Re: Bill O' Neil's "Big Ten" questions... by April Henderson on Mar 24, 2008 at 8:18:53 pm
Thanks for that little bit of info. One of the most confusing things for me is the way he made apparently beveled edges on the stage. Does photoshop a lot you to create 3d objects? And does AFX allow you to import them?
Re: Bill O' Neil's "Big Ten" questions... by Ron Lindeboom on Mar 24, 2008 at 9:17:01 pm
You can learn a lot more about the actual set-up and design by reading Bill O'Neil's companion (part two) article that he did for Creative COW Magazine's "Commercials" issue, on page 18.
Click the magazine link in the orange bar above and you will find the magazine PDfs there.
Now in the COW Magazine: Commercials. A look at the history, strategy, techniques and production workflows of successful commercials. All brought to you by some of the COW's brightest members. Accept no substitutes!
Re: Bill O' Neil's "Big Ten" questions... by Bill ONeil on Mar 24, 2008 at 9:46:24 pm
There were no 3D plug-ins used in creating this world. The beveled stage is a flat layer as with everything else in the scene. As I have mentioned in a few tutorials here, that shadowing is what makes it look real. I created most of the stage shadows and small details in Photoshop for each set piece.
The video screen appears concave because it is broken into 4 layers and arranged as such.
An athletic camera movement forgives many of these fake 3D set pieces.
Now in the COW Magazine: Commercials. A look at the history, strategy, techniques and production workflows of successful commercials. All brought to you by some of the COW's brightest members. Accept no substitutes!
Re: Bill O' Neil's "Big Ten" questions... by April Henderson on Mar 24, 2008 at 11:05:20 pm
Wow..what an honor to hear from you Bill.
The Big Ten Vid is inspiring to me every time I see it.
If all of those stage layers of yours are 2D, it's incredible how well they fit together.
The 2d parts that you created in Photoshop, did you reassemble them in AFX into 3d objects, the way a person could take 6 layers and make a cube in AFX.
I can't get over the realism of those 2d beveled edges.
How about the stage surface? It looks awesome and unbelievably real!!
Basically I'm trying to do something kind of similar for a really excellent band that needs a marketing boost. I'm having quite a time with it.
Thanks for all the advice. I've read through articles. In my case, I think seeing would be believing!!
Re: Bill O' Neil's "Big Ten" questions... by Bill ONeil on Mar 24, 2008 at 11:37:19 pm
April [April Henderson]"did you reassemble them in AFX into 3d objects, the way a person could take 6 layers and make a cube in AFX."
Exactly. I sized the set pieces in Photoshop so that they would assemble easily in the 3D world.
[April Henderson]"How about the stage surface? It looks awesome and unbelievably real!!"
The stage is just a texture that I shadowed, tiled, beveled and added the Big Ten logo. The logo actually flashes letter by letter. The stage has 2 tiers and a rail toward the rear. The more details the better in creating the illusion.
The stage lights pointing up are simply colored gradients in the shape of a cone that I placed along the perimeter of the stage. I flashed them on and off using opacity keyframes.
You can find the spot on my website or here on the Big Ten tutorial page.
Thanks for the nice words. I'm always happy to share tricks with everyone!
Re: Bill O' Neil's "Big Ten" questions... by April Henderson on Mar 25, 2008 at 1:04:40 am
Allright, next questions:
(am slowing building a a very mediocre stage...basically just square boxes...hahah)
I see a need to learn a lot more about photoshop. In fact, I don't even have it.
Does photoshop allow you to import 3d objects with curves? Like parts of the stage look so curved. Are they really curved 3d objects or just an illusion of that?
(The boxes I put together seem to leak through the cracks!!)
Lastly, can anyone direct me to a cool looking stage surface texture? Sorry am such a novice. Anything downloadable?
Re: Bill O' Neil's "Big Ten" questions... by Bill ONeil on Mar 25, 2008 at 2:25:11 am
[April Henderson]"parts of the stage look so curved. Are they really curved 3d objects or just an illusion of that?"
That's the hitch with AE 3D. There are no curved surfaces. It's all simulated from flat art. The cracks between the layers is typical. You have to be really precise in aligning layers. It helps to have a dark background and to create surfaces that are darker at the edges.
I'm sure there are plenty of sites tha offer textures but if you learn how to work with Photoshop, you will be able to create them yourself especially with the aid of your own photos.
