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Tip #1051: 6 Mocha Pro Tutorials

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Six video tutorials to improve your motion tracking results.

The Mocha Pro logo.

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The team at ToolFarm, a leading third-party reseller of After Effects plugins and visual effects tools, published a blog showcasing video tutorials to improve working with Mocha Pro. Here’s a summary.

NOTE: Here’s the link to all the tutorials.

Mocha Pro, published by BorisFX, works as a standalone app or plug-in for several hosts and works pretty much the same between hosts, so if you see a tutorial for a software that you don’t use, know that it will translate easily to your host.

The tutorials, all presented by Mary Poplin, include:

  1. Mocha Keyboard Shortcuts
  2. Shape-Based Tracking
  3. More Shape-Tracking Tricks & Tips
  4. Advanced Tracking in Adobe After Effects
  5. How to Avoid Reflections & Shadows
  6. How to Correct Tracking Drift

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Tip #1053: 50 Ways to Create Different Effects

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50 tutorials to create specific effects in After Effects.

(Image courtesy of Pexels.com.)

Topic $TipTopic

This list, written by Nousheen Aquil, first appeared in JotForm Blog.

This post presents a round-up of Adobe After Effects video tutorials for visual effects and motion graphics-related work. After Effects continues to grow in popularity for motion graphics. With After Effects, you have many choices in how to generate dynamic and expressive motion graphics with truly stunning visual effects — very easily and quickly.

What makes this list different is that, rather than show tools, these tutorials show how to create specific effects.

I won’t list all 50 here – rather click the link above and watch the ones of interest to you.


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Tip #1031: TotalFX: NewBlueFX Effects Bundle

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A new subscription bundle – 1,500 presets in 177 effects.

(Image courtesy of Pexels.com.)

Topic $TipTopic

Last week, NewBlueFX announced TotalFX – a collection of over 1,500 presets in 177 effects in 30 different products. This is a comprehensive suite of titling tools, transitions, filters and video editing plugins.

This includes Titler Pro 7 Ultimate, the “industry-standard in tiling software for video editors. Deliver exceptional production value with stunning 3D animated titles and motion graphics without sacrificing productivity. Titler Pro 7 integrates with all of today’s leading NLEs.”

Available via monthly, quarterly or annual subscription; or perpetual license. The annual subscription is $239 (US).

Here’s the link to learn more.


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Tip #1032: Free Google Fonts for Motion Design

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Over 700 fonts – all free – direct from Google.

A small sample of the fonts available from Google.

Topic $TipTopic

This article first appeared in MotionArray.com. This is a summary.

Over the years, Google has launched many projects and products completely sans payment for the internet world to use. They are famous for things like search, Gmail, and the Chrome browser, but did you know about their free Google Fonts? You can download fonts from Google Fonts and use them in all of your personal and commercial projects for print, video, and whatever else you can think up.

The Google Fonts library can be found at fonts.google.com. Once you load the library you’ll have access to over 700 font families. The entire library can easily be sorted by popularity, alphabetical, date added, or the number of styles. The number of styles function comes in quite handy if you need a font with a lot of versatility.

When you see a font you like, simply click the Add to Collection button. This can be found to the right of the preview text or by hovering over the font in the poster layout.

Once your .zip is downloaded, you pop it open, install the fonts the way you normally would, and get to work.

EXTRA CREDIT

The link at the top has more details, font illustrations and links.


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Tip #1033: Introducing the Visual Effects Society

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VES: Honoring visual effects – one artist at a time.

VES logo.

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The Visual Effects Society (VES) is a global professional honorary society and the entertainment industry’s only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners. VES’ over 4,000 members in more than 40 countries worldwide contribute to all areas of entertainment – film, television, commercials, animation, special venue, games and new media.

OBJECTIVES

To advance and promote the art and science of visual effects and to foster and strive for excellence and knowledge in all matters pertaining to visual effects, and for the purpose of bringing together those leaders and innovators in the field who have demonstrated a high standard of artistic and technical ability and whose singular achievements entitle them to Membership … (and)  …to actively cultivate talented individuals in this discipline; to educate and develop public awareness and understanding; to support and encourage technological advancements in the field of visual effects; to establish a collective organization that recognizes, advances and honors visual effects as an art form, promoting the interests of its Membership so that Membership … based on merit, shall become a mark of honor and distinction.

Annual individual membership dues are $200 (US).

Here’s a link to learn more.


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Tip #1007: Maxon Announces New Software

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Maxon One: Cinema 4D, Red Giant, RedShift all on one subscription.

(Image courtesy of Maxon.com.)

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Last week, Maxon announced the availability of Cinema 4D Release 23 (R23). The next generation of Maxon’s professional 3D software delivers powerful enhancements to its animation and UV workflows, character animation toolset, and the inclusion of Magic Bullet Looks technology.

