Boris Continuum Complete 7 AE brings over 200 filters to Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro. Version 7 features 11 new filters including a 3-way color grade filter with built-in keying and masking tools, a new video noise reduction tool, a spline-based warp filter, an audio-driven keyframe generator, a new OpenGL particle engine, and still and video morph technology. In this session, Paul Ezzy will highlight some of these amazing new features.

Paul Ezzy is an independent filmmaker and videographer. Trained formally as a filmmaker, editor, and actor at NYFA and the Rockport Photographic Workshops, Paul also has degrees in Education, Chemistry, and Psychology. His choice past-times include creating visual special effects, art, and video games.

motion+mini1 : Scott Valentine: Using Repousse and 3D in Photoshop CS5 Extended

Join author Scott Valentine as he demonstrates how to create a realistic 3D theater marquee using the new Repousse and 3D tools in Photoshop CS5 Extended. Learn how to convert text into a 3D object and composite it into an image using lighting and cameras.

Scott Valentine is an award-winning experimental photographer and Photoshop finger-painter. Recently, he has been adding 3D to his experiments, hoping to get other photographers interested in the amazing flexibility this tool offers.

motion

nailgun* We’ve all seen their work. With a list of clients that could easily span this entire article – you’d have to be living in a cave to have not seen some of the projects they have created. Specializing in broadcast design, their clients include almost every network imaginable including: A&E, ABC News, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, CBS, Comedy Central, ESPN, Food Network, Fox, HBO, National Geographic, Nickelodeon, Showtime…you get the picture.

With a strong belief that great art derives from making creative choices – and sticking to them, veteran graphic designer Michael Waldron and editor/animator Erik van der Wilden co-founded motion graphics house nailgun* in 2003 and since then have guided the young company to its lofty status as one of the industry’s most respected broadcast design houses.

storyboards for the 79th annual academy awards

Michael began his career as art director at NewsChannel6, Richmond, VA and left there to become creative director at The Diecks Group, New York. His work has been recognized by awards from Graphic Design USA, PROMAX/BDA, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Type Directors Club and ID magazine, to name a few.

Eric van der Wilden came from a completely different background. An All-American soccer player and former professional actor, Erik gradually migrated to broadcast editing, animation and design, and founded Vandyink in 1996. He later worked for The Diecks Group as Director of Editorial and Animation, where he met Michael.

The rest is history. And an amazing history at that. Their award roster includes honors from the BDA, New York Festivals, Type Directors Club, Emmy Awards and the Promax Judges Awards. nailgun*’s work has been featured in several publications in the US, UK, Asia and Europe, as well as in the books After Effects in Production: A Companion for Creating Motion Graphics (by motion09 speakers Chris & Trish Meyer), Broadcast Design (Daab, 2007), The IdN 15th Anniversary Edition (2009) and in 2010 will be included in the title, Visual Effects Artistry (Drate, sched. pub. 2010).

As nailgun* evolves, the studio continues to foster the same spirit that has brought it to this point. In an industry that is ever-changing, they continue to adapt, inspire, imagine and most of all, together, hold fast to knowing no limits.

This year, the two co-founders are going to do just that at motion09 – inspire. Tuesday evening, October 13, nailgun*’s keynote presentation will be all about broadcast design. And then, get ready for an amazing experience Wednesday morning as Michael and Erik offer a 3-hour intensive in this year’s promotion series. This series provides attendees to opportunity to work interactively with top-talent in the industry on a specific project. Watch the motion09 conference website for details on nailgun*’s interactive promotion presentation.

speaking at motion09
Michael Waldron and Eric van der Wilden will be two of the ‘rock stars’ at motion09

10.11 – 10.14 2009 | abq | nm
motion | experience inspiration

………………………………..
author: Elaine Montoya
motion.tv
………………………………..
copyright: © 2008 – 09
motion.tv

Brad currently works as the lead animator and technical director of the Motion and Graphics Department at Boeing-SVS where he leads a team of animators to create fully 3D scenario based animations as well as still rendered product visualizations.

