Instead of spending hours designing special effects, motion graphics artists can add motion graphics footage to their video layers with just a few clicks. Also, when the appearance of the final animation looks simple and unprofessional, using footage will solve this problem. Motion graphics are files that consist of moving or still images and are often accompanied by sound. These types of footage play an important role in attracting the audience and conveying the concepts of a video.
Introduction
Types of motion graphics footage are short videos in the form of animations that save time and money in creating a project. By using footage, simple animations can be designed more quickly. Using a variety of entertaining footage arouses the audience’s curiosity and attention and attracts their attention. Premiere (Adobe Premiere Pro) and After Effects (Adobe After Effects) have provided the necessary facilities for designing footage in different fields. Making footage is a completely different technique and includes a variety of subjects. Motion graphics footage can be reused in other videos with little modification.
The list of titles presented in this article are the importance of designing and saving motion graphic footage, types of motion graphic footage, important points for designing motion graphic footage in Premiere, important points for designing motion graphic footage in After Effects, the fastest way to edit footage, editing footage Motion graphics in Photoshop.
What is the footage?
The term footage was originally used to make a movie and was considered a part of a clip. Currently, this word is also used for making animation. Motion graphics footage is moving images used for editing and animating. All types of footage are designed and made by graphic software to create special effects on video layers. The footage makes concepts easier to convey to the audience, and viewers can better understand the purpose of motion graphic design.
Videos made by novice designers may look simple and unprofessional. The best way to solve this issue is to add appropriate footage to the videos. Fortunately, with advanced motion graphics footage, it is possible to make quality videos in the shortest possible time, and even beginners can create exciting and creative animations. In addition, experienced motion graphics artists turn their animation into quality and interesting videos by using various types of footage.
There are different ways to add motion graphics footage to videos. Some types of footage are part of the video, and others are placed as animated layers on graphic images. The footage is a part of the graphic design of an animation, which is cut into a clip of a few seconds and can be added to other videos separately. The footage looks almost like an unedited video pasted onto the original motion graphics layers.
Application of motion graphics footage
For the description of motion graphics footage and its application, two issues, the duration of the project and the costs, are given a lot of attention. Editing animation and adding details to images is time-consuming and expensive; one of the best solutions is to use graphic footage. This footage helps you prepare motion graphics projects faster and add special effects. For example, instead of spending time designing an image to show smoke and fire, you can download footage and place it on top of motion graphics image layers. Also, using background footage will increase the quality of the final video.
Types of motion graphics footage
All motion graphics footage can be downloaded for free and at a low cost, and they can usually be added to the final video using Premiere and After Effects software. People who want to change their motion graphics style can quickly prepare the final animation using footage. Footage with the effect of fire, light, smoke, countdown, sea, explosion, etc., are examples that are usually used to make simple animations.
The importance of motion graphic footage design
Motion graphic design is an effective way to attract an audience and convey complex data. Interesting footage makes the audience’s minds involved in the motion graphics video. The footage is part of a simple animation to which special effects have been added. These short animations can be integrated with various motion graphics videos to convey the desired idea and feeling to the audience. Beautiful footage helps viewers to understand better the information presented. For example, in motion graphics related to moving charts and infographics, the footage that shows a certain direction leads the audience’s eyes to important points in the chart. This will increase the focus of the viewer tremendously. Today, many motion graphics creators use different footage to focus the audience more and add energy and excitement to their videos.
When designing footage, its style should match the theme or idea that is going to be displayed. If you are looking for stunning footage, be sure to pay attention to the colors and shadows of the images. Although motion graphics footage, like other animation techniques, it is not necessary to use real-world colors. However, the movement of the shadows and the light reflection on the objects show the images closer to reality and more professional.
Types of motion graphics footage
Today, many computer software and websites, such as Canva, Visme, etc., have made it possible to create attractive footage for motion graphics videos. Footages are usually saved in (.mov) format and can be easily used in software such as Premiere, After Effects, and Photoshop. After saving the footage, it is possible to edit it, and by making minor changes, you can use it in different videos. A series of motion graphics footage may be in full video format and do not need to be resized. In other words, motion graphics are added to the video in a certain period. Other types of footage are used in the form of effects or special effects in some images.
Important points of motion graphic footage design in Premiere
Through the Effect Control section in Premiere software, the size, color, and other features of the motion graphics footage can be edited. For example, to change the color, you should select the Video Effect folder in the Effect section and click on Color Correction. Select the Change To Color option; the Color plugin (Change To Color) will be displayed in the Effect Control section. In this plugin, you will see two options, From and To. In the From section, select the colored square next to the dropper and then click on the part of the image that you want to change its color. By selecting a colored square in the To section, a box will open through which you can apply the new color to the image.
In this software, you must select the Ultra Key option from the Effect section to remove the background. After that, find the Ultra Key section in the Effect Control section and delete the footage background by clicking on the colored square.
Important points of designing motion graphics footage in After Effects
In this software, all types of motion graphics footage can be viewed by selecting the Windows > Footage option. One of the important points in After Effects is that you must choose the following path to remove unnecessary footage. File > Dependencies > Remove Unused Footage In this mode, the software shows the number of unused footage which will be deleted by clicking OK. You can apply the changes you want to the footage using After Effects software. In this software, click on the Effect option at the top of the screen (toolbar) and select Change To Color in the Color Correction section. After Effects software like Premiere, the color change plugin displays two options: From and To. By clicking on the colored squares facing the From and To options, you can change the color of different parts of the footage to your liking.
In the After Effects software, the Darken or Screen options must be selected in the Blending Mode section to add footage with a background. This way, the footage’s background is removed, and moving images are added to the main video. Some footage has a background that Blending Mode does not remove. In this case, you only need to use the KeyLight plugin to edit the background. There is no need to do anything special to add footage with no background.
The fastest way to edit footage
In the After Effects software, the fastest way to edit the footage is to make the necessary changes through the Timeline. To do this, right-click on the name of the footage in the Name section and select New Comp From Selection. In Timeline, please select the part of the time frame of the footage that you want and right-click on it. You will see the final footage by choosing the Time Comp To Work option. After that, you can add the final footage to your motion graphics video by changing the color, size, and other features.
Editing motion graphics footage in Photoshop
It can also change and edit motion graphic footage through Photoshop software. For this, you must select the TimeLine option from the Windows section. In this case, you will see different layers of footage in TimeLine. The properties of each layer, such as their color and size, can be changed. For example, to change the color, click on the desired layer in the TimeLine and select the Adjustment option from the Image section at the top of the page. Clicking on Hue/Saturation will open a box where you can change the layer’s color.