Rolling Thine Own

When you use these techniques to start seeing the world, and then begin implementing your profound insights in your comps, you will begin to see the importance of this last point: It is almost always better to create effects from the basic toolkit of After Effects than to resort to an off-the-shelf, canned effect.

“Default” is a dirty word. Remember that week-long effort to re-create a photoreal lens flare? It’s worth noting that this effort was supported fully by the guy whose name is synonymous with digital lens artifacts. But even John Knoll knew that to appear unflinchingly huge on the big screen, his schwings were going to need some nuancing.