Mattrunks' 15 favorite mographs of 2010

French AE tutorial guy Mattrunks posted his 15 favorite mographs from 2010 in A summary of 3D, Motion Graphics & Design Titles. His tutorials look good if you speak French, or if you have the time to submit them to YouTube for translated subtitles.

MAD MMX titles + volumetric AE 3D

@Lester Banks noted Physalia's opening title sequence done for MAD MMX, a conference held last week in Spain. There's a bit more information on Motiongrapher, and Create Motion Motion has more on 3D scanning.





Note: For some similar work, see 'House of Cards' built from data and Maltaannon's House of Form.

Some of the stuff in Physalia's titles sort of recalls Brian Maffitt's demo of AE 3D at MGLA in 2003,

"After Effects guru Brian Maffitt of Total Training took time off from the Creative Cow Conference to share with us some tricks on using 3D space in After Effects.

In his first example, he took some 3D layers that were elements of a biplane, enabling the Advanced rendering engine to take intersections into account. He then precomposed the biplane layers. The initial result was a flattened, 2D version of the plane. However, once he enabled the Collapse Transformations switch for the precomp, he now had a fully 3D plane again, with the advantage that it could be manipulated by animating the single precomp layer - a very nice trick

Brian then moved onto a demo that used a sliced human head that he downloaded from The Visible Human Project. He took the layers, distributed them horizontally by small intervals, and then turned them all into 3D layers. He then rotated them all in 3D space. Next he precomped them, resulting in a solid 3D head that he could spin around. To make the head semitransparent, he reduced the Opacity of the slices and blended them using Transfer Modes, resulting in a luminous, volumetric model of the head. Different transfer modes resulted in different features being highlighted.

Brian then showed other ways you could use this technique to create volumetric 3D models in After Effects. For example, he created a loop using the Fractal Noise plug-in, duplicated it 60 times, offset them in 3D space, and then offset them in time from each other. The result was a series of cloud formations that seemed to rise up from a floor."Note also Chad Perkins' brief look at Photoshop Extended volumetrics and DICOM images mentioned in Photoshop text as 3D volume in AE.

Data Baby & beyond

A few month ago AEP noted some background on Data Baby, a generative graphics spot from IBM. More of the background is fleshed out by Ian Failes of Vfxblog in his Fxguide interview with visual effects supervisor John Fragomeni and art director Angela Zhu.

Coincidentally, Mitchell Whitelaw considers the same series of commercials at his blog This Teeming Void in This is Data? Arguing with Data Baby.

"Data does not just happen; it is created in specific and deliberate ways. It is generated by sensors, not babies; and those sensors are designed to measure specific parameters for specific reasons, at certain rates, with certain resolutions. Or more correctly: it is gathered by people, for specific reasons, with a certain view of the world in mind, a certain concept of what the problem or the subject is. The people use the sensors, to gather the data, to measure a certain chosen aspect of the world.
[...]
Collapsing the real, complex, human / social / technological processes around data into a cloud of wafting particles is a brilliant piece of visual rhetoric; it's a powerful and beautiful story, but it's full of holes. If IBM is right - and I think they probably are - about the dawning age of data everywhere, then we need more than a sort of corporate-sponsored data mythology. We need real, broad-based, practical and critical data skills and literacies, an understanding of how to make data and do things with it."

This view mirrors earlier arguments in public policy circles on energy and economic modeling and forecasting. See also AEP's How to Lie with Video Data and Smashing Magazine's Imagine A Pie Chart Stomping On An Infographic Forever.

"Film is truth 24 times a second, and every cut is a lie..."
--Jean-Luc Godard
"The camera lies all the time. It lies 24 times a second."
-- Brian De Palma

Update: here's a slight return for The Kuleshov Effect, a montage effect demonstrated by Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov, which is explained near the end of the interview with Hitchcock (he explains three types of editing).

Motion Theory expands tilt-shift for March Madness

Motion Theory social media outreach mentioned their work on March Madness ad spots that feature digital head replacement (for John Wooden) and a nice touch of a tilt-shift like effect to create miniatures (below).



Update: for more sports mograph, see Graphics Mafia, and for another miniatures treatment see Psyop Sprints to the End Zone.

