Kinda different montage attempt....
 

Quirky couple, quirky montage I always say. Does it play?

http://www.ttdweddings.com/Tran-page.html

Mike

Wow, I'm somewhat speechless ... that was very cool. What'd you use to do the editing?

It definitely plays. What does the couple think?

Fat Boy Slim works with a lot of stuff and it worked very nicely here as well.
Nice job.


Don B

Great AE work Mike. I especially like the small touches (ie. Bert, the chicken).

Just a heads up though, Your site says Tan. The video says Tran.

That was awesome! What was your editing tool?

Thanks
Ryan

Bah double posted

Great AE stuff.. However take this with a grain of salt.. If Pixelpops didn't do that site, then you better be careful they are pretty strick about copying their stuff.. The only reason I say this, is because I don't notice their footer on your site and well from the pixelpops to design it's looks like your walking a thin line.. Just a friendly heads up of course if they did design it then I'm just babbling.. :)

Thanks folks. The Photos were prepped in Photoshop and the rest was done in After Effects 6.5. The couple had a look and really liked it so, phew, it played.

Where is the "Tan", I can't find that anywhere. That would be a major embarrasment.....thanks

Cheers

Mike

Really sorry Mike. I misread the site. When I saw the gril was Asian, my mind automatically blocked out the R.

That's what you get for spending too much time online.

Cheers.

Thanks about the Pixel Pops message, it does resemble one of there sites. I looked at many, many sites for ideas but the entire thing was built from scratch. I have oodles of PS files to show for that. This does bring up an interesting question though.

Where is the line between borrowing ideas and looks you like and making them your own versus copying. I certainly don't want to venture into the 2nd realm. We use these boards and share our work with the intent of finding and giving ideas and concepts to better our work. When and where do we cross the line into plagerism?

The last thing I want to do is offend someone by mimicking their work too closely. Creating something that is uniquely our own is one of the reasons we do this, is it not? Perhaps I will email them right now and see if there is an issue.

Thanks for the comments

Mike

Mike that was outstanding. It just shows how little I know. I would love to do something like that, how long does that take you? Thanks for posting, it helps me see the possibilities. TAG

Hmmm. I good AE guy could do it in a couple of hours I bet. It took me around 8 hours. Thanks for the remarks though!

Cheers

Mike

Mike,

again a great montage.. Sorry to bring up the pixel pops stuff, but I just thought i'd point it out since they have some rather large font on their site talking about copying it..etc..etc..So it was mearly a heads up in case they coming chasing after ya.. :)

That's it... I'm quitting my tv job tomorrow and doing this stuff full time!

Great stuff Mike! After you fix the "Tan", take a look at the groom's montage. I saw a picture in there that was backwards cause the lettering was reversed. Something to do with National Guard.

=gb=

Actually, the airplane pic is supposed to be backwards...sort of. Since the layers are in 2D 3D, when the camera spins it is looking at the "back" of the photo and therefore it appears backwards. I suppose I could turn that picture around though....

Good eyes...

Mike

I also noticed the backwards photo, but I assumed it was intended, since the camera angle swung around. Good job overall, it was very entertaining to watch.

I've been looking for a reason to play with AE, maybe I'll try replicating some of your style and see if I can do it.

Caution. "Playing with AE" is likely to evaporate vast amounts of your life. But in a good way....

Mike

Man, that was rad! I now have fully realized how non-creative I am. Arrgghh! I don't know whether to throw in the towel or lock myself away for months on end trying to figure out how to do something half that cool! Thanks! :)

Just pickup a book on AE.. After Effects 6.0 Hands-on training will show you how to get started with basic 3D space.. Although the examples become lame with the monkey.. You learn how camera left becomes your friend.. :)

I really am a fan of the Meyers books. I have all three and will probably buy the revised editions of at least two. They are easy to follow, written in a way I understand and have lots of pretty pictures. Can't say enough good things about those books.

--Pat, thanks for the heads up, I spoke with Pixel Pops and we are working it out. They are VERY nice guys....

Cheers

Mike

WOW that is amazing!!!!!

Is there any possible chance you could do something like that in an NLE like vegas or do you need to specifically use AE?

Thanks for sharing this Mike - Really, really neat.

I don't think an NLE will do it. You need something with cameras and 3D space. At least, as far as I know which is not too far....

Thanks for the comments!

Mike

OK Mike.

So, in order to do what you accomplished in this piece what do I need to go buy?

After Effects 6.5 standard or premium?

Any add-ons?

If I use vegas as my NLE does that make any difference to any of this?

I am still in shock at how cool that was.

KIM

Well Done, Im very impressed!
I done something similiar but not as good, and it took me ages. Do ppl realise how much work and effect go into it???

Did you charge then extra for that service?

I like the idea of using frame styles from photoshop too, it adds a more pro and thoughout through idea and feel!

good job!

also just been looking at some of your other work!
im impressed, well done :)

wot camera do u use?