Was there anything in particular that sparked your imagination as a kid?

Most of my creative spark came from the normal influences on a late 20th century male child; cartoons, movies and video games. I used to love squiggles and art lessons in grade school because I was able to draw, color and actually make something artistic. I can remember sitting down with a friend to come up with our own Mega Man game villain designs and drawing sports logos, power rangers and ninja turtles to no end. It was a lot of fun.

For a lot of kids, they obsessively draw a particular thing over and over – from horses to robots…and everything in between. Was this true for you?

I don’t know if there was any one thing I obsessively drew like characters or environments or anything. I mostly just drew something when I felt inspired or when there was a contest among friends or classmates. I did seem to have a weird obsession for a season with football helmets. I remember drawing every team’s helmet and their logo a few times. Might have been a bit of a young graphic designer in me there.

What was your impetus for getting into 3D and motion graphics?

As a child I always loved movies and animated cartoon shows. Even more then watching them I always thought it would be the best possible job in the world to become an animator for Disney or work in visual effects for a living. I can remember defiantly staying up far to late at night to catch re-runs of Movie Magic on the Discovery Channel completely glued to the TV as they described things that happen behind the scenes. Even now I am often more excited to see the “Making of” features of a movie then the actual movie itself. The shear amount of times I have watched every appendix disc of the extended Lord of the Rings Trilogy DVD’s is embarrassing really. It was only natural that I end up finding a love for 3D and motion graphics and am lucky enough to actually be doing it for a living.

Did you have any formal training?

My first foray into the world of 3D graphics was with Bryce 3D when I was in 9th grade. A delightfully painful program that allowed me to create landscapes and reflective spheres to wet my appetite for graphics. While being a limiting program for animation and modeling it gave me a brief but exciting introduction to 3D. As a freshmen at UNM I stumbled across the CGI and Animation course they offered. At the time I did not know there were any classes like that available. I was so excited about it I instantly switched my major to computer science and enrolled in the class the next semester because I heard it was an upper division computer science course. It was in that class that I was introduced to Maya and began my 5 semesters of that course utilizing the machines and software to learn and explore the vast world of 3D. It turned out that I didn’t have to be a CS student to do the class so I switched to Studio Art in my sophomore year and finally found my grounding as an art student. I owe a lot of my training to my internship with Boeing while I was an undergrad. At the time I worked under the supervision of Jim Van Allen who currently works for Industrial Light and Magic. He is really one of the most innovative, creative and driven CG artists I know. Working with him on projects and learning the nuances of CG production whether it is 2D or 3D really propelled me beyond where I could bring myself at the time. Lastly I cannot forget the wonderful community of CG artists across the world that are so eager to share their knowledge and assistance to even the most introductory students. The amount of knowledge I have gained through online articles, forums, tutorials and critique sessions has been a priceless entity to my education. Thanks everyone! You rock!

Do you find that your training as a studio artist influences your work?

I have to admit, there were times I was frustrated taking studio art and art history courses during my undergrad because all I wanted to do was play in Maya. However, my drive to earn a degree and understanding that even though I didn’t see a direct connection between courses like “Early 20th Century African American Art” and visual effects, it’s influence on me and my experiences would be an overall benefit to my career. Looking back on my education now I am really thankful for all of the courses I took in traditional art creation and art history. They have helped me to see more possibilities of depth and meaning in art today and have elevated the quality of my work more than anything else could. There is so much more to film making, animation, motion graphics and graphic design than simply hitting the record button on the camera or slapping some shaders on a model and rendering it. I consider myself a life-long learner and find that I have more of an interest in learning traditional methods and history even now that I am working in the industry.

Are there any individuals or companies that influence your work?

