11/20/16 - Learning Logic (Software) (Part 4) (Recording and Metronome)

Quick couple of chapters today.  Only about 10 min. really (as opposed to my normal 30-45 min. or so), which I'm thinking may be a way to stay more active with this blog, and more in the spirit of my original intent for it, simple daily exercises and all.  10 min. is actually the original intended time limit for each daily post, so I'm gonna try going back to that and see where it takes me.

Otherwise, yeah, more Logic learning.  Mainly focused on the technical aspects of setting up your system for recording (and the various options within that), as well as understanding how to control the metronome feature.  I've been using Garageband for music projects for a long time and the metronome there has been very handy.  However, now in Logic, there's so much more control over it.  It's really cool!  Definitely excited to learn all the new tricks Logic has compared to everything I'm used to.  A bit overwhelming at the moment, but very exciting nonetheless.

11/5/16 - Learning Logic (Software) (Part 3) (Interface and Key Tools)

Finally back!  More Logic learning today (will be for a while as I follow this tutorial series).  Still fairly simple, though getting a bit more complex now.

Today's topics included:

• Navigation Options with the Transport Bar
• The Toolbox and its Various Cursor Tools
• Naming/Labeling Tracks and Regions
• Some Useful Keyboard Shortcuts (and How to Manipulate Them)
• Preferences (Global) and Settings (Specific Project)

Still haven't actually made anything of my own in Logic yet, but I figure I'll watch through the entirety of this series first so I have a good understanding of it before I attempt anything on my own (still a bit lost with where everything is, but I'm excited to figure it all out).

10/10/16 - Learning Logic (Software) (Part 2) (Interface and Key Tools)

More Logic learning.  Another quick chapter today, all about understanding the different windows of the interface, basic functionality, tools, etc.  Still pretty simple stuff, but I'm definitely feeling much more comfortable navigating around in it now.

10/8/16 - Learning Logic (Software) (Part 1) (Overview)

Well it's been a little over exactly one year since I started this thing.  Of course, I haven't been as productive with this blog as I originally planned (did about 27 days of posts the first month I started, followed by 19, then 7, and now I'm averaging about 2 a month, lol), but I do still very much enjoy the idea of this blog and plan to continue it for a while.  I'd like to get back into the swing of doing a post a day, but we'll see.  Regardless, it's been a fun journey, and I do think I have indeed learned a lot along the way.

But now, onto today's post.  Starting a new course on Lynda.com for Logic Pro (music/audio editing software).  I will be using this heavily during the last couple of stages of my film and thus far have no idea how to use it.  *blush*  But that's where this blog comes in!

Today's lesson was a quick overview of the basic layout of the interface, loading templates, simple functions, etc.  Pretty simple stuff, but definitely necessary moving forward.

Here's to learning Logic!  Let's do this!

9/12/16 - After Effects Learning (Wiggle Transform)

Well, I'm done with the After Effects course on Lynda.com, but for now I think I'm still gonna keep trying to learn After Effect while I work on the VFX for my film.  Today I did a quick little tutorial (also on Lynda.com) about the Wiggle Transform function.  I'm getting very familiar with it now, and I think it's an incredibly useful tool for automating randomized motion.  I was recently searching for plug-ins to enable a handheld camera shake effect, but now I'm thinking I might actually be able to make my own with this Wiggle feature.  Gotta do some tests now.

9/9/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 20) (Finishing Up)

Just a recap chapter today for the final part of the training series.  Learned a lot after all of this; I'm WAY more comfortable in using After Effects now than I was when I started, and I feel I have a pretty solid foundation of knowledge for it now, enough that I can start to branch out into more complex tasks as I work with it to create the VFX for my current film.  Looking forward to making some crazy shots!  :)

9/8/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 19) (Exporting Video)

A slightly longer chapter today.  Topics included:

• Using Clip Notes to send video files for review
• HQ export options vs. more compressed options
• Exporting a video with an alpha channel
• Exporting video for specific media (DVD, Blu-ray, cellphones, etc.)
• Rendering multiple videos at once
• Rendering via Adobe Media Encoder

For the most part I already know much of this information.  Been exporting/rendering stuff for a while now as I've been following this tutorial series.  But I'm happy I finally understand the exact specifics of how to export video with an alpha channel (probably the most important element of this chapter for me at the moment).  Also learned a subtle new way of rendering multiple versions of an export at once.  Almost done with the series!

