6

TITLE SEQUENCES IN PRODUCTION: THE CAMERA AND THE EDIT

Real-World Cameras vs. CG Cameras

Whether real or computer generated (CG), cameras play a fundamental role in the creation of title sequences. In this chapter we explore the essential properties and applications of both real-world and CG cameras. By mastering their features, you will be able to swiftly achieve the look and feel you are seeking with greater precision.

First and foremost, real-world cameras fit into two basic categories: film cameras and video cameras:

Computer-generated cameras allow you to animate your title sequence in virtual worlds by flying through and framing your elements, utilizing similar properties and parameters to real-world cameras. When you begin a project, both After Effects and Motion have a default invisible camera embedded in the project. This camera is invisible in the layers and it behaves almost like a fixed two-dimensional camera. You can move your graphical elements right and left to simulate a camera pan, but you can’t move the camera itself. If you create a custom camera, you can manipulate that camera like real-world cameras, changing its position, rotation, focus, and other properties.

In After Effects you can create a camera by choosing from the menu Layer | New | Camera (or by pressing the shortcut keys Option+Command+Shift+C). Make sure that you have already created a composition; otherwise you won’t be able to create a camera!

Figure 6.1 In After Effects you can create a new camera by choosing from the menu Layer | New | Camera.

In Motion you can create a camera by selecting Object | New | Camera or by clicking the New Camera icon on the toolbar.

Figure 6.2 In Motion you can create a camera by selecting Object | New | Camera.

Figure 6.3 In Motion you can also create a camera by clicking the New Camera icon on the toolbar.

Although a camera has been added to the project, it has no effect on 2D groups (in Motion) or 2D layers (in After Effects). This is how you can fix this issue:

In Motion, after a camera is added to a project, you have the option to switch your groups to 3D mode or to remain in 2D mode. When you add a camera to a 2D project, a dialog box appears, asking if you want to convert your 2D groups to 3D groups. Regardless of your immediate answer, you can later toggle your groups from 2D to 3D (or vice versa) by clicking the icon on the status column in your layer tab (see Figure 6.4). The first icon (three flat boxes viewed from above) signifies a 2D group. The second icon (three boxes viewed with perspective) signifies a 3D group.

Figure 6.4 In Motion you can toggle your groups from 2D to 3D (or vice versa) by clicking the icon on the status column in your layer tab.

Figure 6.5 In After Effects you can toggle-switch your layers from 2D to 3D by clicking the corresponding 3D layer icon in your timeline.

Et voilà! Once you have converted your layers or groups into 3D elements, they will respond to your camera movement, focus, and other changes.

In the next sections we will take a close look at formats, speed, lenses, focus, f-stops, focal length, aperture, and shutter speed for both real and computer-generated cameras.

Formats and Aspect Ratios

Before you start working on your project, you need to determine which format you are going to deliver your final video render in. If you are creating a title sequence for a client, the client will make the decision. But if you are creating a title sequence for a friend or for your own demo reel, you’ll need to choose the best format to suit your needs. This decision will not only affect the graphic elements you create, it will also affect the format you shoot in, your camera decisions, and the aspect ratio for your frame.

Figure 6.6

The aspect ratio is the relationship between the height and the width of your frame and is important to know before shooting footage or creating graphics for your title sequence.

In film cameras, each film format utilizes a different aspect ratio. The aspect ratios for 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm film are 1.33:1 (or 4:3). Super 16mm aspect ratio is 1.66:1, and 35mm aspect ratios are 1.33:1, 1.85:1, or 2.35:1, depending on the lenses, camera mattes, and cinema projectors.

When you are working with video cameras or in digital postproduction, the horizontal and vertical pixel dimensions of your project and frame format determine your frame size and aspect ratio. For example, SD NTSC video is 720 pixels wide and 480 pixels tall and its aspect ratio is 4:3. HD video dimensions are either 1280 × 720 or 1920 × 1080 pixels, and the aspect ratio is 16:9. Common video frame sizes are shown in Table 6.1.

In After Effects you can create a new composition by choosing Composition | New Composition. Pick your composition settings from the Presets pull-down menu, and pick your custom frame size.

Figure 6.7 In After Effects you can pick your custom frame size from the presets pull-down menu in your New Composition window.

In Motion you can create a new project by choosing File | New and either picking one of the project Presets from the pull-down menu or setting your own custom frame size.

Figure 6.8 In Motion you can create a new project by choosing File | New and picking one of the project Presets from the pull-down menu.

Speed and Frames Per Second

To better understand the concept of speed, imagine that your film or video camera is a still camera that takes a specific number of pictures every second. The number of images photographed each second is referred to as the frame rate and is measured in frames per second (fps).

