Fri 10th Oct 2003, by leonard | Productfocus
Let’s get one thing straight. In the real world, it’s not the fancy character animation or visual effects shot that makes the money. Most freelancers and studios are commissioned to produce ident packages comprising of flying logos and motion graphics. While it may not be as ‘glamorous’ as animating mythical creatures or blowing things up, it can be rewarding as results (i.e. finished shots) come off the production pipeline quickly, which also translates to quicker job turnaround and payment.
Instructor Rich Helvey, who produces motion graphics for
NBC's Access Hollywood in extremely tight turnarounds.
Desktop Images is renowned for its LightWave training DVD’s, the latest of which covers the production of creative motion graphics and flying logos. Entitled ‘Motion Graphics with LightWave – Textual Revolution’, Rich Helvey from NBC’s Access Hollywood shows viewers how to produce swanky 3D idents in as short a time as possible. Helvey goes through the entire process of creating a reasonably swish looking spot using LightWave and After Effects for post-production.
Why on earth do I need to be trained how to make FLYING LOGOS?
Extruding text, bevelling, bending, twisting and flying them around doesn’t need that much training considering that it’s one of the first things that any 3D package’s tutorials will cover. However, combining it with 2D and bringing it all together in a compositing package is invaluable. Many newcomers miss this point entirely – 3D creates the elements, but you combine it all and make it look good in post.
Extrude, bevel, twist, animate in LightWave.
The secret of creating hot motion graphics…
As it turns out, the renders that come out of your 3D package (LightWave in this case) is not where the action is. While you’re creating key elements in 3D using all your animation tools, it all looks ordinary until you drop it into post, apply glows and throw pre-rendered stock footage into the background.
After Effects - where the action
is.
‘Textual Revolution’ isn’t really about ‘how to create flying logos with LightWave’; it’s about how to combine both 3D and compositing to make really good-looking bumpers and idents. Personally, I learned far more out of the After Effects portion of the DVD than the LightWave 3D portion. Through most of the 3D sections of the DVD, my finger was on Fast Forward, and I could still figure out what Rich was doing.
If you’ve got LightWave/After Effects and want to train up on producing hot idents and bumpers, ‘Textual Revolution’ covers the topic in detail. Rich shows a numerous tricks in both LightWave and After Effects that result in awesome looking imagery, in a very quick turnaround. Once you’ve figured out the fundamentals that Rich Helvey shows, it will inspire you to create great looking motion graphics.
| Product: | Motion Graphics with LightWave – Textual Revolution |
| Manufacturer: | Desktop Images |
| Price: | $69.95 |
| Synopsis: | Discover professional techniques for creating broadcast quality 3D motion graphics. With technical explanations, step-by-step instruction and real time visual demonstrations. Includes all project files, which can be easily accessed on your computers DVD Rom drive or download at www.desktopimages.com |
| For: | - Good training material. Rich really knows his stuff - The After Effects/post processing portion is extremely useful - Project files |
| Against: | - Bevelling, extruding and animating flying text is too easy. Could be more advanced |
| Verdict: | If you have LightWave and After Effects, and don’t know where to start for creating motion graphics, get this. If you already have experience in LightWave and After Effects, the training material presented may be too fundamental to justify the cost of the DVD. |
Related Links
Desktop Images
LightWave 3D
After Effects
