Instruction
Project 2: Fake Weather Newscast introduces students to basic Adobe After Effects tools to create a satirical weather newscast.
In this project you will be using compositing and chroma keying (and other tools) to create a short (30-60 second) weather newscast. Obviously, the title of this assignment references the national crisis of confidence in journalism in the United States, often cited as "Fake News". This assignment asks students to create a fake weather newscast that references the format and style of a typical weather segment of a newscast, and uses tropes of satire or factual presentation of extreme weather events, mass extinctions, or climate change. In terms of techniques you will be making use of chroma keying (greenscreening), compositing (overlaying video clips and images), and text (applied within After Effects). The video needs to feature a person acting as meteorologist, and could also include a reporter on the scene segment. The role of newscaster must be played or directed by you, which means that you are welcome to find someone else to play the role, but it cannot be a voice over. Your segment must include at least one portion where found (or original) video footage is shown in the background or as an inset.
Project Requirements
Process Journal - shared with class in second week of project and submitted with final Project submission.
Follow best practices for Fair Use of copyrighted material.
Video Dimensions and Framerate: 720 x 1280, 29.97 fps.
Format: MP4 (uploaded to YouTube)
File will use the following naming convention: lastname_project_2.MP4
Submission: Posted to YouTube, with the link uploaded here. It is recommended that you set your video as "Unlisted" so that only someone with the link can view it.
When you have all your video and still image assets ready, then you should begin compositing the image together. Create a new composition at 1080, 720 pixels. For parts of the shot that will be embedded within the main shot, edit them in a separate composition, and then "nest" that composition within the main one. This makes it easier to edit initially, and to go back and make other edits later.
Bring in your "greenscreen" clip or clips, and make sure you fully key them out in the composition where they are placed. It is common to end up with small “artifacts” or pixels that did not get keyed out, and on a moving background, they show up. To avoid that, make a “junk mask” to remove large areas of background on the greenscreen image. Also, it helps to make a temporary solid background in bright red or orange just behind the clip you are keying, which makes it easy to see small bits that are left, and then after you use it, you can turn off visibility on the solid color, or delete that layer. Another way to solve some problems with keying is to adjust settings so the color range is wider. Or sometimes it is worth trying a different color keying method in After Effects (there is more than one).
Add text to the project after the rest of the elements are in place, using it in ways that newscasts usually do, such as:
A title under an image.
A “ticker tape” display moving across the bottom of the screen with other news, or facts.
Labels for weather events.
Forecast lists (upcoming day forecasts)
My teacher did say he wanted some text (you could either put my name in the beginning or you if can it would be great if you could hover the word flutter above me in text when I introduce who I am in the beginning but if not that is ok.
Maybe add additional sound (optional only if you want or think it needs it (You really don't have to though)