You’ll need to determine the fps whether you use a video or film camera (where the fps of your camera determines the speed at which the camera advances and records each frame) or whether you start a project in After Effects or Motion (where the frame rate of your project determines how quickly frames are played back).

A film camera’s default recording speed is 24 fps, but internal or external devices, such as intervalometers or speed controls, allow recording at different frame rates.

A video camera’s default recording speed is 29.97 fps in NTSC (the video standard defined by the National Television Standards Committee) systems and 25 fps in PAL (Phase Alternating Line, the interlaced video format used by many European countries) systems. Also note that an increasing number of camera models offer the user the option to record at variable frame rates (for example, the Panasonic HVX-200 can record between 12 fps and 60 fps).

CG cameras don’t generally have a frame rate property. To change the frame rate, you’ll need to change the frame rate of your project. In After Effects you can set or change the frame rate of your project by choosing Composition | Composition Settings.

Figure 6.9 In After Effects you can set or change the frame rate of your project by choosing Composition | Composition Settings and change your Frame Rate value.

In Motion you can set your project’s frame rate by choosing File | New and selecting Custom from the project preset pull-down. Common frame rates are shown in Table 6.2.

Figure 6.10 In Motion you can set your project’s frame rate by choosing File | New and selecting Custom from the project preset pull-down.

Compressing and Expanding Time

Recording at speeds other than the default speed creates a temporal effect that changes how the moving image is perceived. The following are two common situations in which you will perceive a time compression or expansion:

Figure 6.11 Slow-motion and fast-motion shots.

Time Remapping and Variable Frame Rates

In shooting footage for your title sequence, it’s important to identify the shots that might need to be recorded at higher frame rates well ahead of time, ideally during the preproduction of your project. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen as often as one would like it to. At the editing table, when someone might ask, “Wouldn’t it be great if we had a slow-motion (or a time-lapse) here?” Wouldn’t it be great if you could say, “Sure! Let’s do it?” Here are three common scenarios and ways of changing frame rates in postproduction:

Figure 6.12 In After Effects you can conform your video clip to a higher or lower frame rate by choosing File | Interpret Footage | Main from the menu.

Figure 6.13 To access the Time Remap feature in After Effects, first select your video layer, then choose Layer | Time | Enable Time Remapping. Click on the Graph Editor icon in your Timeline to display the Graph Editor and modify the velocity curves and keyframes.

Figure 6.14 In Motion you can access the Time Remap feature through Inspector | Properties tab | Timing, where you can select Constant speed from the Time Remap pull-down.

Figure 6.15 In Motion you can access the Variable Speed Time Remap feature from the Inspector | Properties tab, were you can also pick the powerful Frame Blending option called Optical Flow. Different from a motion-blur frame-blending algorithm, Motion’s optical flow algorithm determines the application of the blur on the extra frames created by the slow-motion effect by analyzing the clip’s directional movement of the pixels. The result is a significant increase in the image quality of the slow motion.

Figure 6.16 In Motion the velocity curves and keyframes can be modified in the Keyframe Editor tab in the timing pane.

Lenses

Whether you use a real or a computer-generated camera, one of the first decisions to make is what lens to use. By deeply understanding how to use and modify your lenses’ parameters, you’ll be able to master the look and feel of your final title sequence.

Camera lenses have three main features that you’ll want to take close note of: focus, f-stop, and focal length. These three features respectively allow you to modify your image sharpness, exposure (whether it appears darker or lighter, underexposed or overexposed), and framing.

Focus

Adjusting the focus of your camera lens allows you to control whether your frame is sharp (in focus) or soft (out of focus). Both film and video camera lenses have focus rings, which allow you to focus on objects at different distances from the camera. Keep in mind that you can focus only on one distance at a time (exceptions are wide-angle lenses, where most of the frame appears in focus; see the subsection called “Focal Length” later in the “Lenses” section).

In film cameras, lenses’ focus rings are often labeled in meters and/or feet. They display intervals from the closest point where the lens is able to focus to the farthest. If, for instance, the focus ring is set to 8 feet, the plane of critical focus will be 8 feet away; all objects 8 feet away from the camera will be in focus, and objects in front of or behind the plane of critical focus will appear out of focus. The farther something is from the plane of critical focus, the more it will be out of focus. This is referred to as depth of field (see the section, “Depth of Field”).

Video camera lenses often have an unmarked focus ring. Focus measurements generally appear on the camera’s viewfinder or LCD screen and are measured by arbitrary values (e.g., 0–99), which do not correspond to feet or meters but can be used as a point of reference to record the focus at a given time during the shot or to perform a focus pull during a particular shot (see the section, “Camera Movement”).

After Effects and Motion cameras do not have focus rings. Instead they have a focus parameter, which you can adjust manually to achieve the look you are seeking.

