Most photographers are familiar with the content aware fill tool. This features has been part of Photoshop for years and can be a life saver to remove unwanted or distracting elements from an image. Adobe recently implemented this tool in After Effects and this short tutorial shows how to use it.
As with the regular content aware fill tool for still images, this effect is not magical but it is probably one of the most important feature introductions that Adobe gave us over the past few years. The tool is relatively straightforward and easy to use with a limited amount of settings.
The algorithm creates good results but challenging situations and complex footage will require additional manual masking and rotoscoping. A reference frame can also be created in Photoshop to help After Effects with object removal. Overall, simple background pattern and slow motion in the video will make your life easier. I found that the content aware tool works well to remove sensor dust from the footage since the dirt spots are small and easy to fill for the algorithm. Cutting undesired boom mic during static interview also produce great result. The only drawback of this effect is the long rendering time.
