Episodes

  • Andy Needham is a freelance motion designer, editor, and compositor. He is also a Lynda trainer for 3D, motion, compositing, After Effects, Cinema 4D, Nuke, Illustrator, X-Particles & Octane. His clients include Google, Sony Ericsson, X Factor USA, and Coldplay.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    00.40 - Andy introduces himself

    01.00 - He has been making C4D training for Lynda.com since 2013

    03.00 - Andy is intending to take the C4D training a step deeper for Lynda.com, in the areas of Mograph and VFX

    05.00 - OctaneRender for Cinema 4D Essential Training on Lynda

    05.30 - Discussion of the accessibility of GPU rendering, as made possible by Otoy’s subscription model.

    06.00 - Michael Rigley courses on Learnsquared: Workflow and Animation. He uses eGPUs, because he’s a Mac guy

    06.35 - egpu.io

    08.00 - How Otoy were forced to up their game by the likes of Redshift

    09.00 - If you want to work in 3d, it’s a good idea to have at least a basic understanding of all the major render engines: Octane, Redshift, Arnold etc.

    11.30 - Discussion of the importance of finding quality sources of 3d training, eg: Lynda, Pluralsight, Helloluxx, Eyedesyn, Brograph, FXPHD, John Dickinson

    13.00 - Tim Clapham’s approach to training.

    16.00 - The difficulty of balancing work and family life

    19.10 - Ditto for creative passion and professional life, and the boon of having a supportive family.

    20.42 - How beta-testing can help accelerate your learning

    21.55 - About Mocha, roto and tracking

    25.00 - Using garbage mattes to help the tracking process

    26.50 - How Andy freelances on top of producing training, and being a family man

    29.00 - Why Andy chose to go freelance, and his advice to people just starting out in their careers

    33.00 - Using Slack channels such as Brograph and ProVideoPodcast both to promote yourself and to reach out to other freelancers, as Andy does when offered more work than he can do.

    37.57 - Pro Video Picks

    Software/Tech:

    Notion

    42.00 - Following

    Monday Meeting on Brograph Slack

    43.35 - Inspiration and Influence

    Book: Design For Motion

    45.50 - Inspirational Video

    C4D Live

    44.27 - Follow Andy Online:

    web

    Instagram

    X-particles challenge

    46.36 - Who should be on the show?

    Marc Knapton

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • David Ariew; freelance 3D motion artist discusses show reels with host Blair. David’s latest reel departs from the standard reel. We discuss work & also how personal a reel can be not only for the content, but the way it is presented.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    00.44 - David’s new reel

    01.58 - Ice Caves music video

    03.05 - Composer Ivan Torrent collaborated on the reel. David worked on Space Whales with him too.

    06.55 - Music and sound choices can make or break a reel, as of course can the choice of work you show.

    08.30 - Discussion the editing process, and how David focuses on a particular piece for a while on the reel, without jumping around too much from project to project.

    10.09 - Grouping parts of the reel by grade/colour of the footage.

    16.35 - Why Blair didn’t need a reel once during the first two months of freelancing.

    18.20 - David’s recent collaboration on the Ice Caves video with Grant Inouye and Christopher Rutledge

    19.00 - The current mograph debate: take up Houdini? Or stick to what you really love and get better and better at that?

    21.40 - Discussion of how studios collaborate by playing to the strengths of the different team members.

    22.30 - The perils of being a one man band, like David.

    24.55 - David rarely works in house since specialising in 3d.

    26.55 - David Ariew and Brograph collaborate with DeadMaus on his visuals. He himself is really into making 3d and using Octane.

    28.00 - Discussion of the huge depth of today’s software, and how much space there is to become a specialist within a given package.

    32.00 - The importance of keeping abreast of what the latest tech makes possible.

    33.15 - Pro Video Picks

    33.43 - Inspirational videos

    Ruin by Wes Ball

    The Leviathan by Ruairi Robinson (check out 01.03 shot of docking bay.)

    37.08 - Software/Tech:

    World Creator

    Realflow for C4D

    41.31 - Following

    The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

    StuZor, Beeple, Sekani Solomon, Hoodass, Josef Bshara

    43.05 - Inspiration and Influence

    Vimeo and Instagram, Octane Facebook Group, stills from movies and the real world using PureRef

    44.27 - Follow David Online:

    web

    Instagram

    46.36 - Who should be on the show?

    Josef Bshara

    Raoul Marks

    Ryan Talbot

    Alex Ness

    Justin LeDuc

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

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  • Chris Angelius is a freelance motion designer and art director based in Sydney, Australia. This episode explores his work on various projects ranging from concert visuals for Eminem to leading automotive brands and sporting events.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    01.30 - Mograph is a team sport: the unusually collaborative nature of mograph projects

    03.44 - “This industry is all problem-solving”

    05.10 - About Vanta Collective

    06.10 - It seems like “the tide is shifting away” from founding/owning studios, and towards freelancing, sometimes collectively

    09.18 - The intimidating side of freelancing: coming in cold to a new work place

    11.31 - Eminem piece, a 35 minute, 10K, seven screen video colossus for Coachella, created in collaboration with Blackbird studio. Projected using Watchout for playback control

    13.50 - Discussion of coordination of remote work, which suits Houdini artists particularly well, since they create lightweight digital assets, rather than huge rendered files

    15.00 - Remote artists frequently have higher spec equipment than studios/design companies

    15.30 - Discussion of charging for remote jobs

    16.10 - Redshift is Chris’s render engine of choice for C4D

    17.30 - How Otoy got left behind by Redshift: not delivering on promises and poor customer service!

