In this course we will create a 15 second spot from start to finish, creating a dynamic LED wall that interacts with the audio, with a cg composited car as the focal point of the LED room. Once this 15 second spot is created we will turn off the 3D composited car and LED walls to create a stylized and dynamic equalizer in the same scene files from the earlier classes. This will allow us to create an entirely new 15 second spot that works with the same camera and elements from the earlier classes.
Once the equalizer passes are finished we will create a pixelized 3D city with stylized skyscrapers surrounding our car in After Effects by incorporating .obj files with Trapcode Form. In our final class we will turn off our 3D composited car to create a 3D logo with After Effects native plug-ins
Tom Green is a multifaceted director / creative director who is as comfortable working with design, animation and visual effects as he is with live action. A native of Chicago, Tom began his career working with a variety of highly respected design studios. In 2004, Tom headed to California to work as a lead designer with the award-winning Shilo. With over 10 years of experience in the field, his passion for infusing a strong sense of design into storytelling has lead him to create visually stunning work for clients like Nike, Budweiser, Toyota, Verizon, Scion, Mazda, IBM, Sears, SyFy, and ShowTime. Leading a team of designers and animators, Tom consistently brings his interests in compelling filmmaking and design to life by creating groundbreaking and engaging content for television, film, and web at Shilo.
The :15 Mograph Spot
Watch our overview of the course
Class Listing
Class 1: Creation of the LED walls
Creation of the LED walls: I will provide an After Effects template to the students that we will use through out the course and is the same template I use on every projects. Exporting Cameras from C4D and introduction to Trapcode Form and Trapcode Sound Keys. We will create an illuminated LED wall in Trapcode Form.
Class 2: Creation of the LED walls (continued)
Creation of the LED walls (continued): We will continue to dive deeper into Trapcode Form and finish the last 10 seconds of our LED wall animation. We will create a multitude of different animation that will utilize the pre-comping techniques taught in the previous class. I will demonstrate how to install scripts and explain the benefits of using the Ease and wizz, a fantastic script used to add style to simple animations.
Class 3: 3D Compositing Part 1
3D Compositing: We will composited a 3D car in After Effects by breaking down how to properly use a normals pass to cast a light direction toward your model. How to use a UV pass in conjunction to fake a light reflection properly across the car. We'll also break down how to use a Motion Vectors pass to create a realistic motion blur. We will also talk about different ways to use RGB mattes through shift channels and channel mixer to isolate specific sections of the car. Part 1 of 2
Class 4: 3D Compositing Part 2
3D Compositing Part 1
Class 5: Creating Lens Flares from scratch
Creating Lens Flares from scratch: Now that we have our LED world and CG ca, we will add the finishing touches by creating some customized lens flares from scratch with native After Effects plug-ins. Through this process we will work with a few expression techniques to gain the ultimate control of our lens flares for the final touches of our scene.
Class 6: Cinema 4D Mograph and Sound Keys
Cinema 4D Mograph and Sound Keys: In this class we will take the same audio track we used in classes 1 and 2 and mix it up with a little mograph in C4d. We will create a variety of stylized equalizers that will continually transform over the course of 15 seconds. Once finished, we will export the scene as an .obj sequence in preparation for class 7.
Class 7: Working with Plexus
Working with Plexus: We will take our exported .obj sound sequence animation from class 6 and use that as our foundation for work working with After Effects plexus to create a highly stylized animation.
Class 8: Pixelized City
Pixelized City: In this class we will turn off our LED walls created in class 1 and 2 to create a pixelized 3D city with stylized skyscrapers surrounding our car in After Effects by incorporating .obj files with Trapcode Form.
Class 9: Pixelized City (cont.)
Pixelized City (cont.): In this class we will create our animated pixelized floor to complement our skyscrapers from the previous class. The floor will transition from sound waves to dynamic patterns throughout the 15 course of the second spot.
Class 10: Creating 3D logos
Creating 3D logos with native After Effects plug-ins: In this class we will push the limits of After Effects native plug-in Shatter. With this plug-in we will turn off our composited car from class ¾ and replace it with a dimensional 3d logo that looks 80% as good as 3D element but $500 dollars cheaper.