After Effects first Compilation Test

So today after mucking about with various individual composition tests i finally got something worthwhile to look at.
For this compilation I have used stock footage acquired from a DVD a friend lent to me, the DVD is a collection of various stock footage including smoke, debri blasts, fire, charge blasts and dirt impacts. All of the footage comes nicely with a alpha channel so there was no need to mess around trying to edit out the background, the footage can be placed directly into the composition.

Although my plan is to create my own particle/ fluid effects and to render them out for my final composition, i used the stock footage i had this time as I had no finished renders of my own. So the scene i have created will not be used for my final submission. The test is not perfect but it allowed me to experience just how much work will go into each and ever final scene.

For this test i used a scene from my footage where a soldier jumps out of cover and begins to shoot at an opposing enemy, the explosion occurs half way through and is suppose to represent a thrown grenade detonating on impact infront of the solider. I have not composed the injures the blast would inflict onto the soldier neither have I composed the hole int he ground the blast would leave.

What i have composed is the initial explosion that would disrupt ground soil, blasting it upwards. Along with a secondary explosion that discharges a split second later. I have used two individual layers of smoke to simulate the blow back of small debris and smoke that he blast would create, and also some black smoke that would be left behind after the explosion, the smoke needs to be timed a bit better as well.

I used a software that comes with AfterEffects called Mocha, mocha basically takes your image sequence and after processing it creates a series of tracking points. After making sure all of the tracking points are accurate, I then created a x-spline, which is basically a 2d plain you draw onto the image depicting where the area of effects will be taken place. After that I then copied the tracking data from Mocha ready to paste into AfterEffects. Before copying the tracking data, I first create a Null object, after creating this I click on the layer and paste the information. Next i selected each of my effects layers and parented them to my Null Object layer. In doing this my effects layers now move accordingly when I scrub through the footage. This give the illusion of the effects moving in the correct perspective and position as the rest of the footage.

I have also used some colour correction techniques to give this peace of footage my own artist style to it.
Heres a few screenshots of the final test;