Interspersed throughout are glimpses of Jessica herself, portrayed by Krysten Ritter, as she navigates the city with a sense of purpose and determination. The sequence concludes with the show’s title, presented in bold, block letters against a backdrop of swirling smoke and shadows, leaving viewers with a sense of foreboding and anticipation for what’s to come.
-Daredevil (2015-2018)
The title sequence of “Daredevil” sets a dark and atmospheric tone for the show. It features stylized shots of New York City, focusing on the gritty details of the urban landscape such as rain-soaked streets, flickering lights, and looming skyscrapers. These shots are interspersed with images that evoke the themes of justice, vigilance, and the blurred line between hero and villain. The sequence is accompanied by a haunting and intense score that builds suspense and anticipation. Throughout the sequence, glimpses of Daredevil’s iconic red costume and his radar senses are hinted at, adding to the sense of mystery and intrigue. The sequence concludes with the show’s title, presented in bold, red letters against a backdrop of swirling darkness, leaving viewers eager to dive into the world of Hell’s Kitchen.
-Luke Cage (2016-2018)
The title sequence of “Luke Cage” captures the essence of its titular character and setting. It features a blend of imagery that reflects the show’s themes of strength, resilience, and community. Set against the backdrop of Harlem, New York City, the sequence showcases urban landscapes, street art, and cultural landmarks that characterize the neighborhood. Interspersed with these visuals are shots of Luke Cage himself, portrayed by Mike Colter, exuding a sense of quiet power and determination. The sequence is accompanied by a soulful and rhythmic soundtrack, reflective of Harlem’s rich musical heritage. It concludes with the show’s title, presented in bold, impactful lettering, encapsulating the spirit of the series and drawing viewers into Luke Cage’s world.
-Iron Fist (2017-2018)
The title sequence of “Iron Fist” is a dynamic introduction to the show’s martial arts and mystical themes. It features a series of fast-paced shots depicting martial arts movements, ancient symbols, and modern cityscapes. These shots are overlaid with imagery of the Iron Fist’s glowing, mystical powers, hinting at the supernatural elements of the series. The sequence is accompanied by an energetic and suspenseful score that heightens the sense of action and adventure. Throughout the sequence, glimpses of the Iron Fist’s iconic green and gold costume are woven in, adding to the mystique surrounding the character. The sequence concludes with the show’s title, presented in bold, metallic lettering, leaving viewers intrigued and eager to delve into the world of Danny Rand and his quest for justice.
-The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
The title sequence of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is a visually striking and thematically dense introduction to the film. It features a montage of dark and unsettling images, including close-up shots of industrial machinery, twisted metal, and disturbingly abstract forms. These images are intercut with glimpses of the film’s central characters and locations, hinting at the complex web of secrets and mysteries that will unfold. The sequence is accompanied by an eerie and atmospheric score that adds to the sense of tension and unease. Throughout, the imagery is overlaid with cryptic symbols and text, reflecting the film’s themes of corruption, conspiracy, and the search for truth. The sequence concludes with the film’s title, presented in bold, stark lettering, leaving viewers captivated and eager to unravel the story that lies ahead.
Week 1:
Adobe After Effects quick demo
During week 1 I learned the very basic functions of After Effects which were keyframes, here is what I did:
This is the asset I used: 
When adding a composition, these are the settings you can alter.
I imported my images and while they were selected, I dragged them top my new composition.
I added a solid layer of red to make my png image appear.
In the submenu of each image, you have the option to “transform” the properties of your image such as scale, position, rotation, opacity and anchor points. To make my image move, I keyframed its position by clicking on the stopwatch shown in the image above . To add another keyframe, click on the diamond icon near the stopwatch. The same could be applied to each transformation attribute of the image.
This is the rendering tab found in the “composition” window brought from the top bar menu.
Using the knowledge I gained from this activity, I tried it again and this was my outcome:
Vector Shapes Activity
I was tasked with creating a “Dr No” tittle sequence using After Effects shape layers. Here is what I did:
I started by making my first composition which was going to be my first circle animation.
