Recently on Twitter I asked followers which After Effects plug-ins they own but no longer used. I received some interesting responses and thought it would be worthwhile opening up the forum here on Motionworks. Are there plug-ins in your toolkit that have fallen out of favour, perhaps you used to love them but the “look” is old? Maybe another plug-in or application has taken it’s place? Are there plug-ins you’ve purchased but not even used!? Personally I have found fewer reasons to fire up Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator, with Cinema 4D taking it’s place in my tool kit; and effects like 3D Stroke, which was once all the rage, are gathering dust. How about you?

Guest host Florian Füger jumps ahead in the After Effects Effects A-Z series with a revealing look at CC Flo Motion.

In this walkthrough tutorial learn some of the techniques and workflow used to create a battle-scared Captain America Shield using Cinema 4D, Photoshop and After Effects.

Watch Example (Captain America)  |  Watch Example (Chris Evans)

Guest host Jerzy Drozda Jr (Maltaannon) is back with another After Effects: Effects A-Z series tutorial, this time explaining the basics of the Channel Blur effect. Watch Tip (flv) | Watch Tip (mp4)

Have you ever created an animation you were happy with only to realise you needed to extend the length? In this short tip learn a technique for extending an animation quickly and easily while maintaining the velocity.

Motion graphic artist Pierre Magnol’s latest work Chemistry comprises beautifully shot imagery with fine graphics. I asked Pierre to give us some insights into his approach to this spot and his workflow in general.

Where did the idea come from?

Anthony Filipe, a friend of mine, who is working next to my office, is about to launch a new blog about Music and Art, so we decided to make a video, a kind of teaser to help him promote the website. He wanted to call the project “Chemistry”.

We decided to find a way to make the logo melt and then it in reverse. It’s not a new idea, but I really loved the challenge in finding a way on how to achieve it effectively and also keep a very organic look. So the main idea was to create a mini laboratory with a logo melting inside. We considered different ways and ended up creating the logo in WAX and melting it with a little blowtorch, simple as that. I think if we weren’t able to find a way to make it we’d have done another movie.

The logo mould, wax cast and blow torch

Logo moulds with blow torch

How much was done in-camera and how much is CG?

Everything was done in-camera except the type effects of course, which were created in Adobe After Effects. I initially considered using Maxon Cinema 4D but was able to source all of the elements to build the background. There also wasn’t enough time to build something very realistic in 3D.

How long did the shoot take?

The actual shoot only took a few hours, but we took 5 days to plan the stages beforehand. With the new cameras such as the panasonic GH2 and the Voigtlander, for example, it’s very easy to shoot with low light, making setting up each stage very easy.

Tell us a little about what you did in After Effects.

I used After Effects for color correction using Red Giant Software’s Magic Bullet Mojo and Denoiser. I also used After Effects for the type animation.  After Effects is so cool and flexible to make those kind of shaking effects, allowing me to experiment with many different ways of making the text move.

Your work often features text as graphical elements. Tell us your thoughts about using text in that way.

I have no specific plans on how to approach it. I create all of the elements of the design in Adobe Photoshop, then try several ways to give the type an organic feeling in the way they move. I wanted to capture the sensation that someone was trying to re-arrange their order.

Raw image

Colour graded using Mojo and Denoiser

Do you cut first and do the graphics afterwards or is it a back and forth process?

It’s a back and forth process and for that I use the Automatic Duck plug-in to keep the edits correct throughout the project. I cut a draft edit based on the music, then place it into After Effects for color correction. I follow that with another round of fine tuning the edit and finally back into After Effects to animate the Photoshop elements.

Your work also heavily features depth of field effects… why is that?

I really don’t know why exactly… Depth of field is so extraordinary for me…  it’s like if you go through matter itself and discover a new universe, as if you were “Buckaroo Banzai”, I really like the end titles of that movie!

What did you use to create the liquid effects on the Alchemy logo and other text?