    20.25 - Chris’s favourite part of the Coachella piece

    24.00 - Chris’s preference is for a studio to know clearly what it wants to see in a project, rather than making creative guesses on their behalf

    26.15 - Chris asks his clients a series of questions before a job begins, to try to avoid problems down the line

    27.25 - The importance of keeping an open dialogue with clients

    28.20 - Chris’s car work eg motion, particles and compositing on Camry Global Launch with Rotor Studios

    31.42 - Sprinklr Square Peg by Mighty Nice in collaboration with Nexus

    36.46 - Netball World Cup piece by DD8

    38.08 - Art director Gerad Gray

    42.14 - Pro Video Picks

    42.50 - shareX

    44.02 - Simplemind

    46.14 - Following

    Harrison Vincent

    Ben Watts

    Lucas Vojir

    50.00 - Inspiration and Influence

    Everything everyday everywhere!

    NYC vintage sign design, architecture, reading design books

    51.17 - Inspirational videos

    Voltige

    Flower

    54.08 - Follow Chris Online:

    web

    behance

    Instagram

    54.32 - Who should be on the show?

    Ben Watts

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • Node Fest is the premiere Motion Design event for Australasia. James Cowen of Yes Captain is on the show to share what Node 2018 will bring us. Every year it gets better as it supports the community to come together and hear from outstanding talent in Australia, New Zealand and around the world. The lineup of speakers is again a wealth of knowledge and experience that crosses all disciplines with the Motion Design Industry.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    05.30 - The 2018 Node line up:

    Jonny Kofoed of Assembly

    07.10 - How James Cowen picks his speakers, and his preference for them to talk about the process of making projects

    09.00 - Lisa Vertudaches

    12.27 - EJ Hassenfratz

    15.30 - Maxon as Sponsor of Nodefest

    16.51 - Luca Ionescu

    19.10 - Nodefest Slack Group

    20.12 - The above group has a blacklist of companies, for motion designers to beware of.

    21.20 - Lilian Darmono

    23.43 - Ben Watts who will talk at Node about how he made the transition from C4D to Houdini

    26.00 - The importance of finding your own voice as a motion designer

    30.00 - Studio Partners: HelloLuxx, Dirty Puppet, Mr, Fox and Co, Buck, Yukfoo

    31.00 - Industry Partners: Digital Pigeon, Swinburne, aescripts, borisfx, toolfarm, motionworks, acmi, fed square

    31.40 - Node Ident Competition

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast – Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • Mitch Myers is a freelance Motion Designer. On this episode Mitch shares his experiences in becoming a freelancer. Host Blair Walker discusses with Mitch his business branding, being an entrepreneur and also they look at two pieces of Mitches work in detail. Lots of great topics covered in this episode including design theory, film theory, cinematography, lighting, 3D, art direction and more.

    Show Notes - by Blair Walker

    Nura Headphones

    Shapist Hourglass Principle

    The Jump

    Light Kits & VDB Packs

    Pro Video Pick:

    Developing a strong positive mindset is extremely important to maintaining a successful creative and entrepreneurial lifestyle.

    Following:

    The Mysterious Universe Podcast. It’s a perfect listen for Mitch while he’s working. Full of esoteric and interesting topics.

    Where do you find Inspiration and Influence:

    I find influence from just about anywhere, mainly when I am not thinking about a solution to my issues. I could be banging my head against a wall with a problem but when I leave it be the answer always comes to me through my daily life. I think It’s extremely important to fill your life with activities that compliment each other. You can start to form a pretty consistent pattern of inspiration.

    Inspirational Videos:

    Ash Thorp : AWAKEN AKIRA

    Elastic: The Night Manager

    Where can we all follow you online:

    Twitter

    Facebook

    Instagram

    Website

    Patreon

    Who should be on the show:

    Merc Vilson, Raidzero, Lorcan O’Shanahan

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

    Pro Video Podcast - Spotify

  • Jesus Suarez is a Motion Designer originally from Venezuela. He shares moving the the US to make a career and life for his family. An inspiring discussion. Host Blair Walker also discusses his work for Prophets of Rage and his approach to learning 3D.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    00.41 - Jesus introduces himself and his work at Battle Media Lab

    03.20 - Prophets Of Rage music video

    04.15 - Discussion of Behance

    04.45 - Mitch Myers on School Of Motion

    05.30 - The challenge of keeping current on social media

    05.55 - How Slack groups can help you connect, and help others solve problems

    07.30 - Jesus is heading in to more cinematic 3d work now

    08.25 - Jesus’s approach to learning C4D

    09.17 - Jordan Jack animation

    09.55 - EJ Hassenfratz, the Sketch n Toon guru

    10.30 - Fusion 360: problems getting a good mesh in to C4D

    11.10 - Jesus loves Substance Painter

    11.30 - How motion designers can have the role of educating clients/creatives as to what’s possible with the software

    15.00 - Blair asks about the challenge of learning and connecting with the motion industry with English as a second language

    16.00 - About the Full Sail University course Jesus did

    19.00 - Jesus’s short term goals: to work on short films and title sequences

    19.50 - The enormous workload Jesus put himself under in order to get involved with making title sequences as a freelancer on top of his day job.

    20.20 - The influence of Elastic on Jesus, especially the Westworld titles

    21.50 - About Florida as a motion design community

    25.10 - The Venezuela motion graphics scene, and why it is a small community

    26.50 - The great challenge of being far from one’s homeland.

