Totally Useless Experiment
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars

Totally Useless Experiment

Posted on 28. Feb, 2009 by Jerzy Drozda Jr in After Effects

Want to waste some time? Get to know how to embed hidden images into existing footage and learn few cool tricks on the way.


This tutorial is completely useless. I can’t stress that enough. Who would ever want to put a hidden message in a video, right? Well… maybe James Bond would, but he told me he’s not much into After Effect. Encoding a hidden message in a video is pointless especially because it message might get distorted after compressing the video. There are hundreds of different reasons why you shouldn’t do it.

However, you can still learn few cool tips and tricks while watching this short tutorial, so if you have a few spare minutes to waste make sure to watch it anyway. I kind of like showing cool techniques with such extreme examples like this one. Let me know if you like the idea, I might make more totally useless experiments in the future.

Happy AfterEffecting.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
  • Technorati
  • del.icio.us
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Wykop
  • Reddit
  • email
  • Print

Tags: , ,

20 Responses to “Totally Useless Experiment”

  1. Nick D. Clements

    28. Feb, 2009

    really cool! and it was quite informative. and actually, with this method, since the “message” is only being displayed in one row of pixels, and doesn’t effect the rest of the video, and since (maybe not so many of the new flat panels) but some, and surly all older tv’s crop way more than just one pixel – so it would hardly ever be seen, it could be used to embed a “signature” into your video. who knows, if there is ever a time when you had to prove that a video was originally yours, it would be a pretty convincing argument when you placed the video into aftereffects and revel a hidden picture of yourself or copyright statement. honestly, i think i might put one of these into every video i do from now on! :) crazy how one idea leads to another. (true compression could create some problems – but even if the image was all distorted, if it was at least somewhat readable – that might be even cooler, it would make you feel like a forensic scientist on a crime show who just extracted a video clip from a severely damaged video tape that was pulled out of the river… and all you have to do is say “let me clean that up” and press a button and everything is magically crystal clean and in hi-resolution again. it makes me smile every time that do that. And everyday there seems to be a better codec that returns better quality video with smaller file sizes, (while at the same time the hard drives keep getting bigger) and even youtube is accepting HD video post now which puts the odds in your favor that the message will stay intact. (really the biggest issue with compression would be “key” frames, you would want to adjust the speed at witch the “message” scrolls in relation to how many “key” frames you plan on “keying” during compression… (i think) but ok enough from me. thank you maltaannon for another fun filled tutorial.

    Reply to this comment
  2. illd

    28. Feb, 2009

    Crazy stuff…I like it!
    Btw. your screencapture has an amazing quality! It looks even sharper than my own Desktop :)

    Reply to this comment
  3. Rafael Guerra

    01. Mar, 2009

    that was really interesting…perhaps on your training series, you could investigate those subliminal messages in real movies….

    Reply to this comment
  4. Bartłomiej

    01. Mar, 2009

    Thx maltaannon ! ! !

    Reply to this comment
  5. khaled

    02. Mar, 2009

    great tutorial i hope to see more tutorial my lazy teacher
    thank’s
    khaled

    Reply to this comment
  6. khaled

    02. Mar, 2009

    hay
    i forget
    i wan’t atutorial from you in motion graphic some design you make it
    and you like it
    please i hope this will be soon no’t the next year
    thank’s my lazy teacher

    Reply to this comment
  7. aldie

    02. Mar, 2009

    i really love your tutorials!!!!

    Reply to this comment
  8. qwerty

    06. Mar, 2009

    piece of shit

    Reply to this comment
  9. [...] Visit Tutorial [...]

    Reply to this comment
  10. Ei_b3low

    24. Jun, 2009

    video not found mr. jerzy

    Reply to this comment
  11. qsalas

    24. Jan, 2010

    no video found again =(

    Reply to this comment
    • Jerzy Drozda Jr

      24. Jan, 2010

      nah man. it’s all there. i don’t know how you’re doing the things you do that you don’t see the video, but it’s there.

      Reply to this comment
  12. qsalas

    24. Jan, 2010

    sorry!…it was my comp…thx!

    Reply to this comment
  13. Sergey

    12. Feb, 2010

    Tenk ) Спасибо! Жаль что не до конца, но суть ясна.)

    Reply to this comment
  14. mary discount mbt shoes

    24. Jun, 2010

    One day, her husband to concentrate on reading, and his wife in the side of the TV. At this time, the TV screen appears a pair of lovers, the man said to the woman: “Honey, I have been a part of you as your own.”
    Upon hearing his wife, was touched. So, she dedicated her husband, said: “Hey! You when once I regard as part of your body Na?”
    Husband suspected his wife was very open television interference in reading and writing, they turned a deaf ear.
    “Hey! I’m asking you so! In the end which I am part of your body you?! … …”
    Husband impatiently replied: “Yes appendix!”

    Reply to this comment
  15. RichardB

    15. Jul, 2010

    “Some of the suspects are accused of using steganography – a method of concealing data in an image using special software – to pass information to Moscow Centre by posting pictures on public websites.

    -from the BBc news website re: the 10 Russian Agents.

    So where could the Russian agents have learned such a thing… perhaps the clue is in the next paragraph…

    “Using data and a 27-character password gained by searching a New Jersey property in 2005, US agents accessed a steganography programme that led them to websites where they found certain images, the court documents say.”

    Do you see that…<>…. Jersey?! JERZY!! AH-HA!

    You need to keep an eye on George. I think he’s been up to no good while you’re ‘asleep’….

    Reply to this comment
  16. wholesale mlb jerseys

    15. Jul, 2010

    Thank you for your sharing.I’m very interested in wholesale mlb jerseys.There are so many famouse mlb stars jerseys,we have New York Yankees Derek Jeter Jersey.So I an fascinated to the Philadelphia Phillies Chase Utley Jersey,no matter any one of mlb stars juse like Minnesota Twins Joe Mauer Jersey and Boston RedSox Dustin Pedroia Jersey,which are my best witness as the St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols Jersey fans!

    Reply to this comment

Leave a Reply