In After Effects you can change the Focus Distance parameter, located under the camera options in your timeline; it is also accessible from the main camera settings window, which can be opened by double-clicking the camera layer in the Timeline panel or selecting the layer and then choosing Layer | Camera Settings. Similar to most of the parameters in After Effects, you can keyframe the focus distance so that within a given shot you can manipulate when and how quickly your image shifts from soft to sharp focus, or vice versa.

Figure 6.17 In After Effects you can change the Focus Distance parameter from the main camera settings window.

Motion doesn’t have a focus parameter per se. If you select your camera (either in the layers tab or in your timeline tab) and then take a look at the Inspector | Camera tab, the Near Plane and Far Plane parameters allow you to set the pixel limit of the layers you want to display in front of the camera (Near Plane) or far away from the camera (Far Plane). For example, increasing the Near Plane parameter to 100 pixels will avoid layers positioned 100 pixels in front of the camera to be visible. The Near Fade and Far Fade parameters will allow you to fade the object’s visibility based on the Near Plane and Far Plane pixel values, resulting in a smoother transition.

Figure 6.18 In Motion you can change your Near Plane and Far Plane parameters in the camera’s Inspector tab.

Aperture and F-Stops

F-stops are numerical values used to control the amount of light that each lens allows into the camera, therefore affecting the exposure of your shot. Think of your eyes when they react to a bright environment; the pupil reduces its diameter to allow less light to reach the retina so that you are able to see a correctly exposed image. The opposite happens when you enter a darker environment; your pupil expands in diameter to allow as much light in as is necessary or possible. A camera lens is constructed in similar fashion. Located in the back of film lenses you can find the iris, a metal diaphragm that closes and opens depending on the f-stop values that you select on the f-stop ring. This aperture regulates the amount of light reaching the film plane. If the f-stop is not set properly, it will cause your shot to be overexposed (the image will be overly bright) or underexposed (the image will be overly dark).

You can find an f-stop ring on film cameras, but video cameras don’t have one. Depending on the model of your video camera, you might find a wheel, commonly identified as the iris, which allows you to change the f-stop value of your exposure. Generally the f-stop value is indicated in the viewfinder or LCD screen of your video camera.

Depending on the film lenses and video cameras, f-stop numerical values can range from 1 (or “open” in video cameras) to 22 (or “close” in video cameras), 1 corresponding to a larger diaphragm opening (allowing more light in, as for filming in darker areas), and 22 corresponding to a smaller opening (allowing less light in, as for filming in bright sunlight). Lower f-stops allow more light in; higher f-stops allow less light in.

Figure 6.19

To determine the correct exposure, and therefore the f-stop, a cinematographer uses a light meter, an instrument that measures incident light (light that falls on a subject) or reflective light (light that is bounced off the illuminated subject). Most light meters have a parameter to set before taking a light reading: the Exposure Index (EI), also called ASA (American Standards Association) or film speed, which rates how sensitive a film stock is to light.

For video cameras you need to check the manual or online resources to find out at the ASA at which your camera has been rated and the equivalent EI if your camera uses film stock.

In After Effects you can set or change your exposure by changing the f-stop parameter in the Camera Settings window. Make sure that you check the Enable Depth of Field box so that you can access and modify the f-stop. When you modify the f-stop, the Aperture parameter changes to match it. As opposed to real-world cameras, After Effects’ f-stop values range from 0 (changing the Aperture to 504400, creating a darker exposure of your composition) to 1,429,795 (changing the Aperture to 0, creating a brighter exposure of your composition).

Figure 6.20 In After Effects, in the Camera Setting window, make sure that you check the Enable Depth of Field box so that you can access and modify the F-Stop, Aperture, and Blur Level parameters.

Focal Length

The focal length is the measurement from the center of the lens to the film plane. (In film cameras it corresponds to the point where the light entering the lens reaches and exposes the emulsion of the film.) It is usually expressed in millimeters (mm). For example, if a lens is a 25mm lens, it will be physically shorter than a 50mm lens. Visually, it translates into how wide or narrow a view the lens provides; a lower value such as 10mm provides a wider angle of view, and a higher value such as 70mm gives a narrower angle of view.

Figure 6.21

Lenses fall into two main categories: zoom and prime. Zoom lenses, most commonly found in video cameras, have a variable focal length and they are identified in terms of their range (for example, a zoom lens ranging from 70–300mm is referred to as a 70–300 lens). Prime lenses, most commonly found in film cameras, have a fixed focal length and can be grouped into three main categories:

In After Effects you can decide which lens you want to use by selecting one of the presets from the preset pull-down in the Camera Settings window, or you can select your own by changing the Focal Length parameter on the lower left part of the window.

