graymachine

snippets, blips and clips from the inner turbines of graymachine.

Tree Killer of the Week: Kinko’s

I try to conserve as much as the next guy. If I can avoid printing a receipt or confirmation, I’ll opt for that. If I can simply email or use a USB drive to transfer a document rather than burning a CD or DVD, I’ll take that option. Granted, there are resources used either way, but I still like to think that I am doing some sort of good by not needing to chop down a tree to print out a boarding pass to get on a plane to pollute the environment even more.


How weird. It’s 2010 and we chop down trees to document stuff. And we burn oil to get places.  Anyway….


Recently, I uploaded a document to Kinko’s to print a proof of some artowrk I was producing. The artwork was 8’ x 20’. Yeah, you read that right. This isn’t a Spinal Tap style mistake, swapping feet for inches. It was a 20 foot wide vinyl banner. Now, what correlation a small paper print has to a 20’ vinyl print is beyond me, but it’s my own fault. It was a rush job, and although artwork was sent via FTP, I inquired in an email “Do you need me to overnight a proof print to you?”. I was thinking the response would be “Oh no, don’t bother.” Instead it was “Hey, that would be great.

Now, I don’t do a massive amount of print. I have a half-decent printer. But, my attempts to spit out an ink-jet print proof of my banner were pretty bad. So, after checking to make sure my colors were properly inspected, infected and neglected, I decided to send the print off to Popcopy to have an 11x17 print made, and then FedEx out! Hey isn’t that convenient. Now they are in the same spot.

The process is pretty easy, actually. You upload a PDF, specify what you want, pick your local Popcopy where you’d like to pick it up. And bam.

What struck me was the vast amount of waste involved. I was handed a large paper bag including my 2 prints (one for me and one for client), 9 pages of receipts/confirmations/payment info, a 2 page brochure on why I should send my prints to Kinko’s (?), another sticky note saying something about the person that printed it, plus my FedEx receipts. Altogether, I used maybe 15 pages of paper to print this, not including the tube I sent it in, plus the additional paperwork needed to FedEx it.

Really? Can’t you just email this to me? At this point, I’ve already produced the artwork, gotten approval, uploaded it, confirmed it online and paid for it.

Next time around, I’ll see if I can get them to not waste this much paper. Or, maybe I just won’t suggest the proof print.

Don’t try to be original. Try to be good

—Paul Rand

Why did I never notice this? Often in my workflow I’ll solo a layer in After Effects to check one thing or another. Way too many times, I’ve left this switch on and submitted a render, only to find that I’ve only rendered the layer with the solo switch enabled. In the Render Queue, there’s actually a setting to tell the Render Queue to ignore Solo Switches! Go to Edit > Templates > Render Settings…  Click “Edit..” and change solo switches to “All Off”. Seriously, how often do you render out a solo layer? On the rare occasion that you need it, you can always enable it in another template setting, or manually in the Render Queue.

Why did I never notice this? Often in my workflow I’ll solo a layer in After Effects to check one thing or another. Way too many times, I’ve left this switch on and submitted a render, only to find that I’ve only rendered the layer with the solo switch enabled.

In the Render Queue, there’s actually a setting to tell the Render Queue to ignore Solo Switches! Go to Edit > Templates > Render Settings…  Click “Edit..” and change solo switches to “All Off”.

Seriously, how often do you render out a solo layer? On the rare occasion that you need it, you can always enable it in another template setting, or manually in the Render Queue.

Harry Frank Joins Red Giant

Dear Readers,

As many of you well know, my current professional career is split between two distinct sides of the same coin. One one side, I mostly spend my days working as a freelance motion designer. This has garnered many memorable experiences of working with tremendously talented people — from my roots, working with the unrelenting post-production and design professionals of Detroit, to Digital Kitchen in Chicago’s cold winter, and on to great studios like Blur Studio here in sunny LA. From National Geographic, to NBC, to TV Land, I’ve seen all the nooks and crannies of the life that a motion designer can see. But I’ve reached a point where adding one more big name isn’t going to improve anything for me, especially my happiness.

On that other side of the coin, I’ve been involved with communities that focus on learning, sharing, connecting and growing as a motion designer and visual effects artist. Graymachine and The Motion Exchange have been very personal endeavors of mine, and I have thoroughly enjoyed learning and growing, side-by-side with you.

When I study the two sides of my career coin, it is now obvious what has always brought me more joy. I’ve learned that happiness is not found along the path of making reality show graphics, sizzle reels, or commercials for sugar water. It is not found in the daily stress of courting new clients, while trying to get existing clients to pay their overdue invoices, while juggling three jobs that are all over budget. It is not found in a job where last minute changes and late nights that keep me from reading my son a bedtime story.

I’ve only been bestowed a small number of gifts in life, among them my wonderful wife and awesome little boy. But, another is my ability to understand the ambiguous, imagine the creative, and bridge the two together. I’m somehow also able to put this process into words for others to understand. But I fear, if I continue to use my talents to create cultural pollution for television, I’ll have little to show as a legacy for myself, nor will I feel like I’ve done much good with my time on this planet. Nearing my 37th year on Earth, it’s time to make a change.


In short, I am largely leaving the world of freelance motion design. I am proud to announce that I will be joining Red Giant Software on a full-time basis. Since this career epiphany hit me last Fall, I had been determined to find a partner that sees eye-to-eye with what I want to accomplish in my career, and support what I value in life. I am so grateful to have been working with this great company for years, and I am humbled to be extended an invitation to join them.


In partnering with RGS, my efforts will be focused on helping you find the right tool or idea for your next job, film or project. And no other company represents this set of artistic set of tools more completely, especially with what we have collectively planned for 2010.  I’m excited to share this new opportunity with you. So, follow me, and I will continue to do what I do here — help others — without the hurried pressure to “get back to work.”  Talk to you soon!

This is a work-in-progress experiment using Particular and Form to create a freely moving tunnel. The motion is driven with expressions, without any keyframes. The color is driven by the music. It’s not quite there yet, perhaps because of the music selection.

Once tweaked, I’ll post the project and some variations for download.

Madame Tutli-Putli is a fascinating short film using stop motion, yet every character has photographic human eyes added in the production process, adding a very expressive element to the characters.

MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI

1990: How multilayered graphics work. This makes me grateful for After Effects.

AENY Tomorrow!

Giving away some Video Rock tomorrow at AENY. All you NYC folks get out and see @nickvegas work some great motion design and win some cool stuff!!