3D in After Effects

I made this project specifically Star Wars themed. I started by making the stars and space atmosphere and used particle world. Then I moved a camera in z space through the particle field to give a warp speed effect. I also added some 3D layers of light textures that would give a galaxy atmosphere and added a lens flare to intensify this effect and as the camera passes through it the camera comes out of warp speed. I also put a 3D model of a tiefighter and animated it along with a photoshop file of the deathstar. I added a light to the deathstar to provide a more menacing look and animated the camera around the tiefighter.

Particles

I originally wanted to do a Terminator time travel effect but stumbled into the twirl setting in Particle World and found an easy way to create a tornado gust effect. I used several particles to make this composition one being the debris and paper elements swirling around. I added a vacuum effect as well to make particles kind of suck into where the spiraling vortex is being spawned. I added some dust particles on the ground to add an environmental effect.

Text Animation

I did a parody of late talk shows introducing myself as the host. I first made a drop in animation for "Ladies & Gentleman" phrase and added some rotation to the text. I then used a lens flare and a mask so that both "Tonight" and "Introducing" would fade in along with the flare. I also added also a wiggler expression to these two texts so they would feel a little bit more alive with movement. I finally ended with a slide in for "Lil Stevie" and made a strobe effect on the text with changing the stroke value. The "Live" text I added I applied several light effects to get the final product.