5 Basic Ways To Populate Mass Groups Within After Effects

5 Basic Ways To Populate Mass Groups Within After Effects

on Feb 15th 2013 with 33 comments
Tutorial Details
  • Requirements: Just After Effects and a couple friends... enjoy!
  • Difficulty: Beginner

Final Product What You'll Be Creating

This entry is part 4 of 20 in the Keying and Rotoscoping Session
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In this tutorial we look at 5 individual ways of duplicating crowds. These methods are:

  • Simple Masking (garbage matting)
  • Rotoscoping
  • Difference Matting
  • Chroma Keying
  • Camera Technique

The tutorial explains each of the methods, the pros and cons, and goes in depth to show how to create the final preview using the difference matting technique. The last part also contains some general compositing techniques that can be applied to each method.


Republished Tutorial

Every few weeks, we revisit some of our reader's favorite posts from throughout the history of the site. This tutorial was first published in July 2010.

Introduction

Tutorials

Basic Masking

Download Tutorial .flv

File size 48MB

Chroma Keying

Download Tutorial .flv

File size 41MB

Rotoscoping

Download Tutorial .flv

File size 31MB

Difference Matte

Download Tutorial .flv

File size 241MB

Compositing and Camera Techniques

Download Tutorial .flv

File size 61MB

 
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I'm a freelance VFX artist from Brisbane. Please check out my youtube channel JamesWhiffinVFX and my website at vfxbyjames.info  

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  • Joao

    Very good tips!Tnk you so much.

    From Portugal

  • Kes Akalaonu

    Great tutorials, man. How did you acquired your prop guns?

    • james
      Author

      cheap plastic ones $5 from Crazy Clarks, not sure if they are worldwide though.

  • http://www.Urs-Productions.com URs Productions

    Wow, very nice set-up of tutorial! and very well done! Nice effect!

  • Anthony Breslin

    You’ve just made another friend James!!! :) now you’ve 4

    Great tutorials

    Once again thanks.

  • http://www.aetuts.com luantran

    Great VFX ho ho ho

  • http://none Shalunn

    Very cool techniques. You have opened me the eyes in this massive movie world. Thanks a lot.

  • http://novatvmedia.com/retropinups Anthony Alexander

    Pretty Cool. Tutorial Monster likes this.

  • http://www.youtube.com/ianhpiratao IANH – BR

    The AETUTS+ is growing more and more, every day, im verry happy for this!

  • http://www.adworkdesign.com Adwork

    nice tutorial Thanks

  • makosx

    Thanx! Very very very much…

  • lucas

    Oh man, Thx ;D

  • http://www.lokerweb.ch Rachid

    very helpful! big thx 2 u

  • Gustavo

    oh men!
    that player sucks, can`t u guys post all videos on youtube?
    all i can see is the adverstment.

  • Twocifer

    Been having problems watching tuts… player just “loads” but doesn’t play… seems like it just started about a week ago.

  • Sorg

    Wow, Really Cool Collection of Tricks and Tips, amazing.

    Thanks for that

  • james
    Author

    Thanks for your encouraging feedback everyone… now to survive Billy’s onslaught :O

  • http://www.dazydude.net Rik de Vos

    lol MW2

  • Ijoek

    This is the best tutorial since that battleship video

  • Selfmadepixels

    Great tips and very useful resources!

  • Joel

    Just a quick tip to ease the rotoscoping: Try and see what the mask tweening can do for you, so try every ten frames and refine in between. Another tip is use more than on one mask. For example you need to mask out a person which is standing fairly still, but waves an arm around, use a mask for the body and another for the arm. That way the tweening between keys can solve most of the movement of the body and you only have to really roto the arm.

  • ismail

    Great tuts !

  • http://www.altafk.com altaf

    finally a good tutorial after such a long time in AEtuts.

  • http://connorcrosby.me Connor Crosby

    Wow, that is awesome! Much easier than rotoscoping and cropping!

  • saaki

    Its really help me lot for my new project

  • Nick

    Last video is missing! :(

  • KINGuru

    what song is in “Final Product” ??? please help me)))

  • M.C Bander

    thanx man ,
    thats what am looking for ,
    its really helpful .

  • Frank McLeod

    Great tute and so good to hear an Aussie accent.
    Congrats, James.

  • sam

    dude ur tuts are awesome………………….

  • http://www.afrowood.com Stephen.O.King

    Very straight to the point kind of tutorials. very well made, and I will not forget to say thanks for your generosity. and Long Live AE tuts+ !

  • http://www.facebook.com/dbroadway Daniel Broadway

    What if you don’t have any friends?

    • Trollman

      Just kill yourself ? x) just joking