Four techniques for combining fonts + type videos

Via @daleBradshaw is Four Ways to Mix Fonts from Ask H&FJ, which at base says "keep one thing consistent, and let one thing vary" before explaining their 4 approaches:

1. Use a palette with wit -- use typefaces with complimentary moods to evoke an energetic air
2. Use a palette with energy -- mix typefaces from the same historical period whose families have different features
3. Use a palette with poise -- mix typefaces with similar line quality if they offer different textures
4. Use a palette with dignity -- mix typefaces with similar proportions and give each a different role

Also, check out Choosing Fonts for Annual Reports again from Ask H&FJ.

To see stuff in motion, check out the new roundup on AETuts by Topher Welsh, 25 Amazing Typography Videos, and part of series of round-ups by Motion Design Love, Nice Type Tuesday 10.

UPDATE: in late 2014 Lynda.com featured Foundations of Typography: Choosing and Combining Typefaces with Ina Saltz.

 

Data Baby: generative graphics spot from IBM

AEScripts tweeted about a "cool generative graphics spot for IBM by Motion Theory." There more on these spots at Motion Theory and Motionographer, who links to a behind-the-scenes look Data Baby.



Update: Datavisualization.ch took a quick look at IBM Data Anthem,

'James Frost, director of the popular music video clip “House of Cards” by Radiohead among others was approached by Ogilvy & Mather NY to direct the new spot...'

IBM Data Anthem from Benjamin Wiederkehr on Vimeo.

Maltaannon's Creative Breakdowns + many more

Sometimes "just do it" has odd wrinkles, so breakdowns of effects are nice. Maltaannon asked for suggestions and covered several in his live session Creative Breakdowns. Here's a portion of the session:



Update: Topher Welsh has more in 42 Crazy Awesome VFX Breakdowns, and KeyframeTV did some a few weeks ago. Breakdowns for many FX movies can be found most reliably on the vfxblog.

The PEN story: another YouTube Dilemma

A Filmbot RT Twitter notes The PEN story controversy, which was discussed by PDN in Did Olympus Steal Idea for Viral Ad About EP-1 Camera? (UPDATED) and Gizmodo in Olympus Stop Motion E-P1 Ad Concept Is Clever (Also, Stolen).

This topic ("great artists steal") was discussed with many examples at Creative Review in May; see The YouTube Dilemma for creatives.

Also of note is an open blog ‘you thought we wouldn’t notice’ that's dedicated to pointing out these things (via El Gordo).

Koblin & Lima on visualization

CaT: Creativity and Technology conferences are tightly-edited gatherings of creatives and marketeers for discussions of furthering creativity through technology. On Ad Age's Creativity/AdCritic, they've posted several movies from recent presentations, including one by Google Creative Labs' Aaron Koblin on "some of his most stunning projects," and another talk by Processing co-founder Ben Fry and Carlos Ulloa, creator of Papervision3D. (via Datavisualization.ch)

Also fun is the weekly Creativity Top 5 spots.

And while his talk at TEDGlobal 2009 isn't up yet, you can look at an illustrated video interview by Digup.tv of Manuel Lima of Visual Complexity.

Particular 2 'street tests' + 60 Particular 2 tutorials

Via Peder Norrby, below is the funny Testing out Particular 2, ON THE STREET! It's by Najork (Eric Epstein); sound design by Skeleton Suit; shot with a little Canon SD960; a Quicktime is at najork.net/partic2test.mov.

street tests from Najork on Vimeo.

Update: Peder posted a few more uses of Particular 2 in the Trapcode gallery. Counting up recent tutorials, there's links to:

• six Particular 2 tutorials in an earlier AEP post,

• plus a Particular 3D arrow and

• Shinichiro Matsuda's round-up of 53 Essential Trapcode Particular Tutorials for After Effects Users.

Basic skills and good work

Imagination and passion are sometimes undervalued, especially by people like us who track After Effects filters and tutorials. Inspirational pieces can come from anyone, and even the highly skilled (think Picasso) don't use their entire toolset to dazzle you. You just need a dot and a line willing to bend a bit. This from Jr. Canest, a young college student, is a recent favorite:

CRAZY ENOUGH - Title Sequence from Jr.canest on Vimeo.

Update: the Mattrunks blog (in French) adds comments and a possible enhancement that fits the Jr. Canest project, CC Smear Experiment : After Effects CS4 Project (361).

Also, Grayscalegorilla had more (earlier than AEP as well):

"Jr Canest was nice enough to share some screenshots of his AE comp with us. Check out all those keyframes! That’s what it takes to get that level of animation. It’s not scripts, nor expressions, nor plugins. It’s raw keyframe talent."

