Advertise here via BSA

I’ve long been a fan of music videos, especially growing up with MTV. Music videos have long been a great source of inspiration and showcase for both cinematography and motion graphics. And so with this new series i’m going to try and showcase some music videos (either new ones or classic music videos) to hopefully inspire you or give you some great ideas whether your working on a music video or not. Let us know your favourite music videos in the comments. So here we go with the first in the series…

Advertise here via BSA

Layers upon layers of… well… layers. A forest of keyframes. Bezier handles pointing this way and that. Motion graphics project files can get pretty complicated, and, from time to time, a frazzled graphics maestro may dream of a simpler time. What would it have been like to create parallax in say, 1957? Well, luckily for us, in the time before the internet and DVD special features, Walt Disney made “behind the scenes” videos. This one touts their invention of the “multi-plane” camera.

Advertise here via BSA

How do you fall in love?

Yolanda Santosa and her crew at Ferroconcrete know the answer to this question, because each time they take on a project they fall in love with it. They spend countless hours memorizing each detail, even the smallest, most trivial piece. They go past what’s on the outside and find what’s underneath–the true, unbiased story–and then, without thinking, they make it their own. They find the personality in whatever they are working with, then, and only then, they create something truly beautiful–something that will stand the test of time.

It’s this attention to detail and love of creation that has solidified Ferroconcrete, a branding studio located in Los Angeles, California, as a go to company for creating excellent brands, and it shows in their past work with companies such as Pinkberry, Hustler, éple and, most recently, TBS.

A Solid Foundation

This foundation was set in place early in Yolanda’s life. She was always inspired by great branding and knew it was something that she wanted to be a part of. After graduating with a degree in Graphic Design, she got a job in a large branding firm where she worked on strictly on logos day after day. She soon tired of the monotony and yearned for more ways to express her passion which lead her into the world of motion graphics and a home at yu+co.

Working with motion was something that rejuvenated Yolanda and proved to be a integral part of her career. Through the six and a half years she spent in motion graphics she learned the importance of story and the impact motion can have on design. This all culminated in such memorable projects as the end credits for the feature film 300 and the title sequences for Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives, to name a few.

Some of Yolanda's work at Yu+co

The Start of Something Beautiful

However, Yolanda felt something was missing. Seeing great brands taking off such as Apple and yearning to get back into her first love, Yolanda set off to create her own company, something she wanted to do since she began working in the industry. When she heard that Pinkberry was looking for a branding company, she jumped at the chance. She took vacation time off from work and got in touch with the company and, in that week, she created and presented her idea to Pinkberry, who loved it. With that, Yolanda left her job at yu+co and Ferroconcrete was born.

At Ferroconcrete, she was finally able to express her passion without restraint, bringing out the personality in the products that she chose to work with. However, she knew she couldn’t do it alone. Needing to hire employees and understanding a company is only as good as the sum of its parts, Yolanda gathered together a group extremely talented designers from different fields who shared her love of creativity and story. Not wanting to create more cogs in the system like she had been when she first started out, she gave them all creative say in the initial design of the brand making an energetic, friendly and competitive work environment. Finally, Ferroconcrete had a truly solid foundation to support it. And, with that, they transformed Pinkberry from a one store shop into an over 70 store national chain (for more on this, check out the great AIGA video on how she created the brand).

Ferroconcrete

Since its grand opening in 2006, Ferroconcrete has gone on to create brands for companies all over the spectrum including Coola suncare products, Skywatch watches, TFO Architecture, City Center on 6th and even Hustler Toys. In each project, they managed to bring a full sense of design and personality to it, capturing just the right elements and bringing them to the forefront. This can be seen in everything they have created from menus and brochures to packaging and labeling; from websites and photos to motion graphics and video. Even shirts and bags. All along the way, they have fallen in love over and over again.

By the time Ferroconcrete was hired to rebrand TBS, Yolanda and her crew were moving in strides. Being somewhat of a return to form for her, Yolanda knew exactly what was needed. Working with the previous static half circle (smiling) logo, Ferroconcrete did what they do best–they brought it to life. Instead of creating just a logo, they created a character all on its own. With that single character, they managed to give the entire TBS company a unique personality evoked every time you watch a their channel or visit their website.

They did this by recreating the TBS smiley face logo in Maxon Cinema 4D, animating it into a mischievous and fun loving character that danced and interacted with various actors from the many different shows on TBS including George Lopez, the cast of The Big Band Theory and Peter from Family Guy. They made a star who loved to have fun, and that made TBS fun. Much like all of Ferroconcrete’s designs, it was simple, but it managed to say so much.

