Bass/ Treble Tutorial

Last week in class we went over the steps to tracking the bass and treble with different types of layers. I was going through some tutorials on youtube and stumbled upon this step by step video that teaches you to makes a pulse logo that reacts to the audio (bass/treble). The videos twenty minutes so its a bit long but when you get the steps down its easy to do with any song!

Color and Movement in MS "Ghost"

I was surfin the net like I'm one to do, when I came across a really rad animated music video. I usually don't like dubsteppy kinda stuff, but I found myself really liking this one!

First of all check out how bobby everything is! It's like the characters are actually dancing to the music. Also the skull guy, even though he don't have no mouth, is designed so well that you always know what he's thinking. Could you make this kind of stuff in After effects? I feel like the bobbing to the music thing is something I've seen us do before in class.

The only thing I really don't like about the music video are the colors of the main characters. Everything is colored really spookily, but the other main characters are these boring flat colors. It makes me more mad than when I strikeout in a softball game. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

Sky Star Wars Promo

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!

Bézier Curves

Bézier curves are used all the time in computer graphics and animation. They allow you to make complex vector shapes and motions while only using a very small amount of data. Instead of having to plot every point of a curve, a Bézier curve can be produced from a simple equation. All you need is two points for the beginning and end of he curve, and two extended handles that you can stretch to change the angle and intensity of the curve. It is very simple to use these curves, and you can easily achieve the curves you want with trial and error, but it is hard to understand how they work without a good explanation. I found an extremely simple and satisfying video explanation of how Bézier curves work. This might help you in the future if you work with Bézier curves, and if not, it's still entertaining for anyone who has no idea what a Bézier curve is and doesn't care either.

Measuring the Universe

This is quite the interesting video. The Royal Observatory Greenwich put out this video last year, using motion graphics a bit of science to explain why we can measure the distance of things from us that are so far away, even if we can't physically measure them with, for example, and measuring tape.

The video reflects the narrator's commentary well, with simple, yet effective graphics used to accentuate the meaning behind each explanation.

Even with something as complex and mostly unknown as our universe, this editor found a way to make it all seem super simple and extremely understandable. And for that, he or she should be congratulated.

One of my favorite shows on TV is CSI:NY. I have always been intrigued by the opening sequence. Every season, the title sequence changes, usually with an addition or subtraction of a character. The sequence itself rarely changes. However in season 7, both changes occurred. There was a change in cast as well as a change in the opening sequence. I know it is rather simple, but I like it. I like how the viewer first plunges right into the heart of New York city then we are introduced to characters, in order of importance. There is usually some sort of graphic that is in sync with the character. We first see Gary Sinise and surrounding him are numbers and characters from a murder case he solved in a previous episode. I also think the red blood cells we see before we are introduced to Anna Belknap are pretty cool. The 3-d model that Robert Joy, the coroner, is working on is also an impressive piece of craftsmanship. One last thing that I find cool about the sequence is the bullet fired right before we are introduced to Eddie Cahill. I like how the bullet is fired then tracked to its destination. Again, I understand this isn't really too impressive, but it is intriguing. I just wonder how they came up with the ideas they did or how they created them. I am not even sure if any of this was made with after effects, but I like the ideas presented and thought you might too.