I added a new shape layer.
I wanted to animate my circle while it was popping in and out by clicking on the scale’s tab stop watch to keyframe.
I foresaw that I was going to work with such little duration so I changed my timeline display to frames.
I did the same to add color to my circle
In the shape layer tab, I pressed on the arrow icon to pick which shape I wanted my layer to be which was the eclipse.
This where I placed my key frames. First one being the normal size and second the smaller one.
I added a new composition for it to act as my row of circles.
In my row composition, I dragged the circle composition to eventually duplicate it.
I positioned the circle on the left to stark my row.
To make my row I duplicated my circle my clicking on its layer and pressing Ctrl + D.
This is where I placed the duplicated circle
I duplicated the circle multiple times.
I chose my alignment option.
This is the setting I picked when picking the keyframe assistance.
To arrange my circles in the right order of appearance I used the keyframe assistance feature.
I dragged the rows composition to my new column composition.
This ix they keyframe assistance settings I picked for the rearrangement of my rows in the timeline.
This is the aligement option I picked.
This is where I placed each row (they are not played yet).
I duplicated my rows.
After using my newfound techniques I created this tittle sequence:
Using the techniques I learned throughout this activity I attempted it once more:
Attempt 3:
Week 2:
I attempted to create the James Bond “Live and Let Die” sequence. The skull part.
To do so, I first experimented and tested my ability to use alphas and lunas in Adobe Aftereffects. With some images of playing cards and Danial Craig, this was how I approached this composition:
These are my assets:
I opened After Effects and imported my assets.
These are my compositions settings.
To keep my assets organized, I stored them in a file.
I added the image of Danial Craig into the compostion and checked how different image Chanels would look on the asset. This shows me the different Chanels this image has in it so I can properly work with it.
I added a hue and saturation effect to the playing cards for a later on development.
I adjusted the black color to seem light on the left side. This will make the image of playing card match the light of the image behind it.
I added a curve effect to the playing cards for a later development.
I also added a Brightness Contrast effect.
I switched the Danial Craig image’s Chanel to the alpha of the playing card image.
I switched the type of alpha mode.
Now that I know how different image Channels look on an image, I am ready for the bigger task at hand.
I started by understanding how to separate a mask form its image:
I positioned my asset.
I added a mask and changed its shape to a circle to resemble the human head form.
I decreased the mask’s expansion which reduces how much exposure it causes.
The face had its seprate mask. I added a second one just for the eyes and altered the expansion so that the mask around the eyes could glow brighter than the face.
I picked the diffrince blending mode to separate my eye mask from the background.
I turned on the alpha view mode to observe the change.
Now I wanted to blend an image with another. I wanted to combine Danial Craig’s face with a skull so that his facial features show through that of the skulls.
These are my assets:
I created a new composition with the following settings: 1920×1080 25fps and with a length of 500 frames. I added the image of my skull. My goal was to bring the facial features of the Danial Craig asset asset to the skull and blend them together.
To distinguish the skull from its own background I traced and created a mask manually around its shape.
I made 2 more masks for the jaw area.
Each jaw mask’s blending mode was changed to subtract to show black giving the effect that there is nothing behind this skull or anything holding it in place.
I turned on alpha view and added my image of Danial Craig for the next step.
Now I knew where to position the head of my s3cond image so it can align with the skull.
To bring the 2nd image behind the skull’s outline so only the head will show, I changed its alpha chanenel to the skull image asset.
This was my work so far.
I duplicated the skull image.
The first one acted as my skull outline whereas the second is the visual itself that will blend with Danial Craig’s face.
I manually traced a mask around Craig’s hair because it looks uncanny on a skull.
This is how my work was looking so far. I duplicated Craig’s face.
With the duplicated I added two masks around his eyes which were going to be the more visible part of his face when it blends with the skull.
With the duplicated I added two masks around his eyes which were going to be the more visible part of his face when it blends with the skull.
I added 2 more masks one for the nose and one for the mouth and adjusted each one of their feathering and expansion to clearly appear through the skull whilst looking natural.
This is how my finished product looked like.
