What's the real state of the Motion Design Industry? At this point you’ve probably already seen the results our 2017 Motion Design Industry Survey. If not, go check it out... In the survey we asked Motion Designers from around the industry about their experience. There was actually quite a bit of data that wasn’t included in the survey or infographic so we thought it’d be fun to put together a podcast sharing the results. In the podcast we talk about everything from the gender pay gap to the most popular After Effects channels on YouTube. Prepare to learn something new... https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/podcast-motion-design-industry

It seems like just about everyone’s job is threatened by automation, but what if automation is the secret to getting more MoGraph work out into the world? What if you could edit an entire After Effects composition from a spreadsheet? Then even if you’re an accountant you could get amazing MoGraph sequences in only a matter of minutes. Sounds pretty cool right? Our next podcast guest has done just that with a sweet company called MoShare. MoShare is the pet-project of Fraser Davidson a founder of the incredible Cub Studio. Fraser’s experience working with sports clients led him to seize an opportunity in the Motion Design market. As a result he is able to steady out his studio's income between projects. Along the way Fraser talks about the modern realities of running a studio and talks about his background in the industry. It’s going to leave you inspired and ready to start your own side projects. https://schoolofmotion.com/blog/fraser-davidson-interview

Can drugs make you a better artists? We'e been programed our entire lives to believe that only harm can come from drugs. The thought is, if it causes you to have a chemical reaction in your brain it must be bad for you, but maybe that's not always the case... On this podcast we're talking with animator/director Caspian Kai about the potential benefits of psychedelics in Motion Design. Instead of drugs, Caspian likes to use the term tool, because psychedelics can be used as a tool to create some amazing art. The podcast talks about the physical effect of these different tools on your art. It's a wild ride and you're definitely going to learn something new. Check out the show notes here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/caspian-kai-psychedelics

Have you ever had a director say 'I shouldn't have hired you...'? Our guest today is proof that hard work can get you anywhere. Andrew Vucko (pronounced Voo-co) is killing it in the Motion Design world. He's had big-name clients like Facebook, Toyota and Patreon. His work is consistently featured on Motionographer. And he's an all-around great guy. For Vucko, animation school was simply not an option. So how did he get to where he is today? And what advice does Vucko have for someone looking to get deeper into the Motion Design industry? All of these questions will be answered in this weeks podcast. So grab a snack, a comfy chair, and a notepad. Vucko's dropping knowledge bombs for over an hour. Check out the episode on our site: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/vucko-interview

Motion Graphics covers a huge range of skills... Like design, animation, editing, directing, 3D, and much more. There’s a lot of work that goes into one piece, and often there’s a huge team behind some of the best work out there. But occasionally you’ll find a Unicorn in this industry, someone who can do a lot more than just design or animate. In this episode of our Podcast we talk to Onur Senturk, a Turkish born director who is best known for his work on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo titles. Onur’s skills are not limited to directing alone, he also designs, animates, and he understands the most technical parts of using 3D software. In this interview Joey digs into Onur’s brain and tries to figure out how he comes up with the incredible visuals that he's known for, and how he juggles the conceptual and creative side of this field with the really technical side. They get into the nitty gritty of what it's like to direct for Motion Graphics, working all over the world, and even how much you can make being a director for MoGraph. If you're curious what it's like to direct in this industry you will get a ton out of this episode. Check out the show notes for this episode here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/beyond-the-dragon-tattoo-directing-for-mograph-onur-senturk

Have you ever wanted to work with no pants on… No commuting, no clients, just you and your creativity cranking out cool stuff and then making tutorials. Sounds like the dream, right? It totally is, and School of Motion is not the only place where that dream is a reality. There are quite a few places with people making a living off of tutorials including our good buddy Nick Campbell, founder of Greyscalegorilla. In this episode Nick goes deep into what it’s like making a living off of creating amazing tutorials and other products to help the MoGraph community. He tells the story of how Greyscalegorilla got its start, how he built it into what it is today, and gives some great practical advice on how to take the leap into starting your own business. Hint: It’s not as simple as sitting in your PJ’s making cool stuff. Check out this episode on our site: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/how-to-be-a-greyscale-gorilla-nick-campbell