9/4/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 18) (Integrating with Other Adobe Applications)

Another simple chapter today.  All about integrating AE with other Adobe applications, notably Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, and Premiere.  I'm quite familiar with dynamic linking and all that, but it's good to have an occasional refresher.  And I actually learned a few new options I didn't know about before!

8/14/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 17) (Nesting Compositions)

Pretty simple chapter today.  Just talking about the benefits of nesting compositions and all (essentially grouping a bunch of layers to edit at once).  It also mentioned something about "Precomposing" layers, which seems to basically be the same thing but with a slightly different workflow.  I was a little confused on the benefit of one over the another, and since manual "nesting" is more what I'm familiar with, I'll probably just stick to that style for now.

7/28/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 16) (Automating Expressions with Amplitude)

A relatively short chapter today, but an actually pretty advanced one nonetheless.  Basically today's new topics included:

• Creating keyframes from audio volume (waveform, amplitude, etc.)
• Setting up expressions
• Modify expressions

The course has already covered expressions, but only slightly.  It's still a really confusing aspect of After Effects to me, but I know it's an incredibly powerful and important part of the software.  Oddly enough, all these topics today I've actually been using for quite some time now (as part of using music tracks to create a visual "beat" to move along with them).  However, I've just been using templates to do so, without really knowing what I was doing.  I still need some practice with it all, but I think I'm starting to get the gist of how it all works now.  I've seen tons of people use this effect in various videos online (a very popular style on many music channels), so it's fun to finally start to actually get a handle on the actual specifics of how it all works.

Bottom line stuff I gotta remember…

• Alt (option) + Click on the stop watch to enable Expressions
• Right click a music track in the timeline to create automated keyframes based on volume
• And math/coding knowledge is actually available to use as part of expressions (advanced)

7/25/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 15) (Working With Audio)

Back again!  Pretty quick chapter, all about using audio within After Effects.  Audio has always eluded me in AE, so it's nice to get a better grasp on it.  Obviously, AE is mostly a visual effects program, but it's good to know there's a certain degree of control with audio as well, and how to work with it for timing your visuals and everything.  I basically just have to remember the RAM Preview function.  Other than that, it's all pretty straightforward.

6/22/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 14) (3D Layers)

Been a while since my last post.  But I'm finally back!  Another fairly quick chapter on After Effects, and another one that I've been very excited about: 3D Layers.  Today's lesson covered:

• Converting layers to 3D
• Positioning
• Creating cameras and lights
• Creating shadows

It was a pretty basic overview, but covered all the simple stuff I needed to know moving forward.  I'm very familiar with 3d software and 3d space, so I basically just needed a quick intro on how to navigate it within AE.  Now that I know, this is going to be a VERY powerful tool.  It opens up a lot of possibilities.  :)

4/25/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 13) (Stabilizing/Tracking Footage)

Now THIS is what I've been waiting for!  I have never truly worked with tracking footage before (or stabilizing) and I've been wanting to for the longest time.  There's so many VFX ideas that will open up now that I understand the process in After Effects, so needless to say I'm VERY excited to try it out!  I'm sure it'll take a little getting used to, but I'm definitely planning to use this as a key tool on future projects.

4/20/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 12) (Compositing)

Two chapters today, all about compositing.  Topics included:

• Masks
• Blend Modes
• Keying/Green-Screening

A lot of powerful concepts, but ones I'm already well familiar with.  I've had very limited success with green-screening though, so it was interesting to see the process from someone else's perspective.  Relatively simple tools, but definitely some of the most powerful.

*Side note:  This did not cover rotoscoping, the main compositing concept I'm most waiting for, and one of the key methods I'll be employing in my film's more difficult VFX.  It covered custom mask shapes, but it did not express the best ways to animate/track them over various frames.  I may have to wait till the more advanced tutorials for that, but I'm starting to have a basic idea of how I might approach it already.