I wanted to make another attempt at this activety to further test my skills. This time I planed on adding more effects and have it animate. I picked the rapper “Eminem”‘s face this time.
These are the assets I used:
The song “My Darling” (explicit version) by Eminem
This was my final product:
Week 3 + 4
During this 2 week period I learned how to use green screen footage in Aftereffects. I came up with a James Bond Themed sequence.
In week 3 we as a class filmed the footage using the studio’s massive green screen, here is the footage I picked:
The clip above was the one I filmed, the rest were filmed by a variety of my classmates.
When filming, I had to coordinate an action/spy sequence hence I had to think how would 2 people who are somewhat trained spies fight. This activity improved my directing and critical thinking skills.
I imported the clips into AfterEffects and this is how I used them:
These were the settings of my initial composition.
I added my first clip to it and applied the “Key light 1.2” effect which recognizes any color and adjusts it to change based on the variation of light on it.
I eyedropped the green area in the green screen.
This is how the default black color looked like.
To adjust the color of my background, I added a blue solid.layer
I put the solid layer under my footage and this is what it resulted with.
I hid the solid so I can clearly see the noise in the background and get rid of it. Also, I changed the view to screen matte so the silhouettes would show.
This was my first glance at the silhouette. The problem was that it retained the noise and minor details from the original footage.
Besides the silhouette, I had to get rid of the background noise marked in the image above.
To do so, I slightly increased the screen’s grain and balance which did get rid of the background noise, but only increased the silhouette noise.
To fix this issue, I lowered the whites value and completely nullified the black values of my footage.
While filming, unwanted objects appeared in shot without realization. I masked them out with the pen tool and set the new mask to subtract.
I added more footage and applied the same steps to it in order to create a bigger video with a narrative.
I added a shape layer of an eclipse and filled it with red.
I duplicated it and used the align tool on it to create an organized layout.
For each of my videos I precomposed the original circles and after doing so, I annotated each pre-composition to its own video. After doing so, on my new pre-composites, I changed their matte layer to their adjacent clips.
This was my final timeline.
This is my final product at my first attempt.
This was my second attempt.
Audio:
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Week 5:
In today’s lecture, I learned how to track different types of footage in After Effects and alongside opening up my mind to the various ideas I can achieve with my new found knowledge of tracking.
This is the process of each type of track:
Note: tracking makes the process of manually animating certain aspects quicker and automatic.
General tracking:
These are my assets:
PNG
My goal was to animate the Pyramid sign to follow the pyramid in the scene while the camera was moving away and panning. Doing this manually would be counter productive, hence to why I will use tracking.
I imported my footage and these were the settings to my composition.
I re-located the PNG’s anchor point so it can move the way it is expected to which is not from the middle of the photo but from the circle. I then positioned it on the pyramid it was going to follow.
I opened Aftereffect’s “Tracker” menu and clicked on “Track Motion”.
A square otherwise known as a “Track point” spawned on my footage.
Upon holding down on tracking point, I was able to move it manually on to the point of the pyramid I wanted tracked.
I clicked play on the tracker menu, and it automatically keyframed the scene’s motion and matched it with the position keyframe of the PNG.
This was the PNG’s timeline.
I clicked on “Edit Target” and with my PNG selected, I clicked on [okay].
I clicked on apply and then selected “X and Y “and confirmed my options.
This allowed the PNG’s keyframes to respond to the footage’s motion in sync.
This was my final product:
Now that I understood the basics of tracking, the remaining types were going to come easier to me because of the techniques I picked up.
Face tracking:
This is my asset:
My goal was to blur out the child in the middle’s face throughout the whole video.
I imported my footage and gave it this compostion’s settings.
I duplicated my footage in the composition because I intended to add subtract mask in the next step.
I masked the child’s face.
I opened the tracker and selected the “Face tracking outline” mode.
I clicked play in the tracker. However, I discovered that the mask was not to binding. I planned on mending it.
I added an effect [Stylize]>”Mosaic” to the duplicated layer with the mask.
This was the effect’s hud.
