Articles Archive 1997–1999

Features Archive

Luminance Levels in Digital Video <DV April 00>

Different video hardware systems and software packages have different reference points for true "black" and "white" in a video image. Most artists are unaware of these details, causing problems with luminance shifts and illegal values. (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2.)

* The Art of Motion Graphics <DV Nov 99>

Following the 1999 Promax/BDA Conference, we interviewed numerous studios about how the desktop has changed the way they do motion graphics, how 3D has integrated into their 2D workflow, and client reactions to the new tools.

* Timing Video to Audio <DV June 98>

This extensive article goes over how we hear sound, how to spot hit points in music and dialog by looking at the audio waveform displays on a computer monitor, working with musicians (including a list of "magic tempos"), and tips for more tightly matching video and audio to each other.

* Type in Motion <DV Feb 98>

Feature story on the use of type in motion graphics. Includes two step-by-step tutorials (Text as Texture and Murder Most Blurred) showing how to quickly and easily make hundreds of words pop on and off creating a texture of text; plus an additional project with tips for creating scrolling text using the Offset filter.

Not Just Another Pretty Matte (Track Mattes) <DV June 97>

Features covering Alpha Mattes and Luma Mattes inside AE, with projects and tutorials. (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 1.)

Columns Archive

The more recent Motion Graphics columns are online. Older columns dating from Sept 1997 through Nov 2000 are summarized below. If the current version of After Effects makes a topic obsolete, it is noted in parentheses.

MG39: Masking for Effect <DV November 00>

One of the more creative - but relatively unnoticed - recent additions to After Effects is the ability for many of its effects to follow the paths created by masks. Gives an overview of several of these effects, and what you might use them for.

* MG38: Trends in Motion Graphics <DV October 00>

A reprise of a talk Trish participated in at the 2000 BDA/ProMax conference, discussing numerous recent trends (inclusion of 3D elements, colorization, text as background, glow and lighting effects).

MG37: Processing, Prerendering, and Proxies <DV September 00>

Many desktop graphics systems are not as fast as ones that use expensive or dedicated hardware. However, you can use "proxies" to mimic the way they work, and speed up your workflow (and not slow down your creativity). (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2.)

MG36: Elements for Editors <DV August 00>

When supplying graphic elements to editors who will later incorporate them into a program, you can either make their life difficult or hard. We suggest some ways to help them keep their options open as they use your work.

MG35: 2D Texture Mapping <DV July 00>

In 3D, you rarely leave the surface of an object untextured. Here's a series of tricks to replicate many of the same textured looks in 2D programs, including the use of blending modes, track mattes, and displacement maps.

* MG34: Do Fade Away <DV June 00>

When mixing together multiple images in a video frame, sometimes it helps if not all of them take up the entire frame. This column illustrates different ideas and techniques for performing this blending, with a sample project.

MG33: Caviar for Lunch <DV May 00>

Explains the concepts behind SDI (serial digital interface) and uncompressed video, including revealing that the analog/digital converters can actually be the weakest visual quality link in your video chain.

* MG32: Analyzing Alphas <DV April 00>

A back-to-basics article covering the fundamentals of alpha channels: where they come from, what they do, how to create them, the different kinds, and what to use them for. Includes example project. (Expanded to an entire chapter in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2.)

* MG31: Circles, Lines, & Stuff <DV March 00>

Numerous tricks and techniques to quickly create backing elements common in complex motion graphics designs, such as geometrics, elements that follow a soundtrack, and the ubiquitous "stretchy lines". Includes example projects. (Note: Included as a bonus tutorial in the original Creating Motion Graphics book for AE 4.1.)

* MG30: Alphabet Grid <DV February 00>

Case study: The Omega Code movie title open. Creating animated texture maps in After Effects for use in Electric Image.

* MG29: Playing by Numbers <DV January 00>

Tips (and a sample project) on using the Numbers plugin from After Effects, including creating random numbers "wallpaper", and alien symbol alphabets. (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 1.)

MG28: Hold Keyframes <DV December 99>

Covers the often-overlooked Hold keyframe in After Effects, which is essential when creating rhythmic animation. Say goodbye to ugly workarounds... (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 1.)

* MG27: Braving the 3D Elements <DV November 99>

If you haven't yet made the leap to a full 3D environment, there are ways to get your feet wet by creating 3D elements that are later assembled in 2D. (Not too scary.)

MG26: Z Merger in Space <DV October 99>

A project for NBC created in both 2D and 3D space is dissected, with some tips on simulating 3D shadows in a 2D world.

MG25: Spinning Gold <DV September 99>

When the footage you have to work with is less than ideal, we've assembled some tips for using blending (transfer) modes, blurs and denoising plugins to make it more than usable.

MG24: Ugly Numbers <DV August 99>

NTSC video runs at 29.97 frames per second, an ugly number that can have consequences if you round things up to 30 fps. Includes drop vs. non-drop frame counting, and conforming frame rates. (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2, as well as VideoSyncrasies.)

MG23: Dots, Pixels & Inches <DV July 99>

We unravel some common misconceptions about resolution and dots per inch, and how they relate to scanning photos for use in video. (Note: Updated and included with Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2, 3rd Edition; also available here as a PDF download.)

MG22: Card Games <DV June 99>

Tips on working with codecs and video cards, including some gotchas with DV footage.

