Free review copies for my FCPX Templates

If your objection to the Golden Mean Ratio principle is that it's said to be "Divine," then you might find the concept more palatable to look at it from your evolutionary perspective instead. The so-called "sacred spiral," appears all thru nature, mimicked in conch shells, the human ear, even galaxies. Rather than insisting that it's "designed" that way, you could accept it as the expression of natural forces, this way you can understand that its commonality might explain its universal appeal among humankind.

Why fight against something that's shown to be effective?

BenB wrote: Actually there is a ton of research showing the Golden Ratio does in fact appeal to human perception more favorably, and across cultures. Simply using the Rule Of Thirds accomplishes this very easily, without doing the math. It is very simple.

And that makes sense— in photography when you are able to effectively use the rule of thirds as opposed to having the subject at the center, it really does make a difference. would you mind sharing some of the research?

paurray wrote: Never read the Da Vinci Code. What did you think of it?

Here is an example of some good old fashoined ASCII Code :-o and the Rule of Golden Ratio at work

You should definitely read it, it's fantastic! How exactly is that the Rule of Golden Ratio at work?

TrixTrax9000 wrote: If your objection to the Golden Mean Ratio principle is that it's said to be "Divine," then you might find the concept more palatable to look at it from your evolutionary perspective instead. The so-called "sacred spiral," appears all thru nature, mimicked in conch shells, the human ear, even galaxies. Rather than insisting that it's "designed" that way, you could accept it as the expression of natural forces, this way you can understand that its commonality might explain its universal appeal among humankind.

Why fight against something that's shown to be effective?

I'm not really fighting against the rule of thirds or any of the design concepts in manifests itself in, but rather an explanation based off of conch shells, the ear, and galaxies. I find it almost impossible to believe that the shape of someone's ear could be considered as something that influences human preference in design. What about the shape of a human arm? What about the shape of a tree? A bird? I would prefer to see scientifical evidence proving this number to be more effective, as opposed to these speculations.



Also, here's another video of my templates (A Different Project).
Let me know what you guys think, and send me a PM if you would like a review copy of this one. Thanks.

Hot car. Nice jittery titles in, my favorite is the closing title sequence. Thanks.

As for the "sacred spiral"... Are you a contrarian? Do you like to argue for the sake of arguing? It's a futile exercise in this case, here's why...

Yes, there are many shapes in nature, arms, legs, eyes & ears.

Yet this spiral is a constant, it appears in almost all nature, precisely, identically, & you would be hard pressed to explain it away. The exact same spiral that is in the shell, the ear, the wave, the storm, the galaxy is also in all of the most popular art & architecture throughout history. It appeals to man, I don't know why, but it does.

Perhaps it's something about the symmetry that is attractive to us. Is the reason WHY so important to you? Must this shift into a discussion of philosophy?

How about this, since you're an artist, let's move beyond Why, let's aim at How.
How we construct our images can have a greater draw on more people, let the scientists & philosophers debate about why it happens, let's focus on creating those images. There are plenty of studies on this if you choose to do your own searches, but I don't think anyone can definitively state why this shape is in nature nor why it appeals to the eye of man.

I agree, it's a marvelous topic to ruminate on, but sometimes we just need to frame our shot.

A side-note if you're curious enough to actually study this topic, some of the great masters like Rembrandt used this mathematic formula not only in composition but also with lighting. As filmmakers this is an exciting concept to explore. Some have stated they were seeking to achieve this type of look, composition, texture & lighting in film. It makes for powerful cinema with a kind of timeless classic look. Perhaps somehow connecting to our collective consciousness... but we'll leave that contemplation to the mystics.

Frame it, light it, shoot it.

TrixTrax9000 wrote: Hot car. Nice jittery titles in, my favorite is the closing title sequence. Thanks.

As for the "sacred spiral"... Are you a contrarian? Do you like to argue for the sake of arguing? It's a futile exercise in this case, here's why...

Yes, there are many shapes in nature, arms, legs, eyes & ears.

Yet this spiral is a constant, it appears in almost all nature, precisely, identically, & you would be hard pressed to explain it away. The exact same spiral that is in the shell, the ear, the wave, the storm, the galaxy is also in all of the most popular art & architecture throughout history. It appeals to man, I don't know why, but it does.