    28.00 - What Jesus hopes to gain from making a short film

    29.20 - Pro Video Picks:

    The French Monkey

    31.25 - Following Online:

    Ash Thorpe

    Mitch Myers
    Elastic

    32.00 - Sources of Inspiration:

    Ash Thorpe again

    Collective Podcast

    Akira Tribute

    33.07 - Follow Jesus Online:

    instagram

    twitter

    33.28 - Who should we have on the show?

    Friendly Robot

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • Ben Buchanan and Matt Lloyd. Pivoting Careers, Motion Design, 2D, 3D, Community, Education and more. Both Ben and Matt moved into Motion Design later in their careers. Host Blair Walker discusses the challenges and rewards of doing so. They share how they have done so to become successful freelancers.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    01.00 - Ben and Matt introduce themselves

    03.30 - Ben has been a TA for School Of Motions Design Bootcamp

    05.00 - How Ben reached out to Rich Nosworthy for tips on what to learn

    06.50 - How Ben’s brother’s connection to Matt Von Trott eventually landed him a meeting with Jonny Kofoed of Assembly

    08.25 - Matt’s biggest mistake early on: not understanding the importance of connecting with people when building a career

    09.20 - Motion designers seem to be “falling over themselves” to help each other. See Matt’s blog about this.

    12.00 - How doing tutorials can boost your confidence in the early stage of learning motion design

    14.00 - FXPHD students’ reels tended to stand out because of the emphasis there on creating your their work using techniques they’d learned.

    17.00 - How Matt started out learning C4D: Vertex Pusher Hrvoje Srdelic

    22.35 - How passion for animation is palpable to people doing the hiring

    24.00 - School Of Motions Animation Bootcamp course

    27.00 - Finding the time to work on motion design around having a family

    29.10 - Ben’s latest reel

    33.00 - Ben and Matt talk about their plans for the future

    36.30 - Ben is looking to create something “scalable” for the future, so he doesn’t have to be seeking freelance gigs “at 55”

    37.16 - Pro Video Picks:

    Blender which is undergoing a huge upgrade thanks to the Blender Codequest

    For Ben’s picks, see below

    39.15- Inspirational Video:

    Looking Out My Back Door by Ariel Costa

    Forms in Nature

    Anchor Inside Out

    Cosmos Laundromat

    Jamie XX Gosh Official Music Video

    41.07 - Sources of Inspiration:

    Vimeo

    Dribble

    Mimicry, accents, voices, language

    45.06 - Who should we have on the show?

    Sean Kennedy

    Mathijs Luijten

    43.04 - Follow Lee Online:

    Ben: Ben.buchanan.io

    Matt: twitter, inkmotor.com

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • Lee shares his approach to Directing and the relationships that make for a better result. Host Blair Walker discusses with Lee how they work as a team with everyone at FCB New Zealand. A lot of discussions about Cinematography, lighting approaches and career development.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    00.40 - Lee introduces himself and explains his role as a content director

    04.50 - Discussion of problem solving as a fundamental creative process across all aspects of a production

    06.00 - “Stress is contagious”

    07.00 - Metrofilm

    07.15 - Shooting: with quality gear and expertise, much time and money is saved: you can craft your film, instead of having to rescue shoddy footage

    08.45 - Imaginarium

    09.00 - Discussion of in-camera effects, such as contact lighting, which are then supplemented by VFX.

    10.00 - How open conversations between director and crew during pre-production can make for a happy production (listen to Hugo Guerra on this topic)

    14.00 - How being transparent about the limits of your knowledge and abilities as opposed to trying to hide them (e.g. with a technique you have never used before) can garner extra support and appreciation for you.

    16.10 - An overview of Lee’s role

    18.00 - “Editing in your head”: shooting with the edit front and centre in your mind.

    21.00 - Always have backup e.g. audio and cutaway shots

    23.20 - Building relationships with producers, and Lee’s preference for being on top of budgets

    27.00 - “Never stinge on kit”

    28.05 - Imagezone, Kingsize film gear rental

    28.20 - Arri Alexa Mini camera

    28.55 - Sony A7S II camera

    30.23 - Lighting tips, including cutting light

    33.19 - Fun fact about the Raiders of The Lost Ark sword fight scene

    34.33 - Lee’s career, including a stint in the porn industry

    36.45 - Lee learned most of what he knows about lighting in the porn industry

    37.46 - Pro Video Picks:

    “Keep it in-camera” see Mad Max effects breakdowns

    39.15 - Inspirational Video:

    Fresh Guacamole by Pes

    40.43 - Audio and video are 50/50 in any video project. “Make sure you spend just as much time on the audio as you do on the video”

    41.07 - Sources of Inspiration:

    Theatre

    42.11 - Who should we have on the show?

    James Solomon

    43.04 - Follow Lee Online:

    Lee Stapleton - Instagram



  • Not long into his career he is inspirational in the work he’s creating and his passion. Aaron shares his progression from being a student, internships and then working full time at Stink Studios in New York City.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    00.45 - Aaron introduces himself

    01.20 - Stink Studios NYC

    02.10 - Game Of Thrones Wynalda Packaging piece

    05.30 - How Aaron’s creative take on the GOT titles won him an internship

    07.20 - Aaron’s strategic choices of internships

    07.45 - About Stink Studios

    10.10 - Aaron’s 3d experiments

    14.00 - Specialist vs generalist discussion

    17.10 - Aaron’s trial by fire working as the sole motion designer on Google National Park Service Centennial by Stink

    22.10 - Aaron’s deep dive into eGPUs, and the global shift in motion design from Apple to PC

    26.00 - The utility of comping in footage for VFX (for eg particles) rather than trying to run a sim

    27.50 - Posting WIPs Kingston Throop Avs piece

    30.00 - Skating around burnout, and the boost that can come from posting wips.