That is a very hard question to answer in too specific a manner as I consider everything I see and hear as something that influences my work. I have always been inspired by the genius storytellers and production teams at Pixar. The way they meticulously dissect every minute detail in order to ensure that nothing is done without purpose really inspires me to do the same for myself. In terms of visual effects I love to see the innovation that comes out of ILM, Weta, Sony, Digital Domain, Framestore, etc. I am always fascinated to see how they do the things they do. Some of my favorite commercial spots have been created or assisted by The MILL and the Digital Kitchen. I am also highly inspired by great film directors and DPs like Alfred Hitchcock, Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, M. Knight Shyamalan. As you can see I find inspiration in a lot of places which I think is the way to do it because there is so much creativity to be found all over the place. You simply have to look and listen to find it.

You do both 3D and motion graphics. Do you prefer one over the other?

I have a bit of ADD going on when it comes to graphics. I definitely have a strong tendency toward 3D, but I find a lot of enjoyment and passion from extending myself to the motion graphics, graphic design and web design arenas. I find if I spend too much time on one specific thing I have a strong pull to learn something new, or work on something completely different. My interest in motion graphics really stems as an extension of my 3D knowledge rather than it as something different. It started as I became more comfortable with the concept of compositing using After Effects. The more I learned After Effects, the more I saw it as an extension of 3D. Some of the most inspiring 3D pieces I have seen involve a great amount of motion graphics and almost all of the motion graphics I enjoy involves 3D or at least 2.5D. I find that my knowledge in all of these fields in computer graphics expands my envelope in the others. This includes computer programming and computer networking.

You currently work for Boeing. What’s it like working on military scenario work?

Much of the work I do on the scenario based animations is not that different than any other 3D production. It still involves a planning of the story and mood as well as the usual modeling, animation, lighting rendering, editing processes. One of the interesting things about some of the work I do for Boeing is that at times a piece of hardware or an engineer’s design becomes the “star” of the show rather than a character. I have found it really extends my understanding of cinematography, timing and framing to create shots that are interesting even though there is no character mood or development to back it. Another thing that is interesting is that I often work with and for people that are more technically minded then artistically. While this creates some problems and challenges I have found that it makes me really understand exactly what it is that I am doing in order to explain it very clearly and concisely. Throughout that process I not only learn far more about what’s going on, but I have a much greater understanding of how to control what I do in order to get the exact look and effect I am going for.

Do you find that you are able to push yourself creatively in that environment?

Most of the direction of how to tell the story we are trying to tell is given to me. While this seems like the biggest blank canvas one could be offered, the projects tend to have some repetitive limitations. Since each project’s story can be told much like the others it is a creative challenge to present similar ideas in completely different ways. Much like a painter will depict the same person in different poses, environments and lighting to change the result of the piece. An interesting affect of working in aerospace is that my customers and audience often do not have a clue as to what or how I do what I do. As such the only thing they have to compare the work I do to is the productions they see on TV and at the movies. As you can imagine this puts some pressure on our small group to produce work that is on par with the top studios in the world within budgets and timelines that are even less realistic for us. A lot of the creativity for our productions is in creating processes, workflows and solutions that are fast and quick to implement, but still produce results that are competitive.

What kind of creative projects do you work on outside of work?

When it comes to 3D, a lot of my personal work usually involves R&D tests for things I would like to learn to enhance my work or some effect that will be needed for the next project. I like to create mock scenarios where I would need to produce some effect or look and then work to solve that problem so that when it becomes required it will be a lot easier to implement. Through my company, Swardson Studios, I also do a number of contract based projects. Whether they are in graphic design, web design, motion graphics or 3D animation really just depends on what comes up. I enjoy working in all of these fields and find that the knowledge and time I put into one will often push my abilities in the others just the same. Could be called the DaVinci effect I guess.

You also teach 3D animation at the University of New Mexico. What is the number one thing you teach your students to prepare for the ‘real world’?