Figure 6.22 In After Effects you can select the lens you want to use by changing the Focal Length parameter in the Camera Settings window.

In After Effects, the Focal Length parameter can range between 7mm (wider lens) and 206264mm (an extremely long lens). The focal length of any given camera can’t be keyframed. To achieve a visual result similar to that of a zoom lens, you need to keyframe the Zoom parameter, accessible from both the Camera Settings window and the Camera Options in your timeline (see the section, “Camera Movement”). If you want to achieve the effect of a cut between two different shots using different focal lengths (such as a cut between a medium lens to a wide-angle lens), it might be convenient to use two different cameras in your composition. Simply create a new camera or duplicate your existing camera and change its settings, then edit it in your timeline. Just remember that if you have multiple cameras overlapping in your timeline, After Effects gives priority to the one on the uppermost layer.

Figure 6.23 In After Effects you can use two different cameras in your composition to cut between two different shots using different focal lengths.

Figure 6.24 In Motion you can change the camera’s lens by modifying the Angle of View parameter in the camera’s Inspector tab.

Depth of Field

Depth of field is the range in which objects appear in focus.

Great depth of field (or long depth of field) signifies a longer range in which objects appear in focus, and it visually translates to more elements in your picture being in sharp focus. For example, when you want to achieve a look of everything being exposed and available for the viewer to look at, as in the title sequence in Intolerable Cruelty, you want to use greater depth of field.

Less depth of field (or shallow depth of field) signifies a shorter range in which objects appear in focus, and it visually translates into very few elements in your frame being in focus. You would use this technique when you want to achieve a look of mystery and gradually reveal parts of the frame, as in the title sequence in Gattaca (1997).

The depth of field varies depending on the exposure (f-stop), focal length (wide angle or long lenses), focus, and film format (8mm, 35mm). Table 6.3 will help you choose your camera and lens settings to achieve the desired depth of field.

In After Effects you can easily control your depth of field. In the Camera Settings window you need to make sure that the box by Depth of Field is checked, and additional parameters will become available: Focus Distance, Aperture, F-Stop, Blur Level, and Film Size:

Shutter Speed and Angle

Shutter Speed

The shutter speed refers to how long each frame is exposed to the light entering the lens. In film cameras, the shutter is a rotating disk that covers the aperture when the next frame moves into position to be exposed. While each frame is exposed, the shutter rotates 360 degrees and the next frame advances.

Typical shutter speeds range from 1/24 to 1/500 of a second. A shutter speed of 1/500 means that each frame is exposed for 1/500 of a second. Shutter speed values directly affect the exposure and motion blur of your image. Lower, meaning slower, shutter speeds such as 1/24 require less light coming into the lens and require a higher f-stop, such as f22. Higher, or faster, values such as 1/1000 will require more light coming into the lens and a lower f-stop like f1.

Slower shutter speeds used in combination with camera movement or a moving object create more motion blur. Because the shutter rotates more slowly, it exposes each frame to light longer. The frame will look blurry because the camera has captured a longer fraction of the object’s movement. The faster the object is moving, or the faster the camera movement, the blurrier it will look. If you are not able to easily see whether a shot has motion blur or not, stop the playback and advance the footage frame by frame; if you notice that each frame appears a bit blurry, the footage was shot with a low shutter speed. Using slower shutter speeds such as 1/24 is a typical choice when you want a film-quality look. Using even lower values such as 1/12 produces even blurrier, almost dream-like images.

Higher shutter speeds used in combination with camera movement or a moving object create sharper images and sometimes a strobe-like effect. The shutter rotates faster, exposing each frame to light for shorter periods of time. Even if an object is moving, it will look sharp because the camera has captured only a very small fraction of its movement. Action movies generally use high shutter speeds to keep all the action in sharp focus. Keep this in mind while you are filming footage for your title sequence, since this simple parameter can have a huge impact on the emotional value of your project.

Shutter Angle

In film cameras, the shutter (rotating disc) is cut at an angle to allow the frame to be exposed; this is referred to as the shutter angle and it is measured in degrees. A typical film camera’s shutter angle is 180 degrees, also referred to as a half-moon shutter because of the circle being cut in half. The shutter angle also affects motion blur and the exposure of the frame. Lower angle values such as 90 degrees allow in half as much light as a 180-degree shutter angle and create less motion blur.

Shutter Angle and Motion-Blur Options in After Effects

In After Effects, if you want to make the movement of your graphical elements appear smoother and more natural, you need to purposefully add a motion blur. First, you want to click on the Enable Motion Blur composition switch at the top of the Timeline panel to enable or disable motion-blur rendering for previews. Then you can enable motion blur for each layer individually by clicking the Motion Blur icon on the corresponding layer. Keep in mind that adding motion blur, depending on your workstation, slows your preview and rendering time. A typical workaround is to disable motion blur while working on your project, then enable it later when you need to preview portions of your work.

