Film and Video Looks

Film and Video Looks

If you fl ipped to this section intentionally, you may be trying
to do one of two things with a given shot or project:
. Achieve the look of a different camera
. Maximize the production value of your video to make it
“fi lmic”
There are so many issues connected to the second one
above and beyond what you can achieve in an After Effects
comp that Stu Maschwitz went and wrote a whole book
about it. The DV Rebel’s Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making
Killer Action Movies on the Cheap (Peachpit Press, 2006) is
an excellent resource, not only for After Effects knowledge,
but for the whole process of low-budget digital fi lmmaking.
The fi rst chapter lists the major factors that infl uence production
value. Many of these, including image and sound
quality, location and lighting, cannot entirely be created
in After Effects, which must be why Stu’s book includes a
bunch of information on how to actually shoot. Stu is also
a big proponent of shallow depth of fi eld as a necessary
component of visual storytelling.
Achieving the look of a different camera is well within the
realm of tricks you can pull off consistently in After Effects,
and some of the following play into both developing a look
and maximizing production value:
. Lens artifacts: In addition to those already discussed
in this chapter, such as boke and chromatic aberration,
are such fi lmic visual staples as the vignette and the
lens fl are.

. Frame rate: Change this and you can profoundly alter
the viewer’s perception of footage.
. Aspect ratio: The format of the composition makes a
huge perceptual difference as well, although it’s not so
simple as “wider = better.”
. Color palette: Nothing affects the mood of a given shot
like color and contrast. It’s a complex subject further
explored in Chapter 12.