I adjusted the mosaic’s horizontal and vertical blocks to set where the blur was going to be in my mask.
I made my original layer visible so the subtract mask would not be the only thing remaining . (return the background outside the mask).
This was my final product:
Text tracking:
My asset:
My goal was to maintain my text’s position with in the 3D space of my footage whilst having follow the scene’s camera’s motion.
I imported my footage and this was the composition I added them to.
I opened the tracker and tracked my footage’s camera so the text has a reference to follow in the video.
The camera tracking analyses my scene and placed different points in it so that it was recognized as 3D data like a viewport. I was able to navigate using this red cursor shown above. It also opened its own hud in the effects tab.
I held down the mouse and masked an area in the 3D tracking points and right clicked to create a text and camera with in the 3D space.
This is how the text was layer out in the 3D space.
This was the alternate 3D cursor which is birthed by holding down on the left click mouse.
This was my product so far.
Each of my tracked texts had their own layer.
I edited my texts using the type tool and the text tab. This was my result.
This 3D gizmo allowed me to move, rotate and scale my text in the 3D space of my scene. That way if my text was s too big for example, I can scale it in a way that it retain’s its 3D in sync aspect with my scene.
This is my final product.
Content aware tracking:
My asset:
My goal was to remove the sign on the right wall inside the video for each frame and replace it with AI.
I imported my footage and selected these composition settings for it.
I duplicated my footage.
I put a mask around the sign that I was going to remove.
I hid my original layer and set my mask to track using the perspective mode.
I set the mask to subtract so the scene behind it would show.
I clicked play and watched the mask keyframe its position in sync the video’s perspective.
I opened the content aware tab.
I selected the surface tracking option and generated a fill layer.
The previous step generated a fill image sequence which was every frame the sign was going to disappear. That way the system knew what to replace the frames with the sign with.
This was how the AI generated fill looked like in the mask.
My original layer remained hidden whilst my fill and duplicated layer.
This was my final result.
For a clearer demonstration of the content aware mask, watch my asset footage.
Perspective corner pin tracking:
My assets:
My goal is to put the Adidas logo onto the box in the video and have it move in sync to the box’s motion.
I imported my footage and picked these composition settings for it.
I added my logo into the scene and set it to track the scene’s motion in the tracker.
I played the video and set the track mode to “perspective corner pin”.
I played the video again and this quadruple tracking point system showed up on my compostion.
I separated the bigger square from the smaller ones.
I played the video so the tracking points can know where to move with the video.
In the edit layer tracker tab I set it to my video layer.
I applied my changes.
The tracker automatically set these keyframes in my timeline.
This was my product so far.
I set the blend mode to multiply and decreased the opacity of my logo so its background would vanish.
To make my logo tracker appear more believable, I turned on motion blur.
This was my product so far.
Pushing it further:
Corner pin tracking:
Removing the “CHoqechaka” sign
My asset:
The result:
My assets:
The result:
Corner pin + Content aware fill tracking:
My assets:
The result:
Week 6:
3D space with texts in Aftereffects + Shatter effect
I created a new composition.
I added a new solid.
I clicked on the 3D icon in the white solid layer which spawned a 3D gizmo just as the one used in 3D software’s. That way I can move my layers like 3D objects in a 3D viewport.
I rotated the solid on the Z-axis at a 90 degree angle.
I added another solid layer.
I set up my second solid as the background to my first plane which by now was the floor of my 3D scene.
I added my text using the “T” tool.
I added a generate grid effect.
This opened an axis that allows me to visualize my 3D environment.
I altered the settings of my floor and background.
I added a camera to my scene so I can view my 3D objects from a Z-axis perspective.
These were my camera’s initial settings.
I changed the view to my camera’s lens.
I also selected the 4 viewport options to observe my 3D space from different angles which each provide their own benefits.
I changed my camera’s settings.
I added a light to my scene to improve its sense of realism.
These were my light’s initial settings.
This was how my light looked like in the viewport.
These were the settings I picked for my light.
This is how I positioned my light.
I changed my camera’s focus distance because of the new way I set up my light. I also added some blur.
