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Policar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 21, 2004
662
7
I've been using After Effects for ten or fifteen years and have done a fair amount of work compositing using it. Some motion graphics, too, but for whatever weird reason this is the direction things have taken. Almost got hired to do work on a major TV series on FX... have had hundreds of shots on basic cable on other networks... but the money is not in compositing in After Effects or every 16 year old with a mac would be rich!

I'm not about to learn Nuke to make a living (maybe later this year), but I need more income... Does anyone know any good motion graphics tutorials for after effects? I want to learn how to do the animated swoops, text, etc. that you see on TV and corporate videos. I have a chance to do some of this for money soon -- maybe -- and I want to start up a reel.

Just really basic stuff. The most boring stuff your clients would ask for.
 

mBox

macrumors 68020
Jun 26, 2002
2,356
83
Plenty out there from CreativeCow, Lynda dot com, VideoCoPilot, etc....
I've been doing Motion Graphics since COSA After Effects and you never stop learning :)
 

Policar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 21, 2004
662
7
Thanks, I've used the videocopilot ones and most are clever, but also very specific and usually more live action/compositing-oriented.

How do you do the very simple swoops and 3D stuff that's recently popular? If Lynda is good I will sign up for that. I just want a comprehensive course on motion graphics so I can brush up on that specifically.
 

mBox

macrumors 68020
Jun 26, 2002
2,356
83
Lots of compositing.
In the past Ive used 3D tools such as Maya to create elements for Motion Design but with latest CS 6, I can cut back on some elements.
The swooshes can be anything from super sized comps (pixels greater than final output) with solids/shapes/vector used in a 3D camera (vector needs raster on).
Then add masks to create fades and pixel trails.
On top of all that awesome plug-ins from Trapcode for particles and everything under the sun.
I guess if you sent me an example I cant try and explain better.
 

4God

macrumors 68020
Apr 5, 2005
2,132
267
My Mac
There's some good templates to start with here. I've used motionvfx for some projects before and they really impressed my clients.
 

12dylan34

macrumors 6502a
Sep 3, 2009
884
15
Before you embark on this learning experience, know that at heart, a good motion designer is a good designer. I think that some people associate it with film and VFX more than it should be. A good sense of design, then, is a must.

Otherwise, Video Copilot, Lynda.com, but tons of your own creations not from tutorials is a good place to start.

Also, you won't get far in motion design not knowing a 3D program, so learn Cinema 4D. It's unarguably the standard for motion design uses. GreyscaleGorilla is a great place to learn C4D.

C4D is pretty easy to learn, and once you get over the hump, it's even easier from there.

The stuff that you see on TV is generally a combination of elements created within a 3D program, then composited and enhanced in After Effects (e.g. depth of field, motion blur color correction, and any elements that can stand to not be made in 3D).

Happy keyframing!
 
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Policar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 21, 2004
662
7
Thanks, everyone... these are all helpful replies.

I might as well learn C4D. I know studio max pretty well, but stopped using it once I weaned myself off Windows. Not a good sculptor or painter or animator so once I learned the interface I didn't get further than that.

Dylan, that's what trips me up... I see a video that is all computer-generated content and I have no idea where to start. Shapes and texts and lines. Very abstract and creative. With compositing it's just mixing what's already there. Easy. Are there any good books on design (intro to graphic design stuff) that you recommend? And books on C4D? What are good intro text books for graphic design? Composition, color, kerning, etc. -- all that stuff. Just want to get a better handle on it than I have now, not planning to get into graphic design, as I realize that's an entirely different skill-set that can take years to master.

Do clients tell you what kind of thing you want and then you have lots of freedom or do they generally say "do something like this video/ad." The latter seems feasible, the creative side seems exhausting.
 

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
Do clients tell you what kind of thing you want and then you have lots of freedom or do they generally say "do something like this video/ad." The latter seems feasible, the creative side seems exhausting.

Clients will tell you what they want. You'll do it. They'll say they don't like it and that's not what they asked for. ;)

The art is subtly finding out their end goal, creating what they need (which most likely won't be what they ask for) and making them feel like it was their idea even though they don't have a creative bone in their body.
 

Unami

macrumors 65816
Jul 27, 2010
1,331
1,524
Austria
i think, most of this video could be done with after effects - "basically" just some animated illustrator layers in 3d-space with some dropped shadow, nested compositions, maybe some simple expressions... as you know your way around after effects, you'll know most if not all of the techniques used here.

if i were you, i'd try to recreate some parts of this animation for practice, just to get a feeling for the motions/timing.
 
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Endfallow

macrumors newbie
Apr 13, 2012
6
0
Thornton, CO.
i think, most of this video could be done with after effects - "basically" just some animated illustrator layers in 3d-space with some dropped shadow, nested compositions, maybe some simple expressions... as you know your way around after effects, you'll know most if not all of the techniques used here.

if i were you, i'd try to recreate some parts of this animation for practice, just to get a feeling for the motions/timing.

This is exactly right. A great way to start learning the techniques you'll need would be to run though a few Infographic animations tuts. Here's a couple:

http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/infographics-after-effects/

http://ae.tutsplus.com/tutorials/motion-graphics/create-an-infographic-typography-animation/

Hope that helps. Oh, and don't forget the star wipes!
 

Policar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 21, 2004
662
7
Thanks! I figured that was how this was achieved, but it's overwhelming looking at the final project and figuring out the exact order in which each step was done.

I'll follow those tutorials when I find the time.
 
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