4/19/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 11) (Intermediate Animation)

Missed a few days, but I'm back with another post.  More After Effects learning.  Today's chapter was called "Intermediate Animation" and covered these topics:

• Temporal Interpolation
• Ease In/Ease Out
• Wiggler Tool
• Smoother Tool
• Parenting Objects
• Linking Properties with Expressions
• Graph Editor

I'm already very familiar with ease in/ease out and graph editing, but the Wiggler tool, Smooth tool, and expressions were all new to me.  Parenting objects was new as well, though just the structure of it.  As mentioned in a previous post, I come from a background in Apple's "Motion" where parenting is actually called "grouping", more akin to Photoshop's style of folders in folders.  Whereas After Effects essentially just has a little drop-down menu for every layer, which specifies a parent.  I've been confused about this for the longest time, so needless to say this was a VERY helpful chapter to learn just for that alone.  I think I still sort of prefer the "folder" method, but I could see this drop-down method making for a cleaner timeline in the long run.  I'm also quite excited to learn about this "expressions" thing.  It was only a quick introduction so far, so I'm still trying to wrap my head around how I might be able to use it, but it definitely looks like a useful tool I'll want to use in the future.  And of course the wiggler tool will definitely come in handy for certain "flickering" effects.  Just gotta remember it's there instead of trying to manually animate things I don't have to.

4/11/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 10) (Motion Paths)

Very quick chapter.  Introduced motion paths, adjusting keyframes, interpolation, pen tool, etc.  All stuff I've very familiar with.  What I didn't know about was a cool little option called "Auto-Orient".  I'm more prone to manual animation, but this could come in handy some day.  I also learned about the "Motion Sketch" option.  I come from a background in Apple's Motion, so this is very reminiscent of hitting the "record" button there.  I also learned that you can actually create a more fine-tuned motion path in a separate program like Illustrator, and then paste that into AE to automatically create a motion path.  I'm personally more familiar with Photoshop than Illustrator, so I'm curious to see if the pen tool it has (which I typically use for the brush stroke option) will work for this as well.

4/7/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 9) (Shape Layers)

Today's chapter was all about shape layers.  Man, there's a LOT of power in their options, way more than I would have imagined, with a lot of crazy creations you can make.  Not sure what I can do with them at the moment, but I'll keep them in mind for later.  At the moment I'm mostly just planning to use shapes for a flashlight effect in the movie I'm working on, so fairly simple stuff for now.  Oddly enough, this simple little tool has eluded me for the longest time.  I kept just getting masks instead of shapes and it really frustrated me, and now I know what was going on.  I'm used to a mask tool and shape tool being separate buttons.  And now I feel silly to find out how easy it actually was to figure out… haha  A simple step forward, but a very useful one I'm sure.

4/4/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 8) (Paint Tools)

More After Effects learning.  Only about 25 min. today, but boy was it a good one!  Today's chapter was all about using the Paint tools.  I had no idea After Effects had this kind of functionality!  I was creating all sorts of crazing line animations in minutes, stuff that I would have otherwise thought might take DAYS to achieve!  And the fact that it's all vector-based enables so much power!  From animating signatures, to growing vines, to even frame-by-frame animation, it's really an amazing aspect of AE that I never even knew existed!  Plus, there's a few moments in the film I'm currently working on where this kind of stuff would be PERFECT!  Needless to say, I'm really excited to try it all out!  :D

4/3/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 7) (Creating and Animating Text)

Simple post today.  Just learned a bit more about some of the options in After Effects for color-correcting footage, as well as creating and animating text.  I've always known After Effects to be famous for creating amazing text animations and now I can see why.  There's so many powerful options available.  I'm don't think my current project will be able to take advantage of them that much, but I'm sure these will come in quite handy on future projects.

4/2/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 6) (Effects)

Well, looks like I took a bit of a hiatus from the blog there.  Whoops…  hehe  I actually have been quite productive outside of it recently, but I'd like to get back to it cause I do really do think this setup is very helpful to keep me continually learning and staying on my toes.  So…

Back to After Effects!  Still doing these "no post" posts.  Just continuing with that tutorial on Lynda.com.  Today's chapter was all about various applications of effects:

• Glow
• Fractal Noise
• Turbulent Noise
• Colorama
• Roughen Edges
• CC Effects (Cycore)
• Motion Blur
• Other Various Blurs
• Liquify
• Wave Warp
• Shatter
• Various Generators
• And the Brainstorm Feature

And combining these effects to get cool results.  Still pretty simple stuff, but I'm definitely learning.  And definitely happy to be back on the blog!

1/22/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 5)

More AE learning on Lynda.com.  A shorter segment today, so most of the new stuff I learned was just keyboard shortcuts and all.  Plus some other various little tricks here and there.

But the biggest thing I learned about was the "Timewarp" Effect.  There's quite a few slow-motion effects I have planned for my film (the feature that I mentioned in a previous post, that I'm editing right now), and this will definitely come in handy.  At the moment I've just been using some simple duration adjustments (% of normal speed), but this new tool in After Effects will give me a lot more control and ideally better quality.  I'll have to play around with it more in the future though.  :)  This is gonna be fun!

