Category Archives: Blog
-
Quick Tip: Adding Motion Blur Into Your Video
No commentsHere’s a quick tip for adding motion blur into your live action video after filming. Also works for adding Motion blur into your 3D renders (like C4D stuff) in AE. Special thanks to Stu Maschwitz for taking the time to share some info and make suggestions.
And yeah – it’s shutter speed, not shutter rate. I [...]
-
Crowd Control Gets Props at Supermeet
1 commentCrowd Control received Rave reviews from Matt Silverman at last week’s FCP user’s Supermeet in San Francisco! Check it out at 21:00 (21 minutes and 0 seconds):
Hey… We’re just saying…
-
PS: Hands-On Control of Layer Styles
11 commentsA simple PS tip for hands-on control of your layer styles. Am I the only one that didn’t know this?
Special thanks to my buddy Jim Geduldick for IM’ing me last night with info on Screenr.
-
After Effects New York – January Meeting
2 commentsAfter Effects New York just held it’s January meeting, last Thursday. If you’re in or around New York, these FREE events are not to be missed. In this last meeting we had Stephen Neary and Tiny Inventions.
BTW – Tiny inventions did the They Might Be Giants music video, Electric Car. The car wasn’t signing autographs, [...]
-
Interview with John Knoll in Production
11 commentsLast week I was given the opportunity of a lifetime – a chance to sit down with visual effects legend John Knoll. I expected that talking to a man who has defined visual effects for the last 20 years would be a revelation – and I wasn’t disappointed. During the interview, we talked about a [...]
-
Animatics and the Importance of Preparation
10 commentsWhen preparing for the Holomatrix commercial film shoot, one of the things I was most concerned with was making sure the on-set director understood what I needed. The commercial was filmed in Australia, with me attending on Skype, but there is only so much direction you can give when you’re not actually on set.
So, to [...]
-
Holomatrix Commercial is Complete!
15 commentsI wrote and directed this commercial for Red Giant Software’s Holomatrix. It was filmed in Australia at Orion Media – the largest green screen studio in the southern hemisphere.You can learn more about how I filmed it from New York in this post.
Visual Effects and Audio work were then done at Outpost Pictures. I added [...]
-
Interview with John Knoll – Need Your Help!
24 commentsHi Folks – Next week, I’ll be flying out to San Francisco to interview John Knoll, for Red Giant TV. Unless you’ve been living in a cave free of VFX news, you know that John Knoll was ILM’s Visual Effects Supervisor for Avatar, Star Wars, and many other films. He is one of Hollywood’s most [...]
-
New Holomatrix Tutorial at Motionworks
1 commentJohn Dickinson, the “Tutorial Thunder from Down Under,” just posted a tutorial/project breakdown on his use of Holomatrix in several Terminator spots for FoxTel. he does some really interesting stuff with Holomatrix and Mattes. Check it out here.
-
Thank You for a Great 2009!
21 commentsIn this video, I just take a few moments to thank all of you for a great 2009, recap some of the bigger things that have happened here at allbetsareoff.com, and finally, to… well… why don’t you watch until the very VERY end to find out. You’ll definitely see a different side of me. That’s [...]
-
Innovate and Rock On!
7 commentsRemember when you were a kid and your parents told you to turn down that music, and do your homework instead? “You’re not going to learn anything important from Rock and Roll,” they said.
They were wrong. The most important things you could ever learn about success could come from a rock band. Here’s why:
Last [...]
-
Looking for Inspiration?
1 commentOften people ask me where to find inspiration. It’s a tough question to answer because each of us is inspired by different things. But when I hear someone I respect talk about something that inspires them to be more creative, I usually look into that (it doesn’t always work, but it can be a good [...]
-
Crowd Control Year End Sale!
3 commentsThe holidays are upon us, and we wanted to offer you a special holiday treat: 40% off Crowd Control, our library of pre-keyed alpha stock footage.
The sale ends on Thursday December 17, 2009 @ 12:00AM EST.
Use the code CCYE40 when purchasing, and you’ll be given 40% off the price of download credits. You can start [...]
