Back to my Roots

Starting the XR workflow with a first experiment in Cinema 4d.

I have to admit, my first love was not product design. As a kid I created videos from whatever I could get my hands on. These started as stop motion with poker chips but later grew to professional projects. Although my love of filmmaking has shifted to product design, I was eager to refresh my keyframing skills and venture into the world of 3d motion graphics. Our assignment was to take the existing Studio logo and make an animation with it.

Camera, lights, action

With any video project getting your scene set first is key. I began by creating a 35mm camera and placing it in the scene. After setting the world I came up with a simple animation scheme that would add color to the text. The letters would slide into the logo square and slide out colorized. The logo square used negative space to create the icon which allows viewers to see through it. This became a problem as the letters were still visible when they went into the logo square. To solve this I added a black plane perpendicular to the ground. After adjusting the z-dimension location of the objects this issue was solved.

Be smooth now

Any project involving keyframes requires a smoothness. Without adjusting these aspects the animation comes off very aggressive. This lackluster appearance immediately takes viewers out of the experience. Such easing is essential in UX designs. By giving life into simple animations digital experiences can grow to have character.

Light it up

After getting the object and camera animations set it was time to light. Leaning again on my experience in video, I started with a simple three point light setup. Although this looked nice I wanted a grander sense of depth. I added two direct rim lights placed extremely far back. Coloring and diffusing these lights added a much needed sense of environment to the piece.

I enjoyed stepping back into the world of video and am excited to see how the XR ecosystem can balance these interests.