Video Copilot Tour 2019 - Our Motion Designers Exploring Berlin

On 09 February the Video Copilot Tour 2019 made a stop in our German capital.

A good opportunity for our motion designers Malte and Alexander to get some fresh air.

So get on the train with them, five hours to Berlin, do some sightseeing and then off to one of the largest motion design events that Germany has to offer!

Organizer of the event: Video Copilot, a Californian company that has achieved cult status among motion designers with video training and software plug-ins.

Besides presenter Andrew Kramer - full-time video copilot founder and after-effects guru - Alexander, Malte and about 1000 other visitors could look forward to four more stars of the motion design scene.

So, boys - tell me!

Was this your first time on the Video Copilot tour?

Alex: Yes. In itself, the event celebrated its premiere.

Malte: Yes. As Alex says, Andrew Kramer, the organizer, came to Europe for the first time with his Video Copilot tour.

Have you been to similar events - and if so, how were they compared to the VC tour?

Malte: For me it was generally the first time.

Alex: I was at a similar event a few years ago. But compared to the VC tour, it was much smaller and therefore more personal. But there were more lectures there. The character of the VC tour was completely different, everything was much more bombastic.

Who were you looking forward to the most and why?

Alex: On Kidmograph. He has a very special style, because he combines different techniques or programs and works in 2D as well as 3D.

Malte: Definitely Kidmograph. But I was also very excited about Friendly Robot.

Did it inspire or intimidate you to see the work of the professionals?

Alex: It's more like it inspired me. It helps me a lot to see professionals as role models. It's like in sports: There is always someone better. Your journey does not end with you reaching the level you want to reach. You have to develop yourself beyond that.
As the saying goes: The way is the goal.

Malte: One must not be intimidated by the work of other artists. Look at the work of your role models and try to understand how certain things were solved. That way you develop skills and have a steady progress.

Did the event inspire you to new, crazy ideas - and if so, which ones?

Malte: Maybe not directly crazy ideas, but new approaches.

Alex: I feel the same way. I have taken for myself that I can be more courageous in my ideas and their implementation.

What was your biggest "aha moment" of the event?

Alex: We were introduced to a new plug-in for After Effects, "Nebula 3D", which will be released in March.

Malte: Moritz von Entagma explained in his lecture how he developed a string art-like image with the help of "Houdini". That was a big A-HA!

Was there something else that you were disappointed in?

Alex: One or two performances seemed a bit improvised. The methods of how something was put into practice were only very superficially dealt with in a presentation, for example.

Malte: Yeah, I noticed that too. Besides, the speakers of these two performances were very difficult to understand. You had to listen really carefully.

Very important: How was the food?

Alex: Deeeeeeelicious! 😀

Malte: Oh... yeah... the food at the location was already bombastic. And was always replenished <3

What experiences and inspirations from the event will you incorporate in your future work at DIE NEUDENKER?

Alex: In the future I would like to sharpen my view on the composition of a scene. So pay attention to how the mood is already influenced by the positioning of single elements and not only by their interaction with each other.

Malte: As Alex says: Composition is the be-all and end-all.

What did you bring your colleagues?

Alex: Hopefully not only our report, but also something to laugh about.

Malte: Yes, unfortunately all give-away cups were already sold out. 🙁

According to the professionals, what new trends can we look forward to in 2019?

Malte: A pretty big trend is definitely the retro design. So the fusion of Motion Design with the arcade game look of the eighties. Kidmograph is a pretty good example. In the future, a lot will also change in rendering technology, especially in real time rendering. You press the render button and - BAM! - your scene is rendered.

Alex: And artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important for us motion designers. The topic is constantly developing and is becoming more and more attractive and valuable for our work. I think that in the future we will benefit above all from optimized processes.

And what should motion designers finally say goodbye to this year?

Malte: It's not easy to say. Such questions were not discussed at all during the lectures. For me, it's purely a matter of taste.

Do you want to be a video copilot again next year?

Alex: Maybe not directly there, but to a similar event.

Malte: So I will be back at the start when VC comes to Germany again.

Are the Berliners really as cool as everyone always says?

Alex: We were on the road with a very cool rickshaw driver... 😀

Malte: #PoorButSexy

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