KEYNOTE: Apple Motion and Cinema 4D

Today’s rapid development cycle in the motion graphics and vfx industry calls for efficient workflows. Sometimes the best workflow comes from integrating multiple software applications, creating the ‘best of both worlds’. Such is the case with Apple’s Motion and Cinema 4D.

With the release of Motion 4, it’s easier than ever to create astonishing 2D and 3D motion graphics. When integrated with the powerful tools in Cinema 4D, it takes your work to the next level. However, using Motion can be tricky for folks with a strong After Effects background. Join Apple Motion and Cinema 4D pro Mark Spencer for an evening of tips and techniques on how After Effects users can quickly get up to speed with Motion, and how Motion and Cinema 4D can be used together to create stunning motion graphics.

Mark Spencer is a freelance producer, editor, teacher and writer based in the Bay Area. His company Day Street Productions is a production and post studio focused on corporate video. Mark is an Apple-certified instructor for Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, and Motion, teaching for organizations such as BAVC, Stanford University, DVExpo, MacWorld, and consulting for corporations and individuals. He is the author of the Apple Pro Training Series book Motion 4 from Peachpit Press and has written for print and online publications including DV Magazine, EditWell, ProVideo Coalition and kenstone.net. Mark maintains http://www.applemotion.net, a resource for Motion. He has an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Join Mark for a full-day training this year at motion{u}: Apple Motion & Cinema 4D: A Crash Course for After Effects Users read more »

motion

“It was our best year ever,” said Becky Padilla, co-producer of motion09. “We started motion three years ago. As working professionals in the industry, we were frustrated that nothing like it existed. As creatives – we were looking for an event that provided inspiration.”

“We’ve attended many conferences over the years,” said Elaine Montoya, co-producer of motion. “They all focused on learning software. While this has it’s place, we were at the place in our careers where we were looking for creative inspiration as a means to revitalize. With tight deadlines, and the pressure of the industry, sometimes you just need to get away from all of it and rejuvenate. That’s what motion is about.”

With motion09, these goals were realized. This year’s show included some of the top talent in the industry, including Karin Fong and Rod Basham (Imaginary Forces), Andrew Orloff (Zoic Studios), Synderela Peng (yU+co.), emmy award winning director Jamie Caliri, animation master Dan Haskett, Michael Waldron and Erik van der Wilden (nailgun*), visionary screen designer Mark Coleran, Patrick McDonough of PMcD Design, and many more.

“The intimate atmosphere allowed for some great one-to-one conversations. I made some great connections that will be invaluable as I continue to define and develop the new Department of Motion Design at Ringling.” Ed Cheetham – Ringling College of Art and Design

“It was so enjoyable to share time and space with other creatives who didn’t seem to be worrying about their place in the scene!” Erik van der Wilden – nailgun*

“We had a wonderful time, thank you – looking forward to next year already!” Alicia VanHeulen – Toolfarm

“I think the whole experience of motion is the people you meet. I have always found some great people that become friends that last much longer then the conference.” Jason Sorbie – Sorbie Design

“Congratulations on the conference! I am so glad I participated!” Patrick McDonough – PMcD Design.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. This year we were honored to have the amazingly talented photographer, Chelsea Nicole capturing the event. Take a look…

“A shout-out to the rockstars of motion09, attendees, volunteers and sponsors of motion. You are what motion is all about,” said Montoya.

“I’ll say it once again,” added Padilla. “We truly appreciate your support!”

Next year’s motion, will take place in October 2010, in ABQ, NM. Details coming soon.

Post-secondary students studying motion graphics, animation, and vfx were asked to submit their reels – 5 minutes or less. The top three winners in two categories – motion graphics and vfx, were announced at this year’s motion conference.

