Video Copilot started over 4 years ago in my bedroom and transitioned into a 1-room office suite. After a few years of we have decided to close our doors... for about 20 minutes :)

So that we can reopen at a new location more suited for creative freedom.

As much as I dislike moving, I'm looking forward to the new office and studio space. It's no ILM but there are a few offices and a nice space for filming and even a greenscreen. We'll be moving this weekend and start at the new location on Monday.

The truth is, Video Copilot has grown to over 30% in the last 3 months and we have no intention of going anywhere! Besides there is still soda in the fridge.

Not to mention a few extra copies of the most amazing collection ever made:
Action Essentials 2

But what if your worst fear came true?

Chances are, if you hear sound through anything other than the speaker inside of your desktop tower, you probably have at least stereo sound. That's good.

You might notice that when you watch Gone in 60 Seconds, some car sounds travel from one speaker to the next as it passes by. This is called the end of Nicholas Cage's career but also the sound mixing technique is called panning.

In a continuing effort to waste your time I have devised a preset that will automatically PAN a sound or music based on a layers screen space position. I'm still working out a few bugs but I'll post the presets when I can. My mind has been thinking about expressions a lot lately and I might have some more experiments to post as well. Until then.

Watch the Super-Chopper

UPDATE:

Here are the settings used for this comp. You can control the low & high output so that the audio doesn't cut out completely. I probably wouldn't mix my audio in AE but this was a fun experiment indeed. With a little more work it could be setup like the 3D falloff preset to fade the audio as the object travels away in Z space. Right now it is screen space (2d).

What isn't a compositor might be a better question to ask but let's keep this article on point. In short a compositor is responsible for fusing together elements such as live action footage, 3d animation, stock footage and other sources into a single picture. Sometimes the goal is photo-realism for a motion picture and other times the goal is to exaggerate the world for a TV spot.

A good comparison might be the job of a weldor. Wikipedia has a curious description that I found particularly useful:

"Welders typically have to have good dexterity and attention to detail, as well as some technical knowledge about the materials being joined and best practices in the field."

In order to complete some shots, a compositor might take on other responsibilities such as modeling and rendering a 3D object or element. Similarly, a weldor might need to fabricate a special tool or object needed for a custom vehicle manipulation.

When a weldor is combining various parts of a bicycle frame, it is important that the parts are fused together properly or the bicycle might just fall apart. Much like a visual effects shot that is not sound, you may see it fall apart on screen.

Knowing the tools and understanding the related jobs of this industry might just answer questions you didn't know you had. Never stop learning and developing new techniques.

Wikipedia also has a note regarding weldors:

"Welders are also often exposed to dangerous gases and particulate matter."

But I won't get into that.

John over at Motionworks just posted part 2 of our interview where we talk about some interesting challenges and the future of Video Copilot.

Watch Interview

I'm just finishing some fx for a client that are taking a little longer than expected but things are looking good now. I've got some fun tips and info I'll be posting on the blog in a slightly new format for short screen recorded tips. I'm also getting the rest of my project elements together for an exciting look at bar graphs in After Effects. (Trust me it's more fun than it sounds)