If I could instill one thing in my students to prepare them for the real world is to NEVER STOP LEARNING. In this industry constant learning is something that is not only advantageous but is required to stay competitive and employable. Faster computers are constantly being developed and software is being designed to utilize those computers to the limit almost as fast. With this new software and their processes and abilities comes an ever increasing learning curve that fresh young minds are picking up faster and earlier than ever. If I were to be able to instill two things, the second would be to NEVER SETTLE. You may not get to where you want to be immediately but persistence and drive is the key to get there. Always push yourself farther than you think is possible, faster than you think is needed and more than you think is required.

Do you have plans for where you want to take your creative skills in the future?

I have been working a lot more with traditional filming techniques recently and think it would be great to try and push my abilities within this medium to produce some live action short films. There is a simple beauty to shooting something in real life and not having to worry about the technical hurdles of 3D animation. Working in both production and education simultaneously has given me the unique insight into the inseparable link between the two. Finding new and innovative ways to bring education to production artists and production experience to students is something I hope to explore and implement over the coming years.

speaking at motion09
Brad Swardson will be one of the ‘rock stars’ at motion09

10.11 – 10.14 2009 | abq | nm
motion | experience inspiration

………………………………..
author: Elaine Montoya
motion.tv
………………………………..
copyright: © 2008 – 09
motion.tv

motion

From the landmarks of Las Vegas to the screens big and small, audiences around the world have enjoyed Karin’s work. Karin directs and designs for a wide range of projects, spanning the worlds of fashion, entertainment, advertising, live-action direction, art, experience design and environmental installations. Whether directing military soldiers or stop motion claymation figures, Karin’s work carries a unique stamp.

Karin is is one of the founding members of  Imaginary Forces – an award winning visual effects firm with a reel that includes some of film’s most impressive work including Terminator Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Pink Panther 2, Ray, Definitely Maybe and Charlotte’s Web to name a few.

One of their recent projects was for Terminator Salvation (view motion.tv article). The piece was entitled “Machine Vision”.  In this project, their challenge was to conceptualize how the Terminator robots would see the world. Imaginary Forces broke down the visual spectrum to design Machine Vision, developing the language of these special effects sequences. Using new tools for IF, such as a depth cameras that breaks down footage into data point 3-D imaging, Machine Vision creates a terrifying new take on these killer robots.

On the lighter side, Karin directed the title sequence for Sony Picture’s The Pink Panther 2.  Her efforts did not go unnoticed. Legendary film critic Roger Ebert said of the titles: “I was smiling all the way through the opening credits of The Pink Panther 2. They made me miss the golden age of credits.”

Karin’s interest in pushing the boundaries of cinema has resulted in creating film and video installations for a variety of architectural and theatrical sites, including Las Vegas, Lincoln Center, and the Los Angeles Opera. Meanwhile, her expertise in both live action and design ultimately led to directing television commercials for such clients as Target, Honda, Sears, and Herman Miller.

Her work in designing television titles earned her an Emmy Award for Masterpiece Theatre’s American Collection and a nomination for the hit NBC series Chuck.

Karin Fong is a director and designer based in New York City. A native Californian, Karin studied Art at Yale, with a concentration in Graphic Design. After successfully creating an animated alphabet book for her senior project, she began her career as an animator on the WGBH television program Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? From that point forward, Karin was hooked on creating work that combines live action, design, and animation.

Recently named one the Top 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company magazine, Karin has had work in the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Artists Space, and The Wexner Center, as well as in numerous publications on film and design. Currently, Karin is on the faculty at the Yale School of Art where she teaches in the MFA program.

motion09 welcomes Karin Fong to the stage!

speaking at motion09
Karin Fong will be one of the ‘rock stars’ at motion09

10.11 – 10.14 2009 | abq | nm
motion | experience inspiration

………………………………..
author: Elaine Montoya
motion.tv
………………………………..
copyright: © 2008 – 09
motion.tv

someone to be proud of

This year, the motion graphics, broadcast design, and vfx industries have someone to be proud of: Karin Fong, of Imaginary Forces. Selected for her diverse portfolio of film titles, commercials, and experience design projects, Karin has garnered numerous accolades for her work, including awards from the D&AD, ADC, One Show, and an Emmy.

