(gentle synth music)
- Hello, and welcome to the 23rd video
in this Beginner's Guide to Adobe After Effects.
In this tutorial, we're going to look
at blending modes and how they work in After Effects.
In the previous episode, we looked
at how we can make color adjustments
using some of the effects and presets.
Now, in After Effects we can also use
what are called blending modes
which can be used to add more dynamic color
and video effects to your compositions.
So, in this video, we're going
to be covering the following topics.
What are blending modes, and how to use them.
By the end of this tutorial, you will have
a good understanding of how to use blending modes.
So, let's get into it.
So here I am in After Effects and I have
a project open here that I'm going to use
to demonstrate how blending modes work.
So, what exactly are blending modes?
Well, blending modes are the ability
to visually blend layers together,
and we do this in the timeline panel.
We can use blending modes to create various visual effects.
Now for those of you that are experienced
with Adobe Photoshop, you may already be familiar
with blending modes as they work much the same
in After Effects as they do in Photoshop.
In After Effects, when we want to use
blending modes, we can locate them in the timeline panel
over on the left, near the layer names.
Now notice we have some small buttons
in the bottom left corner.
These are here to toggle the visibility
of the controls and switches for our layers.
When focusing on blending modes, we will want
to make sure we have the middle one highlighted in blue,
or simply checked in earlier versions of After Effects.
This will allow us to see our blending
mode options for each layer.
Now, if we click on the mode dropdown,
we will see a big list.
This is a list of all the possible
blending modes we can use.
So, looking at this, we can see the list
is divided into eight sections.
Each of these sections applies
a particular type of blending mode.
So the top section applies normal modes.
The second section applies darken modes.
The third section applies lighten modes.
The fourth section applies contrast modes.
The fifth section applies comparative modes.
The sixth section applies color modes.
The seventh section applies matte modes,
and the last section applies utility modes.
Now, if you want to take a look
and refer to this diagram in more depth,
you can check out the blending mode page
on the course PDF that comes free with this course.
Download link is in description.
Now, at this stage, this list may mean
nothing to you, but after a little experimentation,
you will soon learn what these mean
and the effects each blending mode has,
and which one will be right to use in the right instance.
Now there does seem to be a lot of modes here,
but there are only a few that are commonly used.
So let's take a quick look at a few examples.
Now if you have the project folder,
you can open the document I have here.
With the project folder open, click into the S2,
Essential Practice folder, enter folder 23,
Blending Modes and open the Blending Modes
After Effects file and you will have
the same document I have open here.
This is a document you can use to quickly experiment
with blending modes with me in this video.
Now if you don't have the project folder
and wish to follow along with this tutorial
using this document I have prepared especially for you,
you can download the project folder for a small fee.
The download link with instructions is in the description.
The download folder comes with lots
of exercise documents we will be using
on this course that have been carefully developed
to aid your learning experience.
The folder also comes with document resources
such as videos, graphics and images you can
use to build your first video presentation
from scratch later on in this course.
To get the full learning experience,
I recommend you get the project folder.
Download link with instructions is in the description.
With the project folder open, click into the S2,
Essential Practice folder enter folder 23,
Blending Modes and open the Blending Modes
After Effects file and you will have
the same document I have open here.
So now I want to draw your attention
over to the project panel.
Here you can see I have a folder called,
Blending Mode Examples, and one called, Worksheets.
For now, I need you to pay attention
to the Blending Mode Examples folder.
So double click on the first composition here,
Dreamy, and it will open in the composition panel.
So, I'll make sure the time indicator
is at the start of the timeline,
and I'll press space bar to activate preview.
So what we have here is a video playing
on top of another video with a blending mode
applied which creates this dreamy effect.
So I'll press space bar to stop the preview,
and if we look at the timeline panel,
we can see we have two video layers.
The top layer has a linear dodge
blending mode applied in the lighten mode section
and the layer has an opacity of 50%.
Now, if I change the blending mode to normal
at the top, we can see the effect without the blending mode.
Now if we applied the linear dodge
blending mode back, we can see the video
blends more subtly with the video below.
So back in the project panel, this time I want you
to double click on the second comp, Old History.
I'll make sure the time indicator is
set to the start of the timeline,
and I'll press space bar to activate preview.
Now, what we have here is a video playing,
but this time with a series of static layers
on top creating this old history look and feel.
So I'll press space bar to stop the preview,
and if we look in the timeline panel,
we have one video layer at the bottom,
an image layer above that, and a shape layer at the top.
So I'll toggle the visibility of these layers off
by clicking the eye icons and to create this,
we started with a normal video layer.
With the video layer selected,
over in the project panel, I click
on the effects controls tab at the top
and to this video I applied a toner effect
from the color correction effects and presets panel.
This is to give it an old monotone look and feel.