    33.00 - Resources and community for those working as the lone motion designer within a company.

    34.30 - Shape layers wiggle transform

    35.00 - John Dickinson C4D modelling

    35.10 - Allegorithmic Substance on Discord

    35.50 - The days of hoarding your knowledge for competitive advantage are over

    37.45 - Substance FAQ: how to UV unwrap a model

    38.00 - Aaron uses 3DCoat’s auto UV unwrap function

    39.10 - How, as a graduate, do you survive in NYC? You have to shift your expectations: life is really expensive here, but making connections is much easier in a huge city.

    41.24 - Pro Video Picks:

    Substance Painter Live Link by Xolotl

    44.10 - Following Online:

    Reply All

    45.45 - Sources of Inspiration:

    Archillect

    50.46 - Inspirational Video:

    Mattis Dovier

    52.34 - Who should we have on the show?

    Art by Rens

    54.45- Follow Aaron Online:

    Twitter

    Gumroad

    Web

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • The Vision Feast Film Festival is an opportunity for Filmmakers and Motion Designers to enter the numerous categories. Jonathan explains the focus of the festival and the prizes that are on offer.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    00.45 - About The Vision Feast

    04.25 - Te Makutu short film

    07.50 - Planned live events for The Vision Feast in 2019

    13.35 - Jonathan’s film-making background

    13.55 - Te Makutu was shot in four blocks, one in each season

    14.22 - It has just won best film 2018 at NZ International Film Festival

    17.00 - The background of the movie: Rhiannon Harata’s dreams

    18.30 - Editing process for Te Makutu: from 2 hours down to a short

    22.41 - Vision Feast 2018 judges: Chris Graham, director, Juliette Furness, acting coach

    26.05 - Pro Video Picks:

    Fasting to help with focus and productivity

    29.15 - Inspirational Video:

    Suraya, Seed of Light a submission to Festival Des Histoires, Canada

    30.00 - Sources of Inspiration:

    Visiting art galleries while travelling

    31.45 - Following Online:

    Podcasts:

    No Such Thing As A Fish

    My Dad Wrote A Porno

    33.00 - Follow Jonathan Online:

    Web

    Te Makutu

    Facebook

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • At Sixteen Corners, they unapologetically create video from an 'audience-first' perspective. They believe no video should ever be boring, nor fail to provide that emotional payoff. This approach is discussed as well as some key projects by Mike and the team at Sixteen Corners.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    00.44 - About Sixteen Corners

    03.15 - Origin of the name

    04.30 - Composition of the team: small and nimble with plenty of trusted freelancers

    07.15 - Mint Films

    08.35 - Blair: Success is solely driven by motivation and passion

    09.00 - Mike’s bio

    10.00 - Mike’s part time job fell through, at which time he began interning at post houses, where he met...

    10.30 - Martin Taylor, now head of production at StartVR, who hooked him up with his first freelance jobs.

    11.40 - In 2003 Began work in the “Broadband Department” at ABC tv, Australia.

    13.00 - Blink TV

    14.00 - How getting into the industry has changed with the ever increasing accessibility of video tech, and how certain useful processes/strategies can easily be overlooked by younger people.

    17.00 - How linear editing on a Steenbeck informs Mike’s editing style

    18.51 - Terence Malick’s creative process

    20.20 - Adobe Premiere morph cut

    21.45 - The increasing intuitiveness of UI design

    23.30 - Mike’s blogpost: Enough With Your Shitty Videos Already

    25.24 - Martin Weigel of Wieden Kennedy “our primary task is not the nurturing enthusiasm of the few, but overcoming the indifference of the many”

    27.00 - Mike’s “audience first” approach to generating content

    27.12 - Michael Hauge: “The reason people go to the movies isn’t to think, it’s to feel”

    28.48 - “Don’t get your idea out there, get the emotion associated with that idea out there.”

    35.00 - “What you’re selling to your clients is not a video, it’s the experience of making a video”

    36.35 - Market City Cinema Ad

    38.04 - Edgar Wright

    39.00 - The importance of shot composition

    42.30 - iiNet rollercoaster piece by Sixteen Corners

    48.33 - Pro Video Picks:

    Learning a new, unrelated skill, in Mike’s case: playing drums

    51.16 - Following Online:

    Heavyweight

    53.34 - Sources of Inspiration:

    Being a dad

    54.54 - Inspirational Video:

    The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

    58.50 - Who Should Be On The Show:

    Stu Willis

    01.00.06 - Follow Mike Online:

    Web

    Vimeo

    Facebook

    Instagram

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • Hilarious comedy TV shows, Films, Music Videos. Chris and the team at Late Night Films cover all areas from Directing, Writing, Filming, Editing, Visual Effects. How do you get funding for a series or prioritise making cool work. Chris discusses how.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    01.40 - about LateNiteFilms

    04.00 - Chris’s career history

    05.30 - The Butchery, The Refinery

    06.10 - Swinburne

    08.00 - Guy Pearce music video “Storm” by Michael Shanks

    08.50 - Discussion of the making of Storm (accessible on the same page)

    10.35 - Wizards of Aus

    12.00 - How Wizards was funded, Screen Australia

    13.20 - The post production process: Premiere Pro using ProRes 444 UHD codec, compositing all done in After Effects, with 3d elements provided by other members of the team “in Michael’s mum’s basement”

    15.00 - Gareth Edwards crowd compositing techniques

    16.10 - Reception of Wizards of Aus

    17.30 - Technical challenges tackled by LateNiteFilms eg in the making of The Swell

    23.10 - Red Dragon camera, used under water on The Swell

    23.40 - The family and friends core of LateNiteFilms

    25.20 - Striking a balance between corporate and self-initiated work

    27.00 - Their long term goal is to create feature films and big-budget Netflix series, rather than advertising, hence the emphasis on creative work.