on machine vision

One of their recent projects was for Terminator Salvation (shown in the clip above). The piece was entitled “Machine Vision”.  In this project, their challenge was to conceptualize how the Terminator robots would see the world. Imaginary Forces broke down the visual spectrum to design Machine Vision, developing the language of these special effects sequences. Using new tools for IF, such as a depth cameras that breaks down footage into data point 3-D imaging, Machine Vision creates a terrifying new take on these killer robots.

@imaginary forces

Under Karin Fong’s leadership, Imaginary Forces, best known for its innovative movie titles, has expanded into new territory: commercial work for companies such as Microsoft, Pepsi, and Target, and design experiences for architectural spaces like the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the redesigned Lincoln Center. “Our essence is in film-title work,” says Fong. “But it’s through that concentrated effort that we’ve been able to expand our brain trust into multiple mediums.”

Fong is a master of cinematic storytelling in a compact space; her work in The Pink Panther 2 inspired film critic Roger Ebert to recall “the golden age of credits.”

kudos!

motion congratulates Karin Fong for being selected one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People!

speaking at motion09
Karin Fong will be one of the ‘rock stars’ at motion09

10.11 – 10.14 2009 | abq | nm
motion | experience inspiration

………………………………..
author: Elaine Montoya
motion.tv
………………………………..
copyright: © 2008 – 09
motion.tv

If you work in After Effects, you know the names Chris and Trish Meyer. Those of you who have read either of the Meyer’s books, (After Effects Apprentice | Creating Motion Graphics) or have participated in one of their hands-on sessions, know that the best way to improve your skills in After Effects is to learn from Chris and Trish Meyer. And your best opportunity to do so is at this year’s motion{u}.

motion{u} takes place Saturday, October 10, 2009 – the day before the motion09 kickoff. Chris and Trish’s full-day, hands-on session is limited to 15 people – which means if you are even thinking about improving your After Effects skills – you should sign up quickly!

The cost for this training is only $249. Groups of three or more from the same organization can attend for $229 each (please contact us at for details). To fully participate, we recommend you bring a laptop with the latest version of After Effects installed. If you don’t have After Effects installed on your machine, you can download a 30-day trial from Adobe’s website prior to motion09.

In Ex’pression’s Creative Direction class, students take all the skills and software they have learned throughout the program, and focus them to create a new brand identity for a real client. This includes a new logo, a design for a website, a 15-second TV spot, posters and other marketing collateral in addition to a style guide.

This year the assignment required the development of a promotional package commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Alcatraz and the Transit to Parks Program. The class worked as a team under the creative direction of their instructor, Paul Sparrow. Their challenge? To produce a variety of multimedia products for the campaign.

For this class, their efforts paid off. Once again, Ex’pression College Motion Graphic Design students took top honors, winning the design competition for the re-branding of Alcatraz State Park.

Yael Braha had this to say about the student-winners: “I am very pleased that our students were able to demonstrate their professional quality work on such a high profile project.”

George Su, Media Specialist and Park Web Administrator, has posted the students work on the National Park Service site and proudly announced that they will be using the designs to market Alcatraz to the general public.

Kudos to Ex’pression students Chuck Meridith, Glen Ohlson and Patrick Hanlon. Together, they came up with a campaign based on the gritty feel of old crime novels and films and used 3D and motion software to create a compelling piece.

From the motion team…congratulations on your achievements! We look forward to celebrating at motion09!

Mark Coleran’s visual, screen and interface designs appear in The Bourne Ultimatum, Children of Men, Mission Impossible 3, The Island, The Bourne Identity, Tomb Raider, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

how did you transition from graphic design to visual design for film?

