After Effects?

[MIDI_EVIL]

Ok, i've had a burning desire to delve into 2d animation, and i have an inclination that After Effects is what i need?

I'm not really interested in the program from the motion graphics / titles perspective, but i would really love to experiment with short films / 2d animations. Is After Effects right for me?

Also, as a filmmaker, i would be interested to know if it has good colour correction facilities for stylisation?

I have had a look around, and i know all about CreativeCow, which has fueled my interest even more.

Check out this link http://www.joyriderfilms.co.uk/las_palmas.htm and the video for 'Song With No Words' by 'Sweatmaster'.

Also check out the other Sweatmaster video, the guy who made these is incredible!!!

That's the kind of work i want to be animating.

Rich.

[TheFuzz]

that site isn't responding so i'm not really sure what you're after, but after effects is good for all of those. it's got a lot of color correcting capability, a little like photoshop for video/film meaning you can adjust the curves, levels, etc. of your footage. the only problem is if your footage is dv, there isn't a lot of color information there to begin with. shake is perhaps a better color corrector and autodesk's combustion may be a little better at compositing (though neither it nor AE are anywhere near shake for compositing), but after effects does all of them really well. again, if i could view that joyrider films site, it would be easier understanding what you're after; any other examples?

[Oreckel]

Well...

After Effects is excellent at doing things like rendering - like text overlays, motion blurred elements, color correction is huge, blurs, lens flares, effects, ripples, compositing tools, etc. Yes, it carries 2d animation abilities, but if you're trying to do a cartoon or something you might be in trouble. It's the equivalent of Photoshop, and I think you'll want the equivalent of Illustrator.

My advice to you would be to pick up Adobe's 30-day free trial and experiment with their masking abilities. That'll be the only real way to know.

Best of luck!

[MIDI_EVIL]

that site isn't responding so i'm not really sure what you're after, but after effects is good for all of those. it's got a lot of color correcting capability, a little like photoshop for video/film meaning you can adjust the curves, levels, etc. of your footage. the only problem is if your footage is dv, there isn't a lot of color information there to begin with. shake is perhaps a better color corrector and autodesk's combustion may be a little better at compositing (though neither it nor AE are anywhere near shake for compositing), but after effects does all of them really well. again, if i could view that joyrider films site, it would be easier understanding what you're after; any other examples?

I don't know why the link didn't work as it works when i click it.

go to -

http://www.joyriderfilms.co.uk > Enter > Las Palmas > Sweatmaster video 'song with no words' (also the other video)

Thanks for your responses, when you see the videos you might be able to guide me a little more.

Rich.

[neut]

You might look into ToonBoom (http://www.toonboom.com/) or even Flash.


peace | neut

[MIDI_EVIL]

Just an update.

I contacted the design house directly, and they use Maya, After Effects and Photoshop.

For anyone else interested.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Rich.