What Dreams May Come

Even though Ferroconcrete already has many awards and accolades under their belt for the work they have already accomplished, they are in it because they truly love everything that they do, and they don’t plan on slowing down any time soon. Along with continuing their branding and motion graphics projects, they are already working on integrating interior design elements into their branding studio as well as iphone application programming and design, among other things.

One could say, they are adding additions on to their already strong home.

Advertise here via BSA

Voices for Freedom from wearecaptive on Vimeo.

From WeAreCaptive.com

Leo Burnett’s campaign for Amnesty International addresses the silencing of civil activists worldwide. One such activist, Dhondup Wangchen was imprisoned in 2008 for the making of his documentary ‘leaving fear behind’ which describes the feelings of modern day Tibetans regarding Chinese rule and the then impending Beijing Olympic Games.

Following his imprisonment in 2008 a massive wave of unrest tore through Tibet in the form of the rioting of Buddhist monks resulting in the disappearance of over 1000 monks unaccounted for until this day. Dhondup’s story became for us a resounding analogy of a much greater worldwide struggle against authoritarian rule and the use of power to silence the minority.

Synopsis

Leo’s poignant slogan for the Amnesty campaign ‘Voices for Freedom’ was the starting point for our animation leading us to narrate the story of Dhondup’s own discovery and loss of his freedom of speech. It was important for us to convey the identity of Tibet which seems to have been trampled by Chinese rule, as was it seems the identity of Dhondup himself.

Our script was influenced strongly by Bhuddist and Tibetan proverbs which significantly inform the beliefs of the Tibetan people. The narrative involves many symbolic animals which are central to religion and lifestyle in Tibet, the Yak, Tiger and antelope are all Bhuddist prayer animals while the crane is a national symbol in China.

Key to our story was the idea that a single voice can influence thousands of others, represented in our animation as dandelion seeds free with the potential to create a thousand others but on a journey that may also end in an instant. Our final message is that one voice will always prevail through the masses who are silenced to inform a thousand others and in this case the voice is that of Dhondup Wangchen.

For more information, please check out WeAreCaptive.com.

If you have a reel or another piece of work you would like featured on Fuel Your Motionography, send us an email with a link to said work and any contact information you would like included in the article. Check out the rest of the Feature Friday articles here.

Advertise here via BSA

Something so simple, yet so beautiful and full of life. Turn to Dust is just a test project of Jordan Scott to practice his motion tracking skills, but what he comes away with is a piece of art that you can watch over and over again.

I often find myself making notes on what techniques or projects I want to attempt next, changing and adding to them. This was a culmination of a few of those notes during my free time in the past few months.

I wanted to try my hand at heavily tracking footage, with the intention of using those tracks to design a piece that was calm and beautiful and natural. I located some beautiful shots of butterflies already shot and felt those would be a perfect start. This is my best attempt at that using my favorite song, ever.

If you have a reel or another piece of work you would like featured on Fuel Your Motionography, send us an email with a link to said work and any contact information you would like included in the article. Check out the rest of the Feature Friday articles here.

Advertise here via BSA

Typography can, and should, be a beautiful thing… unless it was meant to be ugly. Regardless, finding the proper typeface for your project can be a struggle even if you know what you are looking for. If you don’t, it can be disastrous. However, when you do find the perfect type for your project, it can all come together in a blink of an eye. Sometimes, it can take you in new directions or inspire a new idea altogether. This is where the “Typefaces to Love” series comes in. Hopefully, through the weeks, months and years to come or somewhere along the way, you’ll find the perfect typeface you were looking for. Or even something you weren’t.

Alba

Bellrose

Champagne & Limousines

Complete In Him

Deutsche Zierschrif

Europe Underground

Face Your Fears

Marcelle

Opficio

Optimus Princeps

Check out the entire Typefaces to Love series here.

Advertise here via BSA

Sometimes an idea comes along that is so interesting and unique that it has to be done; you have to complete it just to say you tried, otherwise you might be incomplete. This is the case with Zeroes 2 Heroes Media’s interactive comic book mystery, Are You Awake, and all its tie-ins which include a motion comic video about a detective who can see murders as they happen in his dreams called, aptly enough, The Dream Detective. However, does the idea contain enough of a hook to lift it to the top or will it sink under all the weight of its parts?

