Bouncing/Bending Effect as automatic Expression

[philipph55140514]

Hey guys,

I'm new to after effects and I have a question for getting some certain effects to work and couldn't find anything on the web.

And I honestly searched a lot but not so much on the following topics.

I'm starting to create a lyric video with different "background layers" in different position in the z-Axis. So it already creates a nice 3D effect when moving these things around.

Now I want certain layer to bend thoughout the video without keyframing it.
Look here for an example (I know the music and the lyrics are kinda special):

You can see the effect I mean good at 1:58 and 2:35

I'm digging the video and want to recreate the effects and transfer them to my project

The picture of the "baby" bends, but it isn't simply a wiggle or random motion expression like on some other layers.

I think the reaper does the same.

Also I haven't found a way to create the fog, you can see in his video. Maybe it's the normal particle effect but changed a lot, I don't know.

I have some basic question too:

Should I precomp the words for some phrases?

Can I loop particle effects and all the stuff which is above, cause they cause a lot of rendering time?

Is there anything in this vid I should go to Premiere Pro? I'm doing the whole vid in AE so far?

Any other tips or effects which I could add?

Thanks your help,

Phil

[Mylenium · Accepted solution]

Honestly, I see nothing of what you claim. The "bend" is nothing fancy and just some simple wobbly 2D distortion effect like Bulge or the Puppet tool with the only real question being whether it's applied pre or post the 3D layering. Conversely, the "fog" is just another semi-transparent layer and occasional over-exposure/ glow dumped onto the footage with the thresholds and intensity being animated to make it cover the scene more or less as needed. Additional color corrections to desaturate layers could be involved, too, to intensify the illusion. Given all that, there is no secret magic juice involved. It's just a matter of using a few effects in the right places and there simply is nothing here that would necessitate any expressions, looping particles or whatever.

Mylenium

[philipph55140514]

Thanks a lot,

the puppet tool works perfect for what I was looking for, haven't used it before and it was never refered to at the things i found.

[P.M.B]

Video Tutorial: Turning a 2D Image into 3D in After Effects - YouTube