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Motion vs. After Effects
I have FCS, but have not played with Motion a lot yet. I’m very interested in learning how to become proficient with motion graphics, but am not sure whether I should go down the Motion road, or get After Effects instead. I hear a lot of people prefer After Effects over Motion. Just looking for some opinions…
-Joey
https://toadarray.com -
8 Replies
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It depends on what you want to do?
Check out my DVD Money Making Graphics & Effects for Final Cut Studio 2
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Basically I want to be able to create commercial type/level graphics, most probably for DVD title pages and intros to commercial type short movies.
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Me personally, I use both AE and Motion. I think if you can learn both you will be better off. That being said, I think Motion will work great for what you want to do and you already own it. If you decide to learn AE you will see that both programs look and operate in a somewhat similar fashion. Meaning that you can take a lot of what you learned in Motion into AE. I personally think Motion is a lot more powerful then most give it credit. For example, check out this TV Show Open I created. It was built in Motion. I could have built it in AE but I chose to do it in Motion because it offers a lot of great real time features that helped me build this faster. Hope this helps.
Check out my DVD Money Making Graphics & Effects for Final Cut Studio 2
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Stephen…that TV Show Open was great! Can I ask what version of Motion you’re working in? I currently have Motion 2 but got a glimpse of Motion 3 and see they’ve added some kind of 3D camera…I’m really interested in that. Love what you did there….great work.
Original Poster: I think the industry seems to favor AE more b/c of it’s history. So if you’re wanting to learn the software that can take you farther in your career, most companies are looking for people that can work in AE. Good Luck.
Amy
Commercial Producer
Sioux Falls, SD -
Amy, I used Motion 3. It is a major upgrade from 2 to 3. They added a lot. Thanks for the kind words, I was very happy with that open.
Check out my DVD Money Making Graphics & Effects for Final Cut Studio 2
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Joey-
There are many decisions to make in there. AE is an industry standard that will not be toppled anytime soon. Not only because of it’s history but, it is what every shop uses, what every artist uses and is well supported with fabulous plugins. It would be wise to learn AE if you are going to learn one tool. Motion is a great tool as well but, I would say it’s more like a plugin to FCP and AE in terms of it’s use at this point. Some will go to it for something specific and then bring that into a host program.
I would mention another tip, don’t ignore the conceptual either. Most of the high-end, beautiful work you see if not due to the AE amastery alone but, a good sense of design and type. I recommend spending time in that world as well if you really want to create that level of work.
-gl
Freelance Designer
http://www.georgeloch.com -
Joey –
George has hit the nail right on the head with his statement “don’t ignore the conceptual”. A strong sense of graphic design, composition, and typography will get you way further than a purely technical knowledge of which buttons to push, and which plugins to install.
Every design software package created should have a warning on the side that says “TALENT NOT INCLUDED”. There are far too many people who hang out their motion graphics shingle ten minutes after they’ve installed the software.
Joe Bourke
B&S Exhibits and Multimedia -
All points taken, processed, digested and saved. Thanks to everyone for their input. I definitely realize that the “concept” is 75% of the equation here. I just want to give myself a good direction to get started, as there is so much to learn. I am realizing that I want to approach this as a trade with earning potential, in addition to doing something that I just find interesting. Most of the freelancers that I work on various projects with are really talented and have covered most of the other areas, so I am seeing this as something which I can contribute on a more substantial level. AE seems interesting for several reasons – 1) the Adobe workflow. The designers I often do my web stuff with obviously use Adobe products, so it seems like it would promote the workflow a bit in that regard. I realize Motion is a very capable program, and I have been trying to use it and learn more about it as I go.
I think part of the problem with this stuff is just where to start. I use Lynda.com for my Flash and video projects, and that has served me really well. I see many “festival’s” and “seminars” that you can take an AE class for a few days, but I’m just not sure which are worthwhile, if any of them are to get started. My thinking now is to use Lynda to familiarize myself with fundamentals of Motion/AE, and once I have a grasp of that, then perhaps Advanced seminars might be of some value.
I am obviously brand new to motion graphics, so being able to get input from people that use it really helps. Thanks for the input everyone.
JW
TOAD ARRAY
https://toadarray.com
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