Effects Videos & Video Copilot

[irriadin]

I'm not sure if this is the best forum for this (the Adobe subforum seems to be more about how to use stuff), but here goes anyway. I've noticed that effects videos that use Video Copilot FX (Twitch, etc) are, in general, disdained for their use. As someone who is just beginning to explore After Effects, I'm kind of wondering exactly why Copilot is viewed in such a negative light. Is it because people will abuse the presets / tutorials and not change them in any way and think they're awesome? Is it because you expect people to make all of their own FX, or at the very least, not just copy Copilot?

[Mastamind]

I guess it's because it'll be looked down upon as unoriginal for using what's essentially a stock effect, or because a viewer would be under the impression that the editor was trying to substitute flashy effects for actual substance in a video. That said, it's not like people will necessarily dislike the video for using such effects.. Property of a Lady uses Copilot-like effects throughout the whole thing, and it won 4 VCA's. It's just a matter of how you use it.

[gotenks794]

People frown upon the stock footage (Such as Riot Gear) more than Twitch, I would Imagine. IDC though, I still like Riot Gear.

[Castor Troy]

Videocopilot's literally becoming the new cross dissolve.

[competitionbros]

When you see the same thing over and over with little to no variation the it gets a little irritating.

[ZephyrStar]

Nothing wrong with using these, but people use them without a need or a reason to. It's always better if they somehow support what you're trying to say, instead of vomiting all over it. And a lot of people are guilty of just doing the tutorials for these, going "hey, I can use this," and not bothering to change anything from the tutorial besides plugging in their anime. It's just lazy, and if you've seen it a couple of times, it becomes like lens flare.

[Bauzi]

I can't agree more with all of these posts.

[Brad]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Video Copilot. His tutorials and methods are extremely helpful and educational for new VFX and motion graphics artists, and people that hate on him are actually hating on the wrong thing. The thing they actually hate is what the vast majority of people that go through those tutorials use them for, which is, to copy. I can't tell you how many demo reels I've seen that have straight-up Video Copilot tutorial stuff all over it. The tutorials are meant to show you how to use the tools available in After Effects and other things. He uses these tools to create a specific look or shot, because he wants to show how those methods COULD be used in a practical setting. If he just went through the tools but never made anything that looked cool, it would be very difficult to actually get the idea of what those tools were doing.

So, while I can't say in all honesty that I've seen a bunch of this happening in AMVs, I'm sure it does. And yeah, it's kind of lame. Do those tutorials and then use your new knowledge of the software to create your own ideas.

And as far as Twitch goes, it's the same story. It's a plug-in. It comes with presets to give you an idea of what it's capable of. The problem comes when people just slap the presets on there and don't change a thing. It's SUPER obvious to anybody that's used them (that chromatic aberration jitter thing has just gotten crazy). So, find new and unique uses for the plug-in that suit what you're going for. If it doesn't suit it, don't use it.

[Niwa]

x2

On what Brad just said.

[irriadin]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Video Copilot. His tutorials and methods are extremely helpful and educational for new VFX and motion graphics artists, and people that hate on him are actually hating on the wrong thing. The thing they actually hate is what the vast majority of people that go through those tutorials use them for, which is, to copy. I can't tell you how many demo reels I've seen that have straight-up Video Copilot tutorial stuff all over it. The tutorials are meant to show you how to use the tools available in After Effects and other things. He uses these tools to create a specific look or shot, because he wants to show how those methods COULD be used in a practical setting. If he just went through the tools but never made anything that looked cool, it would be very difficult to actually get the idea of what those tools were doing.

So, while I can't say in all honesty that I've seen a bunch of this happening in AMVs, I'm sure it does. And yeah, it's kind of lame. Do those tutorials and then use your new knowledge of the software to create your own ideas.

Ok, that's kinda what I figured. I just bought Twitch and was hoping using it wouldn't turn me into a pariah I'd never use just a vanilla preset because then my video would be just like thousands of other videos doing the same thing!

And I do agree that the tutorials are very helpful in showing what After Effects can do. AE was a very mystifying program to me, and the tutorials + site have helped me immensely in understanding how it works.