If you have already read the article in the magazine and are only looking for the code:
DigitalProductionCFX
To stand out on social media, everyone wants Hollywood, of course. That’s why the web is flooded with programmes and templates that supposedly allow you to generate “amazing” videos with just a few clicks. However, the variation options are usually limited and leave little room for creativity. That’s why you quickly realise which “awesome” videos have their origin in a template. If you want to create something really interesting, you have to show a little more “skill”. But you don’t always have to start from scratch.
In DP 01:21 (Inception in After Effects) we already presented some templates by Noel Powell. His latest collection of templates is called “Landscaper” and the name says it all. You can use his Trippy Effects for weird eye-catchers on social media and if you’re looking for interesting title animations that you can’t create with the usual title tools, you’ll be well served with the recently revised Text Effects. The Beasts feature various animated animals, Flags generates quite realistic flags and Glitch helps you shred videos
Videos. If you want to take a look right away: creationeffects.com
The basic structure of Noel’s templates is the same. Everything is packed into an After Effects composition. Here, too, work is carried out using only on-board tools, without the use of external plug-ins. This alone is a lesson in the potential of After Effects, even with the help of scripting.
Landscaper
Neal’s latest template collection is called Landscaper and the name says it all. This template can be used to create animated landscapes. With the help of the 3D layers staggered in the Z-axis, very beautiful parallax effects can be achieved. In addition to the 42 templates that can be modified down to the last detail, there is also a landscape construction kit, as is usual with Creation Effects. Noel has collected countless photos from free image portals and meticulously cut them out. These can be searched in the web browser and then dragged into the project from the local footage library. Noel has produced very clear tutorials to go with them. The included footage library alone, with around 1000 objects consisting of landscapes, mountains, plants and objects, which can of course also be used in other projects, would be worth the purchase. The compositions are very clearly laid out and come with many tips on the workflow. Of course, you shouldn’t expect photorealism. But the templates are well suited for animated illustrations for magazine programmes, backgrounds for virtual studios or video conferences or to spice up PowerPoint presentations.
Flags
What is actually not possible in After Effects, namely animating waving cloths, Noel has managed to do very realistically here with a few tricks. All the parameters of the “waving” can be modified down to the last detail and the flags are truly three-dimensional. There is an extensive collection of flag textures from all countries and of course there is also a pirate flag. The realistic representation is further refined by means of fabric textures. In addition, videos and any other graphic elements can also be used as textures. The appropriate wind and fluttering noises are also included. Due to the many 3D layers, the rendering times are quite high, but even with a lot of expertise in 3D software, such results are difficult to achieve. And the low price of the template of 25 dollars is quickly offset by the labour savings.
Creation Glitch Effects
Creation Glitch EffectsIn DP 03:18 “Creating a glitch title template for Premiere in After Effects” we had a workshop on creating a glitch template. The basis at that time was the extension of a tutorial by Andrew Kramer on Videocopilot.net. In the template, a similar technique was used to some extent, but the topic of glitches is covered here down to the smallest detail. Firstly, there are lots of pre-rendered glitch clips in the footage folder, which are also suitable for keying over in Premiere and are used here in some of the templates. Some of these are actually recorded, but Noel has also created them with the integrated “Glitch Generator”. Here, the fractal noise effect is used to generate glitches in greyscale and colour, which are superimposed in several layers using blending modes. There are also plenty of disturbing sound effects to match.
Creation Title Effects
This somewhat different title generator offers a lot that some expensive plugins cannot. There is something for every taste among the 200 templates. Even if the colour scheme is often a little “American colourful”, everything can be changed to your own taste, including the text, the font and the colours. The headings all have an initial animation. The spectrum ranges from “normal” graphic titles to those that cannot be created with a title programme. These include, for example, texts generated from sand, bubbles or other particles. 3D texts, metal texts with reflections, chalk, chrome, clay, clouds, ice, stone, fire, smoke and much more. For an overview, there is an online video and a PDF showing all 200 title templates.
Creation Trippy Effects
If you want to produce wacky music videos and social media clips, this is the right place for you
exactly the right place. There are not only colourful motion graphics backgrounds, but also very unusual effects. These are particularly suitable for music videos. Colours are played with, videos are melted and covered with jelly. They are also distorted and frozen line by line. However, these spectacular effects, which are created using time remapping and displacement maps, are very computationally intensive.
Conclusion
The tested templates were again a lot of fun. And thanks to Noel’s detailed tutorials, you always learn something new, because he makes no secret of how the templates are built and how they work. What’s more, Noel gives us a 25 per cent discount for our readers on the templates presented.
The code is: DigitalProductionCFX
