Sunday, July 31, 2005

Visual Rhythm, Part 2: Motion & Cinema Tricks

Chris and Trish Meyer | 07/31- 08:18 PM

Tricks in Motion and Cinema 4D for coordinating multiple, duplicate objects.

In the previous column, we detailed a number of techniques for animating multiple layers in Adobe After Effects. In this column, we turn our attention to Apple’s Motion and Maxon’s Cinema 4D.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Visual Rhythm, Part 1: After Effects Tricks

Chris and Trish Meyer | 07/05- 04:46 PM

Techniques for easily creating and coordinating multiple objects.

Rhythm - repetition, with variation - is the backbone of many pieces of fine art, as well as motion graphic designs. However, it can be tedious to create and animate hordes of layers - and tedium is not a ticket to inspiration. In the next two columns, we’ll discuss approaches to more easily creating visual rhythm. In this column we’ll start with techniques that can be executed inside Adobe After Effects; in the next column we’ll discuss alternate tools such as Apple Motion and Maxon Cinema 4D.

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Motion + MIDI

Chris Meyer | 06/30- 08:33 PM

Adding a new level of control to crafting motion graphics.

An intriguing feature introduced in version 2 of Apple’s Motion Apple’s Motion is the ability to control it via MIDI: the Musical Instrument Digital Interface. This allows users to choose among a wide variety of third-party input devices to edit parameters in Motion - such as scale, opacity, rotation, or most effect parameters - either while parked on a still frame, or while previewing in real time. The user’s gestures can also be recorded in real time, allowing you to “perform” parameter edits, reacting to the video or soundtrack. This capability has also caught the attention of the VJ (video jockey) market, giving them another tool to perform video transformations in real time. 

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

The Almost Perfect Font

Chris and Trish Meyer | 04/05- 07:24 PM

What to do when the client loves your font choice, but asks could you just change one character?

The LoveLetter Typewriter font had a few characters that were difficult to read (top line) until they were modified (lower line).

When planning a new project, the font you choose can lift a design to a new level, or add an all-important attitude. So when you’ve spent hours picking a font that the client agrees is “just perfect,” panic can set in when they object to a couple of characters as being too weird or difficult to read. The more high profile the job, the fussier the client will be; after all, if they’ve paid millions to open their movie with the name “Zellweger,” the Z better look good! Rather than picking a different font and possibly disrupting the schedule, an hour spent editing the troublesome characters can save the day.

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

A Different Light: Gamma-Corrected Compositing

Chris and Trish Meyer | 11/30- 08:56 AM

A simple introduction to gamma-corrected compositing.

The image on the left is a normal computer crossfade; the image on the right uses linear blending - note how the bright areas are emphasized. Footage courtesy Artbeats.

Most of us have been navigating the waters of computer graphics with the assumption that the world is flat. And it’s remarkable how well we’ve done with this fundamentally flawed assumption. However, some of you may have heard whisperings that the world is actually round - often couched in terms of how important it is to understand the subject of gamma, and to composite within a “linear light” model.

Tuesday, November 04, 2003

Managing Moving Masks

Chris and Trish Meyer | 11/04- 04:30 PM

Bringing some predictability and control to animating Mask Shapes in After Effects.

In After Effects, each mask vertex (the yellow squares) interpolates in a straight line from old to new positions. The red lines illustrate some of these paths. The First Vertex is the largest box – in this case, the one in the upper left corner of the M and I.

Masking is one of the core features of After Effects. Most know how to create and edit Mask Shapes; fewer how to control the way these shapes animate – which is important, especially with the popularity of creating cel or Flash type animations these days.

After Effects can seem to have a twisted mind of its own when interpolating between two different Mask Shapes. In reality, it has a very narrow, simple mind. However, there are some tricks you can employ to coax it down a path closer to the one you want. When you need even more precise control, you can employ the Smart Mask Interpolation keyframe assistant, included in the Professional edition of After Effects (including CS3 Professional).

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