Now, on top of this video layer, we have
a jpeg image of some paper texture.
To this we have a hard light blending mode applied
in the contrast modes section.
And the layer has an opacity of 80%.
If I change the blending mode to normal,
we can see the effect without the blending mode.
Now if we apply the hard light blending mode back,
we can see that blends much better with the video below.
Next we have a shape layer with a gradient color fill
with a multiply blending mode applied in the darken mode
section and the layer has an opacity of 70%.
If I change the blending mode to normal,
we can see the effect without the blending mode
which is much lighter.
Now, if we apply the multiply blending mode back,
we can see that has a much richer effect.
So back in the project panel, I'll click
on the project panel tab at the top
and this time I want you to double click
on the third comp, Vivid.
I'll make sure the time indicator's
at the start of the timeline and I'll press
space bar to activate the preview.
So, what we have here is a video playing
on top of a still image creating a vivid look and feel.
So I'll press space bar to stop the preview,
and if we look in the timeline panel,
we have one video layer at the top and an image layer below.
To create this, we start with a normal image layer.
On top of this, we have a video layer
which has been modified with a auto-levels preset
from the effects and controls panel.
To this layer, a screen blending mode
has been applied from the lighten mode section.
If I change the blending mode to normal,
we can see the effect without the blending mode.
Now if we apply the screen blending mode back,
we can see that blends much better with the image below.
So back in the project panel, next I want you
to double click on the fourth comp, Gritty.
So I'll make sure the time indicator's
at the start of the timeline and I'll press
space bar to activate preview.
Now what we have here is a combination of both image
and video layers creating a gritty look and feel.
So I'll press space bar to stop the preview
and if we look at the timeline panel, we have two
video layers at the bottom and two image layers above.
So, to create this, we started with a normal
video layer at the bottom, and then the same
video layer is duplicated on top.
With the layer selected, if we look over
in the effect controls panel, to this layer
we have a ramp and levels effect applied.
This is creating the vignette effect
and adding contrast to the video.
To this video layer, we then have an overlay
blending mode applied in the contrast mode section
and the video layer has an opacity of 50%.
If I change the blending mode to normal,
we can see the effect without the blending mode.
Now, if we apply the overlay blending mode back,
we can see that blends much better
with the video below, creating the richer effect.
Next, I have an image layer adding
these splash marks to the side of the video.
This layer has a multiply blending mode applied
in the darken mode section.
If I change the blending mode to normal,
we can see the effect without the blending mode
where we have a lot of white in the image layer.
Now, if we apply the multiply blending mode back,
we can see that blends easily.
Now the next layer is the opposite.
Again, we have an image layer, but this time
adding white splash marks to the side of the video.
This layer has a screen blending mode applied
in the lighten modes section.
If I change the blending mode to normal,
we can see the effect without the blending mode
where we have a lot of black in the image layer.
Now, if we apply the screen blending mode back,
we can see that blends easily.
So those are a few examples of the types
of effects that could be achieved
using blending modes in After Effects.
So back in the project panel,
I want to show you one last example.
Next, I want you to double click
on the fifth comp, Wish You Were Here.
I'll make sure the time indicator is
at the start of the timeline and I'll press
space bar to activate preview.
So what we have here is a combination
of both image and video layers
creating a moving image postcard.
This is a composition a designer could create
for a social media post or as part of a video presentation.
This example is using some basic effects and presets
and the same blending techniques as the previous examples.
So let's see how we can create an example like this.
So back in the project panel, notice under the blending
mode examples folder we have a worksheet folder.
Well, in here you should see a comp called Postcard.
Now, I have put this together for you
to follow along with me.
So let's begin by double clicking on this postcard comp.
So here in the timeline we can see
a number of layers, and these have
just been placed in here ready for you to work with.
So let's start by toggling off the visibility
of these layers.
So from the bottom, we have an image layer.
So this is a photograph of a tabletop
with a blank postcard that we want
to superimpose our video onto.
On top of this we have a video layer.
This is the video we want to place into the postcard.
On top of this, we have an image layer
which appears to be a sample of old paper texture
and we're going to put this on top of the video.
On top of this, we have another image layer.
This is a piece of type we are, again,
going to place on top of the video postcard.
So, these image layers are layers
that any designer may create and prepare in Photoshop
or perhaps purchase from royalty-free websites.
In this instance, I have created these images myself.
So by now we are pretty much familiar
with the way layers work in the timeline panel.
The timeline panel works in a hierarchy from top to bottom.
The layers at the top will have
the most visibility than any layer below.
So to begin, I'm going to toggle off the visibility
of the top image layer as we will not need this until later.
So what I want to do here is place the video layer
on top of the image below into the postcard area.
