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BrightPhoton brings AI to life with Nodes 3 in After Effects
Award-winning motion designer, Pierre Magnol (aka BrightPhoton), joins us again to tell us about his new project using Yanobox Nodes. We have previously featured Pierre’s work on the promo video for the Falcon 8X from Dassault Aviation and Orchestra.
Pierre’s latest video was created to express depression in artificial intelligence … will it be depressed like us?
What was the goal of the project? How did you get this cool project?
A the very beginning, I gathered a lot of my research on patterns and fractals that I had done back in June for a commercial.
At the same time I had a discussion with a friend about AI. Will artificial intelligence have a mental representation for their own consciousness or about what they think? I imagined that those mental projections would look like. I sat down and wrote a quick story with a few words to translate the emotional state of mind of an depressed AI.
How much time did you have?
From the concept to the final edit it took about 3 weeks
What tools / Workflow did you use?
My personal workflow, which I use for my personals projects, is different than the workflow I use when working with clients.
For clients, it has to be strong, fluid and malleable until the end of the production. So typically, it’s Photoshop >> AE >> C4D >> back into AE >> and at-last edit in Adobe Premiere.
When I work for myself.. it looks more like a chaotic storm. I use C4D extensively and AE together at the same time! I love to generate “accidents” and give them a logic sense to then serve my purpose. So I always go back and forth between 2d and 3d mixing them together.
I regularly create one render.. then mix it with an effect, and then I go back and forth, until I obtain something that inspires me.. It’s a bit like a painting… I’m looking for the juxtaposition of layers.
So this is not an orthodox approach, so I have some trouble explaining it to others, as most of the time I can not explain it myself. 🙂
What shots did you use Nodes for in the project?
Nodes, even if it’s not very obvious, is used in almost every shot. Sometimes with a typical nodes look, sometimes disguised, under many layers of distortions.
What’s new about Nodes 3 that you got to use in this project?
The replicator is a strong addition. I use it a lot to duplicate obj sequences I created in C4D. Very powerful.
Why are tools like nodes cool and how do they change the creative approach and workflow with clients?
What I like most about Nodes is that it allows me to explore new ways to represent data. Nodes is a tool where you can create a specific look you had thought about beforehand, but you can also dive in and tinker and have the results inspire you.
Bright Photon is Pierre Magnol
Pierre started his career in 1998 as a video and film editor for Le Groupe Canal + before moving on to the wonderful world of graphic design for several broadcast channels and luxury brands. Macro photography and beautiful lighting are two constants throughout much of his work, as Pierre constantly strives to bring a unique perspective to each and every piece, whether it be live photography, computer graphics, or hand crafted images.
“How to light a scene, subject or even character is very important because what is revealed is as important as what it is not…. Every single product or person is the source of a precious history that deserves to be illuminated.”
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