Kim - I believe AE 6.5 standard will have everything you need. I think exponential keyframes is a Pro feature and I did use those but you can still do it with standard, you just have to fiddle around a bit more. I used Photoshop to prep the photos too. If you have not used AE before just go get Chris and Trish Meyers first book at the same time. You will not regret it.

The NLE won't matter. AE renders out in just about anything you want. You just render something that vegas will like (quicktime is a safe bet) and drop it on the timeline. Presto. Turn perfectly usable days into mere seconds of video.....

Antony - Thanks dude, nice words. I did not charge extra for this one. I had a client that has been very good to me and wanted to do something extra for her. As for cameras, three PD-150's.

Thanks again folks.

Mike

Excellent work Mike, would you mind sharing what resolution you used for the images. Obviously with the zooming in and out it wasn't just 72 dpi.

Cheers...Paul.

Mike if you don't mind sharing the final resolution with them, I would like to know.. I have been thinking of getting a template from them, so it help me in knowing how they work all this out..

A
 

First I cropped and sized the photos to just a bit bigger than a video frame, usually about 800 wide or 500 tall at 96ppi depending on the setup. Any photos I knew I was going to zoom into I kept up around 150 or 300 if I was planning on getting real close but kept the dimensions about the same as the others. Another way to do that is keep 96 dpi and just let the physical size increase then scale down in AE.

Most of the time I worked in 1/4 resolution in AE and that seems fine for photos. Ram preview goes pretty quick that way.

Hope that answers your question!

PAT - Well (sheepishly) I looked back and realized I borrowed a bit heavily from one of their templates. Granted I built the whole thing myself and did change quite a bit but I had to agree the similarities were a bit too much. I suppose I was in too much of a hurry back then....shame on me.

We talked about just licensing that design but they already have it licensed in my geographical area so that was not an option. Since that meant having to rework the whole site anyway, I just decided to create a whole new site. Should have that up later this morning (up till 2am last night working on it).

They gracefully gave me plenty of time to make my changes and seem like very good people to work with. I have seen their work in a few different places (Weva for instance) and they seem to have a good rep and solid product.

I hope that answers your question Pat, thanks for sparing me a hassle down the road!

Mike

Mike,

Geez I feel terrible for you having to change your site.. But I'm glad that you are in the clear. I myself would hope someone would let us know when the RIAA would start suing VO's for use of music in wedding videos or at least take the time to inform fellow board members new or old about possible issues. I do tell myself I mentioned it to protect your investment into your business. But I also feel terrible for doing in on the heels of your awesome montage. Which again is just fantastic..

I'm glad they were receptive to you and offered you time to make changes as needed and they didn't turn around and threaten any legal action, that would have just been a poor decision on their part considering the amount of sites that rip their stuff and here you come along and pony up and bring the issue to them.. They should have given you a discounted site for honesty, as in today's world sometimes that can be attributed to the term "priceless".

I can say that your actions and the road you took was more than admirable then I've seen others who opt for the other road, and hopefully when people search for "Honest Videographers" in this forum they run across this post and see their are still some left..

I tip my hat to you Mr. Mike Cook and applaud your actions.

Gosh Pat, that's a little too nice but thanks for the kind words. Karma is out there, gotta keep a heads up for it.

Don't feel bad, I thank you for doing exactly what you inteded - keeping me out of trouble down the road. All's clear now and that is how it ought to be.

Cheers!

Mike

Mike:

I have downloaded the AE eval and purchased the book (vol 1) you suggested. Can you point me a bit closer in the right direction? Maybe what part of the book I should be reading first?

I watched it again today and it's still absolutely awesome. Does it seem reasonable that I could replace some the images with moving video?

I want to make some of ther pictures "talk" when the camera flies up to them.

Thanks for your help on this,

KIM

Kim,

You can easily substitute video for the pictures. As far as where to start with the book, I hate to say it but the beginning would be my suggestion. They do a very good job using the whole building block technique and I don't think you would have a whole lot of luck just jumping forward to the 3D chapter.

As you go through the book you will start to figure out how to do it. The 3D space and camera moves sections would be the most pertinent.

Good luck!

Mike

WOW! I can't look at a cross dissolve the same way again. I'm floored. Theoretically you can retain the project file and swap out different picture/media elements for future clients, correct?
Very nice work.

Yes, I realize I am reviving a 9-month old thread :-)

Yeah.

I remember this one.

That is inspirational, that is.

Well done.


ian

i want to see this montage now...! is it still online anywhere?

I'd love to have you repost that piece also, Mike. For anyone looking for AE training, I highly recommend the Total Training set. Although I was familiar with AE and motion graphics in general, their 12 dvd set was thorough, clear and full of great shortcuts and ideas. Worth it's weight in motion graphics gold...

Hi Guy's....I am Mike's partner and we have decided not to post our photo montages for the time being. We have found some other's who copied our work (montage's) and are passing them off as their own creation. A couple bad apples left a bad taste in our mouth.

Thanks for your interest.
Joe