After Effects Tutorial – “Leaf-Growing” Logo Reveal

15 07 2009

aetut1thumb

I was honored to have been asked by the TUTS+ network to create a tutorial for their AETUTS+ site. The TUTS+ network is an incredible resource for designers of all types, with resources for After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, 3D software, and more.

This was my first go at a recorded tutorial, so I’d love to hear your feedback…unless it’s about my Oklahoma accent, because I don’t have one.





At the Movies’09 – Animated

15 06 2009

Here’s the AtM’09 animated promo as promised.

It turns out that it’s pretty difficult to represent a lot of movie genres without using people. The result is that this ends up being a little sci-fi/action heavy (which is fine by my inner geek). I just can’t believe I didn’t add a Western element…

Had a lot of fun with this. Cinema4D has made the transition from Lightwave for 3D animation a smooth one. Here’s a quick capture of some of the process. As you can see, the whole project took about 2 minutes to complete. I’m that fast.

(Unfortunately, Previous Bryan didn’t think to start capturing until after a great deal had been done. Man, that guy’s an idiot sometimes.)

*edit: To see the print version of this art, LICK HERE. <–(This was a typo, but I found it way too funny to correct)





At the Movies 2009 art

8 06 2009

Here’s the finished artwork for LifeChurch.tv’s “At the Movies” series, in which we (legally) watch edits of Hollywood films to find Biblical truths in the stories.

This was a lot of fun and was my first full project since my recent switch to Cinema4D.
ATM09art

In addition to this, there is a fully-animated promo of these elements, which I’ll talk more about here soon.





The Vendor/Client relationship (video)

4 06 2009

Ha! Stumbled across this video and loved it. A must for anyone who’s done much freelance work. We should all make our clients watch this before beginning any work.

And if you like this, here’s a similar comic I drew last year. I think it’s kinda funny we both went with the restaurant analogy.





Staging concepts

3 06 2009

We’re working on the development of a much-needed new stage at LifeChurch.tv and, though this is extremely preliminary, I thought it would be interesting to see the initial design (with my complete lack of construction knowledge), until we can see what our construction gurus are able to do with the idea. This is from a concept that Mark Dawson and I collaborated on.

My main focus was to create a stage that could be completely changed for a new series with the press of a few buttons (by changing a few light colors and uploading a new graphic).

Here’s the base idea (the blue squares would be large LCD TVs), followed by a few examples of application with various series art or elements. (Click any image for a larger version)

D2Stage1-notheme

a “One Prayer” version:
StageB2-OP

an “At the Movies” possibility, illustrating that the stage doesn’t always have to contain the actual art:
StageB3-ATM

and an older one, with art from “You Don’t Have What it Takes”:
StageB4-YDHWiT





“Elijah” promo – steps in the process

19 05 2009

Here’s a promo for the series “Elijah” at LifeChurch.tv. When concepting, we ultimately decided that one great symbol of God’s provision, and of Elijah’s faith, would be found in the ravens that God sent to provide food for Elijah in the wilderness. With that concept, I couldn’t help but lean to Hitchcock for inspiration.

And for a little “behind-the-scenes” action, here’s a quick peek at the steps in the process, with Photoshop, Cinema4D and After Effects using Particular.





5 of my favorite motion design houses

13 04 2009

While working on a freelance project, I hit a bit of a block and started to search through my delicious bookmarks, when I realized how scattered all of my sources of inspiration were. I decided a collection of some of my favorites might be a good thing to have, so here it is. Not necessarily my top five, but five of my favorites, in no order.

natltv
1. NATIONAL TELEVISION – They definitely have their own style and I love it. It’s not the typical broadcast feel, and their use of color alone is inspiring. Of course, I love the illustration-based stuff as well. Don’t missed the Honda-Drive Every Drop piece.

hornetinc
2. HORNET, INC. – I don’t really know much about these guys except that they’re in NYC and they do great work. I really dig the Ronald McDonald House (where they mix an array of different styles in one piece and it somehow works) and British Gas campaigns.

nervo
3. NERVO – What do you expect from a Nando Costa motion design house? It’s incredible stuff. Some of my favorites are the FOX movies and Zune packages, but check them all out.

belief
4. BELIEF – based in Los Angeles and one of my first faves. They’ve got some great insight into client relationships and creative control. They basically refuse to do anything they don’t think is a good idea, for their clients’ sake, as well as their own.

ronin
5. THE RONIN – While not actually a design house, this guy makes the cut for his use of graphics in video. He’s obviously more of a film guy than a flashy, 412-layers-in-After-Effects kind of guy, but that’s what makes him important to include: he blends the media incredibly well. Besides, on one project, he actually built his text, real world, and shot it (watch to the end). Very classy stuff.





LC.tv opener #5

20 03 2009

The new opener for our weekend experience, which is sequenced to the live band.

We’ve been asked more and more to represent the fact that we broadcast to the entire world each week, so here it is.
The photos are stock this time, since my request to travel the globe and grab our own shots was denied. Party poopers.

Created with After Effects. Photos from stock.xchng.





Previous Bryan and Future Bryan.

19 03 2009

Man, sometimes Previous Bryan is an idiot.

He constantly forgets to take down important information, doesn’t save multiple versions of files, he procrastinates, and he’s completely incapable of laying off the cheeseburgers.

Sometimes he’s taken care of me, though. He leaves me notes occasionally, and he has left money in my pockets a few times…

My goal is to become a better Previous Bryan for Future Bryan. Hopefully he’ll thank me for it.





my friend, Brennin, on Ellen.

4 03 2009

This is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time, and maybe it’s just because I know him, but I don’t think so.

Brennin Hunt, a good friend and amazing singer/songwriter who now lives in Nashville, entered a video into Ellen’s “Bathroom concert series.”

She picked him, and her response is hilarious.

As you can see, he’s an incredible vocalist. You should check out his stuff. Even better, send a note to Ellen voting for him so she can fly him out to the show to sing a duet for some great exposure.