#it had a command of contrast and composition that gave it an effect that was like. authoritative. in addition to being fucking iconic.

[oldtestleper]

hm. they hired a different artist for hades 2

[sfiddy]

So Bad

For @academialynx , who made a donation to her local food bank in return for a fic!  This is a college AU, moderately prof/student (though the theme is that they DON’T break the rules) boatloads of yearning, and janky building maintenance that leads to getting locked in a closet.  She asked me to consider the Brandon Colbein song So Bad.  Which I did.  :)

Thank you, Dear!  Here we go!

Rated T

On AO3

On FF

On Tumblr!  (keep reading!)

Another champagne cork popped and a delighted cheer spread through the room.  Glasses, plastic cups, and hastily drained coffee mugs were refreshed and the party carried on.  Theirs was not a large music department, so to have attracted a fresh, exciting, multi-talented composition and collaborative piano specialist with a few international awards, one ‘early career’ grant and another from the National Endowment for the Arts meant their modest program was about to gain a little fresh clout at interdepartmental tenured faculty meetings.

“Congratulations again, Erik!”  Dr. Nadir Khan hauled Erik into a vigorous handshake and pumped for a full three seconds.  

Erik winced.  He���d be hamfisting the keys tomorrow if they kept this up.  “Thank you, Dean Khan.  It’s an honor to join as a full professor.”

“I am Nadir to you, and don’t forget it.”  Nadir refilled Erik’s plastic cup and tapped his department coffee mug against it, sloshing their champagne into frothy heads.  “It’s hard to believe it’s been five years, Erik!  You cost me a bet, I’ll have you know.  I didn’t think you’d stay after you had to teach that semester of History of Rock and Roll for non-majors.”

The lantern-jawed oboe professor laughed.  “Or the infamous Intro to Music Theory.”

“No, no,” disagreed Umbaldo Piangi, the portly voice teacher.  “When I went on sabbatical to Teatro La Fenice and you gave him The Chamber Music Outreach Project and graduate tutoring.  No warning!”  Even the big man’s clucking tongue was musical.  “But, Piangi is back, no?  I will cut back my performance hours and take back all the lessons and weekends and let Dr. Erik Devereaux return to his writing!”

“Actually,” Erik said, and the room stilled.  “The only part I disliked was the public part.  I never minded the private instruction.  If you would like to split the load, I’m happy to keep the instructional portion while you handle the tours, performances, and...outreach?”  He suppressed the grimace well enough.

Piangi, Italian down to his fine shoes, let out a whoop and grabbed Erik in a hug so tight it pressed his ribcage and nearly dislodged his delicate porcelain mask from it’s fine wire and leather fittings.

“Ah, my partner now!  I will call donors and show off the little tweeting songbirds with my lovely Carlotta while you teach them not to call for worms!  A toast!”  Piangi held up his plastic cup once again.  

Erik accepted a toast that crackled the edge of his plastic cup and hoped for something new and shiny to distract them.  Or for the lights to suddenly flicker and fail as they were prone to do, along with randomly closing doors in the terribly laid out office and work spaces.  The college had access to talent pipelines that the underfunded and neglected department had not been able to tap.  Their aggressive recruitment of him was a last ditch effort for change before the tiny group was relegated to a four piece for the university reagent’s cocktail brunch and a marching band for the far-better funded football team.

“To Dr. Devereaux!”

With a conspiratorial grin, Erik drained his cup and winked at Piangi.  “To the songbirds.”

…

Tenure in hand, Erik started his campaign.  Once he ditched the worst teaching credits to lecturers and adjuncts, he could focus on recruiting.  Specifically, to score a few respected but not-yet-headliner talents.  Emerging performers without a good gig had few options and the status and modest stipend to be a ‘visiting artist’ might be more attractive than the floating gulag of a cruise ship.  

A few excellent but relatively unknown performers could teach and perform, receive some finishing, and get quickly farmed out into the world.  The reputation-building move would be pricey, but no one gets paid dividends before investing.

His development grant would cover three such artists.  He got more than fifty applications.  Erik rubbed his eyes under the mask.  It was a good thing he never had plans-- it would be a long weekend.

…

The old music labs building had settled over the years and gained what the senior faculty referred to as ‘personality’.   Erik took this to mean ‘genially hazardous’.  No amount of facility requests or complaints brought the doors and keys division to do maintenance.

He was a quick learner though, and only got locked in his workroom twice before catching the door with his foot became second nature.   He even set a flaking brick, plucked from a neglected flower bed outside, in the corner by the door and kicked it against the frame as a doorstop.  Every time he came to his workroom, a narrow converted closet with a work bench and packed with shelves of manuscripts, music, errant repair kits and recording equipment, he would hit the outside light switch, unlock the door, step in, catch the door, then kick the brick.  

Switch, step, catch, kick.  His shoes were gaining new wear marks.

After kicking the brick into place, Erik opened his laptop and went over the last files.  He’d asked the department admins to strip out the audio files to just the audition pieces and remove identifying details from the fifty applications.  If he was going to invite talent, their first hurdle would be their musicianship.  Once he’d culled the herd to ten, he’d submitted his picks to the dean to select the three finalists.  Now they needed invitations.  Two vocalists and a classical guitarist made the cut and he spent the next few hours getting more acquainted with their files and ignoring the pings of his filling inbox.

At least it was just his inbox.  No one came to the music labs and his closet if they could help it.

If he was honest, no one came to meet him in person if they could help it.

…

Most performers were beautiful.  Entire websites and product lines were devoted to skincare for singers, makeup tutorials, look books and wardrobe consulting.  Erik’s particular variety of deformity would stand out in any circumstances, but in an entire department stuffed with the striking, stunning, and unconventionally glorious, he bordered on eyesore.  Even Piangi could command a room with his generous, rosy smiles and booming laugh.  

The mask was the best combination of memorable and functional he could muster.  Yes, surgery was an option but who signed up for years of unnecessary pain and the risk of infection?  He had better things to do.  

Like meet with his new visiting artists.  

The classical guitarist had supple wrists and forearms like Popeye.  His rolled cuffs drew the eye to the action while his cleverly knotted scarf kept you looking at his face, framed by artfully mussed hair.  

“We’re looking forward to your first concerts and hope you’ll consider collaborations with local programs.”

The baritone had a one in a million voice.  How he hadn’t been snapped up for opera yet was a mystery but Erik supposed it was his poor presence.  When you had the goods, you still had to sell them, and the young man’s love of neon, bad hair, and questionable repertoire (pin the tail on a Hal Leonard page) needed polish.  His work was shockingly precise and sounded like he had a cathedral in his mouth.

“Our faculty and staff are a rich resource for young performers and are always eager to assist.  We often work in parallel with the communications department and local professionals to prepare our artists for the culture and community as well as the stage.”

The soprano was the risk.  The recording had been largely boilerplate and her prior experience thin.  The reason she got in was a one-point-two second pause in her audition tape.  It was the silence that told Erik she had chops.  

Imagine, a soprano unafraid of silence.  It had been late in the weekend when he selected her and had not yet been able to examine the head shot.

“I… um...”

“Yes, Dr. Devereaux?”

“Welcome, Miss Daaé.”

