How To Create Interesting Photo Animations: Technique #2

This technique features the puppet tool in After Effects. You won’t be able to do crazy or exaggerated movement with the puppet tool, as it distorts the image quickly. But it works great if you want to add just a hint of the slowest-of-the-slow movement. https://vimeo.com/260480970 For this technique you’ll need: 1. A high-res photo with a subject in action and fairly plain background - an out of focus background is the easiest! 2. Some ability with separating photos in photoshop 3. Patience (listening to some good tunes helps) Separating your photo into different layers. If you’ve read “Parallax Tutorial” (link), then you’ve already read this…

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How To Create Interesting Photo Animations: Technique #1

Manipulating photos and turning them into something new is not only fun, it opens up a whole new arsenal of interesting visuals for you to use. A good photo can communicate a lot - adding energy and life to that photo with movement can communicate even more. The three ways I like to add life to a still photo are: creating a parallax effect, creating false slow-motion using the puppet tool, and using double exposure with portraits. It’s handy to have these techniques in your toolbox - I find it easier to be creative when I actually know what I can do. I used pexels.com…

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Animating Photos to Capture your Audience

Capturing and holding your audience’s attention is both crucial and getting more difficult. Visuals make a great hook. They can help you engage your audience, communicate a message, and enforce your brand. Video is especially engaging. As more people and brands use video content to engage their audiences, those who don’t risk falling behind the curve. But there are barriers to video production. It’s costly, time-consuming, and resource heavy. Companies may not have the marketing budget to create a video that fits their vision. If you're a video production house, you may find you need to fit a small budget while still trying to make…

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The DaVinci Resolve 14 Experience

There has been a lot of hype recently with Davinci’s new release of Resolve 14. After seeing it mentioned in blogs and magazine articles and having it come up in a conversation with an acquaintance, I thought it was time to give it a try. I was creating an updated reel for 2017 for Outlier, so I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to try out a new software. As a general disclaimer, I’ve been using Adobe Premiere for over four years and have been with the software through many of its recent changes. DaVinci Resolve 14 is also still in its beta phase,…

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Visual Trends for 2017

Visual Trends for 2017 Crazy as it may seem, we’re already four months deep into 2017. Which means new visual trends are starting to emerge and evolve. It’s important to know how trends are changing so that you can better connect with your audience and provide visuals that are relevant and in demand. Here at Outlier, we’ve done some digging into what these new trends are and have shot our own photos to showcase them. Color Surge This one is a lot of fun. It’s all about big bold colors. Using unnatural and bright tones is not only eye-catching but also adds a tiny splash…

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The Hammond B3 Organ Sound is Hard to Describe

The Hammond B3 organ sound is hard to describe, but it feels something like being surrounded by the music. When you hear it in a club or intimate setting it becomes a centerpiece, like listening to many voices live. It creates so much texture and support for musicians and the crowd that I often say it's my favorite sound. We reached out to Louis Pain and asked if he would give us a tour of the B3 and he graciously hosted us at his “Man Cave”, where we filmed for hours and talked all things B3, from its inventors and innovators to just straight up…

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Hell Yes I’m Ready to Write a Video Script!

Great news, video newbies! You’re almost ready to start writing that script for your new video project.  And we’ve saved up some of our very best advice for those just getting started with video to prove script writing doesn’t have to be an exercise in self-immolation. We all know video is an increasingly crucial component of today’s marketing campaigns, but not everyone realizes just how essential a well-planned script is for a successful video project. And I’ll be completely honest and tell you it’s often one of the most overwrought as well. While there’s no doubt the dreaded blank page is a fearful sight for…

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Risk: The Catalyst to Escaping the Status Quo

Do you have your teams brainstorming new ideas and putting them into quick business cases? Why not? If you said yes, when was the last time you implemented one of these ideas? If you haven’t seen an idea worth pursuing|you may be: Underestimating the collective intelligence of your team ORYou are risk averse (haven’t taken a risk in a while) ANDYou are growing comfortable with the status quo. Risk is necessary to build your venture and demonstrate industry leadership - a.k.a. dominate your space. If you don't take risks on a regular basis, you aren't pushing the boundaries of where your organization or your strategy are|and…

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How to Create a Customer Loyalty Program that’s Worth the Trouble

"Customer loyalty programs--do they really work?" That’s a question we often get from businesses looking to find ways to maximize the relationship they have with their current customer base or considering a new program to  entice a flurry of new customers. But beyond a generally common sense approach that says “Well yes, certainly I’d like to have more repeat customers,” there is plenty of research to back up the idea that keeping your current customers is worth the effort. A recent blog article from Kissmetrics cites research from Invesp Consulting that shows existing customers are 50% more likely to try new products and spend about…

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Does Your Video Connect to Your Goals? Four Simple Questions to Ask Before Your Next Video

Video marketing has been getting more sophisticated for a while now, but it seems like over the past year or so a major shift has happened as more companies have begun to add video as a line item in their marketing budgets. Now, don't get us wrong. We LOVE video as much as (ok, you got us, maybe more than) the next creative communications agency. But while we support video production and video marketing down to the bottoms of our dainty little toes, we have to admit we're at odd ends with some of the video that's being produced today. The problem is, a lot…

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