Simulating a video look with After Effects

Simulating a video look with After Effects
by Mįrcio Oliveira

This tutorial is intended to use only the standard version plugins. The tools that you'll need include After Effects 3.1 Standard or later and Adobe Photoshop or another image editing software.

Objectives: Our primary goal is to simulate a video look image, grainy, with a lot of tv interference and color shifting. Our secondary objective is to have full control over these parameters. Here we go:

Step 01

Create a new comp and name it "Video Look comp". Import your footage. Let“s now apply some noise to our image. Remember, we can vary the amout of noise in time, if we want a more organic look. Choose Stylize/Noise and set a few keyframes. You can even "break" the interpolation between keyframes to achieve abrupt changes. To do this select all keyframes and choose Layer/Toggle Hold Keyframe or press CRTL + ALT + H (win) or COMMAND + OPTION + H (mac). You can also create an adjustment layer and adjust the layer“s brightness and contrast. Create a new solid and name it "brightness and contrast". Click on the adujstment layer switch.

Apply the Brightness and Contrast filter. If you“re using AE4 apply Levels, instead. Make sure the adjustment layer is the uppermost layer. Select both layers and pre-compose them. Name the new pre-comp "01 - Levels/noise comp."

Step 02

To create the color shifting we have to duplicate our layer two times. Now we have three layers. Name them "red" "green" and "blue."

Now apply Channel/Shift Channels to each one of them. Here“s the trick! For the "red" layer set "take green from" and "take blue from" to full of. Do the same with the other layers.For "green" let alpha and green unchanged and for "blue" let blue and alpha unchanged. Set the other options to full off. Change the modes of all layers to lighten. Now all we need to do is change the position of the layer(s). Sometimes, changing the "red" layer is enough. Set a few position keyframes for it. Don“t forget to convert them to hold keyframes. (we don“t want keyframe interpolation). Pre-compose these layers into a new one. Name it "02 - Color Shifting comp" (csc).

Step 03

Now let“s create the tv scan lines (even and odd fields). In photoshop create a new document. This document must be the same size of your comp or a little bit larger. Fill the background with white. Create thin black horizontal lines until you have an interlaced image. Duplicate this document and invert the colors of the second one. Save the first file as even and the second one as odd. In After Effects import these documents as separate layers. Drag them into the"Video Look comp". Duplicate the "csc" layer and place the "odd" on top of the first "csc" layer and "even" on top of the duplicated one. Now we have the following layer order: (from bottom to up) "csc" - "odd" - "csc*" - "even". Let“s apply a luma matte for both "csc" and "csc*" layer. For the first one choose "odd" as luma matte and for the second one choose "even" as luma matte. Don“t forget to turn off the visibility for the matte layers. Since you won“t edit the matte layers anymore you can lock them. Now apply Distort/Offset to one of the"csc" layers. Offset the image horizontally to create a field distortion. If you have created real thin lines in your PS document, the effect will look nice, otherwise you“re gonna have to redraw everything you have already done.

Well, part of the effect is done. Select all layers and pre-compose them. Name the new pre-comp "03 - Final comp".

But the image doesn“t look very interlaced since you moved one of the scan lines. To repair this you can re-import one of the scan line layers ("even" or "odd") and place it on top of the uppermost layer. Change its mode to multiply and set its opacity value to something between 15 and 30. To increase the contrast create a new adjustment layer and repeat the first step as described earlier.

Final Step

If you want to tint the layer, create a new solid and change its mode to multiply, color or hue. If you decide to apply an effect don“t forget to pre-compose the layer first.

Considerations

That“s it! We have simulated a very realistic video look. If you need a more professional approach use displacement map and time displacement (both production bundle plugins).

The first one can be used to shift the scan lines instead of Offset. And the second one can be used to create image distortions. You can also apply Gaussian Blur (horizontal) to the "odd" and/or "even" layers and animate their values. If you have the PB version of After Effects consider applying Scatter to the "even" and "odd" layers. To enhance the contrast of a layer you can create an adjustment layer and apply a filter or create a gray solid (192,192,192) and change its mode to color burn.

If you don“t have Photoshop you can make the "even" and "odd" layers inside After Effects.

Create a white comp. Apply a black solid to it and change its vertical scale until you have a real thin line. Now duplicate this layer a few (hundred) of times and pre-compose it. You will waste a lot of time, but what can we do??!!

Click on the video camera to view the final comp

©Mįrcio Oliveira Brazil. 2000

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