…

The visiting artists would survey classes, provide demonstrations and guest lectures, and appear at university events, auditions, and generally get the word out that the department was shifting to a growth phase.  That was the official description.  Unofficially, there would be a mountain of effort to make each emerging artist a shot on goal for the department.  Recording deals, major and paid appearances, and successful auditions all counted toward the tally.  

Guitar was not Erik’s forte, and as much as he could contribute to the baritone’s look and polish, Erik had cultivated a far more… refined profile than the young man aspired to.  Erik maintained collars sharp enough to cut bread and a spotless sheen on his porcelain mask.  Right now, Dean Khan aspired to cut the young man’s mullet tail off.  

“Excellent, Miss Daaé, right on time.”  Erik slid the fall board up and they prepared to work.  She understood how to modulate her tone, how to select the emotional pitch to match the song, to contrast with it for effect.  She explored her range and willingly failed to find her borders.  It all made for an excellent student.

It was the quiet that made her breathtaking.  The anticipation of her.  Tenths of seconds that tightened the chest and made a quiver run through the blood.  Not often, only when it mattered, and only when it would matter enough to do so.  

When he could stand it no more, he asked her about it.

“I’m sorry, I can try to stop.”

“I didn’t ask you to stop, I asked when you started doing it.”

She considered him, her ribbons of curling hair twisting as she shifted.  “When my father was sick.  I could feel the need for silences because he couldn’t talk anymore.  It just felt… right.”

Erik nodded.  “Again.”

…

She’d been a late bloomer.  A ghost on the scene and at least five years older than the rest of the sopranos at her stage.  It also meant she hadn’t spent her entire high school and college career belting Broadway in the recital rooms, building nodes on her vocal chords.  

They finished late one night and he walked her to her car.  “So what did you do for practice?”

She pinked under the parking lot lights.  “I, um… waited tables at an Italian restaurant.  You know, where your server might sing opera when they bring you breadsticks?”

Erik nodded.  “Parmesan and Puccini?”

Bless her, she giggled.  “Bellinis and Bellini.  A few really knew when they were hearing but most just wanted to hear Nessun Dorma because they heard it on Youtube.  I managed to get a few singing jobs out of it but I mostly just waited tables.”  They stopped at her car but she hadn’t reached for her keys yet.  “I was a bartender and the second understudy for a Gilbert and Sullivan society when I saw your announcement.”

“Their loss,” Erik said.  He left off the second half.

“Thanks.”  Christine hesitated.  “I didn’t expect to be accepted, so… thanks.”  

Something changed in the breeze.  Something cool and soft in the night air mixed with the gold light pouring down from the lights.  It highlighted the curls that spiralled out of control around her neck as she tilted her head just so.  

It was just a moment, a funny thump that ricocheted in his chest at her upturned face, her soft smile.  Maybe her eyes flicked down, maybe her sharp inhale had a little catch in it.  Maybe it was the way her lip twitched, but a red flag suddenly waved in Erik’s head and he stepped back carefully.  He had a powerful fear of heat and burns.

“Yes, of course.  The, uh, department was very happy to offer the opportunity.”

She blinked.  “Of course.  Well, thanks for the great session and walking me to my car.  Have a nice evening, Erik.”

Christine drove away and Erik stood in the parking lot for some minutes after her taillights had faded.  He imagined it.  Surely, he’d taken a friendly conversation the wrong way.  She wasn’t his student, strictly speaking, but he had influence over her career, which would be just as bad.  

Besides, he had completely misread the whole thing.  Surely.  Women didn’t look up at him like that-- like he would kiss them.  After a walk after dark, telling him about themselves, and looking at him like that.

No one looked at him like... that.

Oh no.

…

She wasn’t strictly his student.  He was her mentor.  Even a brief thought made it obvious and completely inappropriate.  Did she think it would improve her opportunities?

Erik swallowed.  No, if that was the game she wouldn’t have backed off.  Surely he’d misread the situation.

…

They brewed tea together.  She remembered his favorite oolong.

…

He saw a cascade of curling hair on his way to the post office and his heart leapt.

It wasn’t her.  The disappointment was too confusing to examine.

…

His mouth went dry when her sweater slipped from her shoulder.  Then he knocked the music from the stand.

She smiled and helped him pick up the sheets.  

There were freckles on her shoulder.

... 

Five months into the visiting artist tour and Piangi had the concert hall packed for their first performances.  Franco the guitarist, who preferred just the one name, would play a twenty minute set, followed by the baritone Burton Armstrong, as baritoney a name as Erik had ever heard, then Christine, and finally Franco would play again with accompaniment.  

Erik was content to stay in a tiny box seat far to the side as Piangi introduced each performer.  Franco had gained the stage he deserved, and Burton had been convinced to get a proper haircut and suit, and sang a particularly impressive Russian ballad set.  

Christine was introduced and settled onto the stage.  She was radiant in dark blue, and decorated her baroque set with agility.  From his perch, Erik could as easily imagine her distributing bellinis as gracing an opera stage.  It was not an insult.  After her short set, she nodded and was joined by Burton.  A duet?  

She looked up and found him, up in his perch.  She nodded, and the two launched into a series of excerpts from Semele, Handel’s somewhat neglected tale of a torrid affair between a mortal woman and the god, Jupiter.

Their gazes met as she sang.

O Jove! In pity teach me which to choose,

Incline me to comply, or help me to refuse!

The baritone thundered.

Too well I read her meaning,

But must not understand her.

If Erik’s ears heard the rest of the concert, he could not recall it later.

…

Dean Khan adjourned the faculty meeting.  “Oh Erik, if you have a moment?”

They waited until the room was cleared and Nadir closed the door, then casually looked over the remaining pastries.  “Excellent concert last month.  The work with Burton is certainly paying off.”  

Erik leaned against the table.  “His socks were bright green, but we felt it was a workable compromise.”

“Franco is excellent in front of the crowd.  Has he met the flamenco dancers yet?”

“I put in a call.  I think he’s going to their weekly meeting next Thursday.”

“Marvelous.  Let me know how that goes when you hear, won’t you?”

“Of course.”  Erik felt his chest tighten the longer Nadir perused the snacks and chose to tear off the bandage himself.  “Anything else?”

“There is, in fact,” Nadir did not look up from the muffins.  “Christine’s performance was exceptional.  Truly filled with passion.”

Erik tried to take a sip of coffee but his cup was empty.  He faked it.  “She’s a wonderful artist.”

“Yes.  I couldn’t help but notice--” Nadir paused over the croissants, then passed them over to examine the cookies.  “You two seem to have a unique and strong mentor-trainee relationship.”

“Thank you.”  It had not been a question.  There was nothing here… yet.  “We work well together.”  

“I’m glad to hear that.  The program you’ve created is admirable for it’s transparency and integrity.”

“I agree.  Thank you for noticing.”

Nadir looked up with a slight nod, then selected a macadamia cookie.  “I’m sure the remaining six months will fly by, Erik.”

He had no idea how to respond.

...

Six months.  There were six months left in the visiting artist term.  There were more sessions, a mini tour, and a series of small concerts meant to showcase the new talent the department had ‘produced’.  