I added a “straight by character” effect to my text which automatically key-framed my 3D text and saved me a large sum of manual work. The following video was my product so far.
I changed the position of how far was my text going to be in the beginning of the animation.
I switched to Cinema 4D
The previous step offered more traditional 3D software features which I used.
I was able to make full fledged and detailed 3D shapes in Aftereffects.
I removed my previous effect and added the shatter.
I set the effect to render view.
This is my final product:
I changed the effect’s breaking method from bricks to glass.
These were the settings I picked.
I added a second shatter effect for a more slow and realistic break in a different area of my 3D text.
I picked these settings.
Render passes and AOVs:
AOVs (Arbitrary Output Variables) and render passes are integral components of the rendering process, particularly in more advanced workflows and when working with complex scenes.
AOVs (Arbitrary Output Variables): AOVs allow you to output specific elements of a scene separately during the rendering process. This can include things like diffuse color, specular highlights, reflections, ambient occlusion, depth information, or any other data you might want to isolate for compositing purposes. AOVs are useful for post-processing tasks in compositing software like Adobe After Effects or Nuke.
Render Passes: Render passes are essentially different layers of information that are rendered separately from the main render. Each pass represents a specific component of the scene, such as diffuse lighting, specular highlights, shadows, reflections, etc. By breaking down the rendering into passes, you have more control over each component during the compositing stage. For example, you can adjust the intensity of the shadows independently of other elements or apply effects to only certain parts of the image.
In Maya, you can set up AOVs and render passes using the Render Settings window. There, you can define which passes or AOVs you want to include in your render, as well as adjust settings specific to each one, such as sample rates, filtering options, etc.
Using AOVs and render passes can greatly enhance your workflow, as they allow for more flexibility and control over the final output, especially when it comes to creating complex visual effects or integrating CGI elements into live-action footage.
This was my initial scene in Autodesk Maya.
My seemed flat so i added this HDRI called “Art workshop”
I set my HDRI’s settings
My updated scene
I took a snapshot for future comparison with my other renders.
I set up my camera settings in the Arnold renderer
My result
I added my AOV’s which are individual assets of my image such as how bright my textures are. (Specular)
I can also add a costume AOV based on any factor I want to control in the future of my photo.
I added an Ambient Occlusion texture from Arnold.
I set my texture settings
I added these AOV’s
These were the different images Arnold generated for all my AOVs
I opened my image in Aftereffects
I duplicated my original image and added an extractor effect to register the diffuse AOV as a variable I can change
I repeated the process for all my AOVs. Added an adjustment layer with an exposure effect.
I duplicated my original image and added a “cryptomatte” effect and eye dropped different objects in my asset so I can individually change their AOVs
This is how my objects looked like when they were eye dropped.
There was an object option for the eye dropper.
I set each of my crypto matte layers to Matte only output
The crypto matte can also work on separate materials
crypto matte on separate materials
I pre composed my original image layers to create an individual combination of them to be used as a matte.
I set the matte layer to the newly precomposed layer
I added a hue and saturation layer to my layer to only change the background since now my objects were separated from my background in their own crypto matte effect.
I duplicated my pre-composition but this time I set its matte to the crypto matte layer of all my objects one by one
After re-applying the techniques I learned, this was my final result.
These were my layers at the end
After re-applying the techniques I learned, this was my final result.
Pushing it further:
My asset:
My AOVs:
Ambient Occlusion
Crypto asset
Crypto material
Crypto object
Diffuse
Direct
Indirect
Specular
Transmission
My final result:
I changed the color of the wine without effecting that of it’s glass. I also increased the saturation of the rose’s red color which gave it a more worn out ripped look. I did this because the skull and gun implied violence and death to me. Hence I intensified this implication by making the flower older and possibly dead.
-Demonstrate the use of masks and alpha channels to compose images together
-Green screen workflow in After Effects
-The different types 2d and 3d Tracking
-Working with 3d space in After Effects
-Compositing 3d render passes (AOVs and EXRs) using both Maya and After Effects
The music I used: