Creative Director and partner of Ranger & Fox has been producing outstanding motion design work competing with the top studios globally. Blair dives into Brett’s creative process specifically for the Pause 2016 motion response. The conversation also looks into the many benefits of presenting at festivals and conventions.


 


Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd


01.20 - Node presentation


03.10 - Fatherhood and running a studio


03.20 - School Of Motion interview with Brett


03.40 - Flexible lifestyle: Brett's decision to set up his own studio was driven by his desire to have more freedom to spend time with his new-born.


04.40 - The burden of running a studio. The bigger the studio, the bigger the burden: Brett and Stephen are currently keeping Ranger and Fox small, so they can best balance it with family life.


05.50 - Freelance vs small studio comparison


06.40 - The downside of freelancing


06.55 - How owning a studio can help you build a brand and deepen your relationships with your clients (see Chris Do on this subject on the Motion Hatch podcast)


07.30 - How does a studio get work? How one big client enabled them to build the "foundation" of Ranger and Fox


08.30 - The business foundations of Ranger and Fox: business structure, lawyer, bookkeeper are now in place, in 2018 the focus will be on winning new clients.


09.00 - The necessity of creating internal projects (eg the Pausefest piece they made) in order to push themselves technically and creatively.


10.15 - Blair: "A big part of being a motion designer is understanding, looking for work, connecting, knowing what great work is out there, but you [also] need to [learn how to] connect with clients"


10.45 - Pausefest: Ranger & Fox "always aspired to be better designers than we were. The way you do that is to throw yourself into a project that scares the living s##t out of you. (For a broader take on this topic see K. Anders Ericsson’s book)


11.20 - Confidential Awards show package


12.55 - The problem with open briefs


13.25 - Mysticism book by a group called "Movement"


14.05 - Ranger & Fox’s creative process for the Pausefest piece


16.00 - Colour script


16.37 - Brett's sources of inspiration: from outside the world of motion design.


18.20 - Music videos as sources of inspiration


20.30 - Personal projects as an "almost essential" means of taking big steps forward in finding your style/voice


21.08 - “It takes a long time for you to understand the syntax of the art/medium.” First learn the skills, then express yourself.


23.10 - Blair: "Creativity is an exploration of mistakes to find what you like and what you're going to pull together"


23.40 - Blair on advising young students: "You don't know what you don't know yet" ..."You've just got to dive in"


24.20 - "If you stay hungry [as a motion designer], you've got lifelong creative challenges ahead of you, that not many industries offer"


27.30 - Maxon Cineversity Ident piece by Ranger & Fox.


27.50 - "Restraints are liberating"


28.40 - Node ident competition


30.00 - Node entry by

Creative Director and partner of Ranger & Fox has been producing outstanding motion design work competing with the top studios globally. Blair dives into Brett’s creative process specifically for the Pause 2016 motion response. The conversation also looks into the many benefits of presenting at festivals and conventions.


 


Show Notes: Compiled by Matt Lloyd


01.20 - Node presentation


03.10 - Fatherhood and running a studio


03.20 - School Of Motion interview with Brett


03.40 - Flexible lifestyle: Brett's decision to set up his own studio was driven by his desire to have more freedom to spend time with his new-born.


04.40 - The burden of running a studio. The bigger the studio, the bigger the burden: Brett and Stephen are currently keeping Ranger and Fox small, so they can best balance it with family life.


05.50 - Freelance vs small studio comparison


06.40 - The downside of freelancing


06.55 - How owning a studio can help you build a brand and deepen your relationships with your clients (see Chris Do on this subject on the Motion Hatch podcast)


07.30 - How does a studio get work? How one big client enabled them to build the "foundation" of Ranger and Fox


08.30 - The business foundations of Ranger and Fox: business structure, lawyer, bookkeeper are now in place, in 2018 the focus will be on winning new clients.


09.00 - The necessity of creating internal projects (eg the Pausefest piece they made) in order to push themselves technically and creatively.


10.15 - Blair: "A big part of being a motion designer is understanding, looking for work, connecting, knowing what great work is out there, but you [also] need to [learn how to] connect with clients"


10.45 - Pausefest: Ranger & Fox "always aspired to be better designers than we were. The way you do that is to throw yourself into a project that scares the living s##t out of you. (For a broader take on this topic see K. Anders Ericsson’s book)


11.20 - Confidential Awards show package


12.55 - The problem with open briefs


13.25 - Mysticism book by a group called "Movement"


14.05 - Ranger & Fox’s creative process for the Pausefest piece


16.00 - Colour script


16.37 - Brett's sources of inspiration: from outside the world of motion design.


18.20 - Music videos as sources of inspiration


20.30 - Personal projects as an "almost essential" means of taking big steps forward in finding your style/voice


21.08 - “It takes a long time for you to understand the syntax of the art/medium.” First learn the skills, then express yourself.


23.10 - Blair: "Creativity is an exploration of mistakes to find what you like and what you're going to pull together"


23.40 - Blair on advising young students: "You don't know what you don't know yet" ..."You've just got to dive in"


24.20 - "If you stay hungry [as a motion designer], you've got lifelong creative challenges ahead of you, that not many industries offer"


27.30 - Maxon Cineversity Ident piece by Ranger & Fox.


27.50 - "Restraints are liberating"


28.40 - Node ident competition


30.00 - Node entry by Jeremy Mansford


30.45 - On presenting


31.40 - Maxon presentations for NAB and Siggraph


34.10 - "Presenting helps develop communication skills massively"


35.00 - How to plan a presentation


37.15 - Node has a more narrative approach to presentations than NAB or Siggraph


40.00 - Brograph episode with Brett


40.15 - The benefits of "putting yourself out there"


42.09 - Brett only began sharing his work online when he was six or seven years into his career


43.56 - Sharing vs "trade secrets" mind-set


 


44.57 - Pro Video Picks:


Brett: LastPass


Blair: Shift-semicolon keyboard shortcut in After Effects (zoom timeline)


 


48.33 - Inspirational Videos:


Brett: Watchtower Over Turkey by Leonardo Delassandri


This piece inspired Brett's Pausefest project, particularly the camera moves and frenetic editing.


Blair: Fishy Minds branding video


 


50.33 Following Online:


Brett: Rich Nosworthy (who was on episode one of the Pro Video Podcast)


 


52.10 Find Brett Online:


@bma_morris on twitter


@bmamorris on Instagram


@RangerandFox


 


33:50 - Pro Video Podcast Online:


Blair Walker - Twitter


Pro Video Podcast - Slack


Pro Video Podcast - Facebook Group


Pro Video Podcast - Twitter


Pro Video Podcast - Website


Pro Video Podcast - Spotify


 

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