Six months of lies, pretending he was misunderstanding something.  Pretending he didn’t notice the way she was at his side and on his mind.  Then she would leave him to the dull, overworked life he’d made for himself in the hopes of making a name for himself while simultaneously avoiding attention.  More lies, but easier to swallow.  

Her voice came from the hallway.  “Erik?  I’m heating up some water, would you like tea?”

“Is it the one you brought?”

A light laugh.  Sparkling.  “Of course.”

He dropped his work and grabbed his cup.  “Be right there.”

…

A very successful fundraiser was wrapping up on the top floor of the performing arts center.  It had a view over the campus, the nice side, and the glow of downtown caught the streaking rain on the tall glass walls.  

The donors had been generous, delighted with the new features of the program and the willingness to be accessible.  Erik stayed to the side, avoiding the center of the room where Piangi and his wife Carlotta took up residence.  Nadir circulated the room, nudging him out from time to time for a refill and to participate.  When forced to do so, Erik sloshed some middling red wine into his glass and let himself slip into Christine’s gravity for a few minutes before drifting away again.  

He could feel her gaze.

The cocktail party was to end at eleven-thirty, and by then nearly all the guests had left.  The last ones were rushed  out and Piangi hurried to the bar.  

“Open season!” 

A quick crush to the bar and every open bottle was ‘liberated’ to the long-suffering exhibits.  Christine topped off her glass and passed the bottle to a fellow soprano, hardly twenty years old, and the two laughed and kicked off their heels.  Piangi and Burton laughed over an earlier flub and the cello player, finally able to pack his instrument and relax, demanded and received a full glass.

Erik tipped back a hearty, warm swallow and emerged from the hinterlands.

“Oh, hi Dr. Devereaux!  Did you just get here?” teased Carlotta.  “Your legend only grows the more you hide.”

“All part of my devious plan,” he conceded.  Christine’s giggle mingled with the laughs of her peers.  “If you’ll excuse me.  Piangi, brilliant as always.”

“Same to you, Erik!  We plan many parties now, no?”

Easing his way towards the mirth, Erik relaxed.  There were plenty of others around, and this was just the after party to a long dog and pony show.  Listen to the pretty songbirds and throw money at the program, invitation only.  They all deserved drinks after three hours of that.

Christine was plucking a pin from her hair.  She shook the curls loose.  “Hi Erik!  God, I’m so glad to see you.”

“Oh?”

She held up a bottle.  “Yeah, you need a refill.”  

It had been a long night.  These events could be tricky to navigate.  Sometimes there was politics, other times business rivals.  More often, donors expected special privilege and access in exchange for their checks, as if the last hundred years of progress meant nothing.  The way a few of them had looked at Erik, maybe it didn’t.  

He let her pour some white wine over the dregs of his red.  Improvised rosé.  “Everything go okay?”  

“Good enough.  I think I have some auditions, and some stuff nearby might open up for me.”

“That’s great.  Who with?”

A nice chorus.  A solid baroque group.  Both could springboard to bigger things.  A few bigger things were here.  

“What’s bigger?”  She asked, her eyes dark and soft.  

He had not meant to speak, and now he rushed his words.  “Things!  Choirs, operas.  There’s a few small opera troupes and there’s churches that need choral directors that know how to work with organ and piano.”

She sniggered.  “Organs.”  The other soprano dissolved into giggles.

Erik pulled out his phone.  Clearly neither was driving tonight.  He absently tallied up his glasses and admitted he wasn’t either.

“Do you play the organ, Erik?”

“Yes.”

Christine stepped closer and, on pure instinct, Erik put his arm around her as she turned her head to speak.

“Can I watch?”  

His collar was tight.  He pulled up the app and ordered a car.

They ran through the rain, more than sprinkled, less than soaked.  Plenty wet to shiver from the chill of the driver’s exuberant air conditioning, though.  Between giggles and poorly composed directions, they dropped off the other soprano who wobbled successfully to her door before their driver sped away.  Christine did not shift away to the other seat, but leaned into him, tucking herself against his side.  

The driver glanced in the rear view mirror, then looked away.

She was cool and smooth.  Her loosened curls had tightened from the wet and tickled his neck and brushed against his mask.  

Her hand on his thigh.  Erik said nothing.  If he was silent there was a kind of deniability, or denial at least, of what was happening.  If he could deny that her fingernails caught on the inner seam of his trousers, then she could deny that his hand was firmly planted at her waist, holding her close.

And if she could deny that, then she could also deny that her nose bumped his chin, her ragged breath loud in his ears.  And they could both deny that their lips grazed, a not-kiss somehow more intimate than if their lips moved and pulled at each other.  Like her singing, it was the pause that made your breath catch and your insides tug.

“What number?”

Dashboards lights reflected in her eyes.  “That one,” she said, and cautiously settled.  The driver pulled forward and Christine unbuckled.  

“Good night, Erik.  See you tomorrow.”

“Good night, Christine.”

The driver glanced in the rearview.  Erik looked down.  “Sorry.”

The driver shrugged.  

One more month.

…

He was hiding.  He’d been hiding for weeks; stopped looking for her, stopped even wondering where she was or if she was alone.  There was no way to be near her without the pretense of a piano that wouldn’t leave him shaking.  No way to think about her without wanting.

He was Erik, a composer, a conductor, performer, designer of auditory spaces and translator of music.  He was a collaborative pianist and vocal specialist.  He’d given everything to music and the service of it, the delivery of it.  He didn’t need this. He’d never had this.

No one ever offered.  So he’d found fulfillment elsewhere, until now.

Erik hunched over his work, safely tucked into his corner of the music labs building.  Between grading, senior thesis submissions, revisions to his own publications, and a request for a letter of recommendation, he could be plenty busy late into the night with no need for anyone to--

“Hello?  Erik?”

Erik snatched at his mask and settled it.  He’d been found.  Time to lie, except he can’t lie to her.

“Can I help you with something, Christine?”  He gathered a stack and stood.  She met him by his door.

“Well, yeah,” she paused, blocking his path momentarily before stepping aside.  “I need your signature on my visiting artist release.  And another on my endorsement for my new job.”

Erik hefted his armload to the work closet.  “I’m sure they look forward to meeting you.  Come on.”  He unlocked the door and held it open, then followed behind her, hitting the light switch with his elbow before catching the door on his foot, then he kicked the brick into place.  He had to hold the stack to keep it from spilling across the work table.

She handed him the forms.  Erik moved to a span of clean tabletop and started scanning the release form.  Government agency boilerplate to satisfy the grant was mixed with flowery language so no one would suspect they were anything but artists.  Yesterday Franco had brought Burton’s form-- yep, this was Christine’s.  So on and so forth.

Erik had just finished scratching out his signature when he heard a familiar scrape.

“Why on earth do you keep a-”

Click.

“--brick?”

Erik pressed the heel of his hand into his chin.  

“Are we… locked in?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”  A faint rumble vibrated in the walls.  “I don’t suppose that was just… construction?”

Erik let out a mirthless laugh.  “There were storms brewing earlier.  Besides, does this building look like they work on it?”

“Not really.”

Another rumble, louder, and the light fixture jittered.  

Christine finally took a deep breath.  “Have you been avoiding me?”

“No!  Yes.  I don’t know.”  He touched his hairline, recapped a pen.  “We crossed a line.  I had to get back behind it and I couldn’t if we…”  His hands skated across the table top nervously.  

