Satellite zoom out to SPACE effect - After Effects Tutorial

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Steve Ramsden here with DIY Moviemaking and this week we are making a fun satellite zoom-out shot from the earth to space using a drone and Adobe After Effects! Here's the tutorial...

So this is the sort of shot that you might see in a spy thriller where there is an emphasis on surveillance. The camera will often zoom all the way in or out so show that the character is being watched from a long distance away. So I’m going to show you how to create this type of shot on a budget.

Just like I teach in my course DIY Moviemaking, you don’t always need a lot of money to get some really creative shots. I’m always looking for new ways to do a lot with a little to really add some production value to my film projects and if you want to see lots more fun DIY Moviemaking tips and tricks, then of course hit that subscribe button.

So let’s say we want to start close up on our character and end up right out in space with a satellite monitoring them. The way to always make this kind of ‘impossible’ shot is to break it down into several shots and then blend them together, and I’ve tried several other experiments like this in the past. In fact if you’re interested in this one you’ll probably also enjoy my video from a few years back on transitioning form a drone shot outside a window to a gimbal shot on the inside.

For this experiment, the easiest way to think of it is: you need a beginning shot, a middle shot and an end shot. The beginning shot is the close up, and the end shot is a view from space, and the middle shot we’ll worry about last.

So let’s start with the first shot, and this is the only real bit of filming that’s needed. And for this I headed out to a deserted location with my small drone. Next I sent the drone into the air and lined it up directly above me. I was shooting in 4K but would finish the shot in HD, so this meant I could zoom in later and get more of a close up without getting the drone dangerously close. Once the drone was in a good position, I then raised it up at a fairly constant speed. So the camera is slowly getting higher, and we can see more of the area I am standing in. When the drone reached its maximum altitude, I stopped it and brought it back down. So that was part one filmed it was time to head back to the editing room to create the rest.

For the third shot (the ending), the easiest solution was to use stock footage, and I found a good shot of the whole UK as if it was seen from space.

This just left the second shot (the middle section) which is always going to be the hardest bit. We have to find a way to get from here - the end of the real first shot - to here, the stock footage view of the whole country. If this was being done with a proper budget, then this is the section that would probably likely be computer generated, but for this demonstration of a budget version, I started by going onto Google Earth and looking up the spot where I had actually filmed, and zoomed all the way out to the widest view of the full country, and I did a screen recording of that same move. So, Google owns this middle section of the effect and not me, but this was just to use as a demonstration!

So this gave me my three shots and now it’s time to try and blend them together using Adobe After Effects...

[HiddenPufferfish]

Is it just me who thinks this guy deserves way more Recognition then he actually does
He is actually one of the best Vfx artists I know and that includes CG geek and corridor crew and Captain dissolution et cetera

[tbip]

The first time i ever saw this effect was on the burbs 1989 which looks like they went from real set to model to matte painting . Amazing channel

[MaaAdiparashaktiEdits]

Why you doing such good tutorials for free for us if makes me emotionally 😢😢🥺🥺❤❤❤

[yourreelstoryproductions]

Love the way you think outside the box. Appraicte your tips.

[BalitskyMedia]

There’s always a warm feel to your videos

[WhySteve]

Lol nice little jingle on the satellite.

[PixelDion]

underrated, you deserve a lot more attention. you have a gift for vfx man, keep it up!

[DstickSpearfishing]

Very Clever! Thanks for sharing! Stay safe, have fun! 🍻💪

[dhruvsarkar]

Big brother I love your editing work ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[sakthisachu]

I'm from India 🇮🇳 very useful fr us thank u ❤

[Seba]

Hi, can you (or anyone around here using an Apple Mac for editing) give me some tips for order between icloud, internal storage and external hard drives (Like SanDisk or Samsung)? Got my first Mac soon and don´t know where to put what (e.g. Footage on icloud, internal storage or external hard drive) Need this Information!!

[filmmakerstudios]

What music does he use in the intro, it is such a vibe!!

[ThePlasterer]

Just saw your cat morph on corridor crew

[mythicalmotion]

Please make a tutorial on how to hide VFX mistakes as more as possible like what camera angles will defocus on some of the mistakes that are been made !!

[PodShortviral]

Make a tutorial on color Correction & color grading (after effect)

[connorreigel]

Hey Steve, can you please make a tutorial for me on how to do the Mr. Bean Intro from 1990 - 1995 TV series?

[Malibulife]

Hello! Steve can you please show how to make a video that a person is walking under water

[w.kempert]

super Grüße aus Berlin es grüßt der Berliner

[RapidActionAnimations]

Actually I’m pretty sure you’re allowed to use google earth/maps footage for films as long as they follow googles guidelines. I needed to use google earth for some shots (I haven’t got the shots yet) and I checked if it was allowed and it actually is.

[itsneonblackcat]

You should do one of these but zooming out to a sniper on a roof