Motion Graphics
I recently stumbled back across this great video. Perhaps it was meant for Valentine's Day. The storytelling and visual FX work are both top notch.
A strange man uses holographic tools to build a world for the woman he loves. This is a short by filmmaker Bruce Branit.
Enjoy... and remember to tell those you love how important they are.
In this video tutorial Richard Harrington shows a quick technique used to animate and selectively warp an image inside of Adobe After Effect. Richard uses masking and refine edges to prepare the animation inside Photoshop.
Plus, I actually make a monkey dance (really)!
Photomerge is a specialized “mini-application” within Photoshop that assists in combining multiple images into a single photo. You can access it from either Photoshop or Bridge. Depending on the resolution of your sources and the speed of your machine, it can take a while to complete.
Read the full tutorial at TipSquirrel – http://www.tipsquirrel.com/index.php/2011/02/mastering-the-photomerge-command-part-1-2/
If you'd like to better understand the different compensation levels available to motion graphics designers, there's a good report that was just released.
The report analyzes different pay available based on experience, job title, and region worked. There's also good data about tools used (software and hardware) as well as working conditions. As they say, knowledge is power... and the report offers a good glimpse into the factors that can influence better pay and working conditions for designers.
The Motion Graphic Design Census is an unofficial web-based survey written by Bran Dougherty-Johnson and Jake Sargeant and hosted by Motionographer in 2009. Whether you're a designer or a business owner, this is good data for benchmarking.
The 2010 Census is available now.
The 2011 Census is currently collecting data.
Blending modes are an integral part of both design and color correction workflows as they let you mix the content of two or more layers. Part of the reason many pass on blending modes is that they are hard to use if you don’t know which one you want. The truth is that the list can get a little long and if you aren't familiar with them, it can get a little confusing.
Here’s a much better way to experiment when using Adobe Photoshop or After Effects:
1. Select the layer or layers you want to blend.
2. If using Photoshop, choose the Move tool (In After Effects, you can skip this step).
3. Press Shift + = (Shift plus Equal) to scroll through the list.
4. To move backward, press Shift + – (Shift plus Minus) to return to a passed blending mode.
Be sure to check out my two Photoshop books – Photoshop for Video and Understanding Adobe Photoshop CS5.
Unlike most print designers, video artists must design type over diverse canvases. Often this background contains a full spectrum of color. Achieving sufficient contrast is the key to preserving legibility. When using light-colored type, it is essential to make it larger than if it were dark type. Don’t be tempted to use all uppercase to make the letters stand out. Unfortunately, uppercase letters take more time for the viewer to recognize word shapes and process what they are seeing. This is generally time they don’t have.
Applying a stroke, outer glow, or tight drop shadow is an effective way to getting a contrasting edge. The biggest problem with type and video is that there will always be light and dark elements in your scene. It is crucial to add a contrasting edge to any type that is going to be keyed over a full-chroma, moving background.
A Hue/Saturation adjustment layer offers a nondestructive way to check contrast of type over a patterned background.
One way to test your contrast is to convert the file to grayscale. This can be achieved with several methods:
Adequate separation between foreground and background elements will make for better viewing for your audience. Think of color as tonal value. Some combinations show very low contrast when desaturated.
Be sure to check out Photoshop for Video
When creating graphics for use in a video editing program (like Premiere Pro) you may need to do a little extra preparation. Let’s convert a vector graphic (like an Illustrator file) so it’s ready for the video screen.
1 Create a video-sized document Choose File > New... and choose a preset that matches your video editing timeline.
2 Add the logo Choose File > Place then navigate to your desired logo file and click Place and then click OK.
3 Scale the logo to size Drag the Transform handles to size the logo, hold the shift key to scale proportionately. You can use the guides to help you keep the logo properly sized. Be sure the logo stays inside the inner box (also called the safe title area). Press Return (Enter) to rasterize the logo.
4 Give the logo a transparent background Click the visibility icon for the Background layer to hide it. Now, only the logo itself is visible and the rest of the file is transparent.
5 Store the transparency in an alpha channel Choose Window > Actions to view the Actions panel. Click the small triangle in the panel’s upper-right corner and choose Video Actions from the menu that appears. Select the Alpha Channel from Visible Layers action and click the Play button. Click Continue and a new alpha channel is added to the image.
6 Save the file Choose File > Save As. Name the file and be sure the Alpha Channels box is checked. Click OK to save the file.
Be sure to check out my Photoshop book – Photoshop for Video.
In this podcast Richard Harrington uses Adobe Photoshop Extended CS5 to work with footage files and create a film look. Richard uses smart filters, masking, grains and a vignette to create the final look. After Effects is used to batch render the comp.
Watch it here – http://podcasts.creativecow.net/photoshop-tutorials-podcast/creating-a-film-look
This is one of my most advanced, deepest, and most useful techniques. I show you how to isolate the color of a single object in moving video and swap it to anything you want. The magic is done with LAB color mode and tracking mattes. If you watch only one Motion Graphics or Video tutorial this month... this is it.
http://podcasts.creativecow.net/photoshop-tutorials-podcast/secondary-color-correction-with-lab
Some fonts are meant for printing only. This fact is easier to accept if you remember that the print industry has been around a heck of a lot longer than the television industry. Test your fonts. If they are too busy or have too many elaborate serifs, make them inactive or remove them from your system.
Many modern fonts look particularly good on screen. Some recent additions include Georgia, Verdana, Myriad, Impact, Trebuchet, Gill Sans, Helvetica Neue, and Futura. These are just a few of the fonts that have been optimized for viewing on computer displays. Any font marked as optimized for web output is also well suited for video work.
Here are a few of our favorite websites offering free and affordable fonts.