Hello,
I will be using After Effects, and primarily the puppet pin tool, which basically allows me to move one point of the tree in relation to another point, a lot like how split pins can create pivot points between two pieces of paper. Depending on how detailed the tree is I may also mask sections off and animate them separate.
I believe the most important aspect of this would be the realism, and so I will also be looking at references of real tree movements so that I can get it looking more grounded in reality, with proper weight, and gravity.
I hope I can look forward to your response,
Yours Faithfully,
Harry Robins.