R23 Feature Highlights

  • New Character Animation Tools: Includes new Character Solver and Delta Mush workflows as well as a new Pose Manager and Toon/Face Rigs.
  • Animation Workflow: Better Keyframing, Filters for the Timeline and Attributes Manager, and more.
  • UV Workflows: All the powerful UV editing capabilities introduced in Cinema 4D S22 (the subscription-only upgrade) plus new tools geared toward UV workflows for hard-surface models.
  • Magic Bullet Looks Integration: Easily apply one of over 200 preset film looks, import LUTs, or work with individual tools for color correction, film grain, chromatic aberration and much more.
  • Scene Nodes: Scene Nodes allows users to explore massive Distributions and Procedural Modeling in advance of the further Cinema 4D core engine development for optimal creativity and experimentation.

R23 will be available on September 9th for subscription holders and will be available as an upgrade for perpetual license holders.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

The big news is that Maxon also announced Maxon One, their new subscription offering that provides Cinema 4D, Redshift for C4D and Red Giant Complete all for one low price.

  • Cinema 4D subscription: $59.92/month (billed annually)
  • Maxon One subscription: #99.92/month (billed annually)

EXTRA CREDIT

Here are the links:


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Tip #1008: Industry Spotlight: Identity Visuals

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An interview with Zac Dixon, Creative Director of Identity Studio.

The Identity Studios logo.

Topic $TipTopic

This first appeared in MotionArray.com. In this article, MotionArray highlights a smaller studio that is working hard to create amazing work as they build a client base and a sustainable business.

Identity Visuals is just that kind of studio. In the words of Zac Dixon, creative director: “Identity Visuals started up when my co-founder Samuel Cowden and I moved to Nashville in the summer of 2012. In the beginning, it was just the two of us working on whatever work we could get on the first floor of Samuel’s apartment. A few months in we hired our first two team members and eventually moved out of Sam’s place into our first tiny studio on Music Row.”

He goes on to describe projects created by Identity Studios, as well as provide example images and videos.

The link above takes you to the interview.


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Tip #1009: Getting Started with After Effects

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After Effects is intimidating. This article can help get you started.

(Image courtesy of PremiumBeat.com)

Topic $TipTopic

This article, written by Joe Frederick, first appeared in PremiumBeat.com. This is a summary.

Adobe After Effects is an exceptionally versatile piece of software. If you’re just starting out with it in 2020, here are five things to learn ASAP.

  1. Terminology. Before I started my motion graphics journey, my experience was limited to Final Cut Pro X. That meant I was faced with a whole new set of terms upon opening After Effects the first time, some of which were attached to features and concepts I knew by other names in other programs. For instance, a Project in FCPX is a Sequence in Premiere Pro is a Composition in AE.
  2. Keyframes. Keyframes mark the point in time where you specify a value for a layer property. Using them effectively is a linchpin of motion graphics work.
  3. Motion Blur. Motion blur is an absolute game-changer! When animating an asset, it’s important to prevent said asset’s movements from looking mechanical, twitchy, and, well, like it was slapped together in a computer program. That’s where motion blur comes in.
  4. Dynamic Link. If you’re planning to work with both Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects on the same project, then you’re going to love this. Thanks to the dynamic link, you can avoid all of that potentially confusing, definitely time-sucking nonsense and import your AE comps straight into Premiere.
  5. Pre-Composing. If you’re used to terms like “nesting” or “compound clip,” you’ll be familiar with creating pre-compositions. Simply select the layers of your choice, right-click, and select Create Pre-composition in order to put these layers into their own mini comp. They’ll now be represented in your main timeline by just one layer. If you double-click this layer, you can go into it to make changes that’ll now be visible when you return to your main composition.

The link above has additional tutorial videos, images and links for more information.


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Tip #992: Mask Basics in Adobe After Effects

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Masks are the secret to successful compositing in After Effects.

(Image courtesy of pexels.com.)

Topic $TipTopic

This article first appeared in MotionArray.com. This is a summary.

In Adobe After Effects, masks are one of the tools you will likely use the most. They either hide or reveal elements of a layer, and can be used in conjunction with animation to create fun, stylish wipes. They’re an incredibly versatile tool but can be a little confusing to get your head around at first.

The article is divided into three sections:

  1. What is a Mask? A mask is an invisible shape that tells After Effects to only pay attention to a specific section of your composition.
  2. How to Create and Manage Masks. This is a step-by-step tutorial on using “Reveal Masking” or the Pen tool. It also covers how to work with multiple masks.
  3. How to Add Animation and Movement. Masks can be animated like other assets in After Effects.

EXTRA CREDIT

The article has step-by-step illustrations, additional links and a video that shows these techniques in operation.


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Tip #993: Tutorials to Repair Video – from Adobe

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Adobe provides tutorials on stabilization and color repair.

(Repair image courtesy of Pexels.com.)

Topic $TipTopic

Adobe posted a series of tutorials on how to repair footage in After Effects. Here’s a summary.

This webpage has sample files and tutorials that show how to:

  • Stablize shaky footage using the Warp Stabilizer.
  • Fix exposure issues using the Lumetri Color effect.
  • Enhance the color in your video, again with the Lumetri Color effect.

Click the link at the top to learn more.


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