Remember that you can modify the render settings in the Render Queue panel to enable or disable motion-blur rendering for your final output.

Figure 6.25 In After Effects click on the Enable Motion Blur composition switch at the top of the Timeline panel to enable or disable motion-blur rendering for previews. Then you can enable motion blur for each layer individually by clicking the Motion Blur icon on the corresponding layer.

Figure 6.26 In After Effects you can enable or disable the Motion Blur from your Render Settings window.

In addition to the Enable Motion Blur switch, After Effects offers you the option to change the composition’s shutter angle. You can affect the shutter angle by choosing Composition | Composition Settings (or typing the shortcut Command+K) and selecting the Advanced tab. As with film cameras, the Shutter Angle setting in After Effects is measured in degrees, but its values range from 0 to 720° (rather than 360°). A value of 1° creates almost no motion blur and results in a sharp image, as opposed to a value of 720°, which creates a large amount of motion blur. Explore the different settings to see how they change the look and feel of your title sequence.

Figure 6.27 In After Effects you can change the composition’s shutter angle by choosing Composition | Composition Settings and selecting the Advanced tab.

Composing a Shot: Camera Framing and Movement

Composing a shot is the way you position, arrange, and move your camera to frame the graphic elements or subjects of your shots. In this section we explore the options you will face when you have to frame a shot and move your camera.

Camera Framing

When you’re deciding your framing, you have a variety of options to consider: the image size, the angle, and the height of your camera.

Image Size

The position of the camera affects the framing of your shot and therefore your subject’s size in the frame; the closer you move your camera to the subject or your graphical elements, the bigger they will appear. There are three basic camera positions:

The subject matter you are shooting, or the subject of the film you are shooting for, will determine which shots to use and when to change or not change them within the title sequence. If the movie is a cold and terrifying one, and you want the audience to have that impression from the very beginning of your title sequence, you should probably pick a long shot or even an extreme long shot and leave it frighteningly still (see the opening title sequence of Alien). If your movie is a thriller that unfolds over many faceted points of view and you want to convey this feeling, you might decide to edit in multiple close-ups and medium shots (see the opening titles for the movie In the Cut).

In creating your scene by editing and articulating shot by shot, keep in mind that one of the most common editing structure starting points is LS-MS-CU, which represents a natural and logical progression of moving closer to your subject while guiding the audience’s attention to your storytelling (see “Editing Footage for a Title Sequence” later in this chapter).

Other common shots include:

In After Effects and Motion you can determine your image size by moving your camera’s position, Z (depth value), to a positive or negative number. In After Effects a negative Z value will move the camera’s position back so that it creates a long shot or extreme long shot, and a positive Z value will move the camera forward so that it creates a medium or close-up shot. In Motion it is exactly the opposite.

Level and Angle of Framing

When a camera is referred to as low-level, it is usually placed close to the ground. A high-level framing refers to a camera that is higher than the eye level of a character. Changing the camera level can create visually interesting compositions, but it can also affect how the audience views and empathizes with the subjects being portrayed. For example, if a shot is positioned at a low level to frame a close-up of a child (rather than a high-angle shot looking down at the child), the emotional empathy shifts toward the child.

For a real-world camera, you change the level simply by raising or lowering the tripod, without tilting the camera. In After Effects you can modify your camera’s level by increasing (moving the camera level higher) or decreasing (moving the camera level lower) the Y value of both the position and the point of interest. In Motion, simply modify your camera’s Y position value.

For the angle used in framing, there are two typical angle categories: low-angle and high-angle shots. A low angle is when the camera position is low and the camera is tilted up; it is used, for example, when you are on the beach and you tilt the camera up to frame a pelican flying above your head. A high angle is when the camera position is high and the camera is tilted down. This is used when, for example, when you tilt the camera down to frame the beach, to convey the pelican’s point of view.

Be aware of how the camera angle can affect a viewer’s feelings and connection to certain subjects. A high-angle shot can evoke vulnerability, smallness, and dependence, whereas a low-angle shot can evoke power, subjugation, and grandiosity.

In After Effects you can change the angle of your camera by modifying the X Rotation, Y Rotation, and Z Rotation parameters of your camera’s Transform properties (see Figure 6.28). These values produce results similar to a camera mounted on a tripod.

Figure 6.28 In After Effects you can change the angle of your camera by modifying the Rotation parameters of your camera’s Transform properties.

When you change your camera’s X Rotation value, a positive value will tilt your camera up, and a negative value will tilt your camera down. When you change your camera’s Y Rotation value, a positive value will pan your camera right, and a negative value will pan your camera left. Finally, when you change your camera’s Z Rotation value, a positive value will rotate your camera right, and a negative value will rotate your camera left.

