CoMotion 2021
Client: SCAD CoMotion Role: Lead Animator Year: 2021
CoMotion is SCAD’s annual student-run motion design conference. The 2021 edition, Conductor, explores transformation from death to rebirth, and was produced entirely remotely during the pandemic.
As Lead Animator, I led a team of 11 animators on the title sequence, providing technical direction and building expression-driven rigs and toolkits. I also ran production: asset lists, task delegation, schedules, and a supportive space for the team to do their best work.
Design
Procedural Plant Growth
Cel-animating every growing plant would have eaten our schedule. DaAe Kim’s five cel motion tests set the look, but we needed far more for the title sequence and title cards.
So I built a procedural system in After Effects with expressions and shape layers, and pitched it to the team with a proof-of-concept test, the plant algorithm and a short tutorial.
Cel Motion Tests by DaAe Kim
Animation Rig
Algorithm
// Stem path
l = effect("length")("Slider")/2;
arr = [[0,0],[0,-l]];
createPath(arr,[],[],0)
// Branch path
var ctrl = thisLayer;
var seed = ctrl.effect("seed")("Slider");
var stem = ctrl.effect("length")("Slider");
var sym = effect("symmetrical")("Checkbox");
var sides = 2;
sym==1? sides=2:sides=1;
// data
var myIndex = thisProperty.propertyGroup(3).propertyIndex-2;
var dir = myIndex%2 // yields 1 - left, 0 - Right
var rowIndex = Math.floor(myIndex/sides)+1; // start at row 1
//User Variables
var base = effect("base")("Slider");
var spacing = base + effect("spacing")("Slider")*rowIndex;
var xRange = effect("xRange")("Point");
var yRange = effect("yRange")("Point");
// Begin expression
seedRandom(seed,true);
var fork_x =random(xRange[0],xRange[1])//rowIndex // rand x gets smaller as rows increase
dir==1? fork_x*=-1:fork_x*=1; // switch direction based on index
var rand_y =random(yRange[0],yRange[1]);
fork_y = spacing+rand_y;
// execute
arr = [[0,0],[0,-spacing],[fork_x,-fork_y]];
createPath(arr,[],[],0)
Tutorial
Technical Development
Beyond the plant rig, I built setups like the wave and blob below for the title sequence and title cards. To hand them off to the Graphic Design team, I built the rigs with Master Properties, ran training sessions, and shipped every project file with a Read Me so artists could work without me.
Credits
Direction
Production
Design & Animation
Post & Sound
Extended Team