“Is this about being my mentor?”

Erik barked an ugly, bitter laugh.  “What else?  God, you just, out of nowhere, with your smiles, and the way you look at me, and sing to me, and the Semele…” Erik’s skin grew tight as he recalled the cocktail party.  He turned, face growing hot beneath the porcelain and his throat tightening.  He was a ruin.

“--and the touching and wanting and you’re… you’re just going to leave!  I’m a fucking idiot!”

On cue, an extended, throaty roar of thunder rattled the stone and brick until the bare bulb above could suffer no more.  With a loud pop, the narrow room went dark.  They both scuffled in the dark until they had hold of something sturdy.

“Erik?”

He was embarrassed.  He was frustrated.  “What.”

“You need to sign the other form.”

“Want to get away that bad?  Fine.”  He reached for a desk lamp and tried to turn it on.  He flipped the switch furiously.  The power was out.

“Here,” Christine held up her phone and lit the screen.  Her screensaver was… them? Beside a piano together?

Erik snatched a pen from the table and slashed his name.  “There.  Just search for facilities or call the university police.  They can unlock the door.”

“Erik, did you even look at it?”

“Why bother.”

She snorted at him.  “God, you’re so blind.”

“The lights were out.”

“Fine, you want to be a jerk, be one, but at least look at where I’m taking a job before you decide to walk.”

She lit up her phone once more and he glared at the page like it was staring at his mask.  He tracked the offer and terms until he reached the party names and…

“You took a job at… a middle school?  Here?”  He looked up into the dim light.  “You’re not leaving?”

“Meet the new grade six to eight choir director.  Go Scotties.  And now you have no direct influence over my career.”

Her screensaver dimmed, and before it went dark, Erik could make out a flash of their faces, turned to each other.  He wondered if Nadir had seen this moment, because they looked as passionate as lovers despite being feet apart.

The room went black again, and he could hear her moving.

“I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“That much has been apparent.  What do you know?”

She was close.  Close enough to feel the way she shifted the air.  “I know way too much about motif design, lyric phrasing--”

Closer.  “Go on.”  Her hips were near his. 

“Harmonic theory, vocals”

 “Can attest.”  Her fingertips were at his jawline, tracing his mask.  “I thought it would be cold.”

“It’s been on my face all day.  Early Romantic era competition and,” his voice scraped over gravel, “that I want you. So bad.”

Her kiss was her reply.  Erik’s hands flew around her as she pivoted to the table with him, dragging his mask upwards.  He gasped as cool air brushed his face, followed by light, curious fingertips and her hot mouth.  Erik knocked over the stack of papers and files with a satisfying splatter.

“Is that light over there?” she asked, dragging her lips from his.  “Around that cabinet door?”

“What?” he panted.  “I thought that was a panel.”

She pushed him off gently, peering up at the wall.  “Right there, see?”

Sure enough, there was a thin line of light.  It was a hidden door with a magnetic latch. 

“They can’t keep the regular door from locking you in but they put a trick door at the back?”  Erik complained as he climbed through awkwardly.  Very awkwardly.  Her lips were red and swollen.

“Let me grab my things and we can get out of here.”

Erik checked his watch.  “First, we’re turning in your forms.”

“It’s almost five!”

“We’ll make it if we run.”

Panting, they caught the dean just as he was packing up to leave.

“Erik, Christine?  Are you alright?  That was some storm we--”

Erik shoved the forms at him.  “Yep. Terrible storm.  Here.”

“Indeed, Erik.  Why, your hair is a mess and I’ve never seen your shirt untucked.”

“Big wind.  Yep.  Almost hit by lightning.  Here, time stamp?”

“Miss Daaé, you may want to adjust…”

“For God’s sake just take the stupid form so we can go!” Christine shouted.

Nadir laughed and scanned the forms.  “I don’t want to see you until Monday, Erik.  You better be late.”

He didn’t make it in until Wednesday.

...

[2022-504-harrietneradt]

Decisions

Source Sans is an Adobe Original typeface, meaning its function is to be versatile and sophisticated yet still experimental. The colour palette I selected to represent my type face, Source Sans, in my animations was a deep red/maroon shade which I contrasted with a light baby pink. I thought this colour combination was interesting to draw the eye in as they are both warm shades yet still contrasting in lights and darks. The type face itself is very simplistic, with its purpose being for easily legible in UI labels; displays of one or more lines of informational text. The aim of the typeface is for comfortable readibilty on screen and print, as well as rendering easily at smaller sizes. The colours I chose read well on screen allowing for the letters and characters to sit within the space commanding attention. 

The idea I had for my first frame by frame animation was to have a fast pace and hero the asterisk character in my type family. This animation focuses on the geometric aspect of the typeface as well as emphasis on the contrast that can be achieved. I used conventions of zoom transitions and cuts to achieve the quick rhythm of this animation. I wanted to create a jumble of letters spreading in and out to show the clarity of each character, show casing the different sizes and weights that Source Sans has to offer. By doing this I was able to create a playful frame by frame segment that read clearly, playing into the original purpose of the typeface, to be readable on screen comfortably. I also used a quote for readability at different point sizes. I revealed this quote using a masking technique, using different directions to show each line of the quote for interesting composition. I decided to loop back to first frame colour fill in order for the frames to loop seamlessly. 

In my second frame by frame animation I incorporated an image. My idea was to create an effect where the text appears to be graffitied on a wall. Here I used the word ‘readability’ to showcase the 6 different weights in the font family. I also wanted to include a character and decided to use numbers for some variety of glyphs. The next frames show the legibility of the different weights sitting in the same plain in an interesting typographic layout. This enable for direct comparison of the weights and showing the contrast. 

For my first video timeline animation I wanted to strengthen the sophisticated yet experimental aspect of Source Sans. In my first clip I used a clean layout of the typeface name using the divider line to transition to populating the screen with the contrasting colour. This then changes into a typographic layout of different glyphs existing within the perimeters of a diamond shape, all with the constant weight as this gave a more polished look, wavering the line of sophistication and experimentation. I then chose the word limitles, animating this as an exaggeration of the word. I manipulated the type to type of a line making the 's' continuos as a play on words, emphasizing the endless possibilities the type has to offer. I think this worked well and aided to the playful yet functional value of Source Sans.

In my final animation the intro shows the letters in Source falling into place on screen. I used the onion skins setting in the video timeline animation panel to make a bouncing effect from the fall. I animated the ‘e’ to roll out of frame and appear back in frame in increased size, pushing the rest of the letters out of frame as a transition. I continued to use the onion skins setting, writing the work ‘cooridnate’ and using the paint brush tool to manipulate the ‘o’ to show the relationship of the type working together seamlessly. To sum up the typeface I created an asset on illustrator of a type eye icon which flickered before mining typing the word ‘clear’, ‘crisp’ and ‘clean’ in the varying weights to sum up the form, functionality and experimental aspect of Source Sans.  

[elterm1project]

Architectural Composition development

Using the combined work from my previous session where I cut out different areas of my drawings and combined them together, I uploaded it onto Photoshop. Once it was uploaded and I adjusted brightness and contrast, I then used the ellipse marquee tool to select areas of my work and copied them onto a new layer by using layer via copy, this kept the original background. After this I then inverted that section by pressing command i. 