Figure 6.29 In Motion, before you change the angle of your camera, make sure that your Camera Type in your HUD is set to Viewpoint.

In Motion, you change the settings similarly by changing the Rotation X, Y, and Z values in the Inspector’s Properties tab. Make sure that your Camera Type in your HUD or in your Inspector’s Camera tab is set to Viewpoint.

When you change your camera’s X Rotation value, a positive value will tilt your camera up, and a negative value will tilt your camera down. When you change your camera’s Y Rotation value, a positive value will pan your camera left, and a negative value will pan your camera right. When you change your camera’s Z Rotation value, a positive value will rotate your camera left, and a negative value will rotate your camera right.

Figure 6.30 In Motion, you change the angle of your camera by changing the Rotation X, Y, and Z values in the camera’s Properties tab.

If you already framed your object and you want to rotate your camera around it rather than tilting or panning away from it, there is a simple solution. In After Effects, select the Orbit Camera tool from the Tools panel (or press C to toggle between all 3D camera tools). When you select this tool and you click and drag in your Active Camera view panel, your camera rotates around the point of interest.

Figure 6.31 In After Effects you can toggle between 4 camera tools by pressing C.

In Motion you first need to locate either your HUD or your Inspector’s Camera tab and change your Camera Type to Framing.

Then, in the Inspector’s Properties tab, change the Rotation X, Y, and Z values. Now your camera rotates around your object rather than pivoting on its own body.

Another option is to click and drag the Orbit tool in the 3D view tools of your Active Camera view (see the following figures), or click and drag your Rotate XYZ tool in the 3D Transform HUD control.

Figure 6.32 In Motion, if you want to rotate your camera around an object, you first need change your Camera Type to Framing.

Figure 6.33 You can now click and drag the Orbit tool in the 3D view tools of your Active Camera view to rotate your camera around your object.

Figure 6.34 You can also click and drag your Rotate XYZ tool in the Camera’s HUD.

Camera Movement

So, now that we have talked about choosing your framing and the angle you want to use, it’s finally time to move the camera! Moving a camera allows you to approach an object, retreat from it, rotate around it, or fly through it; moving the camera can profoundly affect how the audience perceives the space on-screen and off. Let’s analyze some of the most common movements:

Figure 6.35

Motivations for Camera Movements

Camera movements are powerful yet can be distracting and unnecessary if not chosen carefully. Before you decide on camera movements, you should ask yourself, “How does this camera movement benefit this shot?” If there’s no answer to that question, don’t do it! The most effective camera movements are the ones that are motivated by an event or an action in the story. Here are some common motivational applications of camera movements:

CG Camera Movements

Most of the camera movements explored in the previous section can be replicated in CG cameras. Here’s a quick reference:

Figure 6.41

Understanding Green-Screen Production

There are a number of factors to take in consideration when you’re embarking on a green-screen production shoot. First, if you’ve never attempted it before, I’d highly recommend giving it a test run. Grab your camera, a flat-colored background (it doesn’t necessarily have to be green, but at the very least it should be a color that is not present in your props or the skin tone or wardrobe of your talent), and shoot a few seconds of footage, capture it, and key it. Following are some of the issues that might arise in this process and how to deal with them:

Editing Footage for a Title Sequence

The role of the title designer on a title sequence can vary greatly. For example, in many cases, the designer will be called on to create a title sequence completely from nothing. Basically, the designer is given the opportunity to create all the elements involved. This model is exemplified by Kyle Cooper’s role in the title sequence for Se7en, in which Cooper was given the task of generating the sequence largely under his own direction.

The Se7en title sequence is not only famous for being crafted by Cooper’s individual style; it’s more because Cooper captured the entire story the film tells in his title sequence. Not everyone is Kyle Cooper; most designers don’t end up being in control of the footage they work with. It can be a situation in which the film’s editor will cut the sequence and then provide it to the title designer. The title designer might also be tasked with editing the footage that was given to him or her and then adding the titles to that.

Editors are one of the three people on a film, alongside the screenwriter and the director, who have the greatest impact on the final product. Choosing the shots that comprise the final film can completely change an actor’s performance, and the twists and turns of a director of photography’s camera work, all by deciding what stays and what goes.

Three Kinds of Edits

The most crucial decision an editor makes is when to transition from one shot to another. The most common and obvious transition between shots is a cut. Cuts are the very simple switching from one shot to the next. If a cut is done correctly, it should not be noticed by the audience (unless of course the audience is a bunch of editors!). Cuts should be smooth and logical.

Figure 6.42 Dissolves are meant to show the passage of time.

