Thursday, August 26, 2010

Mocha Tutorials and Tests

1. http://tv.adobe.com/watch/after-effects-cs5-feature-tour/new-features-in-mocha/

I found this tutorial to be very helpful. The narrator was very clear as to what mocha's functions are and how to do something basic that can make a huge impact. I'm amazed at one simple feature of Mocha - the magnified points when dragging a new planar shape. That is HUGE. There is nothing more irritating than trying again and again to get a precise point or having to increase the size of the canvas up and down to get a point. The depth of field use is so simple but it makes a HUGE impact. I'm surprised by adding a simple gaussian blur, you can increase the intensity and visual value of the image. The only things I would say in the negative of the tutorial was the use of a PC and that the screen was blurry, especially when in full screen mode. The screen capture could have been much better.

2. http://www.imagineersystems.com/products/mocha4ae/mocha_AE_carl_larsen_seals.mov

This is much more expansive than the previous tutorial. It really is amazing how a scene can become something completely different. The tools are still the same as the previous tutorial but the ability is increased and expanded. This was very clear and concise. Despite the possible difficulty of doing well with this tool, it seems fairly easy and very straightforward. I don't know if I'll ever have to do something like this with video footage but the idea is still valuable for animation. The blurs added after mapping out the shapes should prove to be very useful for my work this semester.

3.











Cheap because he's stealing footage from some of the previous tutorials. And his voice is not soothing and comforting. Back on topic though. The only useful part of this for me was the very beginning with starting with a new file and locations of files. The rest is just a carbon copy of the Adobe tutorial. Kind of sad.

4. http://www.lynda.com/home/displaycourse.aspx?lpk2=61991

I used the mocha tutorial from this page to learn how to add something (graffiti to a wall in this tutorial) with motion tracking. Pretty straight forward and very clear. He also includes good information on just some of the quirks in Mocha. Very nice to know how some things differ from After Effects and what some things are a like.

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