I continued to select certain areas and invert them, using the ellipsis marquee tool to make my work more cohesive.  I also chose a accent colour to be used throughout, I then added that colour underneath my inverted images. I did this by creating a shape and then filling with red, to make sure that the colour could be seen through the inverted area I chose select, colour range and deleted the highlights. Offsetting the colours gave the shapes more dimension.  I also added custom shapes, the lines at the bottom of my image, I chose these to be the accent colour to make the more cohesive. I then duplicated the lines I had created to overlap them, this created a hatch effect within the lines. 

To complete my work I added more inverted sections and colour to my work, for some areas of colour I used the polygon lasso tool to make the areas more specific, highlighting different areas. 

[newyorktextileco]

NYTC Thoughts On... Life as a textile worker

To date our Thoughts On series has focussed on the Industrial Revolution through the lens of the textile industry and in particular the role played by the founding fathers; Samuel Slater and Francis Cabot Lowell.

That is all well and good, but what about the vast swathes of workers who toiled in the factories to help push the industry forward? What was their life like and how did the monumental change in industry affect society at large? In our next few Thoughts On we will look at the social impact of the Industrial Revolution, starting with life as a textile worker.

It is worth pointing out from the beginning that while the Industrial Revolution brought about large societal change over the course of its development, during its nascency Slater and Lowell took a more familiar approach and based their factory system around the institutions that gave structure to society at the time; principally family, community and religion. As such life as a textile worker at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution looked very similar to how it did pre-industrialisation, with a male head of the household dominating decision making and holding most of the economic and social authority over the family.

The reversion to societal norms also extended to the physical design of the mill communities. For example Slatersville, which was founded in 1806 in upstate Rhode Island, was built around a broad road that went through the town centre, from which shops ran alongside. The church stood in the middle of the town and more than 600 workers lived in the surrounds in one and two storey detached and semi-detached houses with gardens while the mill was a short distance away.

Slaters communities were surrounded by agricultural land which was worked by the company, tenant farmers and freehold farmers and most of the food grown was subsequently consumed by local factory families. Slater himself also owned a blacksmith and a slaughterhouse which made the communities relatively self-sufficient. Other traditions also remained, such as families bringing dairy cows, horses and cattle with them which were allowed to graze on company land. By allowing workers to keep livestock and grow their own vegetables they were able to provide for themselves, as they would have done prior to working in the factories.

This does paint a rather bucolic picture of factory life which of course wasn’t always the case. In contrast, in places like Lowell, multi-family tenements and barrack-like boardinghouses were common. This style of communal living forced the workers to conform to group norms, which in turn fostered the development of a working class ethos while in Slater style communities people turned to family for aid and comfort.

The church had a strong presence in Slater communities and to a certain extent it monopolised the leisure of local residents. Residents were encouraged to attend services, Bible readings and camp meetings while the church also sponsored societies and therefore had considerable influence on the community.

Local manufacturers, who often built the church and paid for its maintenance, were very supportive of the church.  For example in Lowell the manufacturers subsidised the construction of eight churches with the inevitable conclusion that the factory had significant influence over religious matters.

Religion was supported by manufacturers principally because it was a form of social control which facilitated discipline. The church taught obedience, deference, industry, and honesty. For kids, Sunday school was a way of teaching them principles from a young age.

With this focus on self-discipline, self-restraint and self-regulation workers internalised their values and became responsible for working hard. This allowed the factory owners to use conscience, rather than rewards and punishment, to control workers.

This control extended to the home, where the responsibility of parents to discipline was widely recognised. Lessons taught at home and in church therefore became the moral foundation for a disciplined labour force. In fact the home and the factory were very similar – both were controlled by men, both were paternalistic, and the men expected unquestioning compliance with all commands.

Discipline within the community at large was also dominated by the family and religion with legal authority limited to start with. People were expected to regulate their own behaviour although churches did perform a monitoring function, reported problems and brought people before the congregation for trial and punishment.

With regards to the working day, Slater’s family style of labour allocated jobs on the basis of sex, age and marital status. The patriarch was responsible for allocating tasks within his family and as such unsurprisingly typically refused to work in the mills and so was given jobs like farming or casual labour. Wives often remained at home while unmarried women and children undertook the more gruelling work in the factories. Men did have some factory jobs although these were typically high level ones like a mule spinner or machinist.

Not only did the male head of the house dictate roles within the factory, he also took responsibility for receiving the wages of all of his family members, again reinforcing the established patriarchy of the time.

In order to re-enforce family structure, householders negotiated employment contracts on behalf of their children, which often included education and training provisions. These contracts helped ensure that parents retained their position as head of the kinship and that children wouldn’t gain independence. Parents also dictated the conditions their kids worked in and family members often worked with each other in the factory.  

The organisation of the factory floor in Slaters mills was therefore a direct reflection of the dominant position of the male householder in society – all positions of authority were filled by men and the supervisory hierarchy reflected the hierarchy of the house. In this regard, the factory system did not challenge existing paternal authority, it perpetuated it.

The wages paid also reflected the household hierarchy with males getting paid more. For example in the 1830’s men typically received double what women received and three to four times that of their children; an enormous wage gap even in the context of society at the time.

During the earliest stages of the development of the textile industry the overall composition of the factory labour force was typically three quarters children and unmarried women. Children were predominately the ones left to work in the factory undertaking roles like carding while women dominated in the weaving department.

While child labour thankfully seems cruel under todays standards of living, it is worth  pointing out that at the time it was very important for the survival of the family as few unskilled householders could actually afford to keep their kids at home. In fact, employing children was actually encouraged – it was thought to be a good form of youth employment and allowed otherwise unemployed people to make profitable use of their time and benefit the community.

In terms of working hours, by the 1820’s and 1830’s workers typically worked six days a week for between 12 and 14 hours per day; effectively an 84 hour work week. This was split by two meal breaks of around 30 minutes with the factory bell signalling the start and finish of the day and the two breaks in between.

For payment, until the 1830’s householders actually received daily rations of spirits or wine as part of their remuneration. The thought of mixing booze and machinery certainly paints an interesting picture but in fact this was a cherished custom and workers could get up to a gallon of gin, rum or brandy a month.

In the 1830’s there was an assault on the sale of alcohol with the church discouraging alcohol consumption. This temperance movement gradually gained momentum and certain towns started to ban it. This would eventually lead to the eradication of consumption of hard liquor in the factory.

Children's wages were typically given to parents who controlled household expenses and in the Lowell factories manufacturers often paid cash in hand. In contrast Slater paid in cash and in kind with items such as food, rent, fuel, cattle feed and cloth. One reason for this was that banking was in disarray with different banks using different types of notes which were not always available, leading to delayed payments to workers.

By the 1830’s management were ready to sacrifice the morale discipline of the church and family in order to obtain more extensive control over workers. This meant that the privileges of the householder in the factory came under scrutiny with economics becoming the primary influence.

One of the first issues addressed was the work schedule – the factory introduced Sunday working and overtime and members of the same family began working different shifts. As a consequence Sunday lost its place as the traditional time for family and religion. Morning and afternoon breaks were also abolished and parental supervision came under direct attack with parents forbidden from entering the mill to supervise their children.

