How To Animate a 2D Photo in 3D Space

I wanted to share this video on how to animate a photo in 3D, exactly like what we did in class.   I really like this concept of bringing a 2D photo to life using photoshop and after effects to create a 3D movement. It's very quick and effective and can be used for so many things.

Animation and Light

I have become interested in programming live interactive experiences. I think that the manipulation of light in an artistic way is a really creative way to incite emotion in an audience. A lot of these light artists are using innovative ways to animate. The most interesting I found was light painting. For this technique they have a camera capturing a screen that is on a track that moves back and forth in the z-direction. The screen projects a different frame of a video and it creates the effects of outlining an 3-D image. Another interesting use of light to animate is the artist who uses drones programmed to move mirrors that reflect projected light to create shapes and images. One artist also featured a large sphere covered in RGB LED lights acting as pixels. This sphere could be programmed to be animated images. These videos from The Creators Project showed multiple ways to incorporate new technology, sensors, camera, programming, and lights to animate.

I foresee this technology being utilized by performers in concert, art exhibits, and theatrical engagements.

Animating a Still Photograph

Have you ever seen a show or documentary where there is a still image that has been animated to look 3D? That is called the parallax effect, and can be done using Photoshop and After Effects. It is surprisingly simple as well. Using the skills we have already learned in class we could easily create the effect by following this tutorial I found on YouTube. By singling out individual subjects in the photo, making them each their own layer, and putting them into 3D space in After Effects, a beautiful looking 3D animation can be created.