So with the video layer selected,
I'll press S on the keyboard to activate scale,
and I'll click and drag on the scale value
to scale the video down a little, like so,
to roughly the same size as the postcard,
then I'll press R on the keyboard
to activate rotation and I'll rotate the video
until it's roughly on top of the postcard.
Now I want to place the video into the postcard,
but with some white borders around.
So here is a quick tip.
To place the video perfectly, we can use a preset.
So, up in the effect and presets panel,
we are going to come up to the top,
click into the search field and type corner.
In the distort folder, we will see
a preset called corner pin.
If we drag that onto the layer, we will see
corner pins applied to the edge of the video.
So next I can simply click and drag
each corner pin to where I want it, like so.
Easy.
So now my video is how I want it placed
inside the postcard area with white borders around.
So right now the outline of the video
is looking too sharp.
I want to roughen the edges here so it looks
a little bit more convincing, like it's part of the card.
So again, up in the effects and presets panel.
This time I'll type in roughen.
In a style folder below, we will
see a preset called roughen edges.
If we drag that onto the layer,
we will see the settings appear
in the effect controls over on the left.
So I'll set the border to eight,
and push the complexity up to about 10.
So now we can see we have a roughened edge
around the video which looks more like
it has been printed onto the card behind.
Perfect!
So next I'm going to come up to the effects
and presets panel, click the X to reset
the folders below, and in the color
correct folder I will click and drag
the photo filter effect onto the video layer,
and in the effect controls, I will click
on the filter dropdown, select the warming filter
eight one and then push up the density to about 50%.
So now we have a bit of a vintage feel
applied to the postcard image, great.
So next I'll toggle back the old paper texture,
and here I can use the same process
I used to place the video.
I'll press S to activate the scale and scale the image down.
I'll press R to activate rotation,
and rotate the image so it's in line with the postcard.
Up in the effects and presets panel,
we're going to come up to the top,
click into the search field and type in corner.
In the distort folder below, we will
see a preset called corner pin.
If we drag that onto the image layer,
we will see drag points appear on the edge of the image.
So now I can zoom in here by scrolling
on the mouse wheel and I can simply click
and drag a point into each corner of the postcard,
then press and hold space bar,
and click and drag across the frame,
and then drag the next pin into the corner.
Hold space bar, click to drag along the frame
to the next pin, then drag that into the corner
until all four pins are in position.
So in this instance, I'll click the magnification
pop-up at the top of the composition panel, and click fit.
So now my old paper texture is in place.
I can come down into the layer and click
on the blending mode option and select multiply.
Upon click, the paper layer above has blended
with the video and image layer below,
and that looks a lot more convincing.
So, why did we use the multiply blending mode?
Well, let's change the blending mode
currently applied to the paper layer.
So, let's come back up to the blending mode
and this time come down and click on overlay.
So, upon click, this is having
a completely different effect.
This is making our image way too bright.
If we come back to the blending mode categories,
we can see that the overlay blending mode is
part of the contrast category,
thus creating a contrasting bright effect.
So if we come back to apply the multiply,
we can see that this is the right effect
for us to make the paper look like
it's part of the video layer below.
This is because the multiply layer
is part of the darken modes.
All the whites in the paper layer image
will become transparent, and the black tones
in the image will blend with the layer below,
thus darkening the image, giving us this effect.
And if that is looking a little too much,
I can simply press T to activate opacity,
and bring it down to about 65%.
So next I'll toggle back the type layer,
and to finish off this composition,
we want to place this white type over the postcard.
So with the layer selected, I can press R
to activate rotation.
I'll rotate until the image is in line with the postcard.
Then I'll come down on the blending mode and select screen.
This will then blend nicely with the layers below.
Now the screen blending mode exists
in the lightening category.
So all the black will disappear
and we will only see the white.
So I'll make sure the time indicator
is at the start of the timeline,
and I'll press space bar to activate preview,
and that is looking pretty good.
So now we have three layers on top of the original
video layer, all with their own unique blending
modes applied, creating this interesting visual effect.
So we must keep in mind that blending modes work
to the usual layer hierarchy system, from the top down.
So when using blending modes, you must pay
close attention to the layer structure, and the hierarchy.
As you use various layers and blending modes,
it's all about the combination and the structure
that can determine the overall effect.
You will come to realize that there are
endless possibilities of the combinations
of layers and blending modes you can explore
to create various visual effects.
So, be sure to take some time to experiment
and explore the blending modes on offer.
Keep in mind the various categories of blending modes
on offer so you can apply the right blending mode
to capture the right effect you're looking for.
(upbeat music)
Now, as you start to use After Effect,
more and more there are going to be times where
you'll want to cut something out or only see
a certain part of the video to create a certain effect.
To do this, we can use what is called masking.
In the next video, I'll be introducing you
to masking and showing you how to use it.
So, see you in the next video.
(upbeat synth music)