1/21/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 4)

Continuing with the same tutorial on Lynda.com.   Key topics of note include: anchor point, AE rotation style, and puppet tool.

Seriously though… I loved learned about the anchor point.  That's a common thing that I've seen in many other applications, but oddly enough I never really understood it.  It's really quite simple, and all these years I've just forced myself to work around these weird rotations and scales and whatnot.  Now it all makes sense!  :)

The rotation notations in AE are pretty cool too, written like: 0x, +0*.  I think it's a pretty intelligent design to mark it like that: # of full rotations, plus extra degrees beyond that.  I can definitely see it streamlining certain animations quite a bit.

And then the puppet tool is an amazing feature!  I already just learned about this is in that introductory lesson I watched before this one, but this gave me a slightly more in-depth look at it and definitely gave me some ideas on how to use and work with it (separating objects of a figure based on their function: solid transforms vs. organic transforms, connecting pieces, etc.).

Still pretty basic stuff, but I really am learning a lot.

1/17/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 3)

Finally got back to the tutorial series again today:
http://www.lynda.com/After-Effects-CS4-tutorials/essential-training/715-2.html

Just did 30 min. today (one chapter), kept it simple.  Mostly it was all about layers (sorting, managing, navigation, alignment, etc.), all stuff I'm pretty familiar with (except for alignment, which oddly enough I could never quite figure out before, haha).  "Distribute Layers" is a really cool feature.  Also, the "shy" layers feature is gonna be super helpful!  I'm actually really enjoying this "no post" stuff as part of my blog.  Learning a lot, bit by bit.

1/12/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 2)

Back again with another "no post" post.  Gonna be like this for awhile while I'm watching through all these After Effects tutorials.

Today I started my second AE series on Lynda.com:
http://www.lynda.com/After-Effects-CS4-tutorials/essential-training/715-2.html

I'm following all the CS4 tutorials specifically because that's the version of the software that I'm still using.  I purchased it quite a few years ago in a bundle at college, and I figure there's no reason to upgrade until I really know how to use the one I already have.

Anyway, the total course itself is 8 hours long and I'm trying to break it up into about an hour a day.  Today's segments included:

• Another overview of the software
• Managing a simple project
• Creating basic elements (shapes, animated text, effects)
• Understanding interface elements
• Importing various file types (and under various settings)

Much of this I already know, but there are a few little things here and there I didn't know.  I'm only just starting to scratch the surface of really learning the software, but I do feel a lot more comfortable with it already.

1/6/16 - After Effects Learning (Part 1)

Gonna try something new today.  Been thinking about ways to improve my work habits as part of a New Year's resolution kind of thing, and I made a decision regarding this blog…

Not every post has to actually have something "posted".

What I mean by this is that not every post has to have an image, a video, a music track, or whatever else, to qualify as a post.  I can merely say, "Hey, I watched a tutorial today and learned something" and in my opinion that will more than qualify as time well spent.  I came to this conclusion after recently asking myself… what would be the most effective use of my time regarding this blog right now?  And honestly, it came down to learning and practicing with various software via tutorials and all (specifically "After Effects" and "Logic" at the moment).  I have a massive project I'm currently in the middle of editing footage for, and as soon as I'm done (which should be relatively soon) I'll be entering the VFX, music, and sound editing stages, nearly 90% of which will require the use of After Effects and Logic.  And I'm incredibly inexperienced with both.  The catch…?  During those periods of just watching tutorials and learning I'll have very little in terms of things I can actually "post" to this blog.

So…

For today's post I'm gonna test the waters so to speak, and just talk about what I did/learned but not actually "share" anything.

Today I watched an introductory tutorial series for After Effects on Lynda.com (which is an amazing resource for learning so many topics).  One of the shorter lessons, it was basically a little over an hour long and covered a broad overview of concepts about the software, introducing me a bit more to the interface, keyboard shortcuts, and various functions available.  A simple introduction, but I wanted to start with the basics before moving on to more complex tasks.

We'll see how these "no post" posts help my work habits.  They may or may not work, but it made a lot of sense to me so I figured it was at least worth a try.

If interested, this is the tutorial I watched:
http://www.lynda.com/After-Effects-CS4-tutorials/getting-started/699-2.html

1/1/16 - Carol of the Bells (Final)

The final video and music track!

Happy New Year, everybody!

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGVHYebYTP0