I quickly found that the composition and pacing of title sequence facilitates… wait for it… the titles. My mock title sequence was poaching the aesthetics and pacing of opening credits but was fundamentally a different beast. Without the type to influence compositions or pacing, my shots needed to hold the audience by themselves and not wear themselves out being slow. That realization was a turning point in this project.

My mock title sequence was poaching the aesthetics and pacing of opening credits but was fundamentally a different beast. Without the type to influence compositions or pacing, my shots needed to hold the audience by themselves

I wanted to push myself, so I aimed for a graphic style. Limited Color palette, large shapes, abstract forms and a focus on the fundamentals of graphic design. I kept fighting to resolve having these cool camera moves to keep interest up with graphic shots that, while not boring, didn’t have the same energy.

Most of the speedy reference had elements in the scene to reference that speed. Think telephone poles whooshing by, speed lines drawing your attention, or wind effects to give you a sense of speed. None of those connect with a flat graphic style, so the only tool I really had was camera shake. I tried not to overdo it but there are still some shots where it feels like everything is standing still as opposed to moving quickly.

the only tool I really had was camera shakE

The limitations were a tool to prevent scope creep, but as I moved away from many of the minimalist shots and towards a style that I was more comfortable in, I did more and more in 3D and less and less in After Effects. The small animation details (Like steering shake and rotating wheels) were too hard to resist.

Into Production

In previous years I had used a simplified go kart model but in addition to. I grabbed a fully complete Go-Kart 3D Model from grabcad and textured it in Cinema 4D for Redshift.

I wanted to be able to adjust the colors at any time

Coming from a graphic style, I wanted to be able to adjust my colors to dial in this look. I didn’t want to be nailed down to my 3D renders. The rendered frames became secondary to the multiple object matte passes. In comp I’d bring those passes in and use them as solid color mattes. With an AO pass multiplied on top I had complete control of the look. Colors could be changed on a whim and each element could be dialed in without a full re-render of 3D.

Below is a contact sheet render of all my 3D Passes

Each composition follows the same structure. Each element of the kart is cut out of a solid with a combination of set matte effects, then filled with the desired color. After all the flat layers are cut out, the AO pass is multiplied over top to complete the look. Then some light camera shake and the style is complete.

Initially, The visors were all going to be dark similar to the tires, but when I used the RGB render they really came to life.

Similarly, the trails were created in a variety of styles in AE. Some of the trails are shape layers placed under the karts. Others are solid layers with the echo effect applied and a bit of matte choker. Others are stroked paths trim paths using wayfinder on the karts. An interesting aside is that some of the trails had to be cheated to look the way you’d expect them to. Gifs below.

A version of the final piece without the AO overlay is below.

Re-contextualize

At some point I realized I was to close to the project and sought advice from other industry designers. At that time the piece was over 90 seconds long and their advice was cut cut cut. I took most of their advice in the form of speeding up and otherwise time remapping the clips. You know who you are. Thank you.

There’s a part of feedback where you need to think less about what people are saying and more about why they’re saying it. I got a feedback that the section with the wheel white space was too slow, but that was before the music was added. That section was included to invoke a retro title sequence vibe (think James Bond openings) so while I did alter it a bit, I left it in because it fit the style I was going for.

After the music came in and I shifted my edits slightly to fit it better I was left with an issue. There was a hole right in the middle of a clip that was a continuous shot. I added extra cutaways but it still felt weird to cut back to the same shot. Then it hit me: my color pallet is flexible! By changing the colors it felt like a different shot enough to get through the transition.

Music

Speaking of Music, a huge shout out to my long time friend and fantastic composer: Steve Wilder Blumenthal. ( https://www.wilderbluemusic.com/ ) I brought him on and we were immediately on the same page about style and tone. He wrote a killer piece, and then got a killer saxophone solo in there too! ( Solo by Zac Zinger http://zaczinger.com/ ) Finally, Benjamin Knapp did final mix and sound effects. This piece was taken to the next level by the audio. It got me so hyped to work alongside these amazing folks.

Release

Finally the elephant in the room: NAB 2020 and the Corona-virus (COVID-19). Originally this was set to release about a month before NAB and serve as the main visual for Mokart; an irl event where motion designers network and race. Because of the pandemic and the conference cancellation, this project had no goal. Instead of abandoning it, I doubled down on making it a portfolio piece and turned the event into a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tournament. Something everyone could do from home.

Perfect? Not by a long shot

I’d love to rip it up and start again. Collecting those reference for the gif above makes me wnder if my work actually lives up to them. I’d love to have added more “angles” to that transition. I wish the drift felt closer. I wish the speed felt faster and less like freezing time.
I want to make my camera moves more extreme…

But at some point you need to accept that a thing is done. You can’t tweak forever. And this piece is finished for me. Thanks for watching.