    27.30 - Avoiding debt in order to have more creative freedom

    28.15 - Go for big bucks, or creative freedom: avoid the “middle ground” projects where you have neither.

    29.00 - TVC for post production “can be hell”

    30.00 - The changing economics of post-production

    31.00 - The great creative fulfilment afforded by the loose process and tight-knit team behind Wizards Of Aus.

    33.35 - Pro Video Picks:

    Commandpost for FinalCutPro X

    36.07 - Following Online:

    Lost In Space

    37.25 - Sources of Inspiration:

    FXPHD back catalogue

    Andrew Kramer’s old tuts

    41.15 - Inspirational Video:

    Lumberjack Builder

    43.40 - Follow Chris Online:

    Twitter

    Facebook

    44.50 - Who Should Be On The Show:

    Philip Hodgetts

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • Never Sit Still is a world class Motion Design Studio based in Sydney. Mike Tosetto Director & Founder discusses with host Blair Walker Branding, Networking, Motion, 3D, Community, Process, Collaboration and how the studio has evolved.

  • The OFFF London 2017 titles are breathtakingly beautiful. The Character Design, Animation and Rendering are uniquely stylized. The Particle animations are mesmerizing in how they move, look and feel. Designed, Directed & Produced by FutureDeluxe. Adrian is the Director on this. Host Blair Walker delves into the creative process behind the work FutureDeluxe creates.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    01.00 - Future Deluxe

    02.19 - PVP Episode 7

    03.00 - OFFF London 2017

    05.30 - The OFFF London 2017 team: James Callahan and Andrew Jones, owners of Future Deluxe, Andre (main art director), Nick and Thomas (Particle work in Houdini), Josef from Poland? (character animators), Liam Gabor, Igor (compositing),

    09.40 - The team wanted to do the piece because they are not known for doing character animation and wanted to challenge themselves.

    10.24 - Inspiration for the aesthetic of the piece

    13.10 - Use of colour in the piece

    15.50 - African tribal clothing, jewellery and adornment as inspiration

    21.30 - The challenge of working with remote freelancers

    22.30 - Process behind capturing the essence of a gesture

    24.10 - Digital Kitchen titles for True Blood

    28.00 - Particles made in Houdini, driven by live action shot by Davey Evans

    28.36 - Future Deluxe piece for Intel with photography by him

    31.00 - “Top down” photographic angles can be ignored when using CG

    31.56 - Felix typographer on OFFF London

    33.55 - Diadora Blushield

    36.00 - How working direct with the client (rather than through an agency) proved advantageous on this project

    41.00 - Housni (compositor)

    41.55 - Vitaly Grossman

    43.10 - Foam studio

    43.45 - Pro Video Picks:

    Have a break from the computer: Time management and unwinding

    47.40 - Inspiration:

    This Is Colossal

    Nowness

    https://hifructose.com/

    SlimeSunday - Instagram

    Isle of Dogs Movie

    50.30 - Fine dining food Pinterest boards provide inspiration: form and colour

    50.55 - Following online:

    Joaquin Phoenix movies

    Slime Sunday instagram

    52.10 - Inspirational Video:

    Isle of Dogs by Wes Anderson. Isle of Dogs behind the scenes video

    53.30 - Justin animatronics for Isle of Dogs

    55.10 - Follow Adrian online

    Adrian's Website

    Adrian's Instagram

    55.30 - Who should we have on the show?

    Vitaly Grossman

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • Jon Barrie from Adobe discusses with Blair the recent updates to After Effects, Premiere Pro, Audition and Character Animator. Find out all of the new features & improvements for animation, motion design, editing, colour grading, audio mixing & much more.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Blair Walker

    00.42 - Jon Barrie at NAB 2018

    01.30 - Adobe Pro Video CC 2018.1 Update

    02.20 - Plan your update because it will overwrite 2018.0

    02.37 - After Effects Master Properties and Essential Graphics

    11.24 - After Effects Cinema 4D Lite R19

    12.18 - After Effects Advanced Puppet Engine

    14.23 - After Effects and Premiere Enhanced Adobe Immersive Environment.

    15.02 - After Effects Skybox Mettle’s integration into After Effects

    15.31 - After Effects Nulls from paths script

    16.04 - After Effects GPU speed improvements

    17.17 - After Effects Pick Whip for all properties

    18.50 - Premiere Pro Shot Comparison and Match Grade

    24.07 - Premiere Pro Autoducking

    26.20 - Open Premiere Pro projects directly in Audition

    28.12 - Premiere Pro Timecode Panel

    29.44 - New format support: Camera RAW Sony X-OCN (Venice), Canon Cinema RAW Light (C200), and RED IPP2.