I used Digital Juice stock footage to add the liquid effect to the Alchemy logo and Plexus with some OBJ 2D objects to add some organic 2D effects over the text. With plug-ins like Plexus and Trapcode Form 2, I guess we could play for hours to invent new uses, but there are only 24 hours in a day!

Raw image

Final colour graded shot with graphics

Is the music original? Was it written for this spot?

No, it’s a mix based upon Miss You, a Trentmöller track.

Any other interesting information you think is worthwhile?

Yes, I would like a big render farm for Christmas!

In this tutorial for Boris FX I demonstrate how to build an organic logo animation using Boris Continuum Complete 8’s Particle Emitter 3D. I asked Boris FX Product Manager Dirk De Jong for his thoughts on how BCC Particle Emitter 3D compared with Trapcode Particular. Here’s Dirks response:

“My sense is that BCC Particle Emitter 3D matches up well with Trapcode Particular. With this effect we are basically upgrading the BCC particles to have better AE integration, adding support of After Effects lights, cameras, masks, etc. The Evolution graphs and Gradient controls give a better level of control than what could be found in the old Particle System for particle size, color and opacity over the life of the particle. There is now support for some true 3D particle shapes with 3D lighting etc. In many cases the OpenGL rendering allows BCC Particle Emitter 3D to use bigger size particle images without slowing down as much as a software rendering Particle effects such as Particular might.”

After Effects has a very powerful type engine for creating all kinds of dynamic type animations, but what if you want something a little more subtle? In this 10 minute tutorial learn how you can combine After Effects’ Opacity and Type Opacity to create stylish, cinematic type fades. Update: Peripatew Design has created an expression-driven preset that automatically fades the text in and out.

Mamoworld has just released iExpressions, a new companion for After Effects that dramatically increases the accessibility and usefulness of expressions.

In this tutorial for Digital Juice we look at how to use one of the Toxic Type After Effect templates as a starting point for a grungy promo. We also jump into Photoshop Extended and enhance the look with Smart Filters.  Watch Tutorial

After Effects: Effects A-Z series continues with Cell Pattern, a handy background creation effect originally part of the Cult Effects set of plug-ins. With a little experimentation you’ll be surprised what you can create!

Guest host Eran Stern dives deeper into Motionworks’  After Effects: Effects A-Z series, covering Caustics, the water surface simulation effect created by After Effects pioneer Brian Maffitt. Originally included in Atomic Power’s Evolution, along with Shatter, Card Wipe and others,  the longevity of this effect is truly amazing.  Watch Tip (flv) | Watch Tip (mp4)

The importance of experimentation to a motion designer can’t be over emphasised. Experimentation stretches your skills into new areas and has the potential to result in fresh, personalised looks, rather than copying the latest trend.

In this walkthrough After Effects tutorial I breakdown a concert/music video-style video wall look, emphasising where I experimented along the way. Plug-ins used include CC Ball Action, Trapcode Lux and Starglow,  (use motionworks10 for a 10% discount), Video Copilot Optical Flares and GenArts Sapphire.    Watch tutorial (mp4)

In this Adobe After Effects walkthrough tutorial we look at some key 3D techniques including seamless scene creation, 3 point lighting, shadows and reflections. I also demonstrate how Digital Juice’s Color Rules plug-in can be used to fast track the colorisation of your comps.

Special Deal for Motionworks Readers

Color rules is 69.95 but for a limited time Motionworks readers can get it for just 59.95. Use the code DJCRMC392 on checkout.

Watch Tutorial (mp4)  | Download Project

In this walkthrough tutorial I demonstrate how After Effects, GenArts Sapphire, Red Giant Key Correct (use motionworks10 for a 10% discount) and Video Copilot Optical Flares were used to create sweeping title graphics. If you purchase MovieType for Cinema 4D  you also get membership to MovieType Plus, where I discuss how Cinema 4D and MovieType were used to style and animate the text.
Watch tutorial (flv) | Watch tutorial (mp4)