making money doing motion graphics at DVinfo.net

Kell Smith · March 26th, 2005, 03:12 AM

How exactly does one make money doing motion graphics, other than doing say, live chyron for a production? Is there a good market for design and does anyone have any suggestions?
I will be l;earning After Effects soon and think this is a natural direction to move in considering my graphics background.
if I could do this and the biographies, and start work on a side documentary project, and make a living, I could stay pretty happy.
Thoughts on this--?
And can i just say again what an awesome board this is? I really, really appreciate every piece of feedback.
=)

Dan Uneken · March 29th, 2005, 06:43 AM

I can't imaging that you would not make money if you're good at that stuff. I have considered it, but the problem is that you have to keep on top of the latest technology and software, which seems a tall order, because you have to invest a lot of money all the time or find another way of accessing all that funky stuff.

Peter Wiley · March 29th, 2005, 07:32 AM

I think one potential market would be local commerical producers. Much of the motion graphics that you see on local commercials is not all that great -- certainly not up to the standard of the major broadcast or cable networks.

If you could put together a demo reel of motion graphics that mimic the style and sophistication of network material, you might be able to convince local commercial producers that they could give their clients an edge by using your work. This would be a tricky sell at first, I think, because smaller local businesses tend to be very conservative when it comes to advertising -- in both conceputal and financial senses.

I think this sell would be easier in a small market (you don't say where you live) and prob. next to impossible in a larger market unless you want to compete on price with established firms, but then your work would have to be very good indeed.

Kell Smith · March 31st, 2005, 12:17 AM

Well I live in a medium market, bigger than a breadbasket but not as large as LA or NY.

There seem to be a lot of production companies in the area, certainly larger and more experienced than I, that would probably do good work. But I think once I learn the software and get a little experience with it, I can match the good ones for quality. Or maybe they could sub out to me? Of course there is that little snag -- right now that would be -- ahem -- learning the software. lol

Right now the tools i have are the standard ones -- Adobe CS, Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Motion etc. That should be enough, shoudn't it?

Yeah I'm staring a lot of After Effects training in the face -- it's a slow go. I totally underestimated the task of training myself on a lot of this, because I did have a background. I thought, hey I'll be up and running on this stuff in no time! Months later...inching along. It's a big task. I think I'm up to the challenge though. Right now learning all this stuff is flat-out hard work and every once in awhile I take a day off and just play with Illustrator or something, just to remember where the fun was in this!

But... anyway ... once I get more into graphics -- After Effects and such ... could be some serious playtime. Maybe I should sit down and try to learn to create effects on commercials and such, and set a deadline to have a demo reel done.

This pack of software should take me pretty far, shouldn't it? Is there anything missing when it comes to professional motion gfx?

So the biggest market then should be subbing out to other production companies?

March 26th, 2005, 03:12 AM	#1
Kell Smith Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA Posts: 436	making money doing motion graphics How exactly does one make money doing motion graphics, other than doing say, live chyron for a production? Is there a good market for design and does anyone have any suggestions? I will be l;earning After Effects soon and think this is a natural direction to move in considering my graphics background. if I could do this and the biographies, and start work on a side documentary project, and make a living, I could stay pretty happy. Thoughts on this--? And can i just say again what an awesome board this is? I really, really appreciate every piece of feedback. =)

March 29th, 2005, 06:43 AM	#2
Dan Uneken Major Player Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Andalucia, Spain Posts: 301	I can't imaging that you would not make money if you're good at that stuff. I have considered it, but the problem is that you have to keep on top of the latest technology and software, which seems a tall order, because you have to invest a lot of money all the time or find another way of accessing all that funky stuff. __________________ Film & TV locations & production Spain http://www.fotofilmvideo.com/

March 29th, 2005, 07:32 AM	#3
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	I think one potential market would be local commerical producers. Much of the motion graphics that you see on local commercials is not all that great -- certainly not up to the standard of the major broadcast or cable networks. If you could put together a demo reel of motion graphics that mimic the style and sophistication of network material, you might be able to convince local commercial producers that they could give their clients an edge by using your work. This would be a tricky sell at first, I think, because smaller local businesses tend to be very conservative when it comes to advertising -- in both conceputal and financial senses. I think this sell would be easier in a small market (you don't say where you live) and prob. next to impossible in a larger market unless you want to compete on price with established firms, but then your work would have to be very good indeed.

March 31st, 2005, 12:17 AM	#4
Kell Smith Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA Posts: 436	Well I live in a medium market, bigger than a breadbasket but not as large as LA or NY. There seem to be a lot of production companies in the area, certainly larger and more experienced than I, that would probably do good work. But I think once I learn the software and get a little experience with it, I can match the good ones for quality. Or maybe they could sub out to me? Of course there is that little snag -- right now that would be -- ahem -- learning the software. lol Right now the tools i have are the standard ones -- Adobe CS, Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Motion etc. That should be enough, shoudn't it? Yeah I'm staring a lot of After Effects training in the face -- it's a slow go. I totally underestimated the task of training myself on a lot of this, because I did have a background. I thought, hey I'll be up and running on this stuff in no time! Months later...inching along. It's a big task. I think I'm up to the challenge though. Right now learning all this stuff is flat-out hard work and every once in awhile I take a day off and just play with Illustrator or something, just to remember where the fun was in this! But... anyway ... once I get more into graphics -- After Effects and such ... could be some serious playtime. Maybe I should sit down and try to learn to create effects on commercials and such, and set a deadline to have a demo reel done. This pack of software should take me pretty far, shouldn't it? Is there anything missing when it comes to professional motion gfx? So the biggest market then should be subbing out to other production companies?