Film Roll After Effects Preset [free download]

As I get older, making my life just a little easier is even more and more important. Not sorry about it. Like shooting with Sony Alphas. Sure, I can get technically “better” footage with giant cameras, but why the hell would I when it’s just so much fun to shoot with a nimble setup!? I love the S&Q. The Zeiss glass. I digress, I spent the weekend shooting on my alpha and I forgot how much FUN it is!

Along those lines, I’ve looked up this editing technique probably a 100 times and I always have to watch long, unedited youtube tutorials. Who has the time or patience!? I decided to make an After Effects preset for the beloved film roll (film slap, film transition, etc.), to save myself, and maybe it will help you, too.

  1. Download preset file (link below)

  2. Put the file in Applications/After Effects/Presets

  3. Add an ADJUSTMENT LAYER

  4. Apply the preset to the ADJ LAYER & move the keyframes to center them over your two layer cuts.

It’s simple enough to make just looking at the keyframes if you don’t want to bother with downloading. Just remember to finesse the speed settings of the bezier curves. I have lots of other AE presets and tricks with more customization that I’ll share if this is helpful.

FilmRoll_screenshot.png

Stirring Around Our Workspace

I do this often. Stir the furniture in our apartment...I think it drives Mariela crazy. But it's how I was raised. My granny still moves her furniture around every few months. I just thought that's what normal people do! So I've taken it to the next level...and modified most of our furniture to add wheels. It's quite handy.  I think the needing to stir comes from our Native American roots. We can't move the tribe, so we shift stuff around. It gives a new feeling to a familiar place. Makes sense.  But she also kept a large knife stuck in the door because we lived around really scary people--within our house and the neighborhood.  So I've modified her model by using a magnetic knife rack by the door--but it holds keys, wallets, little dyke tools, camera remotes...etc. etc.

The latest stirring episode is because I've been frustrated with my photography lately. But I'm chalking it up to a few things: 1) I haven't really found my place here yet. Like a job or community involvements, but I know that will happen. Spring is in full bloom in Northern California and it's magnificent. 2) I'm used to photographing dingy urban stuff--usually weird & dark. Exactly the opposite of here. It's bright and sunny all the time and  much more suburban. I know that riding my bike on daily missions will kick me over into the groove again. And that will happen when I find my place/job, too. I just have to be patient and diligent with my own projects in the meantime.

The biggest projects we have going now:

  • pilot script
  • creating 2D puppet animations for storytelling
  • editing our cross-country move to Cali video

I've been hard at work on a video for my family that is finally complete! Mariela and I learned so many new effects and techniques, but the content is personal, but maybe I'll do a rough cut of some of the footage to share here. The time lapse of the family cottage is pretty terrific--if I do say so myself.  I had stayed up so late the night before--drinking wine at the dining hall, an unexpected nap, and then more ukulele playing and singing with the fam. But it was 4am and the sun was a'comin. I scurried to gather my gear and ran out to argue with my new time lapse settings in Magic Lantern. I got it. It's beautiful. It's quiet and serene. All the colony kids and vacationers fast asleep...I even managed to get the sun rising over the colony pool. Luckily, I had the forethought to get the cottage first and move downhill for the pool. So maybe a short cut to come soon.

We had a terrific weekend and really didn't get anything done on our projects, but sometimes it's nice to just enjoy the sunshine.  So we joined some new friends at Half Moon Bay for a fun day at the beach. I'm just still so stunned that the OCEAN is that close!  Luckily, my midwestern hickness is wearing off and I haven't referred to the Pacific Ocean as a LAKE in quite a while now. ;-)