Attendee spotlight: Ken Latman

Posted on: Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Comments: 0

A couple of months ago we ran a Twitter contest, with the winner receiving a free {m}ticket for motion09. The winner? Ken Latman.

Since winning, Ken has Twittered about motion regularly – cheering us on, being our human count-down clock, and totally getting into the spirit of motion. Bottom line, that’s what motion is about – community.

Previous attendees of motion have always been surprised when they find out that it’s just two people (really!) who produce motion – doing everything from design, web development, signage, recruiting sponsors, selecting ‘rock-stars’ . . . you name it – it’s two of us who do it! We are really excited when members of our community help us grow motion – whether it is through Tweeting about it, blogging, or word-of-mouth. We truly appreciate your support! Ken – we’d like to personally thank you for helping us get the word out!

Just who is Ken Latman? We asked Ken a couple of questions. Here’s the scoop…

who do you work for?

I have been working now for 10 years for RGH Enterprises. They are a wholesale distributor of medical supplies. They cover everything from Diabetic and Urinary supplies to Chiropractic and Massage tables. It sounds odd that motion graphics would be used in such an organization but they do attend a lot of trade shows in various parts of the US and require booth graphics to bring people in. There are also in-house corporate videos for training and employee information.

I started out as the “web” guy and gradually pushed for more animation type projects. Today I am doing about 2 to 4 major video/animation projects a year around these areas.

what are your areas of interest in animation, motion graphics and vfx?

My interests range from the very traditional cartoon Looney Tunes type animation to motion graphic title sequences and visual effects supplied in motion pictures. I frequently pick up Cinefex magazine just to understand what is behind the effects used in Hollywood blockbusters. I also have a subscription to Computer Graphics World (CGW), Millimeter magazine, Studio Monthly (now it is just an online magazine, but still very good) and CreativeCow Magazine.

tell us about the kind of work you do in the industry and any favorite projects

I do a lot of title type sequences in Adobe After Effects for tradeshows. Usually we are trying to show the benefits of a company or companies and tie in something special either about the trade show’s location or some major new benefit.

These projects I enjoy the most because they have to be energizing and colorful to grab attention. They also have to have a loop point so trying to make them seamless without bringing attention to that point is a challenge. It is always nice to hear that someone really liked my work still after seeing it two or four times noticing something different every time.

Some of the in house work material is pretty dry. They tend to focus around medical compliance issues and company policies. The struggle though is also an exciting challenge because you have to take that material and keep the viewer interested. I am given much leeway to let my imagination run to get these types of project more energizing. They used to be just old PowerPoint slide presentations with audio of just re-reading the content before I took over.

tell us how you found out about motion09 and why you wanted to win the contest

I had been looking for a conference or seminar that focused on animation or motion graphics but was not a film festival. I had attended a number of years ago as a volunteer a conference in Pasadena, CA run by Lynda.com called AfterEffects West. Chris and Trish Meyer (motion09 speakers) had been presenters at that and I just started at RGH. This further fueled my interest in animation not only in what After Effects could do but how off-the-shelf applications can be used to do the very same work you see on the big screen.

I discovered motion through an online search last year, but it was already over. The session schedule and list of presenters appeared to be just what was looking for. I kept the page bookmarked and checked the site periodically for updates on motion09.

I had set up a twitter account when the initial buzz over the site (twitter.com) started over a year ago. When I saw that motion09 was running a contest using twitter to help create buzz about the event, I found a good way to finally use my account.

Having attended conferences like Macworld and Photoshop World in the past, I genuinely wanted something that was more like the old AfterEffects West. motion09 seems like this – and much more.

tell us what you are looking forward to the most in attending motion09

I’m looking forward to seeing how others use Adobe After Effects in their work environment. How others put creativity in their work or look for inspiration to aid them along. Are there others like me that work alone? How do people work collaboratively on projects whether in the same office or across the globe? I am also hoping to see how other applications can be intergrated into my work flow. I do not have a true 3D application that I use. I’ve been told that Maya is the best, but costs over $3k and would be hard to justify to my company to buy right away. 3D Studio Max is given a lot of acclaim, but I haven’t seen too many tutorials incorporating AE with it. Cinema 4D has a large number of followers, but I have never had any hands experience with any of these applications. I use Zaxwerk’s ProAnimator to solve some of my problems, but I could always learn more.

tell us about something about you…

I’m originally from Connecticut and started my career off working for color separation house for wall paper coverings. This gave me an intense experience with Photoshop. Where I work currently I am also the “mac” guy. We run three servers with a graphics group of 8 to 10 people. I’ve written some AppleScript to help with workflow aspects.

I have a degree in Studio Art from Kent State. Additionally, I attended an excellent and highly accredited visual arts program in high school that gave me a tremendous benefit in improving my own drawing and composition skills.

Aside from work, last summer I went on a mid-west road trip to Glacier National Park in Montana. Check out my photos. Best vacation I have had in a long time!

motion09 welcomes ken latman! Thanks for spreading the word about motion! We look forward to meeting you.