In the category of motion graphics, the winners were:

1st place: Tommy Strickland (Ex’pression College for Digital Arts)
2nd place: Cassandra Chisom (Ex’pression College for Digital Arts)
3rd place: Matt Aubuchon (Ex’pression College for Digital Arts)

view winning reels:

[playlist id=1]

In the category of vfx, the winners were:

1st place: Anna Tonrungroj (Vancouver Film School)
2nd place: Corey Coates (Vancouver Film School)
3rd place: Peter Choi (Vancouver Film School)

view winning reels:

[playlist id=2]

Congratulations to the winners of the motion09 future@motion reels competition!

Students were invited to create interstitials that express the concept of motion. There were no strict guidelines. Our goal was simply to provide an opportunity for students to be creative, and have their work seen.

First, second, and third place winners were selected – and Ex’pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, CA took home the bragging rights – sweeping the competition!

“There were numerous outstanding entries in this year’s competition”, said Elaine Montoya, co-producer of motion09. “We had an extremely difficult time selecting the winners.”

“It was very difficult”, reiterated Becky Padilla, co-producer of motion09. “Almost every entry was good enough to be a winner. We saw some amazing creativity. I think this was partially due to our lenient guidelines. We wanted students to be creative – and they were. Ultimately, it came down to selecting the entries that best expressed the only guideline we did provide: to create an interstitial that expresses the concept of event – motion.”

Third place winner, Lisa Hetherington was selected for a piece she created using Cinema 4D and After Effects. “Lisa’s piece conveys the concept of establishing roots as a means for creative growth”, said Montoya. “We felt this expressed one of our primary goals for students attending motion – to establish roots in the industry through their participation in the event and on-site networking with professionals.”

Second place winner, Alyx Loos submitted an elegant type treatment, with a old-time ‘theatrical’ flair. “Alyx’s piece had several elements that caught our attention in relation to the event,” said Padilla. “First, the overall concept of ideas in motion was a good match. While most conferences focus on learning software, our mission with motion, is to produce a show where professionals in the industry can come together to inspire and be inspired, to share ideas, and to be revitalized. ‘Ideas in motion’ fits this goal. The theatrical flair through the film look was a bonus – in many ways, motion is more a creative ’show’ vs. a ‘traditional’ conference.”

Finally, Audrey Karleskind took 1st place in the competition and Best of Show for her interstitial. “When providing guidelines as broad as our were, it’s common to see submissions with outstanding creativity. We basically gave students carte blanche to create whatever they wanted to,” said Montoya.

“Most students use this as an opportunity to experiment – to come up with something they haven’t done before. In Audrey’s case, we felt like she took it a step further. She considered ‘the client’ – motion. It’s the exception rather than the rule that creative professionals are given carte blanche. In most cases, their objective is to create a piece that best meets their client’s marketing and/or communication objectives. Audrey did her research. In a simplistic, illustrative cut-paper animation style, Audrey captured the feel of  downtown ABQ – the event venue. From the historic buildings that line Central avenue, to the modern day high-rises interspersed, it was readily recognized as downtown ABQ.”

“We also like that she included the ‘tourist’ side of the event by including the NM Railrunner, the Sandia mountains, and hot-air balloons,” said Padilla. “We always encourage motion attendees to ‘make it a vacation’ if possible – and the unique attractions of the southwest are part of this.”

“And, she went as far as to use the motion09 logotype in her piece,” added Montoya. “Another sign to us that she was designing this with her ‘client’ in mind.”

Congratulations to the winners of this year’s competition – Lisa, Alyx and Audrey.

Kudos to Ex’pression for sweeping the competition – solidifying their reputation as one of the ‘elite’ post-secondary motion graphics programs in the country.

view all winners of this year’s competition

view all winners of this year’s competition

Not a problem. Reserve your tickets now at the discounted rate, simply by sending us a purchase order or letter of intent. You won’t have to pay until October!

And we’ve even provided you a sample letter of intent. email it to us at contact [at] motionconference [dot] com or fax it to 505-344-9787. After we receive your purchase order or letter of intent, we will send you a special code to register now. See you at motion09!

