Gopher Golf: Animating in Photoshop and After Effects

Some scenes in the film 'Gopher Golf' will be animated using a mix of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects, as well as traditional stop-motion animation. The scenes animated on the computer will be those involving just the props, not the actors (or puppets) which will be filmed in stop-motion. Together these methods will create a unique style for my film; a bright, colourful world to suit the comedic nature of my film.

The biggest advantage to animating in After Effects was being able to create effects that otherwise, when using stop-motion techniques, would create heavy time constraints. One such effect is being able to add motion blur to a golf ball flying through the air, completing the effect. Such effects can be done in stop-motion using an overhead rig, although given I am working to a deadline for my project, I have to consider the easiest and quickest methods to use - which luckily, in this case, are also the most effective. The other main (and most important) advantage is that I can start filming on the project whilst the Golfer puppet is still under construction.

The above screenshot shows what live, 3D objects will look like against my 2D backgrounds. The whole film will be done in this style. Officially, the definition of a "prop" in live-action is anything which interacts with an actor. So, for my film, any props in 3D will be props which interact with the characters. All other visuals in the film will be 2D.