1000 cc Raw Thrill Open

I was excited to find out that the TV Show Open I did for 1000cc Raw Thrill is the Featured Video on the DV Professionals web site. It is an honor to have my work showcased on their website.

To see the TV show open check out the link below:

“what makes this tutorial stand out for me is its producer and narrator, Stephen Smith. His humor and enthusiasm for his subject is absolutely infectious which makes working through the many sequential chapters considerably more enjoyable than similar discs I have reviewed narrated by knowledgeable but somewhat droll speakers.”

To read the full review click on this Moving with Motion review link.

Designer Sound FX

Ever since I started editing I’ve been on the look out for swishes and impact sound effects just like the ones you hear during a movie trailer. After years of looking for these killer sounds my search is over, thanks to Video Copilot’s Designer Sound FX. It’s chock full of those big sound effects you’ve become accustomed to. Whether you’re making movies in your back yard or a seasoned professional, this product will help elevate the production value of your next project and get it noticed.

The Goods

The Designer Sound FX album comes with 500 must have sound effects and audio elements. And these aren’t just any sound effects: these are the kind you hear in most Hollywood movie trailers. These high impact SFX will be a sure fire hit for your next project and are sure to grab your audience’s attention. And best of all, these sounds are royalty-free.

Sound Categories

The library is broken down into five main categories that include 100 sounds per category. To see how well the sound effects work with one another, just take a look at how much they enhanced the feel of the Star Wars Hologram tutorial I created.

I. Impacts

Just as the category implies, you get tons of cinematic bams, slams and hits that call attention to what you have on your screen. Mix this category with the swish category and you’ll have unbeatable sounds that will make your visuals seem a lot cooler.

II. Swishes

This category is my favorite. These are the sounds that can make animated text flying on and off the screen pack a real punch. In my opinion this category alone merits the purchase of the product.

III. Drums

Often when you see an action or epic movie trailer you’ll hear drums build to a climatic ending. The drums are broken up into three categories which are drum hits, build ups and cymbals. The drum sounds are a great way to add meat to your project’s score.

IV. Ambience

These add great background music that helps sell the mood of your project. Mix these sounds with the drums and you’ll have a fantastic music bed that can drive your next commercial, promo or trailer.

V. Abstract

Here you’ll find lots of foley sound effects such as record scratches, wet splats, breaking glass, heart beats and my favorite, bell reverse sounds.

Extras

If 500 SFX weren’t enough, this product also comes with 80 minutes of training. These tutorials will teach you how to organize your sounds, create an audio score, add motion graphics to the audio score, create a powerful ice shattering effect, create movie trailer titles and share some professional advice on mixing.

In addition to the training, you’ll also get After Effect project files that go along with the training. That way you’ll be able to see how the eye catching promo on the Designer Sound FX web page was created for this title.

Conclusion

I think this is an end all be all product that will enhance any video it’s a part of. To find out for yourself check out the commercial Video Copilot built to showcase many of the great sounds that come with this product. Besides, who doesn’t need big Hollywood sounding swishes, impacts and great background sounds? So be sure to grab your audience’s attention with Designer Sound FX, a must have for every editors arsenal.

]]> http://www.movingwithmotion.com/designer-sound-fx/feed/ 0 http://www.movingwithmotion.com/motion_in_broadcast_action/ http://www.movingwithmotion.com/motion_in_broadcast_action/#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:35:39 +0000 stephen http://www.movingwithmotion.com/?p=163 Lone Peak Productions and Salt Lake Studios put together a TV commercial in English and Spanish for the Utah Multi-Cultural Business Expo. Because this was the first year this expo is being held, there is no footage of the event. The lack of resources led to an inventive way of building the spot. Lone Peak decided to go with a drawn look and feel. This eliminated the problem of finding stock footage with varying races and created a spectacular spot.

To get an even better idea as to how the spot was laid out check it out below.

Some of the elements where drawn in Illustrator while others where still grabs from video. In order to give the photos a drawn look the Color Reduce filter was used. The Paint tool and Write On behavior helped animate lines though out the spot. The camera helped move the spot along and give it a visually interesting look. "Thanks to Motion's toolset, I was able to quickly create this spot." Said Stephen Smith who assembled it.

In order to achieve this effect I relied on Motion's motion tracking capabilities. Added additional elements such as a matted color mask to give it a more realistic light reflection. The end result is a seamless match  as if the new and old phone's face plates where glued together. Click here to see a before and after compression of the spot.

The spot itself moves fast and is in constant motion to help convey the feeling of being in motion. To see for yourself check out the Moving with Motion commercial.

Moving with Motion

• 4 hours of training
• For Motion 3 and 4
• 5 free HDV clips
• Project files and artwork included

Moving with Motion, a training DVD for Apple's Motion is here. This DVD comes jam packed with 4 hours of training for Motion 3 and Motion 4. In this DVD, respected trainer Stephen Smith gives users a comprehensive look at Motion, part of the Final Cut Studio Suite. He explores the cameras, lights, behaviors, time remapping, particles, shapes and masks. Also included are in-depth looks at paint, as well as advanced motion tracking.

Stephen wanted to craft a DVD that would showcase "Motion's ability to produce high-end graphics." And he has! With over four hours of training, this DVD is jam packed with training to help your work stand out. Includes five free HDV clips and art and project files. Get "Moving with Motion" today. To learn more, watch the commercial below.

CHAPTERS:

Chapter 1: Design Concepts (9:12): It’s not enough to just learn Motion. This chapter will focus on coming up with a concept for your Motions project, as well as more specific details of your project, including fonts, size, color scheme and gradients.

Chapter 2: Getting Started (7:55): An introduction to the fundamentals of Motion.