As few workmen at the time had clocks, the factory bell was used to mark the start, breaks and end of the working day. Unscrupulous factory agents could therefore squeeze extra time into the workday by delaying the bell without people knowing.

By 1845 manufacturers abandoned the family wage system and started paying workers directly, leaving children to dispose of their own income and thereby shifting economic power away from the householder.

All in all, the combination of supply and demand, technology (the increasing use of machines in the factory), education laws and factory management all transformed the labour force, creating autonomous workers who were cut-off from their family.

With the growth of the market economy and increasing competition from foreign producers, the interests of workers and managers diverged further. Managers tried to salvage the unfavourable economic situation in part at the expense of labour by dismantling rights long accorded to workers and by the 1850’s little remained of the labour system established by Sam Slater.

As more manufacturers entered the market, competition for labour increased and the recruitment processes changed to one reflecting more of an open job market with factory managers taking staff from competitors.

Slater eventually started targeting young women for his factories, particularly as children were gradually phased out of factories following the passing of a statute in 1836 which required all kids younger than 15 who were employed in incorporated firms to go to school at least three months a year. Massachusetts went a step further in 1842 and limited children working days to 10 hours for those younger than 12. The net result was that child labour was used less and less in the factory. By reducing the number of children in the factory, and increasing the number of itinerant women (those who were not tied to a factory) the role of the household in the factory was further reduced.

Despite the gruelling hours and hideous wage gap, for women in particular, where employment opportunities at the time were very limited, the factory system did offer some promise and eventually allowed them to gain a semblance of independence. To a certain extent the ability to achieve personal and economic independence without sacrificing the responsibility for raising children also provided a solution to work life balance problems encountered by women, an issue which even today we don’t seem to have fully provided a solution for.

It is interesting to look back at the history of the Industrial Revolution and take note of the issues that society faced at the time and compare those to the challenges we face today. What we have found is that, despite the passing of almost 200 years, many of the issues that came to the surface then, remain very relevant today.

The introduction of machines and artificial intelligence are reportedly on the verge of disrupting large swathes of the labour force, the perception of a dominant patriarchy is increasingly challenged and issues to do with gender inequality, particularly in the workplace as it relates to wages, are clearly polarising.

That is not to say that things have not improved. Our standard of living today, and general work conditions, are clearly far superior to how they were back then and, whatever your perspective on equality, while there are certainly further strides to be made, the gap is as narrow as it has ever been.

But that doesn’t mean that we can’t strive to do more for our workers and society at large. At NY Textile Co. we like to think that, by making all of our goods in the USA through partners with high ethical standards, we are playing a small part in pushing a traditionally harmful industry forward. Thats why we say that although we make traditional items, they are always based on progressive ideals.

[laurenmadisonuca]

Applying Feedback (2/4) - Part 2

Location Shoot

image 1:

Before -

After -

The feedback for this image was to fix the horizon line and to darken the face slightly. I did this by using the ruler tool and then using the curves tool and adjusting the brightness that way by an exclusive method. I also decreased the saturation slightly but I actually don't really like this image that much anymore and probably won't include it in my final piece unless I can find a way to salvage the colour and contrast without the face being too bright. 

Image 2:

Before -

After -

Rob advised me to cut the edge of the original off as it skewed the composition of the piece a lot and didn't offer for much attention on the focals of the rest of the image. I really see what he meant when I said this as it looks a lot more even without the bar cutting across in an opposite direction. I also darkened the hand which was causing a distraction because it was bright and therefore it was pulling attention. I did this by using the curves darkening technique. 

Image 3:

Before -

After - 

I got advised that allowing for more headroom would mean that the composition would feel more open and the eyes could wander around the image more and I really see what he means as this minor change completely expanded the image and changed the tone from being slightly claustrophobic. I also took his advice and lightened the space between the jeans and her sleeve so that you could distinguish between them and add more complexity. 

Image 4:

Before -

After - 

It was interesting to me that I got advised to edit a different angle of the same image due to him wanting the inclusion of the feet. I wasn't so sure at first as I really liked the original image and it was definitely one of my favourites. However, I gave it a go and actually realised how well this composition compliments the concept and how this works a lot better as an image purely because you can see her whole body and her proportions against the building behind her. 

Image 5:

Before -

After -

It was a simple correction for this image which was a bit of a surprise to me as I didn't consider this one as one of my stronger images. I had to lighten the face a little due to it being very overcast by the leaves. I used the curves command backspace and brush technique to do this and I can see what difference this has made. You are immediately draw to look towards her face and this compliments but also contrasts the surroundings so well. Surprisingly I now love this image thanks to this small change. 

Image 6:

Before -

After -

Rob simply told me that cutting out the highlight on the left side of the image would bring the focus back an compliment the structure more and I can see this now that I cropped that portion out. 

Studio Shoot

Image 1:

Before -

After - 

This image needed the cheek to be darker and for the police tape on the far left to not be such a standout highlight of the image. I darkened these by using the curve tool and then slowly etching gout the brightness in both of these features. I now consider this image to look a lot cleaner? It feels as though its more balanced in colour and brightness. 

Image 2 (Experimental):

Before - 

After - 

I literally only had to fix the forehead shine on this image which was something that I wanted to do before hand but my attempt kept leaving muddy marks along the face. This session allowed him to teach me how to do this without having that effect on the image. 

Image 2:

Before - 

After -

I got told that the bottom right of this image needed to be brightened which is what I did. It doesn't seem as though it is that noticeable but has actually changed the image quite a bit. 

Image 3: 

Before - 

After - 

Rob told me that the cheek and the hand needed to be less bright so I did this but I also wanted to darken the right of the image as I felt it was too bright in contrast to the rest of the image. I also cropped out the grey strip at the right of the image that was really distracting from everything else in the photo because of the contrast between that and the black backdrop. 

Image 8:

Before -

After -

The only criticism with this image was that the eye was too dark and I really agreed but I found lightening the eye only without making it look fake as really difficult to do. With Rob’s help I managed to lighten the highlights and shadows but protect the midtones and this meant that the detail was kept in the iris and I love how it looks now because it brings so much vibrancy. 

[motongraphics4time-blog]

Motion Graphics Write Up

This is an essay I am writing to show and tell you about the theory, history and uses of this technique in many applications.

Theory

The theory of motion graphics and compositing video is what it is and ways it has been represented and used.­­

Motion graphics are bits of digital footage or animation that make the illusion of motion in an image or object even though it isn’t actually moving. The motion that is created can be anything from going left to right forwards and backwards; zooming in or out and rotating the whole scene. It also combined with audio and other multimedia projects.

These motion graphics are mostly shown through technology whether it be a screen or a projector. Some ways graphics were shown in motion in early days was with items such as:

Motion graphics helps us go beyond the most used methods of frame-by-frame footage and animation. With computers they can calculate and give random changes to the images whether it be distorted; made crisper or a change in colour or brightness.

With motion graphics you also have to know about compositing the video. Compositing is combining all the visual elements that you are using from different sources and putting all of them into a single images. This is usually to give the illusion of all the elements being together in the same scene even though they aren’t. This keeps the file size small and easier to use than large files with lots of effects making playing and loading the motion graphic longer and lagged.