    33.56 - Audition

    34.40 - Audition Tracks Panel

    34.55 - Audition Performance improvements

    35.42 - Adobe Feature Request and Bug Report Submission Form

    37.02 - Adobe video and audio feedback pages

    39.30 - Audition Clips Spotting

    41.06 - Character Animator New Tools and improved trigger workflows

    41.28 - Premiere Pro Hardware accelerated H.264 decoding

    43.10 - Premiere Pro New Video Limiter

    44.28 - After Effects & Media Encoder export gifs

    45.26 - After Effects shy layers

    45.59 - Centre anchor point for shape layers

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • Rich Nosworthy shares his latest tutorials getting started compositing in Blackmagic Fusion quickly and easily. A great way to learn a powerful free compositing application. Octane 4 is also discussed and what it means for the 3D community.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    01.40 - Blackmagic Fusion tutorials by Rich Nosworthy

    03.00 - Pros and cons of releasing software for free/low price

    05.40 - The idea behind Rich’s quick start Fusion tutorial

    06.25 - The content of the tutorial

    08.20 - Software agnosticism: using the best tool for the job

    10.40 - Tutorial 2: Redshift multipass comps with Fusion

    12.44 - A warm endorsement of Redshift customer service

    13.30 - Otoy: Octane 4 and Brigade

    15.20 - Some of the disadvantages of Octane 3 have been improved

    15.50 - “Out of core” geometry

    16.21 - Otoy CEO Jules Urbach on Brograph

    17.45 - David Ariew

    18.20 - AI lighting, scenes and denoiser in render engines

    20.00 - Understanding point lights in unbiased render engines

    21.00 - Otoy Octane 4 release video

    21.30 - Octane 4 is a free upgrade from 3 standalone, and the monthly subscription now allows up to 20 GPUs.

    22.00 - Free Subscription with a 2 GPU limit

    23.00 - Otoy’s use of the new RNDR blockchain service

    24.00 - See Brograph on this topic

    25.00 - Blockchain will influence business models across the board, including 3d graphics.

    27.10 - Rich’s latest project with Tom O’Neil, director of Narcos titles

    27.30 - Yambo studio, Tel Aviv work with many remote artists around the world.

    28.05 - Rich’s Node 2017 presentation: a Redshift primer

    31.00 - The importance of fundamental techniques and concepts, which can then be applied in the software of your choice.

    33.00 - “Roundtripping” between different packages to harness the strengths of each package. Eg After Effects-to-Mocha-to-After Effects

    34.00 - Martin from BorisFX episode

    34.40 - By comparison, Fusion has really solid tracking, keying and compositing in one package.

    35.00 - Roto and cleanup is much more efficient in a node based compositor such as Fusion or Nuke or Natron

    35.30 - ProVideoPicks:

    CGWiki - Houdini education

    36.50 - Houdini: the software of the moment

    39.12 - Inspirational video:

    Solipsist

    40.22 - Sources of Inspiration:

    Photoblogs

    Otakugangsta

    Sink00

    contemporist

    41.28 - Following online:

    Liam Wong

    Anthony Scott Burns

    Styleframes NYC for Tendril

    43.16 - Follow Rich online:

    richnosworthy.tv

    instagram

    twitter

    43.53 - Rich’s experiments and side projects

    44.30 - Rich’s chrome bike, made in MOI

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

  • Hugo has an extensive career as an award-winning Director and Visual Effects Supervisor across games cinematics, film and commercials. Previously, leading the Nuke team at The Mill London. Host Blair Walker discusses his company, clients and projects.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    01.30 - Hugo’s Desk
    02.00 - Hugo’s background
    04.00 - Nexus productions
    04.20 - Head of Nuke at the Mill for four years
    05.48 - Now directing cinematics for the games industry
    06.30 - his Oaklake horror short is nearing completion
    07.00 - http://www.firewithoutsmoke.com/
    07.30 - Hugo says: making game cinematics as the dream job for motion designers/compositors
    08.17 - The drawbacks of only working on films on the one hand, or commercials on the other
    09.40 - Hugo’s favourite part about working for games companies is that he gets to work alongside like-minded people on the client side.
    10.30 - “I don’t mind doing smaller things because I have creative control over them”
    11.15 - Co-directing with Will O’Connor: The Walking Dead and Mario Rabbids trailers
    12.35 - “What fascinates me about the games industry… it’s like the opera of [our] time” in Wagner’s words, it’s a modern day gesamtkunstwerk, a synthesis of all art forms
    14.00 - The creative process for the Walking Dead trailer.
    15.50 - Vertex keynote on the Walking Dead and the "evolutionary" approach when developing a project
    16.10 - "I always prefer to have time than money for a project"
    17.00 - "I always use the same tools: Nuke, Photoshop, Maya and Redshift"
    18.00 - "My students are obsessed by... knowing the tech... what matters is that you know composition and colour, art theory, then you can be an artist on any software"
    18.50 - "Maybe this is because tech is more tangible than creativity"
    19.15 - When at the Mill, Hugo used to have a hard time finding artistic people to hire, people who have taste.
    20.15 - People forget the basics are the most important thing to learn
    20.50 - Hugo's classical art background informs all his work now.
    22.00 - Hugo's FXPHD courses
    22.35 - "I don't believe that teachers should not do production, so I split my time between production and teaching"
    23.06 - I believe in sharing: I want to share as much of my knowledge as possible because eventually some of these people are going to be working with me. I believe it's my responsibility to share my knowledge because I was so fortunate to work on these projects, so why not share that knowledge so that we all together can advance the art form.
    25.15 - Sharing knowledge as an opportunity to connect with people.
    26.00 - How Hugo's breakdowns are winning him new work
    27.32 - Hugo's Desk "You Just Have To Be Better" series
    29.25 - BBC God Only Knows
    34.35 - Guerilla film-making: being a supervisor and also being hands on (see Robert Rodriguez on this topic)
    36.00 - The Mill is totally focused on results; it doesn't get stuck on the process and is completely software agnostic.
    37.30 - Leonard In Slow Motion
    39.00 - Motion control
    39.15 - "Spanish" (or budget) motion control techniques. Whilst we’re on the topic, this guy has a million budget ideas for budding film makers
    40.45 - The ultimate trick for the VFX supe: really get to know the crew, the 1st AD, the DOP, weeks before the shoot, take them for a beer, grab lunch. Then you'll be listened to on set.
    43.00 - Technical process behind Leonard