The next kind of transition, a dissolve or mix, is done for the purpose of being noticed by the audience. New editors sometimes dissolve way too often missing the purpose of dissolving, which is to demonstrate to the audience that time has passed. The most obvious example of this is when the camera is close up on a clock showing that the time is 11:30 a.m., then it dissolves from 11:30 to the clock showing that it is noon. It demonstrates that a half hour has passed, whereas cutting would probably just confuse an audience.

The third and final form of an edit is a fade. A fade takes one shot and dissolves it to either black or sometimes white. (White is rarely used, but it is quite effective when a character is consumed by light or acquiring a superpower.) Typically, the fade to black indicates that a major chapter of the film or the film itself has ended.

The Rules and Art of the Edit

Editing a film is both a technical necessity and an art. Walter Murch’s famous book, In the Blink of an Eye, (Silman-James Press, August 2001) discusses the art of editing on a philosophical level. However, there are some standard rules from which to start. There are criteria that will definitely indicate when it is a good time to transition. Roy Thompson’s book, The Grammar of the Edit (Focal Press, March 2009), is a great book to read in conjunction with Murch’s book; Thompson’s reveals the foundational film editing rules, whereas Murch’s delves more into conceptual territory.

The foundation of every edit is motivation. Motivation can be somewhat elusive, but it’s generally an indicator to the audience that something they don’t see in the frame right now deserves their attention. So, it can be as obvious as an actor in the frame going, “What is that?” and pointing, and then we cut to an incoming meteor. Not every motivation is this obvious; they can be extremely subtle, but rule number one in editing is that if there is no reason to cut from one shot to another, then don’t!

This could be cutting when a character glances in a direction, adding a sound effect such as a phone ring or a knock at a door. In Murch’s book, he discusses how often he finds that he cuts when an actor blinks, and that blink alone could be a motivation to cut. Unmotivated edits will make the audience feel lost in a film. One of my favorite examples of this scenario is in Ed Wood’s infamously awful classic, Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959), when inexplicably, in the middle of a two-person dialogue, the editor cuts to a shot of the radiator. The two characters were not discussing the radiator; if they were, the edit would have been motivated.

Sometimes motivation is inherent in a scene; other times the editor will be forced to create a motivation to change shots. The one most people are familiar with is what Thompson calls an action edit, where a character’s actions are followed, such as a person coming to a door and there’s a cut to a close-up of their hand turning the doorknob. Also quite common is the screen position edit, where the viewer’s attention is directed by what’s going on onscreen to another location, as in the preceding meteor example.

Motivations can be a visual abstraction; for example, let’s say that we have a scene where people are having an evening dinner. A cut from a plate to the full moon can be motivated by the similarity of the two shapes. This is called a form edit. Similar to form edit is a concept edit, the difference being in a concept edit you cut from two shots that have a similar meaning rather than a similar visual composition. So, as a character falls to her death, there’s a cut to another character dropping an egg that cracks.

In Thompson’s book he discusses five kinds of edits; the fifth is the combined edit, in which all of the preceding forms are rolled into one cut. This type of cut is extremely uncommon and will require much planning.

Three Kinds of Edits for Title Designers

When editing the footage elements of a title sequence, there are extra considerations to take into account. Let’s begin by establishing the three most common situations you will run into. The first situation is that the title designer is given the freedom to run a complete production (much like a short film). The title designer may in some cases be building the title sequence on his own. Typically this is when a title designer has some prestige and the producers put their trust in this artist.

Now, this places a great deal of control over the situation in the hands of the designer. For example, since Saul Bass did the title sequence for the film The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), it has not been uncommon for the title sequence to be a completely animated or created sequence, without any shot footage. This allows the title designer to construct each frame; therefore, title designers can set up the frame so that the title is part of the animation. Each frame is designed with ample room for the title to sit comfortably.

The second situation is when the title designer is not given a finished edit of the background footage for the title sequence; rather the title designer is given shots to assemble as she basically pleases, in order to tweak it so that the footage times well with the titles. This also allows the title designer the opportunity to choose the shots with the composition that lends itself to having titles placed over it.

The third situation is the most dangerous: The designer is provided an already edited sequence to use as a background plate for the title sequence. So, if the work is already done, why is this the most dangerous situation? First, background footage that has been shot for the purpose of being a background for the title sequence should be fantastic, but this is not always the case. Also, if the footage was assembled before a color scheme and design style for the title sequence have been decided on, that means that the editor did not know whether the chosen shots would work with type over them!

Another issue that can pop up in this scenario is that when the first title list is given to a designer, that is rarely the final list. There’s always someone who got left out, or a new injection of money into the small indie project means that new executive producers have to be added to the list. Meaning that the whole timing of the edit may have to change. So, this is clearly not the ideal situation, but often as a designer you are not in an ideal situation.

