You may have seen these videos on Vine or Facebook or somewhere. This guy Arron is a talented motion graphics editor who uses After Effects to make real world animations.
This is just another example of how advanced you can get with After Effects. He has a full tutorial on his After Effects techniques for this type of realistic, real world animation. It is not free ($50), but these techniques are extremely useful for advancing your realistic motion graphics abilities.
Check out his site for more information, other tutorials including free ones, other examples of his real-world animation videos, and more.
One thing about motion graphics that is fascinating to me is how the initial drawings and ideas become the end product. After surfing the internet on things related to our class I stumbled upon this one which I found to be pretty interesting, although it is short I do think it's helpful for someone like me, with little experience in graphics, to see a general work flow from ideas to the final product. In this video the audience is shown in a non specific way how the artists idea's translate to the screen in the movie "Pacific Rim". Although this is not a tutorial or a breakdown of how the graphics were created, I think it gives good incite into how the artist has to prepare to combine what they are planning to create with what the director has envisioned and shot.
So I was surfing the net, as I am to do from time to time, and I stumbled upon this promo the UK cable service SKY put together to advertise their upcoming star wars marathon.
Besides being the coolest thing I've ever seen, this promo incorporated a lot of the techniques and skills we've learned over the semester, albeit with gorgeous execution.
Aside from the double exposure effects, there are a lot of cool 3D space camera moves, rotoscoping, and even some very slight puppet animation. It's rare to see a piece of content made independently from it's creators that really captures the feel of the original content, butt I believe this promo does an absolutely stunning job. I've watched it about 8 times now and each time I've noticed something new. I really don't have anything else to say regarding this piece. I just thought it did a really awesome of capturing the feel of the Star Wars Franchise! Hope you guys enjoy!
One of my favorite kinds of motion graphics is the use of text. Previously, I had written about some awesome Kinetic Typography, but I left out the whole idea of Compositing Typography! This idea of Tracking the Cameras Movement and adding in poignant text that relates to the Message.
I find the message is much stronger when the main ideas are highlighted with motion graphics. I know I've seen this in many different places but most recently, I've run into videos by Prince Ea:
Perhaps you've seen one or two of his videos. His videos perfectly demonstrate what I was talking about. I think the paring of Text, Slam Poetry, Cinematography, and Music combine to give messages a whole new dimension.
Many of Prince Ea's major projects have been in collaboration with Motion Graphic Artist Hodja Berlev and as it turns out most of his work is in After Effects. I find what he does really fascinating, and I think getting the chance to watch over his shoulder may be one of the coolest experiences.
I think this team in general, is doing a lot of good in the world of social media, and I think that if I could just be a part of what they're doing, the experience would be awesome. I would love to help them spread the words they're saying, and maybe even help in a larger more physical way.
So if you're a gamer like me, chances are you're very familiar with Valve's celebrated "Meet the Team" series. For those not in the know, "Meet the Team" is a series of 3D animated short films and biographies built around the characters of the 2006 game TF2.
What's truly incredible about this series is that all of the films are made in the games actual engine, meaning that what we're seeing are the actual characters as they appear in game. Now while this isn't necessarily rare for game developers to do, what IS rare is that Valve actually released that animation software to the general public and then allowing them to do essentially whatever they please with the games in game elements.
While I haven't played around with it too much myself, it seems to be a great tool for learning the very basics of 3D animation. And of course if you're already pretty handy with 3D animation, you can always use it to create content that you wouldn't have made otherwise for fear of wasting to much time on a project that comes across as completely ludicrous.
Silly I know, but in just trying your hand at making something akin to the video above I feel that you can truly learn a lot about the basics, physics, and properties that are needed to seriously pursue a career in animation.
Anyway if you've ever wanted to dip your toes into 3D animation I think that the Source Filmmaker would be a tool well worth your time and effort, and of course because the program is open source there are a wealth of tutorials available on YouTube. If you enjoyed the above film's I'd suggest going on YouTube and searching "SFM FILMS" some people have used these models to create truly gripping films, but then again for every piece of serious content there about a million videos of just unfiltered insanity.