    46.00 - Pro Video Picks

    Inspiration - YouTube Channels:
    Every Frame A Painting
    Channel Criswell
    Art Regard
    Now You See It

    For relaxation:
    LGR: Lazy Game Reviews

    Inspiration and Influence:
    Cinema Directors
    Stanley Kubrick
    David Lynch
    David Cronenberg
    John Carpenter
    Sergei Eisenstein
    Max Ophüls

    Games:
    Silent Hill series
    Shadow Of Colossus
    The Last Guardian

    Art:
    Every "Art Of" film book

    Inspirational Video Of The Week:
    Under The Skin

    Follow Hugo Online:
    @hugocguerra - twitter
    Hugo's Desk - Youtube
    patreon.com/hugosdesk

    Pro Video Podcast Online:
    Blair Walker - Twitter
    Pro Video Podcast - Slack
    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group
    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter
    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • Design, 3D, Retouching, Lighting, Rendering, Octane, Presenting, Tutorials and Communities. In one year Phil has built a career in Motion Design and 3D where he is now presenting for Maxon at NAB. Host Blair Walker discusses this massive career pivot.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    00.50 - Introducing Phil, creative retoucher

    01.00 - Phil got into Cinema 4D January 2017

    02.55 - Phil found it hard to understand how welcoming the C4D community is. See Matt's article on this, particularly the comments.

    04.00 - Phil's motivation to make Octane tutorials.

    04.30 - How the fundamentals of lighting and photography have helped jump start Phil's 3d career.

    06.30 - When lighting in 3d, ask yourself “How would we light this in the real world?” (tip: stay away from the HDRs)

    07.00 - What Phil learned from automotive photography and retouching: no direct light is used, it's all bounced light: the exclusion of light is actually what helps delineate reflective surfaces.

    09.00 - Phil's take on tutorials

    10.30 - For the millionth time: Do not present tutorials you've followed as your work

    10.50 - Phil’s Octane tutorial on Brograph

    12.00 - The great benefit of developing skills additional to those you currently use at work: Phil's ascent into the role of 3D CG artist

    13.40 - Phil will be speaking at NAB this year

    14.30 - The importance of having a supportive partner

    17.18 - Phil’s transformative trip to Half Rez in 2017

    19.00 - The gap between schools/universities and real jobs

    19.50 - Connect and network if you want to get into the industry: the percentage of entry level people who contact industry professionals is tiny

    21.40 - Branding yourself: from Phil Roberts to RaidZer0

    24.15 - Mathias Omotala of Maxon

    26.00 – Phil's exploration of animation

    27.30 – GorillaCam

    29.30 – Learning compositing from a retoucher's perspective.

    32.15 – Phil's spaceman animation based on a Mixamo walk cycle

    32.28 – Mixamo as a creative starting point

    33.10 – The French Monkey texture resource

    34.50 – The utility of constraints and pre-built assets for learners of 3D and motion design. The topic is so huge that it's better (and more realistic) to focus on one aspect per project eg animation or lighting or texturing, rather than all of the above.

    37.20 – How to develop quickly as a motion designer

    37.30 – Randorenders from Brograph

    40.15 – Pro Video Picks:

    Going to the gym three or four times a week

    41.39 – Following Online:

    CGChannel.com

    Inspirational Video:

    Twisted Poly showreel

    43.50 – Vivid: Lighting the Sails Sydney Opera House project

    45.30 – Sources of inspiration:

    Sci-Fi films

    47.00 – Follow Phil Online:

    twitter

    instagram

    brograph slack

    48.50 – Who should come on the show?

    David Brodeur

    50.48 - Joel Dubin

    33:50 - Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

  • FCB Motion. Motion Design, Editing, 3D, Rendering, Teams, Passion Projects and more. This week host Blair Walker has the other Motion Designers from FCB NZ in the Studio. Corban Koschak, Will Brown and Sam Knight sit down to talk about working as a team.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    00.30 – Introducing the FCB motion team

    03.00 – Sam: What's it like getting your head around so many clients as a new addition to the team?

    04.00 – A sign of a good freelancer: asking questions early

    05.00 – Project file templates, naming conventions

    07.25 – Learning Cinema 4D on the job

    08.30 – You learn the most when thrown into a real world project vs studying tutorials

    09.30 – A drawback of freelancing: if you want to learn new skills, you need to be part of a team

    11.00 – Getting over mental blocks to learning new skills

    11.30 – Learning Expressions for After Effects, and the perils of using them in team based projects.

    12.30 – Editing and motion design as a “black hole” of things to learn.

    13.00 – The instant accessibility of highly specific training on the internet can be a drawback: it can lead to patchy, piecemeal comprehension of topics, as opposed to a more rounded, fundamental understanding.

    14.40 – Every Frame A Painting analysis of the cinematography of the likes of Roger Deakins

    15.15 - “Break down what the masters do”

    15.40 – Sources of distilled, succinct content are rare and valuable

    16.15 – It's all well and good to watch training content, but you have to make something too, otherwise you'll forget it.