When using live action shots for motion graphics a tool that’s used to make it easier to use in multiple scenes is Chroma Key. This is used when people are acting on a blue screen or green screen, what it does is get rid of that colour and then all you have is the actor and nothing else this helps then you can put them wherever you want like in space for example. This helps when adding particles and special effects to a scene to make stand out more from the regular stock video.

All compositing replaces the selected parts of the image with materials but not all the time sometimes they just use another image. With the digital method and software commands and slightly define colours better with parts of the image to get replaced. Then the software does its part of the job and changes out every pixel that’s in the colour range and changes it into another image.

Thaumatrope

This device was a visual toy that was popular at the 19th century. It was a disk that had pictures on both sides and attached to pieces of string. When the string spun quickly the pictures blended together to give the illusion of movement.

Phenakistoscope

The phénakisticope is a far known animation device the created a great illusion of motion. It is revered as one of the first forms of moving image media entertainment for its time and cleared the way for future pictures in the film industry. Now a days this would be known on the internet as a GIF animation a short loop of images moving to make an animation.

Stroboscope

The stroboscope or the strobe for short is an instrumental that uses a moving object and make it look slow moving or being still. It uses either a turning disk with holes or a lamp to give flashes of light. The rate can be changes from fast flashes to make it fast or slow to make it slow. So this was one of the first objects to use light to animate motion graphics.

Zoetrope

The zoetrope is another object that was used to animate images as one of the first motion graphics. It is a cylinder with holes cut in the sides. With images all around the side in a set of pictures. When the cylinder spins you look through one of the holes and as it spins you will see different images giving the illusion of movement. This came from the late 19th century and at the time other devices like this were showing up and the world of motion graphics got better and better.

Praxinoscope

This device came soon after the zoetrope and is known as its successor. It was an animation device made in France in 1877 by a man named Charles-Emile Reynaud. Similar to the zoetrope it uses strips of pictures around the spinning object to create movement in the animation. But with this it used circle holes instead of slits and later with lighting this create one of the earliest projectors used to show film.

Flip book

The flip book is now the most modern of this type of motion graphics. Where you draw the same action on a page and then move it little by little, page by page like stop motion but with drawings and paper.

These were the early days of motion graphics with simple devices but now with better technology and computers motion graphics is used in many new ways to make changes to the environment with appearance.

History

The history of motion graphics and compositing video began around the 1920s. Even though it started around this time its origin is unknown, the reason for this is because no one as accepted what the classification of motion graphics technology, and so the original art form of motion graphics is argued about to this day. Examples of this have been going back to the 1800s when devices were created to show the illusion of moving images. But the term “motion graphics” was first known by an animator called John Whitney, in 1960 created a company called Motion Graphics Inc.

This is important to know because this also links up to a man named Saul Bass. He is considered one of the pioneers of his time with his use of graphic design in the field. It’s believed that his work gave birth to the origin of motion graphics and Animation and how it was used from then on. Some of his best work in motion graphics includes title scene from movies like: The Man with the Golden Arm; Vertigo; Psycho and many more from that time of movie period.

Other ways motion graphics have been famously used in companies such as Disney. They would have been used to add more drama to a scene or make a subtle change in a scene to make it more smooth and soothing. Examples of this would be simulating depth to make a camera pan in to make it look like its zooming in but not at a weird angle.

Since then many other big names and companies tried to use this new technique of motion graphics to improve their media whether it be a cartoon or film, it was used to improve your films with little tweaks in colour or contrast or adding in effects later.

Uses of Motion Graphics

Motion graphic and Compositing video can be very useful to help with video editing and effects but you will need to know how it can be used by understanding the features that it uses.

Frame size

The frame size is an important part of motion graphics. It is what controls how many times images and video are sampled per second. It can also determine the type of output the video will be an example of this would be NTSC which has 30 frames per second while PAL frame rate is 25 fps. This is what would be used for a film. There are many other frame rate types and settings with their own speeds that can affect how fast or slow your video project may be.

This then effects the frame size which in after effects changes the size of the frames. This can change the borders of the video sometimes like aspect ratio of old TV’s that were 4:3 and most of today’s shows are 16:9.

Resolution

Resolution in motion graphics is the size and quality that the video will run at. This can be set from low quality like 480 x 720 to high quality like 1280 x 720. What this is creating the amount of pixels that are spanned around the size of screen. You would want a smaller resolution for smaller screens like mobile phones and bigger resolutions for desktops and TVs. The amount of pixels is different for every screen so it’s important to get the right amount so to keep good quality and not lose any.

There are some setting changes you can make when using after effects to help speed up the process of what you want to preview it as. Auto is exactly what it sounds like it adjusts the resolution depending on what you’re doing at the time. If it is small the resolution will be full if it is large it will be a quarter making the scene load faster.

Full is when it will renders ever pixel in the composition. It gives the best image quality to use however it is the longest to render. Half renders ¼ of the pixels in the resolution. It will load faster but will lose quality. Third and quarter are similar where it renders even less pixels to the resolution the quality will be low but it will load the fastest. Lastly is custom where you can change the horizontal and vertical resolutions to the settings you want.

Copy & Cut Keyframes

Copying and cutting keyframes is also is one of the most important and used feature in motion graphics. With this tool you can save so much time and fix mistakes easier with any keyframes of animation you have done in after effects whether it be with an image or video.

With copy you can duplicate the action of a key frame that was already done and put it ahead or behind another key frame to help create the animation. This can save so much time and make things easier especially if you are making an animation loop in after effects. Cut is where you take out keyframes this can be used to take out a mistake or there is one too many and you want the action on the screen to be faster. This is what copying and cutting keyframes is and how it is used in motion graphics.

Keyframe assistant

The keyframe assistant is used in after effects to help in motion graphics by using its graph feature to help soften or slow down or speed up into keyframes. It reads like a line graph where there are up and downs and each point and the distance between them determine the speed and smoothness of the animation. You can use this tool to make editing your animations easier by changing the distance between these points to speed up or slow down the animation at the parts you want it to. This is what this tool is and how it is used.

Rasterising

Rasterising in motion graphics is when you bring in a vector graphics that you have gotten or created and after effects automatically rasterises them but if you want to change the size of the layer and the graphics is over 100% then it needs to be constantly maintained to keep up a good image quality.  This is known as continuous rasterizing and is based on with Illustrator SWF PDF and EPS files. While using this it will need to continually tweak it and will have the highest quality but it will render slow.

Motion paths

Motion paths in motion graphics is when you are animating properties like Position, Anchor Points and more. You can see the motion of a path as a line of dots and where each dot is, is where the position of layer will be on each frame and a box at the end would be the start and end keyframes of that path. So what it is in general is an easier way to visually see and create movement animation in after effects with your layers. Examples of this would be using it on a car or plane vector driving down a road or flying and doing a loop. It can help you keep track of where it is going and you can change the path in case you decide you don’t want it to take that path anymore.

Interpolation

Another tool in After Effects that’s useful in motion graphics is Interpolation. This is the action of filling in unknown data in the middle of tow values you have set. You would make a set of keyframes for the specific property values and specific times. It fills in the values within the space of all the keyframes you have set. What this means is that interpolation is just another way of saying it fills in the rest of the gaps between the two keyframes you have set, it would also be called tweening. When the space has been filled you can then animate the movement, effect or audio that you have set up on the keyframes and interpolation will change with it.

