Ghost Machine: Create a Spooky Scene with Adobe After Effects
 |
|
*Note: You can use the standard version of After Effects if you have Cycore FX. Download a Free Demo of Cycore FX. Cycore Effects is included on the After Effects Pro installer disk.
You might think this tutorial should come out around Halloween, but on the contrary. It's spring and ghost hunting season is just beginning! The snow has melted in the cemeteries and the abandoned mental institutions are warming up.... well, except for the cold spots.
I satiate my ghostly fixation by watching Weird Travels on the Travel Channel. On weird travels, they never show REAL ghosts, but create some really spooky effects. I'm going to show you how to create your own phantom.
Shooting the footage properly
The idea is to have a clean clip of video with no people in it, and then another section of video with your ghost doing their thing. You can take a short section, as I did, and loop it. If you have any movement in your shot like blowing branches, they might not loop seamlessly. It's easier just to shoot a longer clean shot.
You will want to make sure your camera is locked down, so put it on a tripod or a tombstone or a table. If you shoot it hand-held, have fun motion stabilizing.
Getting a clean 'background plate'
Import your footage, deinterlacing as necessary. See the Adobe After Effects Help file for information on interpreting your footage. To open the Help file, go to Help > After Effects Help.
Drag your background footage to the little icon at the bottom of the project window. This will create a new composition that is the duration and size of your video.
Looping your clean background plate.
There are two ways to loop your footage. Use the first if you have one clip that has both the clean background with out your ghost, and the footage containing your ghost. Use the second method if you've captured it in separate clips so that your background plate is the only thing in the clip.
Loop method #1
If you have your video captured in one clip, break it into two clips by using the Split Layer command.
- First drag your footage to the timeline as explained above.
- Go the point in your timeline where the second clip begins.
- Select Edit > Split Layer. The layer will split at exactly the point where you are in the timeline.
If your clip is short, we're going to do a little loop trick with expressions to make it loop over and over.
- Trim your layer if you need to by changing the In and Out points. See 'Trimming layer footage' in the Adobe After Effects Help for more information.
- Apply Time Remap to the layer. Layer > Enable Time Remapping.
- Tap the I key (that's I as in India). That will bring you to the in point of your clip. Set a keyframe for Time Remap by clicking the stopwatch.
- Tap the O key (that's the letter O, as in orange). That brings you to the outpoint of your clip. Add a keyframe here.
- There may be other keyframes in set for Time Remap. You can delete them.
- Add an expression to Time Remap. Select Time Remap in the timeline and go to Animation > Add Expression.
- Use the pull down menu for expressions by clicking the box with the right arrow. Select Property > loopOutDuration(type = "cycle", duration = 0) or just type:
loopOutDuration(type = "cycle", duration = 0)
- You may need to drag the footage layer out to fill the timeline. You can go to the last frame of your animation, select your layer and hit option + ] (right bracket) on the Mac or alt + ] (right bracket) on Windows. This will force your time remapped footage fill the timeline.
Loop method #2
If you import just the clean plate footage, go to File > Interpret Footage > Main. Enter the number of times that you wish to loop the clip in the Interpret Footage dialog box. If your clip is 3 seconds long and you need to fill 10 seconds, 'Loop 4 Times'.
You may need to drag the footage layer out to fill the timeline. You can go to the last frame of your animation, select your layer and hit option + ] (right bracket) on the Mac or alt + ] (right bracket) on Windows. This will force your time remapped footage fill the timeline.
Add your Apparition
Drag your ghost layer above the clean plate layer. Trim your layer if you need to by changing the In and Out points. See 'Trimming layer footage' in the Adobe After Effects Help for more information.
Time effect the footage
- I also chose to slow down my footage. To do this, apply Time Remap to the layer. Layer > Enable Time Remapping. Drag out the keyframes so that your speed is right for your clip. You may need to preview a few time until you get it perfect.
- Adding some CC Wide Time will give it just a touch of the ethereal. Effects > Time > CC Wide Time. If you don't have the pro bundle, try the Wide Time effect in Cycore FX HD. I changed the values of:
Forward Steps: 3
Backward Steps: 3
Play with it until you get the settings that you like.
- Now, you have some options here... try some of the modes like overlay, luminosity, whatever.
I chose not to use a mode and use opacity keyframes instead. I set keyframes so that my ghost fades slowly up from 0% to about 50%. In the end, she fades away.
If you used a mode and opacity, things are going to be a bit weird. Your colors and luminosity will shift as the layer fades in.Try it and you'll see what I'm talking about. I'd recommend using one or the other, not both.
More options
Try adding glows, orbs, light anomalies, ghostly shadows and other effects to your comp to make it even cooler.
A soundtrack makes it complete
Make sure you turn off the audio if it doesn't go with your project and add a spooky sound track. I created mine in Garage Band. Spooky, eh.