Amman Filmmakers Cooperative

An Artist's Intro to 2D Motion Graphics and Animation

WHAT
Flash guru Wael Attili and After Effects virtuoso Amr Toukhy will deliver an introductory workshop on 2D Flash animation and After Effects motion graphics with a live demonstration. The workshop will be accompanied by a demonstration of the instructors' work as well as other popular multimedia clips.

WHY
The cost of a DV camera is still prohibitive for many aspiring filmmakers in the Arab world. Yet, the increasingly accessible 3D and 2D modeling and animation tools are opening up a universe of possibilities for aspiring filmmakers to create "virtual theaters" and to tell stories with pixels. Also, many indie filmmakers who have found the production management process a bit daunting may get a second chance, to unleash their creative powers, with the total freedom and independence afforded by 3D and 2D design tools. The exponential rise in desktop computing power and the drastic improvements in the usability of 2D and 3D animation software tools opens up a whole new world of creative possibilities for institutional and independent filmmakers. As a result, motion graphics and other animation processes that once consumed days and required extensive technical expertise can now be performed in hours.

INSTRUCTORS:
Amr Toukhy - After Effects motion graphics.
Wael Attili - Flash 2D animation.

WHEN
Saturday Feb 12, 2005 - 10:00am-7:00pm

WHERE
Shoman Foundation Library.
Between 1st and 2nd circle. Movie theater on 2nd level.

AFC CONTACT
For inquiries contact Hazim Bitar.
Phone: 079/5308232 / Email: AmmanFilmmakers@alif.com

CONFIRMATION
To confirm registration, interested participants should SMS 079/5308232 with their full name. No confirmations will be accepted for more than once person per phone number. Workshop may be canceled for lack of sufficient confirmations.

PENALTIES & FEES
This workshop is FREE for students who confirm their registration no later than Thursday Feb 10, 11pm and show up no later than 10:15am on day of workshop.

Unconfirmed walk-in students will pay 5 JD.
After 10:15am, any late participant will have to pay 5 JD.
Confirmed students who do not show up and fail to cancel before Thursday Nov 25, 11pm will have to pay 5 JD to attend any future AFC workshop. The fees are cumulative.
Any student who confirmed for past AFC event but did not show up and did not cancel 48-hours before will have to pay 5 JD to attend this or any future AFC activities.
For this workshop, AFC filmmakers are NOT exempt from above guidelines.

Just because our workshops are for free, it does not mean our time and effort and those of our punctual students are not valuable to us. CONFIRM ONLY IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND, CANCEL BEFORE THURSDAY FEB 10, 11PM , IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT.

WORKSHOP OUTLINE

PART I - INTRO TO FLASH ANIMATION

10:00am - 2:00pm

Introduction
Wael will discuss the old ways of cartooning before the computer was introduced to the industry. He will also talk about the aim and purpose of this workshop followed by a presentation of humorous samples of popular Flash movies he had produced, some of which have been distributed by Arabia Online or have been widely circulated via email such as "AboushShabab " flash clip.

Creating the basic storyboard
Students will brainstorm with Wael to select a Flash movie idea to produce during class. The selected film idea will be developed into a basic storyboard.

The Flash interface
Before producing the Flash movie, Wael will give a brief overview of the Flash tools, menus, and panels.

Drawing on Flash
Wael will draw animation elements from character or backgrounds. During this demo, he will comment on key drawing tools and their use within Flash.

Animation on Flash
Here, Wael will introduce the frames panel, creating symbols, motion tweening, and other animation building blocks in Flash.

Integrating sound and music w/Flash movies
Audio and music files will be edited and imported into the Flash movie and synchronized with talking characters and simple special effects.

Exporting from Flash
Students will learn how to export Flash movies to various file formats such as AVI, MOV, and so on.

Flash show
A group of popular Flash animation clips from the web will be screened. A discussion will follow on the tricks used in those movies.

To learn more
Introducing some books and web links.

Free Discussion

PART II - INTRO TO AFTER EFFECTS MOTION GRAPHICS

2:00pm - 7:00pm

What is compositing
Amr Toukhy will explain the concepts that are unique to motion graphics tool as opposed to video editing or still editing tools. Some of the instructor's own work and other productions will be demonstrated.

Looking at the workspace
After Effects may be a bit daunting to the novice user, but Amr will navigate through a limited subset of the tool's functionality to showcase some of the key features of AE that you can use to produce nice MG jobs done with a minimum of learning (there is still a learning curve of course.)

Layers on top of layers
You will see how to incorporate and manipulate layers of images and text to create seamless screen motion by tweaking attributes and keyframes. By rotating, scaling, time stretching, and masking the possibilities are limitless.

Stupid text trick
Ever see how some movie trailers make text dance, twirl, and fade in and out. Amr will introduce you to basic text animation and manipulation. Learn tricks on how to incorporate Arabic fonts into AE. Dozen of After Effects text animation presets will also be demonstrated.

After Effects effects
By combining a few built-in effects and a solid color layer, Amr will create dazzling animated screen backgrounds that rival many of those you see on satellite and music channels.

Sound and images
After Effect can help you sync music with images on the beat. Using the tool's built in capabilities, Amr will generate markers to sync the music beats with image changes.

To learn more
Introducing some books and web links.

THIS NEW TRACK IS NETHER DESIGNED TO TEACH THE FULL CAPABILITIES OF THE SOFTWARE TOOLS INVOLVED NOR TO IMPART THE FULL KNOWLEDGE OF THE SUBJECT MATTERS COVERED. The workshop is designed to empower filmmakers with additional skills they can call upon for future productions or to continue to more advanced workshops.

AUDIENCE
Indie filmmakers and graphic design professionals who possess a good understanding of computer graphics and video editing tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, or similar software tools. Creative directors who wish to learn more about motion graphics will find this workshop useful. Curious types are also invited.

WORKSHOP LANGUAGE
Arabic. English for Technical Terms.

IMPORTANT
Content of workshop may change without notice. The coordinator of the workshop and the management of The Shoman Foundation have the right to refuse participation to anyone. For updates, visit:

http://AmmanFilmmakers.alif.com/feb-12-05-intro-to-2dflash.htm

ABOUT THE AFC
The Amman Filmmakers Cooperative (AFC) is a not-for-profit cultural initiative and talent incubator that aims to promote and encourage independent filmmaking through training, experimentation, and networking. For more info visit us at http://AmmanFilmmakers.Alif.com

Also visit the free screenplay support service ScRiPTOmAniA at http://filmmaking.alif.com

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