Perhaps it's something about the symmetry that is attractive to us. Is the reason WHY so important to you? Must this shift into a discussion of philosophy?

How about this, since you're an artist, let's move beyond Why, let's aim at How.
How we construct our images can have a greater draw on more people, let the scientists & philosophers debate about why it happens, let's focus on creating those images. There are plenty of studies on this if you choose to do your own searches, but I don't think anyone can definitively state why this shape is in nature nor why it appeals to the eye of man.

I agree, it's a marvelous topic to ruminate on, but sometimes we just need to frame our shot.

A side-note if you're curious enough to actually study this topic, some of the great masters like Rembrandt used this mathematic formula not only in composition but also with lighting. As filmmakers this is an exciting concept to explore. Some have stated they were seeking to achieve this type of look, composition, texture & lighting in film. It makes for powerful cinema with a kind of timeless classic look. Perhaps somehow connecting to our collective consciousness... but we'll leave that contemplation to the mystics.

Frame it, light it, shoot it.

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it, it is my dream car should I ever be able to muster up the money. I guess you're right with regards to it's affect on people, and should be harnessed in design. As for the "why" component, I guess it's best left to the mystics. Would be interesting to find a science behind it.

Actually, humans are more soothed and emotionally drawn towards non-symmetric compositions. The brain actually seems to relax more, cools down, seems more at ease with them. Organic forms are non-symmetrical.

Symmetric compositions are not natural, not organic, and trigger more mechanical brain functions, the brain actually fires up and becomes more alert in a defensive response manner. It is all very simple.

There is nothing mystical about it. We understand much more about the brain than folks tend to think. It was my degree in college.

BenB wrote: Actually, humans are more soothed and emotionally drawn towards non-symmetric compositions. The brain actually seems to relax more, cools down, seems more at ease with them. Organic forms are non-symmetrical.

Symmetric compositions are not natural, not organic, and trigger more mechanical brain functions, the brain actually fires up and becomes more alert in a defensive response manner. It is all very simple.

There is nothing mystical about it. We understand much more about the brain than folks tend to think. It was my degree in college.

Cool, that's some pretty fascinating stuff. Inner workings of the brain have always intrigued me. Let me know if you would like to try a free review copy.

My degree was in Educational Psychology, most of my research papers were on the processing of sensory perception. I still read a lot of studies about it as it relates to graphic design and film. It totally baffles me that all this stuff isn't being incorporated and taken advantage of by filmmakers more. But the, I am baffled that more video folks don't study audio more seriously either.

I teach at two colleges and have worked with many others. I'm amazed that graphic design and communications students learn more about actual film making, than film making students.

Eh, what can you do? At least there's enough of y'all out there that care enough to make up for the ones that don't.

Would love to study some of this. I just made a blog post about this, in which I go into a little more detail. Let me know what you think!

Well, well, well, you'll never guess what I just found.
Give up?

Ok, I'm on the Twitter feed for a New York Film Festival, & they're holding a New Media Film Festival, & guess what they're using as their poster symbol to promote the event....

That's right, the Sacred Spiral!

Run as you might, you just can't escape it.



www.maxitmagazine.com/modules-menu/106-new-york-screens-best-of

Hey TrixTrax9000

I was refraining from saying this but they are every where. I hear them in music all the time. Just today on the kitchen radio. :silly:



And I can taste them too...

If you are nipping really good beer it either goes down clockwise or anti clockwise. Hand on heart. :woohoo:

Don't care for that song much (maybe I haven't ingested enough ale), but your beer rotation conundrum I think depends on if you're in Australia or not. Which, incidentally has one of the highest beer consumption per capita ratios. Perhaps one is able to drink more if it's swilling in the conducive spiral?

belgium Trappist beer

TrixTrax9000 wrote: Don't care for that song much (maybe I haven't ingested enough ale), but your beer rotation conundrum I think depends on if you're in Australia or not. Which, incidentally has one of the highest beer consumption per capita ratios. Perhaps one is able to drink more if it's swilling in the conducive spiral?

Haha. Here's the blog post I wrote, let me know what you think. connerpro.com/is-the-golden-ratio-in-design-bs/ Also, if anyone wants some review copies, now is your last chance.