DP's are like real-world 3D artists. Think about it. They have to take a three-dimensional world and use cameras and lights and objects and people to produce an image that is two-dimensional. It's a difficult task, and anyone who's ever opened up Cinema 4D understands the challenge in using 3D tools to create an image that isn't 3D. Mike Pecci is a master of his craft. He's a Director and D.P. who has been creating stunning imagery for clients as varied as Bose and Killswitch Engage. In this episode of our podcast Mike talks about ways to think about camera and lighting (among other things) that have helped him learn to hone his image-making ability. All of this knowledge can be translated into 3D, and if you use Cinema 4D you're going to want to take notes. Check out the show notes here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/lighting-and-camera-tips-from-a-master-dp-mike-pecci

Design sure is hard, ain't it? That's one of the reasons we built Design Bootcamp. In that course we dig into the principles of design but, more importantly, how to apply those principles in the real world. Knowing color theory is great, but when you're looking at a blank screen in Photoshop it's not enough to know what a triad color scheme is... you need to have some tricks up your sleeve to make the design process happen on your client's schedule. Part of the Design Bootcamp experience is the course podcast. All of our big courses have them, and we interview some of the industry's best artists so we can dig as much knowledge and as many workflow tips as possible out of them. Normally registered students of these courses get to hear these episodes, but we wanted to share some of the amazing content with you. In this episode, we've compiled some of the best tips from over 12 hours of Design Bootcamp podcast audio. You'll hear from Kevin Dart, Joe Donaldson, Bee Grandinetti, Ryan Moore and Andrew Brown of Gretel, Erica Gorochow, and My Tran. Check the show notes for links to their work, and check out Design Bootcamp for the full podcast series and an incredible Design education. Check out the show notes here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/design-tips-from-designers

We’ve all been there… You’re working on a project in After Effects and BAM, brick wall. After Effects just doesn’t have the feature that you need. It’s times like this that we all turn to places like aescripts + aeplugins, and to the real MoGraph heros, the plugin and script developers. They create the tools that we Motion Designers need to get our jobs done, or maybe just make our lives easier. If you’ve ever used an AE plugin, script, or expression you’re going to want to check out this interview with Zack Lovatt. You might not know him by name, but you probably know some of the tools that he’s worked on, like Flow and Explode Shape Layers. In this episode of our Podcast Joey gets the inside scoop on what it’s like to be a plugin developer for After Effects. They talk about everything you could want to know about becoming a developer, from how to get started to how much you can make (hint; it’s more than just beer money), and even what the future of developing tools for After Effects might look like. Check out this episode on our site: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/how-much-do-after-effects- script-developers-make-a-chat-with-zack-lovatt

Nuke is the better tool... ...for compositing. After Effects is king in many areas (like animation) that are important to us Motion Designers, but Nuke is a far more powerful tool for compositing things like VFX and 3D passes. Now, as a Motion Designer you might think that knowing compositing is a waste of your time, but if you’ve hung around School of Motion long enough you know that compositing is a super important skill that every MoGrapher should know at least a little bit of. Not only will you be able to land more jobs, you’ll also be able to think like a compositor which is a very valuable skill to have in your arsenal. Compositing Pro-Tips from a Master. In this episode of our Podcast Joey is going to pick the brain of Hugo Guerra, who is an absolute compositing genius. Hugo is so good at what he does that he ran the entire Nuke division at The Mill in London. He also has a YouTube channel called Hugo’s Desk where he shows you how to composite like a pro. Hugo drops a TON of knowledge bombs in this one and by the end of it you’ll be itching to dive deep into the compositing world, and maybe even learn some Nuke yourself. Check out this episode on our site: http://www.schoolofmotion.com/smoke-without-fire-compositing-pro-tips-hugo-guerra/