Working with people in video got me interested in it. This was long before desktop motion graphics took off. I taught myself by doing a couple of initial test items, then did a second project that was a real job. It was learning by doing.

once you’re hired on a film, what happens next? what are some of the main considerations?

Video and graphics in movies are handled by a video supervisor. Generally, they’ll have their own companies and I subcontract to them. Once I’m involved, we’ll meet with the production designer and talk about the style, setting and feel of the film. The script can dictate everything. If it’s very realistic, you’ll want to keep the look of it realistic—although that doesn’t mean 100% real, because as you know, your computer screen doesn’t do very much when you sit in front of it. From a story point of view, and visually on film, that’s not particularly engaging, so we jazz it up a bit, make it work to tell the story. The animation is actually a tiny part of it. Most of the work goes into design and production in Illustrator and Photoshop. Only the last 5 to 10 percent involves animation.

how much is done on set and how much in post?

Most of it, 99 percent of it, is done live on set. If it’s on set you can get it all in a single take, everything works and looks right, and the actors have something to respond to. Later scenes can be shot first and might include video or screen imagery from scenes that haven’t been shot yet, so we’ll put something in to just hold it in place, or give the actors something to work with, or we’ll blue screen—though it’s very rare that we do blue screen, and if we do, it’s usually more to do with a technical limit of what can be played back.

from the first meeting to delivery, how long does it take to do what you do?

It varies massively. For Children of Men, I had 2 weeks to deliver everything. For The Island, we had 3-4 weeks pre-development, and 3 months to get it done and on set. It’s usually about 4-5 weeks for pre-production. After you get the initial look and feel of it done, production of the elements happens in stages, so you’re working on upcoming scenes all the way through the film.

do you do any of the programming, or is that someone else’s job?

That’s someone else’s job, though software for playback exists, which makes it very easy for the artist to do. Some of the playback is done using custom-built QuickTime players and it is sometimes programmed in Director. So, we’ll be on set and do the control ourselves because we know the animation and we know the sequence. But we’re generally on set anyway, in case changes are made and we have to rework the screens to get them ready for the next shot.

does your work vary a lot, or does it tend to be the same on every project?

Elements within a film can be very different, but for the most part, the work is very similar from film to film, even if it’s a completely different style. We spend the most time on the hero screens, which are larger, or have elements specific to the film or a particular sequence. We put the most effort into them, making sure they stand out—you do have to allocate your time and budget proportionately. When I started, you might do 20-40 screens for a film, but now you can do over 200, it’s grown a lot. But at the same time, budgets are lower.

are you able to find more economical ways of doing things, or is it a matter of minding budgets and being careful?

It’s a bit of both. I spotted this happening quite a long time ago. It’s like a lot of design over the years in one field or another, it becomes fairly commoditized and people tend to pay per item rather than for a creative service. So you need to be very efficient. I’ve found ways to re-use my previous work, making it into templates that can be easily adapted, changed or re-tasked.

that’s very smart

It’s good to recycle—as long as nobody knows it. I can save out layer styles in Photoshop, apply them to previous layouts, and have a new look very quickly. I’ve used one little animation—a map of the earth with some satellite lines and blinks—in 7 films. But the whole look and framing of it is changed, so it looks very different. With the sheer volume you have to deliver, you can’t always create from scratch anymore.

do you ever get bored with it?

Sometimes. It is like a great many tasks and repetition can set in, although there are great moments and a lot of satisfaction to be had from seeing the final product. I guess I should say yes, really, because I have actually moved on from doing the films, looking for a new challenge.

what are you doing now, something different?

Absolutely different. Well, kind of absolutely different—I’m now working in software design. Instead of designing for the script and to a brief, I’m designing for a real product that works, so the audience is slightly different. But there are similarities with the film work, and I can use many of the same techniques I’d developed.

as a designer, what inspires you?

It’s ironic, but part of the reason I got into user interface design isn’t from a like of the subject, but from dislike—so much of what I see around me is so awful. Being involved in changing that is a wonderful opportunity.

