Sites like Adobe’s Kuler http://kuler.adobe.com and Colour Lovers http://www.colourlovers.com are an example of two sites that create a bit of trust for people who don’t trust their color sense.

Being a creative director I appreciate the tools given to me by Adobe and other companies like Colourlovers. when trying to come up with color concepts it was always difficult without seeing the final version of the finished color composition incorporated into my design. Now with these innovative websites, I jump to their pages and start hunting for color combinations I think might work for my project. Once I find what I’m looking for I use my color picker from let’s say After Effects and apply the color Palettes! Easy as 123! A standing ovation to Adobe’s Kuler and Colour Lovers for making my life a lot easier!

Once a client gives me all their information and I’ve lined up all my reference, I’m ready to start on my assignment.  I try to give clients a number of options, representing different directions.  I generally like to submit three options for approval, but this can vary depending on the project.  Most clients really likes one approach which, more often than not, is the one I favor.  Some clients like something in each approach.  Whatever they decide, I’m prepared to deliver it,  but before doing so present them with a few frames of revised images reflecting the direction they’ve decided on.  It is at this point that I typically get the final go ahead for the project; if not,  I’ll make some minor revisions or, if need be, try again.  Once the client gives their final approval,  I’ll work on the project until I’m completely happy with how it looks and then share it with them.  If I show the client something that’s not finished, they usually don’t understand it.   It’s hard for most clients to visualize something incomplete so though I’ll consult with them along the way, if it’s necessary,  it’s been my experience that it’s much better to proceed in the direction that’s been agreed upon, and show them the work when it’s done, or nearly so.

Of course, if I’m working on a television commercial I must show the client some sort of motion test because they have to see how my material moves on the screen, and sometimes there’s a lot of back and forth with your client until the clients happy with the end result. As the movement enhances the visual design of the spot it’s extremely important it’s extremely important to have the proper reference points for it, so it’s definitely worth being meticulous about getting it right.

But if you think we’re done here, we’re not.  Sound design and the sweetening of effects are also very important. In commercial spots I’m generally cutting to a music or voice-over track. Once I lay in the graphics and picture there’s usually a little bit of sweetening that goes on.   Sometimes a sound effect can really enhance the action of type moving or an image merging from the background.   These, too, are creative decisions that must be made and implemented in the course of satisfying client objectives, and there may be back and forth here as well.  But the key to keeping all elements of your project on track is to be prepared, focused, and flexible.  Anticipate changes when doing your budget, be prepared for revisions, and be flexible in your approach and the end result will be satisfying to everyone.

Digital Compositing is both an art and a journey to technical perfection.  As an artist I strive for a new creative approach on each project and try to be as innovative as possible.  Having determined my approach, I can move on to the technical aspect of the job and target all the materials I will need for the project.   A teacher of mine once told me,  ”You’re only as good as your reference” which I find to be one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received! With any project, if you have no reference point for your end result you are starting off  at a disadvantage.  Consequently, I never stint on the time I spend researching on line and in books and magazines an appropriate reference for my project, and once I find one I am at far greater ease addressing the task at hand.  Combining the data I have found with my own knowledge and expertise, I can create exactly what the client was looking for.

The Digital Compositor must question:  Should it look life like?  Should it be abstract?  Should it look surreal?  So many questions and so little time. And when I consult with my client before the first edit I am told to do what I think is right.  Which is just the response I want, because it allows me to develop the best creative approach for the project – which is what they pay me for! – and deliver exactly the solution the client wants.

This is the thinking that must go into the process before the project even starts.  To find out where we go from here, please check out my next blog:  THE ART OF DIGITAL COMPOSITING – Part 2.

In the past six months I’ve been re-educating myself on new graphics and animation software packages. I’ve been an Autodesk, Flint, Flame user for the past 15 years. In fact when Flint first came out, my company at the time 4-front design bought one of the first systems sold by Discreet Logic. That was a couple of generations ago. At the time I was migrating away from the Quantel Hal and Paintbox. It seems that history is repeating itself again in the software/hardware arena’s. Like in the mid 90′s I had certain ideas of what I wanted to accomplish utilizing graphic programs. Back then it was important for me to use third party plug-ins to enhance the look of  the many animation projects I was working on. Also I was trying to manipulate video in just Standard Definition, 720×486 as opposed to High Definition 1080i, p, 720 and all the formats for cell phones and video boards.  Now my concern is that the current Autodesk systems are open to plug-ins but not as accessible and frequently used as Adobe’s Product line of Graphics Software. I’ve been mirroring my projects on Adobe systems and finding a real freedom for the first time that I could do practically everything on my laptop or at home and not be at work tied down to “The Old Ball and Chain” NO, NOT MY WIFE! My computer! I was also used to out sourcing all of my 3d work. But now with all of the lower priced 3d programs and great tutorials that are online it’s pretty easy to learn how to produce almost anything in 3d without throwing your hands up in the air and giving up! It’s definitely easier but a lot harder these days in the fact that you can’t live under a rock any more and rely on just one piece of software knowledge. Even though I was using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for different projects over the years I never considered using them as my main system for producing graphics and animations for my clients! Now I do and It’s great to know that  I literally can be any where in the world and still be connected to my way of creativity via my cell phone, camera or laptop.

