Pre-Production
We started off the project by loading in the background and the animations. We used one of the doors on the side to make the fire come out of. We also learned how to use layers over animations and how to use the pen tool.
Production
We Put a fire explosion layer over the door and used a layer and the pen tool to make it look like the fire was coming from inside the building. We used the pen tool right after to make the animation go behind a light pole to make it look more realistic, as well. More layers were used when creating the scene, too. We used smoke charges coming from the fire afterwards, dust falling from above the building, debris shooting out of the door, and glass breaking next to the explosion. We color-corrected multiple layers to make it feel more real. I turned the smoke charge black and made the fire have a glow effect.
We wrapped up the project by putting one more layer that glowed as the fire went off. This was the hardest step in my opinion. After that was done, we put in an explosion sound and rendered it out. Our first animation over a video was complete.
Review
During this project we learned how to use the pen tool anyhow to color-correct layers. This project was fairly easy because we used a tutorial video and made ours almost identical, but that was to get us familiar with the software. If I could change one thing, I would add more explosions o make it longer and more entertaining. I would continue using layers and the pen tool, though, to make it more realistic. I think this project was a good starting point in our after effects unit and it was fun creating your own realistic explosion.