    16.45 – Passion projects

    17.30 – Will's journey in C4D: from learning the software to developing the skills and confidence to tackle short films

    20.00 – Blair encourages the creation of personal projects, even within the workplace at FCB, as he believes this positively influences the team's day-to-day work.

    20.22 – Division 05 Style and Strategy as a helpful guide when making creative decisions in the workplace.

    21.10 – Corban's solo music projects

    22.10 – The importance of music to motion design

    22.22 – Sam's meeting with Blair at Nodefest 2017

    25.20 – The importance of networking as a freelancer

    28.00 – Meeting people in person is key when looking for employees/employers

    28.40 – What's it like working with Blair at FCB?

    33.00 – The ideal brief “makes the work brainless”: the importance of planning and pre-production.

    35.00 – Working with in-house content directors

    36.30 – Low budget productions can be the hardest work because problems have to be fixed every step of the way eg tons of post work is required on shoddy footage.

    36.50 – Paul Machliss the editor of Baby Driver made cuts as they were shooting

    38.00 – How tech is changing workflows: at FCB projects remain in online mode, since there is no longer any need to have grades etc “locked” into an offline edit.

    38.33 – ProVideoPicks

    Corban: Rubberhose

    Inspirational Video

    The Shape Of Water

    Following online:

    James Jean

    Mcbess

    Motion Collective

    Motionographer

    Inspiration:

    Art galleries, art events around town, watching movies

    42.25 - Follow Corban online

    This Pale Fire - Alchemy: Spotify

    This Pale Fire - Alchemy: itunes

    This Pale Fire - Alchemy: Facebook

    ProVideoPicks - Sam

    Overlord

    Inspirational Video

    The Apache by Ned Wedlock

    46.35 – Sam is following online

    Icecream Hater

    47.50 - Inspiration

    Films films films

    48.40 – The Academy Cinema $5 Wednesdays

    Follow Sam Online

    He’d like to see you try

    50.00 - ProVideoPicks Will:

    Tribe Of Mentors

    Inspirational Video

    Yo Santosa on Branding

    Following Online:

    Everyone

    Inspirational Video

    Guest speakers on The Futur

    Follow Will online

    Will Brown Website

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

    Pro Video Podcast - Spotify

  • This week’s episode covers Animation, Motion Design, 2D, 3D, Studios, Teams, Creative Direction and Community. Host Blair Walker explores all of these topics and the reality of projects at the high end of the market. Also what makes Buck, well Buck.

    Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd

    00.50 - Introducing Buck

    01.50 - Gareth’s history with Buck.

    02.50 - The company culture of Buck

    05.55 - The shift from social life with the firm to becoming a family man

    07.00 - The maturing of the motion design industry is changing the aspirations of motion designers: “the all-nighter” is not a badge people are aspiring to any more, just the opposite in fact.

    07.30 - Growth of the Sydney team

    08.30 - Is the difference in time zones between Sydney/NYC/London a drawback?

    09.10 - The reality of working with remote freelancers

    10.30 - The makeup of the Sydney Buck team

    11.14 - Lucas Brooking

    11.52 - Woolmark piece by Buck

    14.00 - Blockchain explainer video for the government of Dubai.

    18.00 - How hard is it to keep “lifting the bar”, bettering yourself?

    19.00 - The creative impetus provided by competition with your coworkers, and for the love of the work

    20.24 - How do you manage a project as large as Blockchain? Buck Sydney’s design process explained.

    24.00 - They use a Google Sheet to track their progress

    24.45 - The importance of learning to take constructive criticism.

    25.15 - Slack groups as a source of constructive criticism.

    25.45 - Gareth finds it hard to keep up with Slack groups outside of the Buck one.

    29.30 - Buck presentation at Node

    30.45 - Holden project, Nike Athlete

    32.00 - The importance of the personal side of the motion industry

    35.00 - Passion projects at Buck

    35.50 - Blend title sequence

    36.20 - Woolmark was approached as a passion project: what they provided was way more than the budget really afforded.

    36.40 - Goodbooks metamorphosis was taken on as a passion project and ended up influencing the company’s style for an entire year

    37.10 - Does Buck do bread and butter jobs?

    39.00 - How important is typography to Buck’s creative process?

    41.00 - Designing for social media: focus on the medium, or the piece itself overall?

    42.00 - Buck’s piece for Aperol at the tennis open in Melbourne

    44.00 - Assembly’s piece for the Auckland Harbour bridge

    44.30 - Johnny Kofoed episode of the Pro Video Podcast

    45.05 - Pro Video Picks:

    Get to work early, so I can get home early and see my kids!

    47.00 - The difficulty of only seeing your kids at bedtime

    48.00 - Inspirational Video:

    Spring Jam by Ned Wenlock

    River Studies by Ned Wenlock

    50.00 - Sources Of Inspiration:

    Podcasts

    eg Serial, The Atlanta Monster, This American Life, Reply All

    53.00 - Following Online:

    Glenn Miralles - instagram

    53.45 - Follow Gareth Online:

    Web: buck.tv

    Instagram: buck_design

    Twitter: buck_tv

    Tumblr: buckdesign.tumblr.com

    Vimeo: buck

    Facebook: buck.tv

    Pro Video Podcast Online:

    Blair Walker - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Slack

    Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group

    Pro Video Podcast - Twitter

    Pro Video Podcast - Website

    Pro Video Podcast - Spotify

    WorldPodcasts.com