One of the most interesting aspects in my enrollment in this class is the ways in which my education can be applied to the motion graphics industry. Even though we've predominantly working with After Effects, the work that can be done using Autodesk's Maya is just astounding. Within the last two days, it has been announced that all 5 of the best VFX and 7 Best Picture Academy Award nominees were designed using Autodesk and Shotgun Software. It has become increasing evident that the role of technology in the service of great storytelling continues to
evolve. As the creators of some of the best CG tools in the world, Autodesk has allowed animators rise to the top of the global computer graphics industry. Some of these films are as follows:
Big Hero 6
Captain America: The Winter Solider
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Even though we haven't started using Maya, I'm intrigued to learn how animators take full advantage of all of the tools that Autodesk has to offer. This is definitely a type of animation that I want to pursue in the future.
I ran across some videos today with very cool motion graphics designs. I thought that these videos would be useful to everyone! (There is even one with a 3D bird)
Typomania Festival: this short was made in attempt to popularize the typography culture and was aimed towards designers, illustrators, and animators. Notice the 3D birds at 0:28 seconds.
I enjoyed this video because the fairytale story about the competition between social media comes across flawlessly to the audience. However I'm posting the video because its primarily composed of animated shapes, expressions, several layers, and text (nothing that we can't achieve as After Effects beginners- or atleast i think.)
"White" represents education and the endless possibilities of a clean slate. They are committed to sharing skills with the next generation of designers in
both the academic setting and through workshops. A white canvas
represents incredible potential, which they at CMYK+WHITE, INC. aim to
develop and push as far as they can.
The K represents the motion graphics that they bring to life. Black is a reference to the early days of the motion picture before color technology was available. Their motion graphics capabilities and include animation, interactive media
and web design. Motion is the strongest visual pull to attention in
humans. In all of our work we strive to create something that is visually appealing and meaningful.
The Y represents the branding, editorial and packaging that they design. Yellow is said to have a stimulating impact on our memory, which is extremely important to the success of branding. Yellow is also the color of inspiration and energy — all of which motivate the visual experience in each logo, magazine layout or package that they create.
“C” represents the interior and exterior spaces that they create. Cyan is a color prominent in our natural environment — in the sky and sea. They aim to create
environments that reiterate the brand and message in a memorable way.
With each space they aim to engage people with the environment and the
sensory experience of moving through the space.
This is an inspiring graphic design company that everyone should strive to work for.
My first semester in Ithaca was Spring 2013. During this semester on Ithaca College Television, the Station Manager was none other than George Ahlmeyer. Under George's time as Station Manager, he helped redesign the look of many ICTV shows with his extensive knowledge of After Affects along with several other programs. His work really revamped the look of not just the shows of ICTV but also ICTV itself as he created most of the graphics seen during commercial breaks on ICTV. This video posted below is the sizzle real from his website http://georgeahlmeyer.com .
Above is the demo reel for a motion graphics company called Arenamation. Arenamation specializes in creating motion graphics for sporting events. Basically if you go to a live sporting event, you will find Arenamation's work in use all over the place.
This week I thought I'd switch it up a bit and focus on a production company called Arenamation that is out of the New York area. Arenamation is a design firm that specializes in creation of sports motion graphics. Additonally the firm prides itself in its LED Fascia/ Ribbon Board animations that have been seen throughout sport venues in the U.S. including the NBA, MLB, NHL and the NFL. For any of you that aren't familiar with LED Fascia animations which are often referred to as ribbon board, this is the LED technology found in sport venues and on outdoor billboards. Here is an example of a ribbon board inside a Major League Baseball venue...
A typical ribbon board has one blue, one red and one green LED (Light Emitting Diode) to form only one pixel. Although the ribbon board is capable of playing animations and live video similar to a television what sets it apart is the aspect ratio. With most ribbon boards having a height of only 48 pixels and a width of over 10,00 pixels this creates a considerable challenge when creating the content, something that Arenamation has many years of experience doing. Here is another example of ribbon board...
Here is some of Arenamation's other works...
This was created by Arenamation for the New Orleans Saints 2012 introduction video and is displayed right before the players take the field.
Lastly another example of their work with the Pittsburgh Penguins 3D Logo...
