Ever wondered why everytime you want to render a composition in After Effects that was done in 720p using the H.264 format for MPEG4’s that you get an error that looks like this?

Well the key statement in this error message is: Invalid framesize/framerate for this Level.  By default the H.264 settings are set to Level 3.0 which apparently doesn’t support your HD settings framesize or framerate, thus this annoying error plops up when you hit render. 

Some other sites out there claim the work around is to render your clip as a QT movie using the H.264 settings.  That work around sucks because your file size is still going to be quite large in comparison to what you get out of an MPEG4 and you’re still going to have a .mov extension.  The same people that tell you this works will also tell you the Animation render setting for QT movies in After Effects makes Lossless video.  I see that aLOT online and that drives me nuts because even though the Animation setting gives you great video with large file sizes it’s still compressed and not Lossless.  To make lossless clips you must chose ‘None’ for the compression type.  That’s all besides the point and just something that irritates me so I feel better now. 

If you would like to render out your HD comps in AE using the proper H.264 setting then please feel free to click the link below to view a screenshot of my render settings:

HD720p Render Settings for H.264 format Screengrab

I hope this helps keep the whiskey and gun in the top drawer of your desk for now.

A fellow designer I work with created a new blog to show off his collection of awesome work.  He has a very unique style where he takes cut-outs of hand drawings, paintings, whatever and layers them in epoxy resin to give a weird 3D effect to his work.  He uses just about anything as a canvas and has a style that reminds me of R. Crumb when it comes to what are the Many Faces of Lenny Spurr. Enjoy!

I’m not really a Devo fan and I even booed them back in 97′ when they openned up for Tool at lollapalooza because I wanted to see Tool not Devo, but I have to admit that they’re new video for Don’t Shoot (I’m a man) is pretty cool.  I’m not sure how they made this video, but it looks like the whole thing was done with After Effects.  The production for this video was made by an LA based studio called, Thumbwar. 

This is a very fun 2D animation that I wanted to share in the latest attempy by not just men, but yes… Devo.  Enjoy!

What to learn your Hexadecimal Color Codes?  Or maybe you just want to blindly test your intuition. Either way What the Hex? is a great place to go to do either of those things.  Have fun & you’re welcome.

I made this highly sarcastic wallpaper the other day for anybody that chanted, “Drill Baby Drill” during the presidential campaign of 08′.  To those who want oil-at-all-costs here’s my small gift. 

Download my BP Wallpaper: Resolution 1440×900 or 1280×720.

I was watching the Blackhawks Stanley Cup victory parade today on WGN and was so proud to see Chicago’s very own, Brad Chmielewski from Daily Planet have his work aired during the broadcast.  This is also the clip they play on the jumbo trons to pump up the crowd before games at the UC.  

I’m a huge Chicago sports fan and I was thinking of just how cool it would be to make something like this for a sports team the year they won the championship and it just makes me smile from ear to ear.  I just think it’s pretty damn cool so I wanted everyone to see Brad’s Blackhawks spot and check out more of his work at Digitalhitchhiker.com

Enjoy!

I saw this cool post about something that I think about everytime I watch TV, nothing’s real.  Dennis Mars posted this compositing breakdown reel from Stargate Studios and it’s really cool to see just how fake everything we watch really is.

Click here to watch the Nothing on TV is Real post on Dennis’s site.

Enjoy!

If you’ve been watching the Winter Olympics like I have you’ve noticed how awesome the motion work is.

David Barton was the lead designer responsible for creating these awesome graphics.  I’m not sure what programs he used, but it would appear to me that the perfect fit would be C4D and AE for this job because of how he incorporates video with his 3D graphics which works really well when rendering out passes from Cinema and importing them into After Effects for compositing.

If you’re interested in recreating these graphics there’s an awesome tutorial at Grey Scale Gorilla where Nick Campbell shows you how to make the ice cube which is the center theme in the Olympics in Cinema 4D.  In the tutorial Nick uses displacement maps to achieve the cubes wavy texture.  He does some great on-the-spot problem solving showing off how quick he is which I really appreciate.  In the second tutorial on the topic he’ll take what he makes in Cinema and composite it in After Effects to achieve the second look.

If you like doing motion work for sports a great place to visit is the Graphics Mafia website.  Some pretty awesome stuff there worth checking out if you have some spare time and this subject matter interest you.

While on the topic I may as well link up a cool site by Garus Booth that has tutorials in Cinema 4D and After Effects.  I bring up this site because it’s where I first learned about Graphics Mafia so I thought you may be interested as well and check him out because his site and tutorials are pretty cool.

Schawk/Giannini Creative is pleased to be hosting the next Chicago C4D meeting on Wednesday March 3 at 6:30pm. There will be food, giveaways and a presentation by one of our CGI artists, Sebastian Szyszka, on creating the rendering and animation of a Motorola phone that we did here in our studio.  We are located right in the Loop at Dearborn and Madison (above Sears).

There is no free parking available at the building, but there are pay lots nearby and we are close to the CTA. We hope everyone can join us for a fun time and a lively discussion.

We’d like to have an idea of how many people to expect, so please RSVP
via email to Chicagoc4d@gmail.com.

Hello Everyone and thank you for visiting my new site.

Check back frequently for new post to my Video and Blog categories.  I plan to also begin posting tutorials in After Effects, Cinema 4D and Photoshop so stay tuned and be sure to check in regularly for new postings.

If you are interested in hiring me for freelance work please visit my About and Contact pages to learn more about who I am and how to get in touch with me.

Please feel free to leave me comments on any of my postings and I look forward to hearing from you.