The Dream Detective

I was turned on to the project through a brief email which contained a link to a motion comic YouTube video called The Dream Detective which (full disclosure here) has never been my bag of tea. To me, if I want to read a comic book, I’ll download it to my iPad or go to the comic store. If I want to watch an animation, I want it fully animated. This in between stuff has never been much my style unless it has enough flair to keep me interested. Now, that’s not to say The Dream Detective is done poorly. The short video introduces a wealth of characters and gives you a good idea of what the main plot is about. The art is pleasing to the eye, with the addition of some questionable effects and camera moves. Overall, it’s a good effort. It’s just not really my style.

To give it’s creators the benefit of the doubt, I decided to dig a little deeper into the mystery of The Dream Detective to see if it would hook me. Unfortunately, there weren’t anymore videos for me to view on YouTube, but there was a link I found in the description to a website that should hold all of the details.

Done in a motion comic style, The Dream Detective tells the story of Aaron Street, a three-time loser who gets one last change for redemption when he discovers he has an unusual power: the ability to see murders as they happen and track down the killers. In short order, this gets him out of jail, into a fast car and hooked up with a sexy new partner. But it all begins to go horribly wrong when Aaron comes across a killer who shares his unusual gift. The dream quickly becomes a nightmare.

Come check us out at www.areyouawake.tv to see more about Are You Awake.

Are You Awake

Right from the moment I entered the website, I knew the answers I was looking for weren’t going to come easy.

First, to my surprise, there weren’t any videos on the website at all. There were, however, two digital comic books–The Dream Detectives and Pashanata–neither of which were mentioned in the motion comic. The comics were really well drawn and colored, but didn’t contain any characters from the motion comic. They started to hook me when I saw that ideas carried over and, at the last moment, there was a mention of Aaron Street, the main character from The Dream Detective, which lead me to believe future crossovers would happen. There were a handful of links to blogs, Twitter accounts, MySpace pages and more, but I had no idea where to start or why they were even there. After looking for more comics with no success, I dove into the social links provided in hopes of finding some answers.

I waded through the information in front of me with slight confusion and apprehension. I like a good mystery as much as the next person, but if I feel like I’ve been dropped in the middle of an ocean without a life preserver, I’m going to drown. Every clue lead to more questions; every answer didn’t seem to quite fit.

Take the Story, Make it Your Own.

With Are You Awake, we wanted to do something unique. Presented across a number of media, AYA spins a real-time web of deceit, sex, rock n’ roll and intrigue. You can get as close and intimate with Anna or Callum as you would like. You won’t just read the story, you’ll be a part of it. Hunt for the mystery and be the first to unlock the secrets of Are You Awake.

I got the “number of media” thing, but what’s the mystery and how can I be a part of it. Luckily, through some sleuthing and a quick Skype call with the creators, I was able to figure out what the bigger picture was about.

The whole idea was to create a community in which the readers had control of the mystery and destiny of the characters. On the website (you log in and chat in the forums), you can participate in discussions that will lay out the pathway for the main story. The story itself is laid out through a bunch of mediums–which explains the motion comic on YouTube, the two comic books and all the social media links on Are You Awake–and it’s up to the reader (or viewer) to watch/read them all to come up with the answers. There’s also an Are You Awake app that allows you to scan the QR codes in the corners of the comics to get clues to help you solve the mystery.

Oh, there’s also a live action version of The Dream Detective.

Conclusion

I give Zeros 2 Heroes credit for taking on such an ambitious project. Giving readers such a big hand in the story, and by setting clues to the mystery through a bunch of mediums is something that takes a lot of courage and work. Unfortunately, it all comes off feeling like they have no clear direction where they are taking you. Having so many mediums with only a few strands holding them together and an unclear idea of how all the pieces fit into the whole caused me to get lost in the tide.

I also credit Zeros 2 Heroes for their use of interactivity with the code reader, but it never worked for me; not even once. I ended up downloading QR Scanner which worked the very first time. Unfortunately, some of the links didn’t work anymore. The links that did work only lead me to music clips and a few sound clips that really didn’t add anything to the story, but it did add to the interactivity of the comic.

Giving readers the opportunity to follow their favorite characters on multiple platforms as if they are real is cool, but, once again, it doesn’t pay off for those who jump right in the middle of the story. You end up reading too much in a blog or on a Twitter feed and get lost all over again, not to mention having to jump around to multiple social media sites in order to get all the information is really just too much work.