Drop shadows

Drop shadows are an effect the can be used to help give your video a better look than a plain one without it however it all depends on what you are making the video for. It can be applied to text and graphics and gives the illusion of it floating or a lighting to make it look 3D as if it is cast on a background. It can give your video a more dynamic effect and add some realism.

Effects

After effects has so many effects that can be used in motion graphics this can be from small changes like drop shadows to change in colour and lighting to much bigger changes like the use green screens using keylight. Other effects that are used would be motion blur and distortion the blur would be used to make something hard to see in backgrounds or foregrounds to look like a camera focusing or making something look faster than it is and distortion could be used for dream sequences.

 There are many more effects that after effects has that help to create a motion graphic and each one has its own unique use so it’s important to know about them and what each one does to make a good motion graphic.

Layers

Layers are what make up the composition of after effects. If there were no layers there would be nothing but empty frames. You can use many layers or just one layer it all depends on what you are trying to create. You can make many types of different layers of after effects for different files and objects. You can have video and audio layers for the base that you are using for a background or the main focus. You can then add images and text for titles, vectors or logos.

Other layers than can be made serve a specific job like making cameras, lights, adjustment layers and null objects which can be used to enhance or apply effects to change the composition of the other layers. You can also create solid colour layers for items like title bars or black bars you see in films. Synthetics layers can be made to hold visual objects like shapes and text layers. Lastly the Precomposition layers are what hold all of the source items that you use.

Adjustment layers

Adjustment layers are layers that are used to apply an effect to and when you do this the effect will only affect that layer it has been applied to and nothing else. But it can be independently adjusted to other layers as well. This is useful because any effect that was put onto the adjustment layer affects any layer that is under this layer so the effect will affect your video source while not actually applied to it.

This is helpful because you can just turn the layer on and off to see what the original source looked like before the effect was added. It is also helpful because you can apply many effects to an adjustment layer and like other layers you can change how those effects behave with keyframes and expressions.

Masks

Masks are a very useful feature that use the shape and pen tool a lot. The mask is a path used to make a boundary that changes the attributes, effects and properties of the layer it has been applied to. The most known mask is the one that modifies on the alpha channel of layers, this then decides the transparency of the layer in every pixel.

Another common mask uses is a path. This is mostly used along with text to make it appear behind something like a still sign or a passing car. You can either use the shape tool to make box or circle shaped masks to make it look like you’re looking through a keyhole or use the pen tool to make a custom shape for the mask.

Mattes

Mattes are an image or video clips that is used to make another transparent into other video clips and images. There are two basic track mattes alpha mattes and luma mattes. The alpha lends its own transparency to make it work on another clip of the composite and luma gives supply to the luma channel which changes brightness to match the transparency of the alpha matte.

An example of this being used would be having the video being seen through text or an image. This can create good contrast and impact and get a good message across and is a good use in motion graphics.

RAM preview

The RAM preview is the main way you interact with the composition when you are checking how your composition video or motion graphic is doing so far. You can play it to preview the animation to see if it is what you wanted or if you need to make changes by taking parts out, adding more or tweaking the animation. You can also play it back and check audio levels as well to make sure the sound is playing right at each part and on que or if there is no sound at all.

However how well the video plays back all depends on how big the after effects file is and how good the RAM in your computer is if it is not very good it can take a while for playback to happen or if you have a good RAM it will playback fine.

Rendering & Filters

Rendering is when you are finished creating your motion graphic or composite video and you have to save it out as the finished product of a video file. However you will have to change around with the settings for the best file type to save it out as, you would pick the file type like AVI or QuickTime MOV and see what one gives out the best quality while still being efficient and not take up too much file space.

Filters are what is used to mix or separate the many parts that you are using in your project. It can help with finding a certain colour you are looking for make objects in their scene easier to find. They can also be used to help manage plugin when bring them into after effects it can help manage them.

Compression & Exporting

Compression is when you are reducing the size of the video that has been made. This is done so that it can be played back well and has a smaller file size to save space on a hard drive and making sure to keep it high quality. You can compress a video by using an encoder, an encoder this can decode to make the video big again or encode to compress to make it smaller, they are also known as codecs. Every codec has different settings of compression so it is best to find one that works for you video to get good quality and still have a small file size. An example of this would be a codec that is better used for animated videos rather than real life videos taken on a camera or a different choice of codec that works for slow networks.

Exporting is when you are finished rendering and compressing your project and want to create the final product. You will set up a folder for the finished video to be saved in when it is rendering. You can change where it goes and the name of the movie. It is important to name your project when exporting it to make it easier to find in case you have a lot of other work in the same folder.

Blue screen & Green screen uses

Blue screens and Green screens are used all the time in this day and age the reason for this is it makes it easier to insert objects into other places like a person talking in front of a green screen could then be anywhere like a beach or a news office. You can also use this to help create masks and ad special effects like explosion.

The difference between these two is a blue screen are better to use for still background scenes like someone looking over or holding onto an edge of a building and green screens are better for movement like someone preforming an action like running or picking up something. The reason for this is blue is a darker colour than green and there can be a lot of colour left on the person having a blue outline around them when taken off and put into a different scene. Green screens are better because the colour is farthest away from the human skin tone making it easier to preform actions so when put into another scene there is less interference of green around the person when using a green screen.

Compositing software

Compositing software is software that’s used in post-production to compile scenes in films or making motion graphics, special effects and colour correction. There are different types of software with their own unique techniques and similar ways of doing the same thing although some software’s make it easier than others. Examples would be After Effects or Sony Vegas pro.

TV formats (PAL, NTSC)

When compositing video or making a motion graphic make sure when rendering, compressing and exporting you need sure you are picking the right format especially when making it for TV. There specific formats that can be chosen to make your project have the best quality and is the right resolution for that format. Examples would be PAL and NTSC. PAL is the colour encoding system that is used to put video to DVDs and is the used broadcast setting in European television while NTSC is the same for DVDs NTSC mostly used for formats on American TV.

Frame rate

Frame rate is what decides the amount of times it will be played per second and how its split up between each from on the time display and timeline. When using this the frame rate should match the output that you have set an example would be if using NTSC you would set it to 29.97 fps or if making a film it would be 24 fps.

Colours

Colours have many use in after effects. You can use them to help categorise certain layers in the timeline so you know what is audio, videos, or vectors. It is also important to have good colour management to make sure you are using the colours you want or making sure you are using the right colours for a client. It also helps with so many colour options in effects to give your video a certain look to match the theme you are going for. Examples of this would be showing a cold place you would use of white and blues to make everyone feel cold when looking at it or lots of reds and oranges for a warm scene by the fire to make the environment look cosy.

 Safe areas

Safe areas are important to use in after effects because they help judge the placement of images and video when using borders for the video as well. What safe areas are is helpful visual guides you can create to help know where to place the video and the best part is they aren’t seen in the final video. They also are showing the watchable area video screens so that nothing is left out and everything is on screen and not off screen. Examples of this would be the old 4:3 ratio and 16:9 ratio.

These are all the uses that can see, find and use in composition video and motion graphics to make a great product.