CMG Keyframes

We have written numerous articles and columns for a variety magazines over the years, including our previous long-running “Motion Graphics” column in DV magazine plus currently a monthly “Tips n Tricks” article for Artbeats.com. A summary of everything we’ve written that’s still available online can be viewed here.

It is our intention to move the “key” articles in this archive over to this site (ProVideo Coalition), to make sure you have reliable access to the best of these articles. Although some were written years ago, they still contain useful tips and concepts on both technology and design. As appropriate, we will update them information that has changed; also look for the “Postscript” sections that appear at the end of some of the articles. And of course, we will also be adding new articles as subjects come up.

If you can’t find an article on the subject you’re interested in, let us know in a “comment” to this post and we’ll see what we can do! In the meantime, there’s always our books Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects and After Effects Apprentice. You can see summaries of these - including samples - on the books page of our website.

Every month, we write a Tips N Tricks article for our friends at Artbeats.com. This month we’ve written a brain dump on where those funky frame rates came from, and issues to watch out for as you get assets from 3D artists, stock footage libraries, film composers, and even well-meaning camera or tape operators that have frame rates that might be just slightly off from what you expect - and how to correct them.

Click here to download a 212 KB PDF of “Frame Rate Follies” from Artbeats.com.

Fellow PVC writer Mark Christiansen also recently wrote a piece for Artbeats’ NAB 2008 Show Guide on creating ramping speed effects in After Effects; click here to download the 1.1 MB PDF. In a similar vein, we also wrote an article for Artbeats on using the same underlying technique to bend the time of a clip to match a soundtrack; click here to download the 2.3 MB PDF of it.

By the way, Artbeats has a monthly email newsletter which contains links to each of our articles for them as they are released, plus a link for registered users to download a free full-size clip every month. Click here to register.

The real power in using any compositing program comes in combining its tools to create something more powerful than any one hammer or screwdriver can give you. In this previous column, we show you how to combine the motion tracker in After Effects with the Clone brush in its Paint tools to help automate the removal of an unwanted, moving object in a shot. (And how do we combine those tools? Using Expressions, a third tool in After Effects.)

Click here to jump straight to “A Track of the Clones” (with apologies for the terrible pun in the name).

Back in the late 90s, we were hired by NBC to create a series of promotional videos to play back on their AstroVision sign in Time Square. This article is a case study of one of those promos, including notes on the NBC “mondo” shoot and how we executed the visual effect of morphing the NBC peacock to a title using the Mr. Mercury effect. It also includes some musings at the end of how to take advantage of the multimedia and multiple media outlets to add value to content and enhance the fan’s experience - interesting to see that these were hot topics a decade ago, even as networks seem to struggle with the very same concepts today.

Click here to jump straight to “Playing Squash.”

When we work alone, it’s easy to ask for what we need - we just get it ourselves. However, when you’re creating elements for someone else you need to be a bit more attentive, anticipating their questions and needs (unless you’re prepared to get calls at 2 AM asking just what you thought you were doing). Therefore, several years ago we wrote this column discussing some of the things a motion graphics artist should keep in mind when they create elements for editors, such as alpha channels, editing handles, and creating templates for lower thirds and the such (should the client suddenly change things on them during the edit session). If you are new, or a student hoping to get into this field (and to be known as the one who was helpful, rather than the one who caused problems), spend a couple minutes to review these tips.

Click here to jump straight to “Elements for Editors.”

During the Post|Production World conference that ran alongside NAB 2008, I gave an extended session on audio connections, microphones, and other related issues. At the end, the attendees hit me with their individual problems. I thought the questions and their answers might be useful to others, so I decided to add them to the archives up here, amended with additional thoughts and research I’ve gathered since returning from NAB.

Note that essential companion reading to these comments include my previous article on audio wiring and connections, plus my blog on dealing with ground loop hum.