Deeper Modes of Expression, Part 10: Random Numbers

Last month, I discussed using the wonderful wiggle expression to add randomization to your animations. However, wiggle is but one specialized application of random number generation. For those who like take the lid off and truly get under the hood, After Effects also includes the methods random, gaussRandom, and noise. In this installment I’ll also discuss changing random seed values (patterns of randomness), and how to freeze randomness in its tracks.

Martini QuickShot Creator puts pre-viz directly into FCP

Just watched the demo for Martini Quickshot Creator, and must say that this $199 software package looks AWESOME. Check out the demo here...you can quickly build pre-visualized scenes for a project from a library of characters and scenes. All from within Final Cut Pro. This software looks simply brilliant.

Greenscreen Resources

As much as we like to keep up with the newest products and latest trends, some information is timeless - such as advice on shooting greenscreen. The After Effects Facebook feed forwarded a link to a very useful article by Jonas Hummelstrand of General Specialist posted back in 2006 that everyone should read before setting up a keying shoot. If I had to add one amplification, it would be to try to hire a stage that has some depth to it, so that the screen - and lighting for the screen - can be some distance behind the action; this will further blur it out, and reduce spill.

Here’s a few more links of note:

• We recorded a quick video tutorial on using Keylight in After Effects with lynda.com for Adobe
• Rosco and Composite Components sell paint, tape, fabrics, and lights for keying
• Alex Lindsay of Pixel Corps wrote a two-part Greenscreen Primer for PVC, broken down into the set and the camera

(By the way, we also overhauled the keying chapter in Creating Motion Graphics 5th Edition, including high-def sources to practice with courtesy of Hollywood Camera Work.)

If you have any other favorite resources, please feel free to post them in the Comments below!

Somebody Hit David Byrne With The Obvious Stick.

Here’s the old-guy rant:

Way back in 1977 I went to a concert at Salem State College in Massachusetts (I was a sophomore at Boston University at the time) to see a pretty hot regional group called the Pousette-Dart Band.  They were great, but it was the opening act that really caught my attention.  Three guys and a female bass player hauled all their own gear out on to the tennis court that was the stage of the day and proceeded to mystify - and electrify - the very small crowd.  The lead singer looked like he was having a seizure most of the time, but the music was really good, if weird.

You guessed it, I saw the Talking Heads just before “Talking Heads: 77” came out.  And I’ve been a big fan ever since, including the Tom Tom Club and all of David Byrne’s various solo excursions.  Lately he’s been working with Web-merchandising his stuff, including a really interesting album of songs he recorded with Brian Eno.  So today I get an email from The Man Himself (actually some robot sending emails to his list) offering the first chapter of a new product, a kind of E-book called The Bicycle Diaries.  “Wow,” I thought, “this combines two of my favorite things - bicycles and David Byrne!”  So I read more of the copy.  When I got to the middle, though, a couple of sentences brought me to a screeching halt.  To wit:

“I was thinking about the kind of radio show that NPR stations do from time to time, with background music, street sounds and other ambiences that help put the listener in the picture. So, I did one chapter (“New York”) as a test, with me reading, and though it took a lot longer to assemble than I expected…”

Bam.  Jeez, Dave, ya THINK?  Wow, creative work takes TIME.  Anyone that has worked in the business for more than a few years realizes that you don’t get great creative instantly, but to hear that old trope come from David Byrne really stings.

This won’t stop me from recommending his stuff, though - you can listen to the first installment here.  But really.  If anyone should know better than this, it’s the man who gave us Psycho Killer.

Qu’est-ce que c’est?

Deeper Modes of Expression, Part 9: Wiggly World

Nothing is more boring that having to keyframe supposedly random movements. Fortunately, there’s a simple, powerful expression that can add randomization to virtually any parameter for you: wiggle. Here we’ll explain how to apply the basic wiggle expression, and then add finer degrees of control to it.

Wes’ Home Depot How-To

Home Depot How-To from Wes Plate on Vimeo.

Back in the late 90s I edited a few national Home Depot commercials, and after this was one was produced I made this fun little video explaining the process.

I love a good behind the scenes / how-to / how we did it piece that breaks down a complex shot or goes into some detail on how a visual effects sequence was created. There’s always more to learn for anyone in production or post. When you’ve decided that you’ve learned all you need to know in this business then that’s when others will eclipse you in both creative abilities and technical prowess.

There’s a nice 8 minute how-to that was recently posted on Vimeo that takes you through the creation of rather cool television spot for Home Depot.

VFX GUY VS. PRODUCER. Yep another xtranormal animation.

And here is yet another NSFW animation from the xtranormal movie site that this time http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6876311/” title=“puts the vfx guy against the producer”>puts the vfx guy against the producer. It’s 4:31. I wonder what will be next: craft services vs. producer?

USA Networks’ “Covert Affairs” simulates Venezuela by shooting in Canada

In episode 3 of Covert Affairs, Universal Cable Productions simulated Caracas, the capital city of the South American country of Venezuela, both visually and linguistically (at least they attempted the latter). Covert Affairs is an enjoyable new series from USA Network (a division of NBC Universal) which last week broadcasted episode 3 (Southbound Suárez), where the protagonist Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) —a novice CIA agent— is sent to Caracas to carry out her third assignment. This article will describe a bit about that, and about Universal Cable Productions’ feat in simulating Venezuelan scenes, along with some cultural and linguistic blunders.

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