An after effects reel to show some effects I did that would otherwise, hopefully, go unnoticed. There’s another reel coming which is a bit tamer. This one’s not for the faint hearted.

It’s not a tutorial reel on after effects, maybe a little bit. Basically it’s all compositing—masks, color grading, motion tracking, motion blur, blending modes, some kinetic typography, and such—with real life elements in a way that is not too obtrusively an effect; because I could have gone all-out here. Just look at Sneeze or the start of my After Effects Medley and you’ll see what what I’m getting at. Though I’m calling this part Guns & Gore, the gore is actually tamed down to look realistic rather than, well, splatter.

Having watched this you might think, why so meticulous if no one notices? Well, I guess it’s a love for the craft. Mind you, I fully understand Robert Rodriguez’ argument for what you can get away with in his Anatomy of a Shootout. I mention this because I ripped of the name here, and because Rodriguez is awesome in his work and DVD extra’s. I’d love to do an action sequence where I can create such mayhem that all thought of set continuity can fly out the window with some of the cast.

However unobtrusive and quick, I hope the effects laid bare in this clip do resonate in their original content, if not by grossing people out then by subconsciously adding to the feel of the scene. This clip might actually even help the faint of heart get over the gore by ‘spelling it out’, so on second thought maybe they should watch it.

Let it be known that I can’t stand watching the real thing, there is a difference. I remember the olden days where at some point I ended up with some friends putting in a video of Faces of Death. That crap just got etched on my retina. I walked away, it was absolutely horrible. This stuff in contrast is fun and essentially just an effect; I was brought up with a dad ‘spelling out’ to me the waste of ketchup in films, and to me that always created an enjoyable distance to blood and gore in films. Sticking to that thought, I tried to make this clip fun to watch.

Not all effects were used, but they were created for Sam, de film and NNT’s Kappen met Kunstkortingen.