September 15, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 593 views | Comments (8)

This project is an example of taking poor quality 4:3 vision, making it 16:9 and giving it some polish. Tools used include Adobe After Effects, Zaxwerks ProAnimator, Trapcode Horizon and Shine, and Maltaannon’s Screenify effect (featured in MILG 5)…

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August 27, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 463 views | Comments (0)

17 jam–packed hours of real-world Adobe After Effects training with top motion graphics designers from around the world. Throughout these in-depth video workshops, professional motion graphics designers including John Dickinson, Harry J Frank, Alan Shisko and Maltaannon, demonstrate techniques essential to their daily work and give the design decisions and rationale that support them. Grab the bundle and save 100 dollars.

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March 29, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 8,565 views | Comments (15)

For this Quantum Of Solace promo I once again turned to Trapcode Form. Form was used to create the grids in the background, on the actors faces and the main title. The face grids were created by customizing the MILG 5 Form Face tutorial, which you can grab for free over at Red Giant Software. The smokey look of the background was created using [Read more]

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March 18, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 2,279 views | Comments (0)

Create a disco-style animation based entirely on sound

In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5,  your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to create  a funky disco-style animation based entirely on sound. This lesson includes a slick technique for creating running lights using Trapcode Form together with the Colorama effect, basic camera movement, techniques using the CC Time Blend and Wave Warp effects and plenty of simple expressions. All project files are included. Total running time: 46 minutes.

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March 15, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 2,371 views | Comments (0)

Create a realistic dripping blood effect without keyframes

In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5,  your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to create  a realistic dripping blood effect without using keyframes or expressions. This lesson includes a great study of precomposing and demonstrates how to use a Photoshop-style brush with the CC Time Blend effect to paint text onto the screen. All project files are included. Total running time: 52 minutes.

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March 9, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 1,681 views | Comments (0)

Create an infinitely zooming spy camera look

In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5,  your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to create an infinitely zooming spy camera look. Learn basic techniques for creating a simple slide show then move on to amazing, time-saving techniques for automating transitions between layers using expressions. All project files are included. Total running time: 29 minutes.

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March 3, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 2,411 views | Comments (3)

formface_thumbnailRed Giant Software are now hosting the Making It Look Great 5: Form Face tutorial as a free two-part download. Enjoy!

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March 3, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 1,945 views | Comments (0)

Master fast and precise color correction techniques

In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5,  your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to master fast and precise color correction techniques using standard After Effects tools including Colorama and CC Composite. Learn how to fine tune a look
using the Colorama effect as a range selection tool, allowing adjustments to specific
aspects of the footage. All project files are included. Total running time: 16 minutes.

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March 2, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 3,823 views | Comments (0)

Burst a character into hundreds of butterflies

In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5,  your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to make the stylish effect where a character suddenly bursts into hundreds of butterflies. Learn how to create a smart butterfly rig using Trapcode 3D Stroke, control Trapcode Particular particles using dispersion maps, build volumetric backlighting using Trapcode Lux and automatically track a layer’s alpha channel. All project files are included. Plug-ins are not included. Total running time: 47 minutes.

 

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March 1, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 1,762 views | Comments (1)

Create a realistic and detailed video screen

In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5,  your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to make a realistic and detailed Jumbotron-style video screen. Included are must-know keying techniques, tips on creating volumetric lights and presets, and ingenious workflow for creating complex looks on a single layer using the CC Composite effect. All project files are included. Total running time: 49 minutes.

Please Note:  This tutorial does not include the CE Screenify effect which is included as part of the Making It Look Great 5 full product.

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February 28, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 1,806 views | Comments (3)

The Making It Look Great 5 training series by Maltaannon is now available as individual downloads. So far the first 3 tutorials are online but the rest will be added over the next week.

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February 28, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 1,450 views | Comments (0)

Create a retro-style computer terminal

In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5,  your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to make  a reusable retro-style computer terminal animation. Harness the power of expressions, including some undocumented features to change the text content and
look on the fly. Learn how to turn a simple typewriter effect into a realistic DOS-style
computer readout. All project files are included. Total running time: 58 minutes.

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February 28, 2009 by John Dickinson  | 1,132 views | Comments (0)

Make a cool-looking gyroscopic element

In this video tutorial (inspired by the work of Mark Coleran) from Making It Look Great 5 your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to make a cool-looking gyroscopic element completely within After Effects. This tutorial includes extensive use of Shape Layers, parenting and simple expressions to create a technical look using almost no keyframes. All project files are included. Total running time: 48 minutes.

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