Behind the Work: Rose 3D Promotional Video

The most recent project of mine was certainly challenging on a variety of levels. I was balancing my current paying job as I was finding time to work on this project; while I was trying to have some kind of life outside of work...and work. Emotionally I had been through a lot and that certainly affected my focus and creativity. Lastly, I was using Red Giant's Trapcode Suite plug-ins that I wasn't too familiar with. Against all odds, I feel accomplished for the most part.

Rose 3D Promotional Video

Ideation, Creation, and Pre-Production

This project goes back a couple of years. My brother is the main entity of Rose 3D. For the past few summers, I would begin working on a promotional video to help advertise his business and work, but I always had to stop what I was working on because of school. This past summer was different. I had graduated from Purdue University. I struggled initially with a style for the presentation. I didn't know if I wanted relatively simple animations but stunning effects, or how color would influence the composition. I played around with geometry initially. I was influenced by how Vox or other YouTube channels do their animations. Many YouTube videos that are graphically done well do so with simplicity and interesting transitions and a lot of color. What ultimately led to me not following this direction was how I wanted to transition panel-to-panel. These "panels" displayed information and examples of my brother's work. I didn't want some kind of information to just appear on screen. I wanted dynamic expression. I wanted this to be in a 3D world and not in a contained flat environment. And of course, I wanted to use the Trapecode Suite. How would I make this all work?

Let me be the first to tell you, ALWAYS sketch out your ideas. Use storyboards and write down how you want the camera to work, and how the effects will behave. I didn't do this at the very beginning. I began this project by creating the splash sequence first. I look back and appreciate how helpful the initial sequence was. It gave me a general idea of how these new Trapcode particle systems worked in After Effects, and I experimented with text effects and blending options.

The initial Rose 3D Splash Sequence

The Assembly Process

I began the main promotional composition by focusing on each segment of the video individually. There were three different "parts" of the composition. You can visually see what I'm talking about. There's the fluffy cloud particles, the stringy multi-colored particles, and the blue tunnel particle. I knew that the main attraction besides the panels were the particles themselves. I wanted the particles to be drastically different from each other, but still relatively related via color scheme. The beginning of the video in my opinion was done relatively well. I like the initial bloom and camera movements. I didn't want to overdue the video with too many effects. I made sure to keep the text and panel animations simple.  

The second and final Splash Sequence

I really enjoyed the colors I used in the first splash sequence. I made sure to reproduce that look, but keep it less cluttered without all the layers. I changed up the font as well. I wanted the new splash sequence to have an edger look compared to the rounder edges and fuller look of the first. For the second splash, I had the main 'Daniel Rose" and "3D Artist" have a turbulence effect combined with a vector blur and venetian blind. I purposely had the screen light up in bloom to add more aspect to the animation, and to allow the text to appear in a fluid manner. 

Resolution and Result

If I had to give this project a score, it'd be a 5/10. I'm very critical and I know that this could've been much better. I really dug the colors, but I would've use the panel-to-panel idea again, and I think I over did it with the particles. "Keep. It. Simple. Stupid." I do appreciate the Trapcode plug-ins but their usefulness could've been produced in a more tasteful way. I could've been more innovative with how I transitioned to the different segments of the video. The ending of the promotional video could've had a better animation of the texts appearing. It looks weird, as if the blur is making the venetian blinds look too sharp.

There's still a lot for me to learn, and I'm determined to make it known that I can make great content for myself and the viewer. Stay tuned for more in-depth analysis of my work and the exploration of techniques and technologies that can increase my work, and yours.

Andrew C. Rose  

Time For A Change

It feels like it's been forever since I've posted a blog entry. Fall is right around the corner. School has started, my current job ends at the end of the month, and I still don't have a big boy job.

Before I dive into the quests of my life, I need to let it be known that this blog will drastically change. For the past few months I've been using this platform as an arena to share my personal and professional life. After much thought, I've decided that this blog will strictly be related to my career. I will cover topics regarding color theory, cameras, video codecs, plug-ins, anything and everything regarding 3D, compositing, motion graphics, and visual effects. I think this will be an extremely beneficial way for me to continue sharpening my skills, and a way to help educate those interested in what I do. I'll probably create another blog just for my personal life. Once I have that all sorted out, I'll share the information with all of you. This change will go into affect my next blog entry. Thank you all for the current support and keep up the hard work!

I just wrapped up the project I've been working on for the entire summer. I'll disperse more information in my first reformated blog. I'll share my approach to the project and the techniques used to achieve the look and feel of the project. I'll share a little information right now. Recently I've been getting into Red Giant's plug-ins for After Effects, and I wanted to use them to create a stylized promotional video. Overall, I'd have to say it was a success. I learned a TON about these plug-ins and how they operate. They were extremely fun to use and there's a numerous possibilities waiting to be unlocked.

Relax and Enjoy.

As I've stated in some earlier blog posts, my next project will be compositing heavy with matte paintings. I'll probably include slight visual effects as well. I want to achieve a tasteful meaningful video about "Home". It's going to be my second major attempt focusing on compositing and camera work. Sadly, I don't have a camera, but I have my phone! It has a decent camera and it should get the job done. I'm really excited and looking forward to this! I don't really have much planned out except for a few shots in my head. Stay tuned for more!

Here we go. The moment we've been waiting for. I've been working out hard as nails these past ten weeks, and nine of those weeks I was on serious supplements. I was taking LGD, creatine, whey protein, amino fuel, glutamine, vitamin D3, milk thistle, and fish oils. I'm off the LGD and creatine, but I'm still taking the rest of the supplements. My workout program consisted of three days of hard weight lifting. 3x4-6 for core lifts. That's bench press, power cleans, deadlifts, and squats. The rest of the lifts I stuck to the 3x6-8 with box jumps and jump rope here and there between sets. I had two days of cardio. The first day of cardio I focused on sprints and short high intensity bursts. I used a lot of old football drills. The second day was more of the same, but less intense. I also focused on stretching and form. Long distance running was out of the question because I workout in shoes that are two sizes too small. The bottom of my feet feel like they're on fire if I run long distance, and I even experienced it with my cardio routine, but I was able to shake it off.

The results were quite impressive in my opinion. Before using all these supplements I was around 185lbs. After my cycle I weighed 209lbs. My max weights are as followed:

Bench Press: 245lbs
Power Cleans: 220lbs
Deadlift: 390lbs
Squat: 295lbs

These are personal one rep maxes. I'm pleased overall. I thought my bench would be more, but I'm especially happy with my power clean and squat. Below are pictures. I had a friend take pictures before my cycle, but sadly, he's too busy to send them to me. I do have a picture I took last December when I was 175lbs!

Please excuse the mirror shot...

Here are the recent 209lbs pictures!

I gained a lot of mass in my shoulders and traps.

I know...I have a bit of a gut.

Back is wide. Could use more definition

My plan now is to work on cutting and getting more defined. I've begun using lighter weight because of shoulder and elbow discomfort, and I'll incorporate that with higher reps and more cardio and dieting to achieve that goal. Two weeks from now I plan on taking a much needed break from the gym. I'm excited to see how my cutting cycle turns out.

I encourage everyone to find an aspect in their life to improve upon. Nothing is more satisfying than achieving something you once thought impossible.

"We all have big changes in our lives that are more or a less a second chance." - Harrison Ford

Peace,
Andrew Rose