I draw inspiration from all kinds of sources. A lot of it away from my machine, but a lot of it from work being done with motion graphics and information visualization—everything from airport signage to maps. I also love drawing and photography.

have you read edward tufte’s books?

Yes, I’ve read them all, I do like his work. It’s very, very nice stuff. It’s inspiring to see someone articulate why things work in information design—and why they don’t. He’s almost created an industry out of it.

in the context of working on a project, how do design ideas come to you?

I develop an overview first, so I have an idea of how I’m going to present something. That’s quite a quick thing, initially. To hammer it out and make it a reality, I start with broad strokes, then build it in layers. It’s almost like painting—you develop the form, shape and color, and then add the detail.

speaking at motion09
Mark Coleran will be one of the ‘rock stars’ at motion09

10.11 – 10.14 2009 | abq | nm
motion | experience inspiration

………………………………..
author: Lilian Dregalla
Working Story Creative
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copyright: © 2008 – 09
motion.tv

how did you get into motion graphics?

TM: I started out as a musician, then got into desktop publishing after working on a music magazine. Working with After Effects was a natural next step because it was kind of a tie-in between music and print—but it was much more interesting than print. This was in the early 1990s, when there was a lot of interest in multimedia and interactive CDs. The Internet wasn’t quite there yet—but obviously something new was happening. And it really fascinated me. Just as desktop publishing had eliminated the need for typesetters, I could see the same thing happening to big post houses with very expensive equipment—because here was this little program that could, in some cases, do more tricks than they could.

CM: When I started working with After Effects—we were using it from version one, and beta testing it when there were just a half-dozen beta testers—I knew it would revolutionize video production. It was an exciting time, because until that point it had been, “we get to do this work because we bought the gear.” Now it was, “we get to do this work because we can afford a computer and we’re creative.”

when you get a project, what’s the first thing you do? what’s your approach to problem-solving?

CM: First, you have to consider what the client is trying to communicate. Is there a mood they’re trying to get across?

TM: Or is it information?

CM: Are there facts or concepts they need to convey?

TM: Or is it just eye candy? A lot of jobs just need to look pretty and animate to the music. While the music should never dictate what the visuals look like, it should dictate how they animate. So it’s very important for the client to pick the music before you start the animation. But as far as the visual look, there’s no hard and fast rule. Every job is different.

CM: It’s very tempting in motion graphics just to focus on the eye candy aspect. But you really need to start with the purpose of the piece.

TM: Exactly. On Web sites, you can do a lot of flashy animations but you really have to stop and ask, who’s the customer? How will they use the site? How will they get in and out of a page? How many words should be on the page? If you’re doing an opening graphic or animation for a crowd that’s moving around, it will be different than one you’d do for a crowd that’s seated. A seated audience is captive; you’ll have their attention for about a minute before the host comes on. You really do have to take everything into account.

CM: It’s not about, “Is it a cool graphic to watch?” The question is, did it serve the client’s purpose? At a trade show, for example, you need to grab someone’s attention while they’re walking down an aisle, you want to drag them into your booth. In a movie title you’re trying to get the viewer in the mood for the film and what they’re about to watch. For that, a subtle distortion, like the effects we did on the title for Cold Mountain, is more appropriate.

TM: When you’re doing a title for a movie, it’s not as creative as people might think. There are a lot of restrictions on what you can and can’t do. For example, the title can’t be bigger than the biggest star’s name. The sequence of names, and whether a name gets its own card is really important. I can’t just shuffle titles around, or put two names on a card.

CM: It’s an interesting contrast between the Web and film. Film is an older industry; there are a lot of set ways of doing things that you have to learn—as opposed to the Web where a lot of it’s like, “we’re making this up, folks. Let’s see what works.”

in your book After Effects Apprentice, you break everything down into simple steps, which helps remove the intimidation factor for a new user.