I'd take some, please.

And now again to something completely different..

Overturf wrote: I'd take some, please.

And now again to something completely different..

Haha, PM sent!

connerpro. You gotta sharpen up your Motion skills in order for your stuff to sell. You might get a few downloads, but other than that your probably wasting your time until you put out some better stuff. Not to say your stuff doesn't look good...but thats what simple is...simple. people can handle simple, which is probably why so many people do it and like it..plus little distractions. But when you go to sites like videiohive or motionvfx you see stuff which isn't simple. and it sells. probably because only a handful can create it or don't have the time too.

On a side note....can we dedicate a part of fcp.co a place for free Motion templates? It would be cool if the website owners would kind of filter the good from the bad and then let the users make them better if possible as well. I know there is a forum for it....but I am talking about something similar to the way motionvfx does. I think it would pull in a lot more hits from the web!

muddygun wrote: connerpro. You gotta sharpen up your Motion skills in order for your stuff to sell. You might get a few downloads, but other than that your probably wasting your time until you put out some better stuff. Not to say your stuff doesn't look good...but thats what simple is...simple. people can handle simple, which is probably why so many people do it and like it..plus little distractions. But when you go to sites like videiohive or motionvfx you see stuff which isn't simple. and it sells. probably because only a handful can create it or don't have the time too.

On a side note....can we dedicate a part of fcp.co a place for free Motion templates? It would be cool if the website owners would kind of filter the good from the bad and then let the users make them better if possible as well. I know there is a forum for it....but I am talking about something similar to the way motionvfx does. I think it would pull in a lot more hits from the web!

Hi Middygun, I appreciate the honest feedback. Yes, my templates are definitely simpler (some of the templates are more complicated than others) than sites like MotionVFX. But the "simple" design principle is truly what I believe in. MotionVFX does have some stunning, complex displays of Motion Graphics Mastery, but does it truly look good? Sometimes. I really like some of their effects, but I prefer more "organic," non-distracting effects like you mentioned. Videohive and MotionVFX definitely do sell, but does that mean that there's no market for simple templates? (Also each package is just $20, compared with $50 for MotionVFX). With simple, organic effects, I believe it makes your video actually look more professional in certain cases; often times the more complex templates look so fake and artificial, that not only is it distracting, but it's pretty obvious that it's just a "template" and often doesn't blend well with the rest of the video. Think of the templates that come with iMovie— they're so fake that you can spot them from a mile away. What makes you think there's less of a market for more simple templates? Thanks.

There is probably a market, but I think it would be small, because most people would see it and just replicate it rather than pay for it. In order to really draw any sells you would need to build a website and host it...and would you recoup your costs? simple is good because it can work on anything...this is true. but simple is also easily forgettable and void of any real meaning. Simple is not what makes anyone stand out, it just gets a nod from people, like "hey...good job!" Now, you could probably get people interested if you gave everything you wanted to give for 20 bucks, and kept updating it as well. kind of like greyscalegorilla.com he will update his materials for cinema 4d and people will get that update for free. no one is really doing this with motion...you could maybe explore that.

muddygun wrote: There is probably a market, but I think it would be small, because most people would see it and just replicate it rather than pay for it. In order to really draw any sells you would need to build a website and host it...and would you recoup your costs? simple is good because it can work on anything...this is true. but simple is also easily forgettable and void of any real meaning. Simple is not what makes anyone stand out, it just gets a nod from people, like "hey...good job!" Now, you could probably get people interested if you gave everything you wanted to give for 20 bucks, and kept updating it as well. kind of like greyscalegorilla.com he will update his materials for cinema 4d and people will get that update for free. no one is really doing this with motion...you could maybe explore that.

Interesting point, obviously some people could try to replicate them on their own if they wanted. However, many FCPX users are beginners and don't even own Motion. Also, I'm sure lots of them wouldn't know how to do it, or even more probable don't have the time to do it themselves. I already have a server and website, so as for recouping my costs, I guess we'll see! ( connerpro.com ) Thanks for pointing me to GreyScale Gorilla, yes the users would receive free updates of all the templates. You're right that no one is really doing this Motion, so I guess the only way to see is to test the waters. Any suggestions?