Digital Motion Background

Creating the Digital Pixels

1. Create a new composition, give it a name (ex. Digital Background) and assign a duration (I did 30 seconds),
2. Create a new solid (Ctrl+Y), name it “Solid 1”, and click OK.
3. In Effects/Presets, search “Fractal Noise.” Add Fractal Noise to Solid 1, then set the following settings.
   1. Contrast = 650
   2. Brightness = -150
   3. Complexity = 5
   4. Evolution = alt+click the stopwatch, then in timeline enter “time*250”
4. Add “CC Ball Action” from Effects/Presets to Solid 1. In Effect Controls, set the following
   1. Grid Spacing = 20
   2. Ball Size = 20
5. Add “Tint” from Effects/Presets to Solid 1. Change “Map White” color to a color of your choice.
6. Next add Glow to Solid 1. Set the following settings
   1. Glow Radius = 25
   2. Glow Intensity = 5
7. In the timeline, open the Mode dropdown menu for Solid 1. Select “Screen”. 
8. Select “Solid 1” layer, and duplicate (Ctrl+D). 
9. Now with the “Solid 2” layer selected, in Effect Controls open Evolution Options - Random Seed. Change the Random Seed value to a random number.
10. Next, under “CC Ball Action” change Grid Spacing to 15, and the Ball Size to 15.
11. Finally, change “Tint” color to a different color of your choosing.
12. Duplicate “Solid 2” (Ctrl+D). Repeat steps 9 - 11, and set Grid Spacing to 10, and the Ball Size to 10.
13. Select all 3 layers. Duplicate, and click and drag new layers so that they are all on the bottom.

Adding the Effects for the Pixels

1. Create a new Adjustment Layer (Ctrl+Alt+Y). Set the layer in between existing layers, so you should have three solid layers above and three solid layers below your Adjustment Layer.
2. Search “Minimax” in Effects/Presets. Apply this effect to the Adjustment Layer and set its Radius to 15.
3. Create the Background by adding a new Solid (Ctrl+Y). Name the layer BG, and select a very dark color.
4. Search “Motion Tile” in Effects/Presets and apply to the Adjustment Layer. Set Motion Tile Effect above Minimax in the Effect Controls Panel.
5. In the Effect Controls Panel, set a keyframe for “Tile Center” at the very first frame. Set the x value to 1200.
6. With the timeline panel selected, click “End” on your keyboard to go to the very last frame. Set another “Tile Center” keyframe, and set its x value to 800.
7. Select the 3 Solid layers below the Adjustment Layer. Double click “U” and change “time*250” to “time*100”.

Adding Camera Blur/Optics Compensation

1. Create another Solid (Ctrl+Y) and name it “Ramp”. Search for “Gradient Ramp” in the Effects/Presets menu and apply to the layer.
2. Set the “Start of Ramp” anchor point to the center, and the “End of Ramp” anchor point well below the composition.
3. Precompose the “Ramp” layer (Ctrl+Shift+C). Name it “Ramp” and check “Move all attributes to the new composition”. Finally, drag the “Ramp” layer to the bottom of all layers.
4. Create one final Adjustment Layer (Ctrl+Alt+Y). Search for “Camera Lens Blur” and apply to this Adjustment Layer.
5. In the Effects Control Panel, locate Blur Map. Open the Layer drop down menu and select “Ramp”. Set the Blur Radius to 50.
6. Search for “Optics Compensation” in the Effects/Presets menu and apply to the Adjustment Layer. Set Field of View to 50, and check the box for Reverse Lens Distortion.