conigs

One of my biggest complaints against combined reels (e.g. editing/vfx/mograph/color) is that I have no idea what I’m looking at most of the time. Is this a shot you color corrected? Did you do vfx on this shot? Is this an edited sequence or just a combination of shots?

The other problem is that if someone is looking for an editor, they won’t want to spend time reviewing vfx. If they’re looking for a colorist, motion design skills don’t matter so much.

So if you have multiple skill sets, present them separately. 

As a designer/editor who often develops scripts & utilities to make work easier, I can really appreciate what Andrew Hake has put together. I’ve covered AERender before, but realized I never posted a link to his R&D page where he hosts all his useful utilities.

Some of my favorites are AEae (opens multiple instances of After Effects), AERender, difference, and projector (pairs nicely with Post Haste, eh?).

If you have the means, I highly recommend throwing a donation his way. I know from experience these utilities were probably born out of his own needs and frustrations, but it’s nice to know others appreciate your hard work.

So Gfx Hotkeys ($2.99, iTunes link) was just release a few days ago. A nice little app for quick reference to keyboard shortcuts, complete with search and organized by function. Very handy. The following apps are included:

• After Effects CS5
• Cinema4D r11.5
• Final Cut 7
• Maya 2011
• Photoshop CS5
• Flame 2011
• Smoke 2011
• NukeX v6
• Illustrator CS5

With the potential for more to be added.

As I noted in an email to the developer, I’d love to see the following two preferences be added:

1. Select which OS shows first in list view/
2. Toggle glyphs for cmnd, shift, option, ctrl. 

Still, this will be an incredibly useful app.

The origin of the NBC peacock logo?

Great animation by Nathan Love (in collaboration with NBC Artworks).

less sleep. more pixels.

Inpsired by @fakeup

Slowly but surely getting more time in C4D. Just a quick simulation with an attractor and Mograph 2 dynamics.

Color Theory Quick Reference Poster

[via @maltaannon]

Color Theory Quick Reference Poster

[via @maltaannon]

Typical Day’s Work

This image was created with IOGraphica, which mapped mouse movements throughout the day. (That large black dot in the upper right, partially obscured, was my lunch break.)  This day consisted of revising and versioning a broadcast retail spot in After Effects and assembling the timeline in Final Cut Pro.

So you want to shoot green screen?

Seriously. Avoid colors close to green on the color wheel when shooting green screen. Is your talent blonde? Find a blue screen.