Digup’s Pick of the week

Video-based motion design review site Digup.tv has started a 'Pick of the week' series. Each week's video selection of "what’s hot in digital creation on the web" comes with blurbs and links. Here's the latest one:

The YouTube Dilemma for creatives

Via Motionographer is The YouTube Dilemma from Creative Review. Here's an excerpt and example:

"YouTube provides a steady stream of inspiration to advertising creatives, but it also leaves young directors vulnerable to having ideas stolen and agencies open to accusations of plagiarism. How can both directors and agencies protect themselves?"

Fluid simulation in Audi 'Filter'

Via Andrew Webb on the AE-List and John Nack, who adds more type art, is Audi Filter on Motionographer. Some versions of Firefox aren't so happy with QuickTime, so here's Vimeo versions of the piece and a basic 'making of':

Update: in early 2011, Exotic Matter began shipping Naiad, the fluid-simulation software used on movies like Avatar.

Update: via @Filmbot is Contained Fluids from Andrew Lyons' Houdini User Group at Pixar Studios. It "demonstrates how Houdini's unique procedural tools can be used to create automated solutions to VFX challenges that might otherwise require costly dynamic simulations."

Contained Fluids - Andrew Lyons from Go Procedural on Vimeo.

The making of Philips 'Carousel'

Fxguidetv #57 is on the making of the Philips bullet-timey promo Carousel : A Cinema 21:9 Production, This "frozen moment" interactive thingy was mentioned a few weeks ago by Mark Christiansen, The Inspiration Room, and a several thousand others. You might find the 14-minute Fxguide episode on iTunes if not on the website.

Motionographer noted that "This 2:19 film runs as an endless loop, allowing viewers to control their moves through the scene. The film also contains embedded hotspots, which, when triggered, give us a behind-the-scenes look at some of the shots."

The interactive "making of" segments are combined with the video on YouTube:

Got Time?

While Prolost lobbies in-depth against the "heartbreaking amalgamation of cinematic depth of field and video-like motion" in DSLR cameras, David Wilson inspires in his making-of-video for the music video, 'We Got Time,' which used careful rate control of the mirrored carousels of a praxinoscope to create in-camera motion effects.

Read more at Motionographer.

'Artists and their Apps' by Dr. Woohoo

Dr. Woohoo, once known for his tools connecting Flash & After Effects, creates generative art that "fuses the intelligence of algorithms, the creative expressiveness of natural, organic media with behaviors found in natural systems." He's got a new article at Netdiver Magazine, Artists and their Apps, that looks at sources of inspiration.

Inspiration via Digup & Motionographer F5

A thread on the AE-list on a liquidy animation, Voll Damm Jazz, led to Motionographer's Dvein and Alex Trochut: Voll Damm Jazz. It turns out that Barcelona studio DVEIN will create the opening titles for the Motionographer 'F5' conference April 16 - 17 in New York City -- and present the titles, vision, and process at a special session.

Motionographer also noted that "the brilliant new video-based design review site Digup.tv will be attending F5." On their blog Digup they say they're "an independent editorial project. It's a video documented review on digital design, accessible to non-specialists. Digup is lead by [CELLULES] a team of French interaction designers and documentary makers." Open just a month, Digup plans to release new interviews every 3 weeks and an in-depth investigation every 3 months. They also have a Vimeo channel and a Hello World trailer:



Update: the DVEIN F5 titles are up.

'21-87', an inspiration for Lucas

From Wikipedia:

George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars films, has attributed the origins of "The Force" to the 1963 Arthur Lipsett abstract film 21-87 which used samples from many sources.

"One of the audio sources Lipsett sampled for 21-87 [a film that had a great influence on Lucas] was a conversation between artificial intelligence pioneerWarren S. McCulloch and Roman Kroitor , a cinematographer who went on to develop IMAX. In the face of McCulloch's arguments that living beings are nothing but highly complex machines, Kroitor insists that there is something more: 'Many people feel that in the contemplation of nature and in communication with other living things, they become aware of some kind of force, or something, behind this apparent mask which we see in front of us, and they call it God.'"

"When asked if this was the source of "the Force," Lucas confirms that his use of the term in Star Wars was 'an echo of that phrase in 21-87.'"

A disturbance in the Force

Stu Maschwitz announced that The Orphanage will be suspending operations indefinitely.