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Switching to Motion 5

V

Veyron407

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 9, 2011
3
0
I have been a seasoned Adobe After Effects and Sony Vegas user for many years now (well for at least 3 years) and ever since I got a Mac, I've been wanting to try out some Apple alternatives for software, and I've got to say, I've been pleasantly surprised.

The new final cut seems fine, although a wee bit slow on my 2010 Macbook air ultimate especially, but Motion is excellent. Although it doesn't have the cool rotorscoping tools of after effects cs5, it's actually faster, just as powerful, and with millions of templates, easier to use too. For titles especially, it is a breeze. And most of all at literally 5% of the price of AFter effects, unless you are a professional with many AF add-ons, I have to recommend motion.

here's my first project (it was a school project + tropfest entry) using motion for the titles and final cut x for everything else
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFGasUnypX8&feature=channel_video_title

please also comment, give advice and share your stories of using Motion!
 
I apologize if this critique is harsh, but here are a few notes on your trailer.

Here are my two favorite definitions of a movie trailer:

"The trailer is an invitation to the audience to go on an adventure out of the ordinary world. Thus the trailer must be inviting, not just a shortened version of the movie itself, and suggestive of the adventure's tone to come."

"The trailer is an introduction to the central issue the hero (male or female) faces. Thus the trailer must succinctly indicate the issue in a way that draws the audience in, without fully revealing the context within which the issue is presented and resolved. The audience wants to be surprised."


After watching the trailer two times, I still do not fully understand what your film is about. A trailer should not fully reveal the plot of your film, but it should be able to give the audience at least get a sense of what is going on. All I gathered was that there were several references to missed phone calls, shots of people sitting next to each other, several angsty looking teenagers(is one of them trying to ask someone to a dance?), and shots of people nervous about something. In the film, all of these shots could contribute to a great film worth watching, but in trailer form, I am left wondering what the hell is going on. The audience should leave the audience more curious and excited then confused. Perhaps the trailer needs to be distilled down into the core concepts versus a scattershot of everything that happens in your short film.

Another thing that I noticed is that there was a clash between your music and the title template you chose to use. The bit of morse code at the end of the trailer felt contrived and pretentious, but I do understand what you were going for.

On the technical side of things, things seem pretty solid. I would turn up the volume levels on some of the dialogue in the trailer so as to emphasis it as well as for the audience to hear and understand what is being said. Some of the cuts were a little sharp, but overall not bad.

I think the biggest problems that student filmmakers(I am one), is that we sometimes try to wow the audience with our abilities in the editing and Motion department and let the other things such as story fall behind. In conclusion, I think you may want to focus on getting your story out to the audience in this trailer in a succint fashion. The film is where you can wow them with your abilities on the technical side of things. I hope you do not take any of these things the wrong way. None of them are a personal attack on you, they are just my opinions. I look forward to watching your film when it comes out and good luck with your future projects.
 
Thanks guys for your feedback, although it's a bit harsh, I must admit that it is fair. Please note that being 15 years old, I haven't had much experience in this area, and as a result I will take in all that has been mentioned
 
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