In celebration of the holiday weekend, everything from our online store is on sale! This includes all bundles and packages. Enter the coupon code “PARTY” during checkout and instantly save 14% on this July 4th weekend.  We don’t do a lot of sales around here but now is a great opportunity to save a few bucks and get some of our exciting DVDs.

We have some great new tutorials and content coming to the site and the website update should be around July 20th along with some great new features. And of course this is all possible by our awesome supporters and viewers like you.

Everything is going great around here, just finished a big projects today so I can relax and enjoy the holiday weekend. My best to everyone, have a fun safe weekend! This is Hummel from Alcatraz, out!

Here is a fun method for creating translucent glass frames in After Effects that I”m working on.

When I record this tutorial I’ll probably add a little more detail to make it look even better. Although the simplicity makes it very interesting and who knows maybe for the tutorial I’ll go out of my way to make it look worse just for fun. You never know : ) Enjoy.

Here is the CS3 project file

Watch Sample Video

As we approach the new Video Copilot website update, great new tutorials are still coming out; like this one. We will be using a very simple method to create nice looking 3D text we can focus more on a nice design that will likely impress your friends AND the people who don’t really understand what it is, you say you do here.

View Sample Movie

We also have a new blog schedule that we will launch with the new site that keep you motivated on those long days at the office (PG-13) and keep you up-to-date in the magical world of magic.

In this new tutorial we will be creating some powerful energy using the AE built-in particle system. With a little work and some patience you might be able to create something this cool.

The project file contains the tutorial files as well as my original comp at HD resolution for anyone that wants to see exactly what I did.

Watch Tutorial

Waste more time

Little more time killing

When I’m working on motion graphics for a commercial or a promo video for some cool products, I always make a storyboard. Let me see.. quick Google search here ya go.

Storyboards don’t have to be extremely-detailed but when you are pitching an idea to a client, it helps. The most important thing is to understand where  the animation is and to solve technical problems before you run into them. I like to draw arrows and show the movement of the camera and action which helps save time in After Effects because I know what I’m trying to do. Then I can focus on being creative. Also when working with others they know what to expect and it’s easier to collaborate.

Storyboard Motives:

• Present your idea, high-quality stuff may get you THE job
• Plan your animation before starting to keep you on track
• Solve technical problems, rather than waiting til you hit one
• Save time if the concept is rejected…

I’ve been busy all week working on some projects, I can’t really talk about it but… I’m almost done, and that’s good news.

What is 3D tracking? Well, before I get into the subject of 3D tracking (or matchmoving), I thought I would share this link as a primer until I get to it.  So many great things on the horizon… only so many hours in the day to play golf.

Computer Arts Article

There are several interesting ways to create “3D” text in After Effects just search for 3D text in After Effects and you will find some crafty solutions. Of course a dedicated 3D program is better but not everyone has access to one.

With all of these creative methods, somehow the aesthetics of the imagery was traded for that fact that it was 3D. In this soon to be Shortcuts Episode I’ll take a look at creating 3D looking text in After Effects that is only 2 dimensional but has many possibilities. The moral being… no matter which method you use, don’t forget to make it look cool too, that is the most important thing. Unless you are in a contest for worst video ever; in which case you can disregard.

Using mp4 or h.264 when compressing through QuickTime can make the final video look washed out. This is a common problem that seemed to have no solution… until now. The gamma shift can actually be fixed inside QuickTime Pro without re-compressing your video by simply changing a few settings.

Scrimski at CGtalk.com posted a good walk-through. Thanks!

SOLUTION: After rendering into a QuickTime/h.264 file, open it up in QuickTime and select “Show Movie Properties.” Highlight the video track then click on the “Visual Settings” tab. Towards the bottom left you should see “Transparency” with a drop-down box next to it. Select “Blend” from the menu then move the “Transparency Level” slider to 100%. Choose “Straight Alpha” from the same drop-down and close the properties window and finally “Save.”

See the difference on our Promos:
Download and follow the steps for yourself.

The Bullet

Twitch

Evolution

In a few weeks many videos will be updated to the correct gamma but I though I would pass along this great tip.

I’m happy to say I spent part of my Father’s Day designing some energy inside of After Effects without using Particular and only the built-in tools.

Watch Sample Video

This effect is easily scalable for creating small energy fields for a single human arriving from the future or a very large army of robots in disguise. I should be recording a tutorial very soon, so keep an eye out for it.

If you need something to do until judgment day, be sure to check out our Great Online Store we have lots of impressive DVDs for you, that won’t malfunction and try to kill you.

For the trolls:
Please don’t beg or ask when FREE tutorials will be ready…. I may be forced to send a robot to your house with orders to punch you in the face.