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sample letter of intent

September 17, 2009

motion conference
po box 70102
albuquerque, nm 87197-0102

attention: motion 09 registration

This letter serves as [your company's name] Letter of Intent to submit payment in full for the following motion09 conference and training fees:

– motion09 {m}ticket $599
– motion{u} registration $249
– guest ticket for planetmotion party $38
(sample items – replace these with the specific tickets you are purchasing)

TOTAL $886.00

Payment will be made in full no later than October 10, 2009.

This representation is made with full authority and responsibility of [your company's name].

Sincerely,

your name
your title

This offer expires midnight, Friday, September 18, 2009. Yes…that’s tomorrow! Regular room rates start at $159 a night, so reserve your room in the next 24 hours and save $40 a night – that’s enough to pay for your plane ticket*!

Well…what are you waiting for? Reserve your room at the discounted group rate now!

*based on Southwest Airlines discounted specials to certain markets

Do yourself a favor and save $100 by registering now. Then, get ready to enjoy the rockstars of motion09 including:

karin fong {Imaginary Forces}, andrew orloff {Zoic Studios}, synderela peng {yU+co.}, emmy award winning director jamie caliri, veteran disney animator dan haskett, michael waldron {nailgun*}, mark coleran {gridiron}, rod basham {Imaginary Forces}, erik van der wilden {nailgun*}, chris & trish meyer, patrick mcdonough {pmcd design}, lee roderick, william lebeda {Picture Mill}, phil nibbelink {Nibbelink Productions}, bryan thombs {Picture Mill}, cedric hohnstadt, brad swardson, barbara geary, mark spencer, and more.

register now…you’d be silly not to

In 2000, she developed the graduate course Physical Expression For Animators at the Rochester Institute of Technology and has brought that work to animators around the country.

How did you come up with the concept of acting for animation?

In the spring of 1998 I was asked to devise a course in non-verbal communication designed to broaden the creative vocabulary of Graduate Students in Animation at the Rochester Institute of Technology. At the time, I had decades of experience and training as a physical actor behind me and some experience in working for animators doing registration and film editing so I set about to distill the elements of my training and experience that would be useful for an animator.

Does acting help improve a character animators skills?

A common belief about acting is that it’s simply about becoming someone else and for the most part, that’s what’s apparent to the audience. But that process requires an understanding of the way we inhabit our bodies. Without it, we can’t play with and mold our physicality in a way that translates as a believable transformation into the “other”. And a character without a real physicality is just a talking head.

Any specifics?

Breath, gait, gaze, status. We take these things for granted in ourselves, but if we can isolate their specific qualities, understand and work with them in a variety of combinations, we are building a great foundation on which to create a character that is alive as a real individual for the audience.

- Breath pattern is a great indicator of a personal rhythm and emotional state.

- Gait or how a character walks can express a tremendous amount about a characters’ physical state and what they do as an occupation.

- Gaze brings us into the character’s thought process and inner life.

- Status as it is expressed physically, gives us an almost unconscious understanding of a character’s place in their immediate social circle and in the wider world.

You get into other aspects as well?

Yes. When you begin to mix variations in rhythm, pace, levels, and movement qualities with these basic elements you’ve established, it’s possible to explore and embody a full range of physical possibilities for your character.

Not all of them will be useful in a given project, but your underlying understanding will bring depth to your creation. An understanding of these elements are useful to animators as they develop a character just as they are to the actor creating a character in performance. If you can inhabit the physical aspects of the characters you create, to get inside their skins, it is so much easier to translate that into your animation because you know what it feels like for them to move in this or that way, to twist like that, how their breath changes when they’re scared or embarrassed or in love.

It’s a great way to improve you observation skills

Definitely. You will also find yourself much sharper in your observations of living things. Tapping into your instinctive understanding of what to look for, you’ll find all the inspiration you need for character in the nearest coffee shop or a walk down the street.

Add these skills to your toolbox and you’ll find yourself going back to them again and again.

speaking at motion09
Barbara Geary will be one of the ‘rock stars’ at motion09

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

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