Movies, Screenwriting & Independent Film
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What makes an Athletic Nerd?

You can easily separate my professional life into two distinct categories:

  1. Sports
  2. Movies

Essentially, I’m a professional editor working for a sports network and an independent filmmaker.  It’s a perfect combination.  An athletic side and a nerdy side.

Whether I’m watching the game or the latest blockbuster, I’m surrounded by compelling stories on a daily basis.

I can’t get enough.

Recently, I witnessed Blue Jays pitcher Shaun Marcum almost pitch a no hitter.  It was the second close call in a week with Brandon Morrow coming within one out of the feat.  (17 strikeouts more than made up for it though.)

The energy in the studio during these moments is unreal. It’s the reason I’m excited to go to work every day.

I fell the same way when a movie is about to begin.

It’s a craving.

In this way, there really isn’t a huge difference between a hardcore sports fan and a film buff.  It’s the stories that fascinate us.

For every Lebron James there is a Luke Skywalker. For every championship team there is an Oscar winning performance.  There are bench clearing brawls and incredible action sequences.

We witness underdog stories on both sides and marvel as iconic heroes and villains put everything on the line every single game and film.

It’s the stories that keep us coming back for more.

Every single day, I watch sports and movies and I’m still completely fascinated by the events that unfold.  It’s also challenging being in a position to tell these stories on a daily basis. I could be editing a highlight package or writing a screenplay.  Either way, I’m being creative and loving every second of it.

Sports and Movies.

Athletes and Nerds.

Stories.

PS: I almost feel bad for calling myself a nerd because I love film but I remind myself that being a nerd these days is a badge of honor.  I’m proud to be a nerd.

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Spotlight: Video Copilot

October 6th, 2009 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Design | Technology - (0 Comments)

The day I found out about After Effects and what it could do I almost passed out.

My best estimate is that I was around 13 or 14 years old.  The thought of being able to create your own light saber effect blew my mind.

We even planned our own Star Wars short film. (It never saw the light of day.)

The possibilities were endless but I never laid eyes on the software until about 4 years ago.

I bought the software off eBay for a crazy price and couldn’t wait to add motion graphics to 17 West’s upcoming films.  Then I installed the package and was devastated.  I had no clue what I was doing.  I’m not a motion graphics designer.  I didn’t even know where to begin.  Too many buttons.  It’s extremely demoralizing to stare at a screen with no direction.  So I started searching through websites and sifting through books.  Within a few months, I had developed quite a large library of resources and tutorials.  At the top of the list?

Video Copilot

Andrew Kramer is probably the most recognizable After Effects teacher in the world.  He has created a perfect place for beginners.  Every video tutorial and blog post is detailed and geared to the demoralized designers with blank screens.

Before I had my own office, my computer was usually two feet from my bed.  (Nerd Alert) I used to cue up his tutorials before bed and learn the essential techniques to create images that don’t suck.  A perfect example is 17 West’s opening animation seen here on the big screen or here in HD.  That took me about 3 days to complete but I can honestly say about 80% of that came from skills I learned at Video Copilot.  I’m even messing around with some new 3D effects to update it a little bit.

What really makes this site the number 1 motion graphics site is it’s products.  I’ve purchased about 5 of them now including the newly released Action Essentials 2.  It’s a collection of elements such as dust, explosions and smoke.  Sounds useless to most but a lot of those elements are coming in handy as I create a more atmospheric demo reel. (Coming soon…)  Access to these kinds of pre-matted and ready to use graphics instantly raise the production values.  I don’t have time to go out and shoot HD footage of dust and smoke!

I make no claims that I’m a motion graphics designer but because of Video Copilot and several other sites and books I’m able to finally realize the dreams of my 13 year old self.  I haven’t made any lightsabers yet but it’s nice to know I can if I want to.

actionessentials

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