Motion Graphics
by PVC Staff
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Just Added: Introduction to Expressions in After Effects
A primer for those who are yet to get into expressions.
Last week, we added a column that was an introduction to Parenting in After Effects. Keeping the theme of “different ways to group items and coordinate their actions,” this week we’re adding a column that provides an introduction to Expressions in After Effects.
At their simplest, Expressions can be thought of as very selective parenting; at their most complex, they allow you program operations you wouldn’t dream of keyframing. Initially daunting, they might be the most significant feature added to After Effects. Even if you consider yourself to be an artist rather than a programmer, it is well worth learning the basics, as they will save you time on almost every project.
Click here to jump straight to “Expressive Animation.”
more »Motion Graphics • (0) Comments • • Permalink
Friday, June 27, 2008
Two Pieces of Eye Candy
They’re not videos; they’re art.
A frame from the short film “Tyger” by Guilherme Marcondes.
Links to a pair of lovely (for lack of a better term) “music videos” crossed my desk this week that I thought would be nice to share as you go into your weekend.
If you’re looking for something invigorating, then first view Tyger by Guilherme Marcondes. It contains a brilliant combination of physical animation (the tiger itself) along with 3D, a flat cartoon look, and glowing graphical elements. I had to view it twice: the first time, I was delighting in the sheer craft involved; the second time I got the story. I thought it was a particularly bold move to include the puppet handlers in the action, as it further broke down the walls of expectation; Trish would have liked to have seen a 3D tiger so that the surprise of seeing the handlers wouldn’t take away from enjoying the story. Guilherme has previously created videos for MTV, Microsoft, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Animal Planet; click here to read an interview with him by Computer Arts magazine.
To calm down after the excitement of watching a tiger stalk a city, you might want to next view the soothing abstract video drift by Richard Lainhart. Some of you may know Richard for the period he and Brian Maffitt (of Total Training) hosted the New York After Effects user group, but he is equally well known in the electronic music universe. This movie combines Richard’s After Effects skills with a soundtrack improvised on a lap steel guitar, processed the Kyma… more »
Motion Graphics • (0) Comments • • Permalink
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Recently Added: Introduction to Parenting in After Effects
A gentle introduction to this nifty way to group objects.
After Effects 5 was a classic upgrade: It introduced many vital features, including parenting and expressions. For old-timers who never explored these new areas, or for beginners who are just getting their legs under them in mastering this deep program, we’re going to re-post a couple of old columns that provided gentle introductions to these two features.
Up this week is parenting. Parenting provides a way to group objects, making it easier to transform and animate them as a unit, as well as create complex animations such as arm linkages.
Next week, we’ll introduce the wonderful world of expressions. At their simplest, they can be thought of as very selective parenting; at their most complex, they allow you program operations you wouldn’t dream of keyframing. Initially daunting, they might be the most significant feature added to After Effects yet.
Click here to jump straight to “Parenting Skills”.
Motion Graphics • (0) Comments • • Permalink
Monday, June 16, 2008
Recently Added: Gobos and Gels in After Effects
Concluding our three-part series on 3D lighting in After Effects, we show how to project patterns and colors.
Finishing our tour of 3D lighting in After Effects, in this third column we discuss how to recreate gobo and gel effects. Gobos cast shadow patterns, while gels are colored filters that in turn control the color of the light being projected. Use video in place of a solid color, and you can project video onto other objects (such as the example here).
Click here to jump straight to “Gobos and Gels.”
(The first installment in this series - an overview, with helpful information on the Material Options - can be found here. The second installment - which focused on tips and tricks for conventional shadows - can be found here.)
Lighting • Motion Graphics • Visual Effects • (0) Comments • • Permalink
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Distressing Text Edges - Photoshop for Video
Instructor Richard Harrington shows you how to use a patterned image to degrade the edges of your text for a unique text effect in Photoshop.
more »Motion Graphics • Post Production • Training • (0) Comments • • Permalink
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Compression Artifacts & Pulldown
A question about a ghost leads to discourses on 3:2 pulldown and the QuickTime codec dialog.
This started as a quick post about how to gain finer control over the compression settings in the QuickTime dialog. But before we can get there, we first need to talk talk about how 3:2 pulldown works. (Trust me; it all ties together; it was also a good little mystery.)
I recently gave a training session at a local studio, and at the end they were invited to trot out their Barney Stumpers (questions about why something went wrong, how something works, etc.). For one stumper, a user had some footage with 3:2 pulldown, and after pulldown was removed, he noticed that an after-image of the previous frame appeared in the next frame after an edit. Why?
Editing • Motion Graphics • Post Production • (0) Comments • • Permalink