I designed this logo as part of my opening animation for “All Sorts of Sports”, an out-of-the ordinary sports segment produced by Phoenix Communications for the McDonald’s Channel.

McDonald’s wanted a “fresh and fun look” for their in-restaurant channel.  They already had a design in place featuring the Golden Arches and their color scheme, which I had to take into consideration when designing the opening.  I also had to keep in mind that there would be many people involved in the approval process and that changes would be required over time. Having worked with so many large corporation, I have become expert at making my designs modular and readily able to accommodate the color, type, background, graphics and video revisions clients request.

This was just the approach needed on this project for in the course of the 6 months this segment will run McDonald’s wants to be able to change the video clips in the opening and the template of my design will easily accommodate that.

This is what the creativity is about today: with all the different media and delivery systems out there, one must be creative in both design and execution, and always anticipate – and accommodate – change.

3D TITLE

I was thrilled to be once again be a part of THE US OPEN Tennis Tournament, held at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York.

This is the 5th year the USTA has asked me to design the graphics for the US OPEN, and though I’ve always created standard definition animations for them, this year they requested full High Definition 1080 graphics.  To accomplish this, I used Autodesk’s Flint compositing system to meticulously reconstruct every aspect of the standard definition animation in separate layers.  I first concentrated on the blue tennis ball revolving background, that was the base for all the titling including players names, years and transitions.  I had my 3d tennis ball data base which was applied to the larger HD format, then it was colored and duplicated using the axis’s in Flint’s Action module. Once I matched the right number and motion of balls I applied a slight bump map and embossing to give the background a feeling of depth. I then animated the tennis ball background at 3 different speeds. One for the transitions, a faster version and finally a slower background for the opening animation.

The opening animation consisted of the past 10 winners both male and female of the US OPEN, projected onto 3d tennis balls moving towards us in Z space. When the last player cleared the screen, pieces of the logo flew in at different speeds, and came together in an explosion of flames.  I used actual flames shot on black to make a flame trail for some of the logo transitions as well.

Being a tennis fan I really enjoy working on The US Open.  Seeing all the great players in action, editing the footage of their games, and selecting the highlights, what a blast!  And to have the best sports producer in the business, Brian Williams, who’s a pleasure to work with and has great insight into the event and all the elements involved in it,  in charge of the production – I couldn’t ask for anything more! Except, perhaps, same time next year.

Over the years techniques for accomplishing different “LOOKS” change dramatically. In the past when a client asked me to achieve a hand drawn outline over a picture I did exactly that, illustrating the line by hand, painstaking matching every aspect of the image I was replicating using a sketch technique. Most recently I was asked to update an older commercial spot matching a similar look. I started to experiment with Adobe Illustrator and After Effects. With these graphic software products I was able to take a photo that was given to me, “Live Trace” it in the Illustrator program then import it to After effects. I then applied a couple of cool preset filters to it and Bam-Wow I got my write on! It was very controllable and I had little to no aggravation achieving the effect. It’s not as organic as a hand drawn technique but it really does a great  job!

I always enjoy taking photos of the sky. This early Autumn photo was taken with a Nikon D70. I usually shoot in RAW so I can adjust the exposure and other details of my pictures.  I keep a library of skies as reference for the motion graphic composites my company does for broadcast and corporate clients.

Bumper designed by Marchand Media

When PBS decided that their “World Focus” show needed a new graphic look, they turned to Marchand Media to create it.  We were excited about the project knowing that the objective was to not only update the image of the show but give its writers visuals they could easily work with, because on this show it is writers, not artists, who put the graphics together.  We designed a template system the writers could easily integrate into their work and our vivid visuals are now on display nightly.  Stay tuned!

Marchand Media designed this logo for the Dr Oz show. Producer Arthur Borman hired us to design and animate a logo for THE ULTIMATE HEALTH CHALLENGE, the National Football League sanctioned program that helps athlete’s Moms loose weight and get healthy using methods prescribed by Dr Oz. A lot of people were involved in approving this logo on a short deadline, but we were able to satisfy all parties with the final result.  After our logo was approved we prepared it for printing on T Shirts and animated it in 3d for the HD Broadcast of the Dr. Oz show on Fox 5.