Motion Control 3D: Bringing Photos to Life in Three Dimensions with After Effects and Photoshop CC (2019)

Course details

Have you looked at a photo and wished you were there, or wondered what the scene looked like to the photographer? Now you can bring your photos to life by adding motion and depth. Author Rich Harrington reveals how you can transport your photos into a three-dimensional world using Adobe Photoshop and After Effects. The course shows you how to select the right images and resolutions; how to use masks and layers to build a layered composition in Photoshop; and how to animate and light the elements of the scene in After Effects. The techniques is useful for documentary filmmaking, web content, and TV commercials. Rich even shows how to render your project in full 3D for compatible platforms like YouTube, or in a typical broadcast format suitable for television or streaming.

Learning objectives
Choosing the best photos
Identifying planes
Timing the move
Using Quick Selection, Quick Mask, and Refine Edge to create layers
Filling in holes
Removing camera shake
Organizing the composition
Adding a 3D camera to your scene
Setting the depth and size of your composition
Using multiple views
Adding depth of field and blur
Re-lighting the scene
Adding depth with particles
Mixing in footage
Creating 3D perspective with vanishing point
Rendering your project in 3D

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Creating 3D motion with photos
02 - What you should know before watching this course
03 - Exercise files

1. Introducing Motion Control 3D

04 - The technique explained
05 - How to use motion control 3D in your projects

2. Choosing Photos for Motion Control 3D

06 - Image selection guidelines
07 - Resolution guidelines
08 - Working in color or black and white
09 - Advice when scanning

3. Planning the Move

10 - Identifying planes
11 - Creating a staging diagram
12 - Understanding parallax
13 - Choosing a focal length
14 - Timing the move

4. Layering the Image

15 - The Quick Selection tool
16 - Using Quick Mask mode
17 - The Select and Mask command
18 - Making a selection based on subject, focus, or color
19 - Dealing with contact points

5. Cleaning Up the Composite

20 - Filling in the holes - Clone Stamp
21 - Filling in the holes - Healing Brush
22 - Filling in the holes - Content Aware Fill
23 - Filling in the holes - Content Aware Move
24 - Using Perspective Warp
25 - Removing camera shake
26 - Using a floor image

6. Organizing the Composition

27 - Naming and organizing layers
28 - Using Smart Objects to organize

7. Build the Composition

29 - Importing a layered PSD file into After Effects
30 - Adding a 3D camera
31 - Setting the initial depth
32 - Setting the composition size
33 - Using motion blur

8. Animating the Camera

34 - Using multiple views
35 - Understanding keyframes
36 - Modifying camera paths
37 - Adding camera shake
38 - Positioning while moving cameras and layers together

9. Adjusting the Camera

39 - Setting the depth of field
40 - Changing the focal length and zoom