Cinema 4D Finally Brings 3D to Motion

Cinema 4D’s friendly interface and robust motion graphics toolset have made it the tool of choice for creating 3D motion graphic elements for title sequences, bumpers, interstitials, and the like. And it’s ability to export multipass renders as well as 3D data to After Effects have made it easy for After Effects users to integrate 3D into their projects. Well, with release 11.5, Final Cut Studio users can finally do the same, because Cinema can now export 3D data directly to a Motion project. By taking advantage of Motion’s real time render engine and Final Cut Pro integration, you can now create professional 3D projects or even Master Templates for your projects.

There are a few tricks to getting Cinema 4D to play nicely with Motion. In the video, I step through the workflow for preparing a Cinema 4D project for Motion, and then preparing the Motion project, swapping in video elements, adding text, and finally creating a Motion template that you can use in Final Cut Pro.

Don’t Work for Peanuts

Here’s the text of an ad I saw on craigslist just last night:

“I need someone to create 10 original Motion 3 templates in broadcast quality 1080i60. Each template must be between 20 to 30 seconds in length and use a 3D effect of some sort. Pay is $200. Perfect work if you are talented and fast. Please have samples of your work available for me to see. In your response please let me know what your turnaround time for the templates would be.
You should be able to send me a quicktime version for approval, before we exchange final payment and sending the of the files. Again, this must be an original template.
This will probably turn into a regular monthly or bi-weekly task for the right person.”

Really? 10 original broadcast-quality templates for $200? I’ve been working with motion graphics for years and have created what I would call broadcast-quality templates, and each one took me a few days to create. I understand that there are plenty of folks looking to break into this (or any) industry who are willing to work for cheap or for free in order to get a foot in the door - I did it myself back in the day - but I would never advise anyone to take a job like this. If the producer is really looking for original, quality work, then they should pay for it - and no one who is capable of providing original, quality work should be giving it away for free.

One more point to my little rant. Notice how the ad promises that it will “probably turn into a regular task” - well, I’ll tell you from personal experience (and I’ve heard many other folks say the same thing): once you do a job for someone, you have locked in your price. Doing that first job at a discount in order to get more work at full price just doesn’t pan out that way.

If you are a newbie looking for experience, you may have to work cheap or work for free for to get experience and make connections. If you are good at what you do, then charge what your time is worth! Send these types of producers the message that they can’t rip off artists that spend years learning their craft.

Top VFX/MoGraph Twitterers to Follow

Topher Welsh at the videohive blog writes exactly how I feel about Twitter:

“Personally I think that the whole “updating your status” part of Twitter is ridiculous.  There, I said it.  I don’t care what you are eating for dinner, or if someone is being annoying in the movie theatre.  Keep it to yourself.  The thing that keeps me addicted to Twitter is the people that tweet the cool stuff:  The behind the scenes of Terminator Salvation, The VFX breakdown of Fast and Furious 4, the new tutorial that Aharon Rabinowitz just put onto Red Giant TV.  Those are the reasons why I use Twitter, and these are the people that you should be following.”

See his short list of folks to follow here. Be sure to scroll down to the comments section for a few more folks to follow.

Motion Graphics: Friday Inspiration

Getting inspired by watching motion graphics design and visual effects on TV or the web is one thing. Getting to hear from and hang out with the artists who create the outstanding work we see in motion picture title sequences, trailers, broadcast design packages, games and commercials is quite another.

The Centrica Carnivale part 3

In part 2 we looked at the creation and animation of the “racing waiters” scene… one award done but five more to go!  In the final of the three-part series we look at all the other scenes in the animation and then conclude with a few notes on delivery.

The Centrica Carnivale part 2

In Part 1 we looked at the initial client brief, the pitch animation, and ended up creating some flashing lights in After Effects.  In Part 2 we dive right into advanced 3D - beginning with an examination of the “magic star”, then a comprehensive demonstration of the Knoll Light Factory, before concluding with a complete analysis of the “racing waiters” scene.

Introducing the Centrica Carnivale

3D or AE?  How about 3D using AE! At the beginning of 2006 I created a conference opener for Centrica that looked like it had been made with a 3D animation package, however practically everything was created using only After Effects.  This is part one of a three-part series that looks back at the Centrica Carnivale animation and demonstrates the techniques that were used to create the distinctive 3D look.  While not intended to be a detailed step-by-step tutorial, the series looks at all aspects of the project- from the initial client brief through to final delivery and gives insight into the “real life” stages of an After Effects project.

Move Projects from FCP to AE Seamlessly (and Free!)

I am always on the lookout for things that can make my life easier… sleep in a can, comfortable shoes, great software.

If you use Final Cut Pro and After Effects… do I have a find for you!  I just finished a new book called Video Made on a Mac, and in the process of writing about Motion Graphics workflows, I’ve discovered an absolute gem, from a little place called Popcorn Island.

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