Week 9,10&11 - Production Phase
- Julia Toczyska
- Dec 6, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 15, 2024
In this blog post, I'll walk you through the process of creating my very first title sequence in After Effects. Initially, I tried to stick to my storyboard as closely as possible, but I had to make some adjustments along the way when necessary. In my previous post, I covered the assets I had created in Procreate. The issue was that some of these assets weren't included in my original storyboard. This meant I had to get creative in finding ways to incorporate them into my animation.
Before we dive into the nitty gritty details, let's start by focusing on the first part of the sequence - the backgrounds. This will set the stage for the rest of the title sequence.
Backgrounds
Before adding any assets to my timeline, I first had to create a background. I decided to use a gradient background to give the scene a three-dimensional look. To achieve this effect, I used the Gradient Ramp effect and selected the Radial Ramp option to make the gradient appear sphere like.
Transitions
Once I had my assets ready and backgrounds sorted, I realised I needed to come up with transitions that I could realistically execute. I wanted to avoid having assets just pop up on the screen as much as I could, as that felt a bit boring to me - the goal was to create something exciting and satisfying to look at. The transitions were meant to feel natural.
In my storyboard, I included a sphere spiralling out into a transition. While browsing tutorials online, I stumbled across a video by Creative Dojo that went over how to make a similar spiral transition. I figured this could be a good fit for the natural, flowing look I was going for. I have followed the tutorial and made a similar spiral shape which later turned into a nice, smooth, transition. I really liked the end result, but I knew I'd be back to make a million changes - and that's exactly what I did.
Take Two
As I moved further along the timeline, I felt the spiral transition was just out of place. I ended up losing interest in it and replaced it with something way more exciting instead. After watching a tutorial from Motion Nations that covered animated spheres, I got the idea to have a shape fall into a sequence and then explode into a transition. The new approach felt a lot more fitting for the overall vibe I was going for.
So Many Orbits
The Simple Shape Orbits tutorial I found in week seven ended up being a real lifesaver. I've used it at least twice in my final sequence, and I'm so glad I did. It really helped bring my sequence to life with more dynamic movement and visuals. The tutorial's techniques were just what I needed to take my project to the next level.
Text Content
My storyboard was quite text-heavy, mostly crediting the voice actors for Evangelion. Before adding text to the actual sequence, I decided to research how credits typically work in animated media. After reviewing title sequences for animated series (for example Arcane), I found that the credits often feature the animators, studios, producers, and music credits. So, I decided to do some research on Evangelion and its creators. I checked Wikipedia, my trusty source, to find out who worked on the show. I also took the opportunity to credit the person who made the cover of the title song that I've used in my title sequence.
Text Animation
After considering a few options, I settled on a simple text animation - a fade in and out. I followed the tutorial by Smertimba Graphics to bring this effect to life. When choosing my fonts, I made sure to keep them quite small, as that's the conventional style for title sequences. And to stay true to the original, I went with the Times New Roman font, the same font used in the original Evangelion title sequence.
Planets and Rings
While looking for some interesting After Effects animations involving spheres, I stumbled upon a space themed tutorial by SonduckFilm. It was more advanced than what I have done thus far, however, it was worth going that extra mile for it. After following the steps of creating the outer rings with the sphere tool and using the repeater tool to duplicate them. I was able to create a transition through zooming the camera into the "Planet", covering the screen completely into the next scene.
Title
On the title screen, I have used a similar technique mentioned above to create the rings for the background. I have used the Times New Roman font, this time in Bold, to create the title text for the composition. In order to animate the text I have used yet another tutorial by SonduckFilm to create this amazing flicker effect. I managed to sync the flickering to match the piano notes of the song, making it seem like the letters were appearing with the music.
Easy Ease and The Graphs
Easy Ease is a keyframe assistant in Adobe After Effects that helps make animations smoother and more natural. Instead of having a linear, robotic motion from one keyframe to another, Easy Ease adjusts the speed of an animation to ease into and out of a keyframe.
Ease In: Slows down as it approaches a keyframe.
Ease Out: Starts slow as it leaves a keyframe.
Easy Ease: Combines both, easing in and out of the keyframe for a smooth transition.
The Speed Graph in After Effects shows how fast an object moves over time, letting you adjust acceleration and deceleration by manipulating curves for smoother or more dynamic animations. Through the various tutorials I have studied whilst making my title sequence, I have learned the gist of how to use the graph, and I found it extremely useful.
Effects
Lastly, let's talk about the final touches of the animation - the effects. For this part, I added a subtle noise effect (around 12% with the noise colour deselected) to create a more cinematic look. On top of that, I also incorporated a glow effect to really make the sequences come to life, as well as posterize to create that animated look. In my previous blog post, I had mentioned using a textured layer on all my assets to add some personality. However, I ultimately scrapped that idea, as I found too busy with the AE effects. Luckily, I have separated all the layers in Procreate, so making that adjustment wasn't difficult at all.
And that's it for The Production Phase!
In the next post, I'll go over the finished animation and share my thoughts now that I've completed the project. I have spent multiple weeks working on this project, and I've learned a ton of new things along the way. When I first started, I had little to no experience with After Effects, but animating has really grown on me since then. Thanks to my amazing lecturer and all the incredible resources I found online, I believe I've managed to surpass my own expectations and create something truly special.
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