-
My First Industry Experience
26 commentsIn this video, I’ll tell you about my first experience with the broadcast industry. Maybe it will inspire you to share yours. Feel free to post your story in the comments below, or to make a Vimeo video and paste the link in the comments.
Looking for other advice or inspiration? Don’t forget to read my [...]
-
Red Giant’s Secret Sale is On, Baby!!!
2 commentsThis was just posted on the Red Giant Software site – get 40% off EVERYTHING from Red Giant for the next 24 hours! That means 40% off Trapcode, Magiuc Bullet, Knoll, Warp… and everything else!
From Red Giant:
———-
We want to show our appreciation to all our dedicated fans with a Secret Sale. We are offering 40% [...]
-
You’re Not That Talented, and Other Advice
45 commentsLately, I’ve been asked to share a lot of career advice. I was interviewed at aetutsplus.com and on MotionWorks Unplugged, where I shared a few of my thoughts on getting work and being successful. But a few nights ago I was asked by my friend Jay Ignaszewski to sit down with a group of students [...]
-
“Ink” The Movie
7 commentsTwo nights ago, while browsing our Netflix “Watch Instantly” options, we found a new sci-fi/fantasy movie called “Ink.” I’d never heard of it, but it had really good ratings, so we added it to our Instant Queue. It was, of course an independent film, and while it didn’t have a big budget feel, it didn’t [...]
-
Looking for work? Check out the Motion Exchange.
No commentsMy good friend Harry Frank just started The Motion Exchange, a new social networking group for people in the motion graphics industry. If you’re looking for work, register there, and start connecting with other people who might just hire you. You can watch a video where Harry explains the Motion Exchange, by clicking on the [...]
-
Ask Aharon Rabinowitz – Episode 1
5 commentsA few months ago, I asked people to send in their questions about me, and that I would answer anything they asked (with the exception of a few things). Here the first video where I’ll do that (See description below):
Ask Aharon Rabinowitz is a low-budget show where people email Aharon with their questions and he [...]
-
Holomatrix and the B-FLoT Factor
1 commentI love plug-ins. They do cool stuff. Trapcode Particular – Boo yah! Knoll Light Factory Pro – Awesome. But some of my favorite plug-ins are of the B-FLoT variety – as in the Big Fricken Lot of Time you Save by using them.
For example, Red Giant Planespace is probably my favorite plug-in. There’s no real [...]
-
Holomatrix is Here!
9 commentsHolomatrix is here… but, alas, I’m not. I’m on my last day of vacation enjoying the beach. I’ll be telling you more about Holomatrix in the next few days, but in the mean time, check it out here, ad Red Giant Software.
-
Death Eater Apparition Effect
1 commentThere’s a new tutorial at Red Giant TV that shows you how to create the Death Eater Apparition Effect seen in the Harry Potter films. It may not look exactly like it, but it’s a really cool result, none the less. Very interesting manipulation of Trapcode Particular 2.
Michael also covers some color correction techniques, as [...]
-
I love the 80’s
6 commentsUPDATE: Video Rock is now available – get it here.
OK – that’s a terrible lie. When I was in the 80’s it was an awkward time. The chicks didn’t dig me. I wasn’t on the football team. I watched Dr. Who and Star Trek, and did lots of other geeky stuff. I was more of [...]
-
Working a Film Shoot from 10,355 Miles Away
10 commentsLast Sunday night, this was my schedule:
7:00 PM – Dinner with wife and daughter at home, in NYC
8:00 PM – Film Shoot in Melbourne, Australia
12:00 AM – Back home and brushing my teeth before bed
I know what you’re thinking: I probably should have brushed and flossed right after I ate. I allowed unsightly plaque to [...]
-
My Interview on Motionworks Unplugged
6 commentsHey folks – I had the pleasure of being interviewed by my good friend John Dickinson, of Motionworks, last week. In this up-close and funny chat, we discuss how I started in the industry and my years working with Creative Cow and now Red Giant Software.
I also talk about the online tutorial phenomenon, plus [...]