Masking Effects in After Effects

Since we are trying to create major projects in after effects, this week we were masking multiple layers of one composition to create a moving, effect heavy animation using shapes an backgrounds.

The main reason for this attempt was because the first project that we are going to work on is creating a company logo, like you see at the beginning of cinematic movies.

Firstly, something to keep in mind when you are using adobe after effects, the program does not have a copy of the file that you are importing, so if the file goes missing in your drive (even if you have a copy in another memory drive) adobe does not contain the file anymore so it becomes a complete error for everything that hasn't been done with a tool in after effects. I will need to remember this in the future because of the consequences.
This animation was also made in 3D space allowing more options of using the layers of shapes. Aside from rotating the layers, the other effects that I was able to add was changing the opacity of some layers as the animation goes on and brightening certain places in the layers to seem to add more to the animation. The idea of creating this was to make a somewhat obnoxious TV add that you can sometimes see that causes your eyes to strain. Just to try out all of the features and timeline capabilities in after effects.

The only point I want to do better on (that are in my control), is to try more distinct effects in the animations to give the clip some unique charm. I am happy however about the fact that I was able to blend the layers well together (when I had actual colour since the files got deleted).