TM: That’s why we wrote the book. Our big book, Creating Motion Graphics With After Effects, is a little intimidating. It was written for people like us, not video editors or Flash users who just need to know enough about After Effects to get the job done in their world. High schools were using it to teach After Effects, but it’s not really appropriate for that. So we decided to do a book for beginners that covered all the core techniques and used fun examples. It even has some 3-D and advanced material, but it stops short of being overwhelming. People coming from a background in print or video editing can be a little intimidated by working in 3-D. We try to get them over the fear factor and show how, with minimal investment, you can really change the look of what you’ve created. After Effects doesn’t do full-blown 3-D, there’s no modeling. You’re just moving layers in x, y and z, and adding glows and highlights with the camera. The After Effects 3-D world isn’t really full 3-D.

CM: You’re not making dinosaurs, you’re just making information more interesting.

TM: We like to show people that 3-D isn’t all that scary. We teach shortcuts, tips and tricks that let you move around in 3-D space more easily, and make working in 3-D much more enjoyable. But moving into 3-D isn’t something you do in your first week with After Effects. You need to get all the 2-D basics down first. 3-D it really is more for the intermediate user.

TM: First, you find out what it is you need to teach. And then you find some way of explaining it. A lot of it is based on jobs—we try to teach things that you have to do over and over again. We don’t teach things that you did once for a very strange client on a strange job that you never need to do again. We don’t want people to spend time learning something they’re never going to use on a real job. And we really try to break it down. Especially on Apprentice, every exercise is done in three or four pages. There’s no huge, long exercise where, by the time you’re finished, you’re not sure what you learned. The other secret is, don’t try to make a tutorial out of a real job. Real jobs are really messy. Our orientation is to prepare you for a career in using this program and these tools. We believe in keeping the focus on the core techniques you’ll use on a daily basis.

CM: There’s no need to show every single nook and cranny of a program if you’re never going to use it on a real job. We’re really into a user-to-user way of conveying information. I think it’s a difference between treating users as artists rather than programmers.

TM: Exactly. Our approach is, you’re an artist and you want to learn this. We actually joke that our books are for lazy, busy artists. We want the quickest way and the shortest way to do something.

how and when did you decide to write books about After Effects?

CM: Motion graphics people and After Effects users in particular are a community. It’s always been a pretty tight knit community, particularly in the early days. The first few After Effects books were written by people who didn’t use the program. They were authors who saw an opportunity and learned enough to get a book out there, but they weren’t users. In fact, one of those authors emailed us and said, “I see you’ve been writing articles on After Effects. I’m doing a book on After Effects, but I don’t actually know how to use it. Can I just reprint your stuff?”

TM: I turned to Chris and said this is ridiculous. We have to write a book. At that time, between 1998-2000, post houses were starting to take After Effects seriously and hiring people to work with it. We were afraid they were going to have a bad experience with people who just didn’t really know enough

CM: When a user doesn’t know how to use a program, it’s easy for a client to think it’s not a good program.

TM: We didn’t want After Effects to get a bad reputation because people weren’t using it properly. Also, people coming to After Effects from Photoshop or video editing didn’t know anything about the technical side of using After Effects, of outputting to video with non-square pixels and working with frame rates at 29.97. In the early days, some of the video cards only ran at 30 frames a second. If you have the technical stuff down pat, you can be more creative. You’re not worried about whether the frame rate is right or whether you’re adding three-two pulldown.

CM: We tell you enough technical information so that it’s not a mystery, so that users can understand it enough to know what the technical settings should be—then they can go back to being an artist. Showing people stuff that’s tripping them up—that’s been our driving force in doing the classes and books. It’s hey, this causes us trouble, let’s share it with everyone else so it doesn’t cause them trouble too.

speaking at motion09
Chris & Trish Meyer will be two of the ‘rock stars’ at motion09

10.11 – 10.14 2009 | abq | nm
motion | experience inspiration

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author: Lilian Dregalla
Working Story Creative
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copyright: © 2008 – 09
motion.tv

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