Z2H Media says they are currently finding a direction to take their project, and I hope they do soon. It really does have a lot of potential, but, as it is now, its just too easy to get lost in the tidal wave of information and you’ll be wishing you were a dream detective in order to figure it out.

Am I wrong in my conclusion? Give it a try for yourself and see if you can make sense of the mystery, then let me know in the comments below.

Advertise here via BSA

Following on the heels of the Help Japan poster by James White of SignalNoise comes this excellent animation and self-initiated public service announcement by IAMSTATIC which not only is beautifully crafted and animated, but has a beautiful and striking message as well.

On March 11th, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami and nuclear reactor leaks left Japan devastated. While much has been done to give relief and help to the people of Japan the real work is just beginning. Sometimes we forget that just because an event like this isn’t on the front page anymore, the struggle to save and rebuilt lives has passed. IAMSTATIC wanted to create something that can act as a reminder that this disaster is still happening and not a memory.

Please continue to help by giving to charity of your choosing.

If you have a reel or another piece of work you would like featured on Fuel Your Motionography, send us an email with a link to said work and any contact information you would like included in the article. Check out the rest of the Feature Friday articles here.

Advertise here via BSA

Shot on a GoPro camcorder by the company Betty Wants In in conjunction with the Melbourne Skydive Centre, Experience Human Flight is an amazing trip to what feels like another planet, even though they never leave Earth.

Hopefully this video will give everyone a different perspective of what skydiving can offer. Hopefully it will provoke some necessity to learn to fly in our wonderful three dimensional environment- The Sky!

I hope it also shows people what they can do with a little time, skill, ingenuity and a decent camcorder.

If you have a reel or another piece of work you would like featured on Fuel Your Motionography, send us an email with a link to said work and any contact information you would like included in the article.Check out the rest of the Feature Friday articles here.

Advertise here via BSA

Sometimes when looking for inspiration you’ll come across something so brilliant you can’t take your eyes away from it. This was the case when I ran across Light Drive by Kim Pimmel. Using stop motion photography, and some ingenuity, he manages to capture something completely amazing that’s reminiscent of the old Sprint light drawing commercials.

I’ve been interested in taking my Light Study photo series and evolving them into motion pieces. I shot a lot of footage for a VJ gig for FITC San Francisco. So I edited together those stop motion sequences, mashed up some audio from the Tron Legacy trailers, and out came Light Drive.

The video is stop motion, so every frame is an individually shot photograph. Each photograph is a long exposure photo, with exposures reaching up to 20 seconds in some cases.

To control the lights, I used an Arduino controlled via bluetooth to drive a stepper motor. The stepper motor controls the movements of the lights remotely from Processing.

The light sources include cold cathode case lights, EL wire, lasers and more.

If you have a reel or another piece of work you would like featured on Fuel Your Motionography, send us an email with a link to said work and any contact information you would like included in the article. Check out the rest of the Feature Friday articles here.

Advertise here via BSA

Typography can, and should, be a beautiful thing… unless it was meant to be ugly. Regardless, finding the proper typeface for your project can be a struggle even if you know what you are looking for. If you don’t, it can be disastrous. However, when you do find the perfect type for your project, it can all come together in a blink of an eye. Sometimes, it can take you in new directions or inspire a new idea altogether. This is where the “Typefaces to Love” series comes in. Hopefully, through the weeks, months and years to come or somewhere along the way, you’ll find the perfect typeface you were looking for. Or even something you weren’t.

Bladeline

Karabine

RNS Baruta

Simulata

White Rabbit

Check out the entire Typefaces to Love series here.

Advertise here via BSA

Simplicity can breed the most beautiful results. Using a mix of Red Giant Software’s Trapcode Particular along with some crafty camera work, editing and a fitting song, Ku-Schneider created a an amazing piece for his bachelor project in Media Production, University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt, Germany that is very simplistic in design, but a treat for the eyes, none the less. You can see more of his work over at his website, Acht Frankfurt.

If you have a reel or another piece of work you would like featured on Fuel Your Motionography, send us an email with a link to said work and any contact information you would like included in the article. Check out the rest of the Feature Friday articles here.

Advertise here via BSA

I wanted to share with you all three of my favorite studios around right now. Not to say that they’re my “top three”, just that they’re three that I really enjoy and thought I’d share the love with you guys. However, I will say that one studio in my brief list of three is very near and dear to my heart. So lets start there.