Chapter 3.1: Behaviors (16:52): Learn the ins and outs of behaviors, a feature that can save you enormous amounts of time when creating content. You’ll learn how to make a behavior do what you want in very little time. This chapter will also cover how the unique parameter behaviors can play a role in your next project. Learn how to make an object animate to the beat of music.

Chapter 3.2: Behaviors, Logo Animation (26:13): Apply your behavior skill set to a real world logo animation and see how a complex animation can be created with ease. Also, gain an understanding of blend modes, how to import and work with vector images, and how to alter a text path.

Chapter 4: Content (8:16): Motion comes with over 1,000 free content items. This chapter focuses on how you can customize them to meet your needs. This tutorial also builds a foundation for working with gradients and how they can enhance a shape. You will also learn how to work with the shape in the canvas with the adjust 3D transform tool.

Chapter 5: Retiming (21:29): Changing the speed of a video clip is a great way to place emphasis on certain sections of a clip. In this video tutorial you will learn how to manipulate the speed of two free HDV clips that come included with this training DVD. By the end of the chapter you will know how to perform time remapping in the inspector, timeline, with behaviors and in the keyframe editor. In the keyframe editor you will also gain an understanding of how keyframes work. Learn how frame blending modes such as optical flow can enhance your speed change.

Chapter 6: Motion Tracking (18:48):Motion tracking is a must have tool that can impress any audience. This DVD will show you how a one point or two point motion track can create a big impression. You will learn how to track an object and match its scale. Plus, learn how to use the four-corner pin motion track.

Chapter 7: Shapes, Masks, and Track Points (30:34): In this chapter you’ll learn how to utilize shapes, masks and track points to create an opening that will get your title noticed. First you’ll learn how to create simple shapes and how to manipulate them into more complicated shapes. You’ll also gain understanding of how to create shapes with the bezier and b-spline tool.This chapter also covers working with and arranging text to create a professional look. You’ll gain an advanced knowledge of gradients, text style presets and how to replace that ugly default text style icon with your custom text style preset.Learn how to save time by relying on the free hand mask tool and the track points behavior to create a mask that tracks your image for you. This is a faster way to rotoscope a clip.

Chapter 8.1: Paint (16:12)Paint is a powerful feature that is covered in great depth. This chapter is broken down into three sections; in the first you will learn the fundamentals of paint. Then you’ll learn how to create a logo animation using paint dynamics.

Chapter 8.2: Paint - Write on Behavior(20:23): You will build a complex animation while focusing on the write on behavior.

Chapter 8.3: Paint - Writing on Objects Created Outside of Motion (14:39):
Clients will often supply artwork they want you to animate so that it looks as if it was being written onto the screen. In this chapter you will learn how to animate objects created outside of Motion.

Chapter 9.1: Particles for Motion 3 (23:25):Particles can be a daunting feature. In this chapter, Stephen demystifies particle systems so you can implement them in your next project. You’ll learn how to utilize the emitter and cells, how to modify them with behaviors and how to make use of particles in a real world project.

Chapter 9.2: Particles for Motion 4 (29:12): Particles can be a daunting feature. In this chapter, Stephen demystifies particle systems so you can implement them in your next project. You’ll learn how to utilize the emitter and cells, how to modify them with behaviors and how to make use of particles in a real world project. In addition, you'll get an in-depth look at reflections.

Chapter 10.1: Camera for Motion 3 (24:34): Using 3D space can help you create amazing visuals. This chapter focuses on how to animate the camera with behaviors and keyframes. You’ll understand the difference between constant and logarithmic interpolation methods and, more importantly, when to use them.

Chapter 10.2: Camera for Motion 4 (33:45): Using 3D space can help you create amazing visuals. This chapter focuses on how to animate the camera with behaviors and keyframes. You’ll understand the difference between constant and logarithmic interpolation methods and, more importantly, when to use them. You will also learn how easy it is to move the camera from one object to another with the framing behavior. Another helpful feature that will give your projects a more realistic look is Motion’s depth of field. You will discover the ins and outs of animating the camera in this chapter.

Chapter 11: Lights (9:28): You will learn how to enhance the depth and look of all your projects with lights.

Chapter 12.1: Camera and Lights in a Real World Project, for Motion 3 (31:03):You will learn how to build and light a virtual set while integrating it with motion graphics.

Chapter 12.2: Camera and Lights in a Real World Project, for Motion 4 (36:25): You will learn how to build and light a virtual set while integrating it with motion graphics. Plus you’ll get an in depth look at how you can create and manipulate realistic shadows.

1000 cc Raw Thrill Open

Lone Peak Productions created a stunning show open and graphics package for the new High Definition (HD) television show, 1000cc Raw Thrill. The show opens with great sportbike footage, killer graphics and high-energy music that grabs the viewer’s attention.  It has a cutting edge look and feel with all sorts of gauges and high impact footage.

To create this I utilized Apple’s Motion to create this TV show open. Motion provided real time playback to help speed up the creation process. The ability to avoid RAM previews was a major time saver. Other features I tapped into were its motion tracking capabilities and massive library of customizable content. This would have taken me longer to create in After Effects and shows how powerful of an application Motion truly is.

Another challenge Lone Peak faced was incorporating SD footage into the HD open. Because SD footage is a lot smaller in size than HD I wasn’t sure on how to incorporate it into the open.  Because of that, I came up with the idea to show off lots of footage at the same time. This not only solved the challenge Lone Peak was given, but also created a truly unique look and feel.

The result is an open worthy of the two hosts (Greg White and Erin Bates from the Speed Channel) and the numerous top sportbike riders who join them each episode. To decide for yourself check out the motion graphics created in Motion for the 1000cc Raw Thrill show open.

Looking for ideas to help inspire your next motion graphics project? Look no further than this article on seeking great ideas.

Click Here to Find Inspiration