Work Smarter, Not Harder: Nucleo Pro

We all love After Effects plug-ins that give exciting new looks. However, equal acclaim should be accorded those that simply give us more time. A promising new plug-in in this category is GridIron Software’s Nucleo Pro. It was in beta at the time we wrote this (August 2006), but we couldn’t wait to share it with you, and also give you a peek under the hood to understand how it works.

Camera Control, Part 2: Graph Editor & Dolly Rigs

In the previous column, we discussed a handful of tricks and techniques which can be used in different situations to make it easier to animate the 3D camera in After Effects, including one node cameras, two node cameras, auto-orientation, and building a special orbiting camera rig using parenting and null objects. In this column we’ll show how to build a “dolly” rig for the camera in older versions of After Effects as well as the new version 7.0, plus give a quick introduction to the new Graph Editor also introduced in After Effects 7.0.

Camera Control, Part 1: Auto-Orient & Orbit

One of the most daunting obstacles for motion graphics artists making the transition from 2D to 3D is animating the camera. In this month’s column, we’ll give a quick review of the two basic camera types you can animate in After Effects, plus reveal the easy-to-miss Auto-Orient Along Path option. Then we’ll show you how to build a simple “camera rig” for performing perfect camera orbit and spiral moves. In the next column, we will discuss approaches to building a more complex rig that allows the user to animate each axis independently, and show how this has been made much easier in After Effects 7.0 with a special Animation Preset plus the introduction of a new Graph Editor.

Map Exploration

A common task is navigating around a map-like image. In this column, we’ll discuss three different approaches to this challenge: stroking a line, animating text elements along a path, and auto-orienting an object of your choosing along a path.

These techniques use features that are spread around Adobe After Effects. Our goal is to pull them together for you, and show the different approaches and options. We’ll be assuming a basic working knowledge of the program; you can also download and explore our final After Effects project (created for AE 6.5 and later) by clicking here (12.5 MB .zip file). Movies of the three techniques are included with the download.

The Hi-Def Checklist

The darker areas to the left and right of these images show what happens when a 16:9 image is “center cut” to create a 4:3 version. Make sure information such as lower thirds survive this cut. Image courtesy Belief and HGTV.

Many motion graphics artists are tackling their first high-definition jobs. In some respects, hi-def is just like normal video; only larger. However, hi-def also comes with a number of issues which can throw some major curves at you. As with all problems in waiting, it’s best to solve them before you start, rather than when you think you’re almost finished. Here are a series of questions you need to ask, and what the implications are – both technical and artistic – of the answers you may get.

Visual Rhythm, Part 2: Motion & Cinema Tricks

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.

Visual Rhythm, Part 1: After Effects Tricks

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.

Motion + MIDI

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. 

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