Royale

Let me introduce those of you who don’t know to the wonderful LA studio known as Royale. Know it or not, I’m sure you’ve seen their work before whether watching Comedy Central’s roast of David Hasselhoff or any other channel trying to tell you to take a flight on Jet Blue or even watching the Discovery Channel. The reason I say this studio is near and dear to my heart is because one of the partners is a Mr. J Whitmore–a graduate of Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida; my alma mater. Now, it’s not simply a “OMG! He went to the same college as me!” type thing. Alongside Brien Holman and Jennifer Lucero, he has created a studio that has put out work that I continue to be blown away by. I’m not saying that they’re out there doing what no studio has ever done or can do. Just that in my humble opinion I think they’re doing all the right things without overdoing any one particular thing. I would absolutely call a job at Royale a dream (hint hint…). Take a look at their reel and make a decision for yourself. [view their reel below] If you dig their stuff make sure you follow them on Twitter. They also post great behind the scenes footage and updates on meet-ups on their Facebook page.

King and Country

You may have heard of King and Country before. I wasn’t too familiar with their work until they put the Believe campaign together for US Cellular. Something about how well the projection mapping was done and how well their assets were integrated into the photo to further sell the 3D of it all really blew me away. If you have been following me and my work with Keyframe, you’d know that we covered this piece and actually got to talk with the great dudes over at K&C about how they put it together and show off some of their process. After being introduced to their work I have fallen in love with a number of their pieces like the promo for Top Shot on the History Channel to the fantastic composite work in the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives promo for the Food Network. You could spent a pretty good amount of time going through their site and looking at all their work, but to sum it up check out their most recent reel. Then form your own opinion on it, don’t be a robot.
If you would like to keep up with updates and see some super secret behind closed doors type stuff make sure to like them on Facebook and enjoy.

Psyop

Now, of course I couldn’t make an “I love” list without mentioning one of the big brothers of animation and VFX. Their pedigree of talent and the amount of over the top insane and brilliant work is too vast and long to even know where to start talking about these guys. So, I won’t even bother. Simply go to their site and watch one piece after the other. I swear, each piece is out of hand brilliant. Though, if I was being forced to point out one specific work they’ve done it would have to be Something Lurking for LG. You can check that piece out here. After watching it, all I could think to myself was, “This was for a vacuum…? Really?! A friggin vacuum?!”. If you don’t have the time to go through each and every piece they’ve ever made, and you should really make time, then go check out their reel page and watch the few pieces they’ve got featured.
I’m not going to ask the question if you want to follow these dudes, believe me, you do! Here is their Twitter, and their Facebook. Go and absorb their brilliance.

Honorable Mention:
Stardust
The Mill
Shilo

That’s it for this article everyone. If you’d like to hear more of my opinions on why I chose to feature these three studios, please feel free to ask me to expand. I’ve got a ton to say and thought seeing me write a thousand word essay on each might be a little much. Also, if you’ve got a favorite studio that I didn’t mention please post the name in the comments. I’d love to go check them out. Thanks for paying attention, or at least reading this last sentence.

Be good.
Timmy.

Advertise here via BSA

Silke Sieler is a motion graphics designer based in Hamburg, Germany who freely admits she loves abstract things, strange details, loud music and lots of ice cream. She promises. It’s a combination of these life loves that brought her to her final diploma thesis produced at University of Applied Sciences Mainz titled Warm Signal.

The concept is simple. In her own words: “A short abstract movie dealing with nature and maritime creatures, metamorphosis and transformation – it connects art and science. Strong emphasis on sound, related to the idea of visual music. The Style is soft but clean, focusing on black & white.”

A simple concept mixed with gorgeous visuals modeled and animated in Cinema 4D, composited in After Effects and further edited in Final Cut has created a beautiful animation that flows to the music of Apparat. It’s both relaxing and awe inspiring. Take your time and enjoy the beauty that is Warm Signal.

If you have a reel or another piece of work you would like featured on Fuel Your Motionography, send us an email with a link to said work and any contact information you would like included in the article. Check out the rest of the Feature Friday articles here.

Advertise here via BSA

Coming to us all the way from Germany is Marcus Eckert’s 2011 Demo Reel. Featuring a beautiful blend of 3d and 2d animation mixed with a pinch of live action film and set to the beat of a wonderful song, Marcus manages to inspire and amaze while keeping you glued to his video–exactly what you want from a reel.

If you have a reel or another piece of work you would like featured on Fuel Your Motionography, send us an email with a link to said work and any contact information you would like included in the article.
Check out the rest of the Feature Friday articles here.