Ever wonder why you can’t put After Effects 3D layers in the middle of your Trapcode Particular particle system? They both use 3D space and react to the camera, yet the layers are either behind or in front of ALL the particle. It can be really frustrating, and can make a convincing composite impossible.

BUT DO NOT LOSE HOPE! In this QuickTip from Harry frank, he’ll explain what’s going on, and show you how to put a layer in between particles. Watch it HERE.

Also, there’s a Red Giant TV tutorial called “Better Compositing with Particles” that covers tackling the same problem, but in a very different way. Depending on your situation, you can use either of them.

Finally, if you’re ready to take on this challenge with lots of 3D layers – check out sParticular – an awesome script from AEscripts.com which will give you real control over putting layers in your Trapcode Particular particle system.

I really mean ‘design like a pirate’, but that is a rarely explained talent of sea marauders and conversely, we all know about this famous day.

Another pirate fact that has recently emerged is how Red Giant Psunami was used in a sexy video teaser for Hayden-Harnett bags called Pirates Everywhere!. This fashion video was created by filmmaker Stephen Dirkes and his production company Obscure Object Films, in collaboration with photographer Tal Shpantzer. The new fashion bags are part of Hayden-Harnett’s Disney Signature collection and influenced by the popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

“Pirates Everywhere!” Opening Title Animation

Stephen wrote in his company blog, “Posting about “Psunami” the video effects plug-in I used to create a 3d ocean for the titles because its both Prefab and Pretty Fabulous!… A super simple 3d animated ocean generator that I found really useful because its both very simple to start something and yet gives you quite a few parameters to work with… “Psunami” is the go to plug in that offers tremendous bang-for-the-buck and goes beyond being just a quick fix.””

You can read Stephen’s step-by-step use of Psunami on his blog page and learn more about Obscure Objects Film here. Of course, if you are in need of some booty for Talk Like a Pirate Day, Hayden-Harnett bags is ready for your shopping needs. Arrr!

Justin Harder is an amazing director in Venice, California who moves fluidly between cell animation, 2D/3D motion design and directing live action. His work has been shown in venues ranging from the global festival OneDotZero to the Taschen Logo Design Vol 2 book.

I recently spoke with Justin about the Tea Party video he did for the singer Kerli, which was composited with After Effects and uses our popular Magic Bullet Looks for color grading.

Kerli ‘Tea Party’

Justin said, “Kerli was one of those projects that came together fairly well as planned, considering the budget wasn’t that accommodating for what I wanted to achieve. Kerli and all the characters I created were a lot of fun to work with on set and in post. We had an amazing die-hard crew that worked around the clock to make it happen, and my thanks go to everybody.”

“I used Looks in After Effects because its the best color corrector out there. It gives your work an edge – something you wouldn’t find by just using hue & satch, levels and color balance, which is what I would normally use.”

To really understand Justin’s mastery, here is the original Tea Party green screen edit before the keying, effects and Looks were added.

See more of Justin’s work on his Vimeo channel, including this new portfolio montage that he recently cut. Many of the works in the montage also make use of Magic Bullet Looks. As Justin said to me, “What projects of mine DON’T use Red Giant or Trapcode software?”

Sorry about the lack of episode last week. We are gearing up for some major stuff at NAB, and when all is said and done, I’ll have been on the road for 3 weeks straight.

But rest assured more content is coming, and not just from me. A lot of people are sending along cool episodes for us to share with you. And I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

But, for now, you just have me, so here goes:

Episode 16: Better Compositing with Light Wraps

In this Episode, I’ll show you how to get better compositing results with Light Wraps – an effect used to blend the background light and foreground elements more convincingly during a composite.

I know I’ve talked about light wraps before, but I’ve been using them almost every day lately – so I’ve picked up a few new tricks…

You can watch the tutorial here.

And just for watching, you can get a discount on Key Correct Pro here.

I’m baaaaack….

In this episode of Red Giant TV, I’ll show you a technique for placing layers inside the middle of a particle system – crucial to truly integrating your CGI effects with your live action footage or motion graphics.

Click the above image to see an example video.

You can watch watch the episode here.

And, of course, just for watching, you can get a discount on particular here.

By the way, Actor footage Courtesy of Crowd Control from All Bets Are Off Productions, Inc.

Hi folks – this week on Red Giant TV, our guest is John Flowers, host of That Post Show and writer/director/producer of That Media Show.

In this episode, John Flowers takes us behind the scenes of That Media Show to share his workflow for compositing in Final Cut Pro. John pays special attention to color correction here, a very important part of the compositing process.

You can watch the episode here.

And just for watching, you can get a discount on Magic Bullet Colorista and/or Primatte Keyer Pro here.

In the latest episode of RGTV,  I mentioned an older tutorial called Super Tight Junk Mattes. It’s a great technique for creating very precise Junk Mattes/Garbage Masks very quickly.

You can find it here. (more…)

Hi folks -

New tutorial posted!

Episode 4 Better Compositing Techniques: In this Episode, learn about compositing techniques that fall outside of keying. Using tools available for After Effects, Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Motion, Vegas and Avid, you’ll discover ways to improve the quality of your composite with less work. (more…)