As with everything on a film production, planning is key. Just because footage is going to be used as background for a title sequence, that doesn’t mean that it should be removed from the storyboarding process. In fact, storyboarding is fairly crucial. Think of it like this: If it’s not storyboarded, the production team may go to the shot without being aware that they need to leave room in the frame for titles!

So, before the cut begins, it is absolutely crucial that everyone knows what the plan is. Does the editor know the narrative being told in the title sequence? Does the editor know the text size, color, position, and amount of time the titles will need? The following tutorial takes you through a variety of techniques for efficiently editing a title sequence.

How to Edit Footage for a Title Sequence

Editing footage for the purpose of integration with animated text as part of a title sequence will draw on a number of your abilities. You will be completing the frame of shots that were designed for the purpose of adding text. So, proceeding carefully is very important.

Software Setup

Working in an integrated environment is highly appealing for a project like this, where motion graphics meet editing. Unfortunately for most users, Apple’s Final Cut Pro (the choice of most film and TV editors today) and Adobe After Effects (the industry standard for basic compositing and motion graphics) don’t “talk” to one another without third-party software. This software is Automatic Duck’s Pro Import AE, which will allow you to open FCP timelines in AE. However, this product will set you back around $495.

Another solution is that if you have After Effects, you likely have Premiere Pro, or if you have Final Cut Pro, you will likely have Motion. Premiere Pro’s got kind of a bad rap; it’s actually a very useful piece of editing software, of equal strength to FCP. Motion, Apple’s motion graphics software, though not quite After Effects, will be up to the task. For this tutorial I’ll use Final Cut and Motion.

Music

Depending on how they like to work, one of the first things many editors decide on is music, even if it’s temporary, to get a feeling for the right mood and pace of the edit. Since this tutorial will be demonstrating a noir-esque, suspenseful title sequence, the supplied music follows that style. Now, with these considerations made, we can begin.

Tutorial: Editing Footage for a Title Sequence

1 Import shots 1–4 into Final Cut and open our shot 1 in the Viewer. So that we have time to fade the shot up and put up our first title, I set my In and Out points so that the shot is roughly 6 seconds long. Now, the first half of the shot is less interesting than the second half, where the burning of the paper is more obvious, so I decided to use the last 6 seconds. After I was happy with the edit, I placed the first shot in the Sequence. I added a fade in/fade out transition to have our title fade up from black in the first second.

2 To keep the established mood, I added a 1-second Dip to Black Transition from shots 1 to 2, 2 to 3, and 3 to 4. Remember, transitions have meaning, so we now imply that the events we are observing as audience members are occurring over a long period of time.

3 Once we are happy with the basic edit, it’s now time to add in our titles, so go to File | Send To | Motion Project.

4 In Motion, create a title using the Text tool. Place the title in the frame in an appropriate place. Keep in mind that these shots were framed knowing that there would be titles added later, so there are plenty of great spots in each frame for a title.

5 Done-Now we can add in our text animation. For this title I used Opacity going from 1–100 and I added the Bloom effect (Library | Image Units | Stylize | Bloom) to give it a backlit glow. For the Bloom effect I animated the Intensity parameter. Once you have one title that you like the animation of, you can duplicate it several times and then go in and change the source text so that you don’t have to set up the keyframing for each title individually.

Tutorial: Creating a Title Sequence with a Virtual Camera

Virtual cameras work pretty closely to the way you would expect a real camera to work. In the following tutorial we animate a title sequence in which a camera flies through a sky scene with clouds.

1 Import the bluesky.psd document into After Effects as a Composition Cropped Layers.

2 Go to each cloud layer and turn on the 3D Switch.

3 Switch to the Top camera view and move the clouds so that they are spread out in Z space.

4 Next we will create our virtual camera. Create a new camera layer by going to Layer | New | Camera. Use the preset for 20mm. This will give us more options for taking advantage of the virtual camera’s Depth of Field effects.

5 Now that we have our camera layer, add your first text layer. Flip on its 3D Switch. Place it behind the first cloud in Z space.

6 With your clouds and text layers highlighted, go to Layer | Transform | Auto-Orient and Orient Towards Point of Interest. This basically means that the clouds and text layers will turn to face the camera wherever you place or turn the camera.

7 Animate the camera traveling through the scene, using both the Point of Interest and Position to move the camera to each cloud. Have the camera pause for 3 seconds at each cloud to allow for the animation of each title.

8 Done - In that 3-second window, during the first second animate the cloud’s Opacity from 100–0 while you animate the text’s Opacity from 0–100. This will give the impression that the cloud goes away to reveal the title. Hold the animation for 1 second, then have the cloud reappear by animating the Opacity from 0–100 (also fade out the title at this point by setting the Opacity to 0%).