Update : Radium/Reel FX has released this before & after version of the AMC Coke ‘Chairs’ thetrical opening.
Earlier interview with Reel FX Matte Artist/Illustrator, Erin McGuire
Blog//Subject//After Effects
AMC Coke ‘Chairs’: Before & After
February 2nd, 2010Prologue Films : Sherlock Holmes End Credits//
January 6th, 2010
While motion graphics has matured to the point that one new style (or technique) will no longer dominate the way it has in the past, Danny Yount, Creative Director at Prologue, keeps us entertained & in our seats as the end credits roll for Sherlock Holmes by breathing new life into a tried & true creative technique.
Prologue’s main-on-end title work for Sherlock Holmes is a blend of serenity & intensity reminding us why Main Title Design can still inspire even the most jaded designer already hooked on gymnastic but not-so-memorable animated sequences. Using an a combination of an ink/oil/stain animation to sweep layer over layer from one scene to the next, Danny + Co. add a sophisticated touch (& color palette) to the mix by freeze-framing etched-shaded Sherlock Holmes characters to create a classic & painterly look and feel driven by Guy Ritchie’s moody timeline.
Grab a cup of joe & enjoy-
Sherlock Holmes (+ Danny Yount interview)
Also see Jahvi (strong work w/ a similar animation style by Patricio Zincke — a student & friend from Chile)
“What do you do?” : Mark Coleran post question//
November 25th, 2009
Mark Coleran is a visual designer mainly know for his screen & interface designs. He’s created interfaces for the films The Bourne Ultimatum, Tomb Raider, Mission Impossible 3, The Island and Mr and Mrs Smith. Recently he wrapped up a project for GridIron Software creating the user experience and interface for a next generation creative workflow application; Flow.
Mark posted a question today on his blog & on Twitter asking designers “What do you do?”
It’s a good question – Instead of writing a book I kept my answer short:
We search for the emotional core of our project(s) using our own life experiences, our own attitudes about life & our innate vision to see what isn’t there in order personify that project visually.
Nick Campbell Interview (GREYSCALEGORRILLA)//
November 20th, 2009
It’s an amazing amount of work that goes into turning talent into a skill. Sometimes that process feels like carrying a ton of bricks – that said, there’s not a shortage of people in the design and post-production community providing tutorials to either help people build those skills or promote themselves one way or another.
Meet Nick Campbell — his blog, GreyscaleGorrilla stands out from that crowd for several reasons: his tutorials are unscripted, in-depth and he stretches the definition of going “above and beyond” by helping and inspiring designers to ‘up their skills’ to become creative problem solvers themselves. Not to mention his blogs/podcast are actually a good time.
Nick works in Chicago and prior to switching to working fulltime on his creative process at his main site, GreyscaleGorrilla, he was as a designer & animator at Digital Kitchen (see projects below). At Greyscale he shares his process & experience for “Making Cool Shit” : a combination of creating graphics, reviews/critiques, career training & tutorials. Besides GSG he also post at two of his other blogs/podcast sites : makecoolshit.com & keyframe.tv (with Timmy Allen & Pasquale D’Silva).
Nick’s also a photographer and an iPhone app designer and educator. In October, CNN.com featured Shake It Photo, his first iphone app, in their ‘Tech’ section. (see article here: CNN Tech). He’s not only gone out of his way giving advice on how to find and work with app developers and programmer’s, but he’s also shared the number iPhone’s app’s he’s sold (including the income they’ve generated). He’s also shared the direction he took to promote and market his app and his experience(s) working with Apple to get ‘Shake It Photo’ through the infamous stages of Apple’s approval process.
In the end, GSG’s about building up the design community, helping everyone to create their best work & helping people get to where they want to be.
Cheers to GSG//Nick Campbell-
GSG presentation : How to be creative and get paid
Nick’s portfolio : Creamy Orange
Milo Motion Control Basics//
November 17th, 2009
A good example of the hardware used for recreating exact & precise camera movements take-after-take.
I had worked with a crew in Houston that used a Milo (rented out of Nashville) on a Debeers Diamond shoot for the Y2K-Millenium campaign in 1999 (the Youtube spot’s went MIA ). The amazing part about the equipment is that you set up the keyframes for the Milo rig & mechanized dolly’s movements the same way you can with software – including velocity control(s). Also, Milo’s camera data can be exported so that an identical virtual camera move can be reproduced in a 3D app (which locks in plates & keyeable footage for synch’ing CG).
~Not exactly sure what this guy is saying about the rig(?), fortunately the Milo Motion Control rig is diagrammed (eg Madden style).
VFX breakdown of the ‘Mnet Magic Studios’ TV commercial // 3D camera projection, mapping, extensions, re-modelling, motion tracking & massive amounts of roto by Craig Parker & Matthew Stephen
Produced by Orijin.
Mnet “Magic Studios” VFX Breakdowns//
November 12th, 2009
VFX breakdown of the ‘Mnet Magic Studios’ TV commercial using 3D camera projection/mapping/extensions/re-modelling, motion tracking & massive amounts of roto.
yU+co: Cirque du Freak Main Titles//
November 5th, 2009
Driven by the storyline, titles dance & interact nicely with the shadow puppet animation setting up the tone of the movie adapted from the creepy characters and motifs from the Cirque du Freak “Vampire Blood Trilogy”.
6 different vignettes, an intro & closing hint at the movie without giving too much away.
Logan I-Series//
November 3rd, 2009 Comment Subjects// After Effects | Artwork | Design | Direction | Editing/Cinematography | Match Move/Paint/Roto | Motion Graphics | VFXESPN MLB Montage by Prologue//
October 30th, 2009
A nod to the Fall Classic : ESPN MLB Network Package by Prologue
“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” – Rogers Hornsby
“One of the beautiful things about baseball is that every once in a while you come into a situation where you want to, and where you have to, reach down and prove something.” -Nolan Ryan
“Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical.” – Yogi Berra
“A man has to have goals – for a day, for a lifetime – and that was mine, to have people say, ‘There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived.’” – Ted Williams
“God, I just love baseball.” – Robert Redford in The Natural
Spot Levi’s : Go Forth America Commercial 2009
October 21st, 2009
With a nice latter-day grunge aesthetic .. a stripped-down, patriotic montage minus the highly polished theatrics.