Part 1 - Notes on VFX, SP/FX & Practical Effects:
 
Special Effects: Special effects are usually the people who make sure the live action footage sets the director’s need. They create the practical effects during live action.
Visual Effects: Most of the visual effects is done in post-production.  Computer artists specialize in the visual effects area and create all the visuals that is either impossible to do or is over the movie’s budget.
Practical Effects: Practical effects are done without the help of computers and are produced physically
Chroma Key: A method in which a solid colour, usually green or blue replaced with another image or clip.
Green Screen: When an actor or object is filmed or photographed in front of a green screen background to replace with another image or clip.
Garbage Matte: Used to exclude parts of an image, basically removing the garbage.
Chroma Key, Green Screen and Garbage Matte are all similar in a way because they all take out parts of the image not needed in order to be replaced with another, but the approach of doing so is different.

 

 

 

To import footage into After Effects you go to Select File > Import > Multiple Files or you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + I

Motion graphics are digital footage and/or animation technology to create the illusion of motion or rotation, and are usually combined with audio for use in multimedia projects.
3. What is Compositing?

The process of combining two or more image layers together with the use of a matte to define the transparencies of the layers.
4. What is Frame Rate?

The frequency at which frames in a television picture, film, or video sequence are displayed.
5. What is a composition?

A composition is the framework for a movie. A composition in After Effects is similar to a movie clip in Flash Professional or a sequence in Premiere Pro.
6. Why should you Render (RAM Preview)?

AE will render each frame in your Work Area as quickly as it can, then play through the entire Work Area in realtime. RAM Previews are limited by the amount of RAM in your computer â€" when your RAM fills up, AE will quit rendering additional frames, and play back as much as it could fit in the buffer.
7. What is adaptive resolution and OpenGL?

OpenGL was created to improve render speeds and RAM previews, but does a poor job if you have different pixel aspect ratios, shadows, wierd dimensions in the comp, and a number of other things. Working with Adaptive Resolution exclusively saves more of a headache, and provides less failed renders and/or error messages.
8. Outline the steps required to export compositions

1. Go to the "Composition"

2. "Add Render Que" or Ctrl + M

3. Click "Output Module" and change to desired format

4. Click "Ok"

5. Click "Output to" and determine where it will save

6. And click "Render"