* MG21: Key to Success <DV May 99>

Roundup of bluescreen keying effects for AE, along with a tips for using the Adobe Color Difference Keyer from AE Professional, and working with the Light Wrap plugin from Composite Wizard (now distributed by Red Giant Software). [Note: The Color Difference Keyer was included as a Bonus Chaper in Creating Motion Graphic, Volume 2, 3rd Edition; or you can download (3MB ZIP) it here. The CDK has been replaced as the top dog keyer by Keylight, also bundled with the Professional edition of AE6 and later.]

* MG20: Just Your Type <DV Apr 99>

A roundup of text effects available for After Effects 4.0, concentrating on Path Text. (Note: Mostly obsolete now. Use the the new Text Animators in AE6 or later, covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 1, 3rd Edition or later. See also DV Features from 2004, Tools for Moving Type and Techniques for Moving Type.)

* MG19: Rendering Order Part 3 — Collapsing Transformations <DV Mar 99>
* MG18: Rendering Order Part 2 — Precomposing <DV Feb 99>
* MG17: Rendering Order Part 1 — Nesting Compositions <DV Jan 99>

A three-part series delves into the how layers render inside After Effects. Understanding the rendering order is key to troubleshooting visual problems and mastering the program. (Note: Collapsing Transformations was updated in AE6. All three parts have entire chapters devoted to them in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 1.)

* MG16: Going Deep with Blurs, Shadows and Multiplaning <DV Dec 98>

Help with adding depth to layers inside After Effects, and a fun project where foreground and background layers are multiplaned as they pass by the "camera". (Note: Multiplaning has been replaced by the 3D camera.)

*MG15: Anchor Away (local) <originally published DV Nov 98>

When a layer is scaled or rotated in After Effects, it uses the position of the layer’s Anchor Point as the origin for these effects. Covers tips and examples on editing the anchor point. Associated companion file with additional tips. (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 1.) Project (.zip) updated for AE6.5.

* MG14: Loopzilla (Looping Backgrounds) <DV Oct 98>

This tutorial creates a short multi-layered background animation that loops seamlessly, which is useful for projects with long durations. The same techniques can be used for creating animated texture map loops for 3D applications.

* MG13: Sound & Vision (Working with Audio) <DV Sept 98>

It's quite easy to animate in After Effects to music and narration, so this column offers some useful tips and keyboard shortcuts (AE3.1) to help you get in sync. Covers Comp and Layer Markers. (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2.)

MG12: From Here to There <DV Aug 98>

Motion graphic artists need to be aware of the different requirements of the various non-linear editing systems in order to deliver their animations in a digital format. Tips on how to change the field order, and for converting from 640x480 to 720x486, etc. (See also Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2.

MG11: Getting Behind the Color Wheel <DV July 98>

Addresses the various ways of tinting movies using both tint and tritone effects.

* MB10: Time Bandits (Time Distortion Effects) <DV June 98>

Idea sampler featuring time distortion effects included with After Effects or available from third parties (Frame Blending, Echo, Posterize Time, Time Displacement, etc.) (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2.)

* MG09: Getting Down with 3:2 (Remove 3:2 Pulldown) <DV May 98>

Footage originally shot on film and transferred to video using the telecine process can be used just like regular video, but there are situations (frame-by-frame masking or rotoscoping) where reverting back to the original film frames can be a big time saver. (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2, as well as VideoSyncrasies.)

MG08: Field Order - Who’s on First? (Field Rendering) <DV Apr 98>

Understand how interlaced footage is handled inside After Effects, and what happens to it during the rendering process. Includes Interpret Footage dialog (Separate Fields). (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2, as well as VideoSyncrasies.)

* MG07: The Ghost Writer (Handwriting Tutorial) <DV Mar 98>

After chopping up the text in Photoshop, the Write-On effect is used in this step-by-step tutorial to create animated mattes to reveal the title "writing on". (Note: later versions offer other techniques, such as the Stroke and Paint effects. See the Revealing Type Bonus Tutorial in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2, Edition 3.)

MG06: The Pixel Formerly Known as Square <DV Feb 98>

If square and rectangular pixels are a mystery to you, this column deals with working with D1 NTSC pixel aspect ratio inherent in the video size of 720x486 pixels. (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2, as well as VideoSyncrasies.)

* MG05: Infinity and Beyond <DV Jan 98>

This tutorial builds a project with perspective and depth of field, not unlike the "text from infinity" effect from a certain science fiction movie. (Note: Use 3D in new versions of AE, see Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 1.)

* MG04: Let’s Do The Time Warp (Time Remapping) <DV Dec 97>

Time Remapping is best described as timestretching with velocity curves. Wrap your head around this feature and you’ll find other uses for it besides the obvious. (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2.)

* MG03: Empowered to Emboss (Compound Effects) <DV Nov 97>

The Texturize effect will emboss text or images through a layer, but you’ll need to know some rules before you start. Deals with the general problem of effects that use a second layer (ie., Compound Blur, Displacement Maps, etc), and Pre-compose. (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2.)

* MG02: Continuous Rasterization <DV Oct 97>

Understand how Illustrator files are processed (i.e. rasterized) inside After Effects. A little knowledge of the rendering order goes a long way when troubleshooting. (Note: AE 6 and later allow effects to be applied to continuously rasterized files. Check Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 1, 3rd Edition, for the latest render order.)

* MG01: Illustrator Survival Skills <DV Sept 97>

Covers creating type in Illustrator, kerning, crop marks and saving files as outlines. Written for the Illustrator beginner, it’s all you need to know to create nice titles. (Covered in Creating Motion Graphics, Volume 2.)

Columns and features from 2001 forward that are currently available from DV Magazine are summarized in our main Articles page.

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