Client: The Voice (TV music channel)
Service: 3d modelling, lighting, animation, compositing
Software:

THE VOICE is a scandinavian music TV channel and they asked for a show package containing opener, bumpers, text/graphic inserts and closer.

Idea / Workflow

Because this had to be a quick one I heavily relied on the move of the objects shooting out of the bassbox. The simple camera moves had to pick up the clash at the beginning and the movement of the objects later on.

I especially like the transition from the logo to the boombox. Although this was meant to be part of the visual language for all packages in the first place it has not been possible in that easy and logic way with most of the other shows sofar.

Client: The Voice (TV music channel)
Service: Illustration, animation, compositing
Software:

The Voice is a scandinavian music tv station. They had a print campaign running in this particular orgami / watercolored look, so they needed some on air graphics to go along that as well.

Idea / Workflow

After redrawing some of the given shapes in Illustrator I started to animate the watercolor effect by using an animated fractalnoise as luma mattes for a bunch of overlayed textures.So then I had 4 animated full HD colorschemes / textures which I then applied to some objects like leafs, flowers, insects etc. With those assets I build up the world only using after effects.

Client: The Voice (TV music channel)
Service: 3d modelling, lighting, animation, compositing
Software:

The client asked for an on air TV package containing openers, text/graphic inserts and closers for a clip driven show in Denmark without a host.

Idea / Workflow

The logo was given by the client, so I chose to use some of its shape as background elements to integrate the rather pointy shape of the logo better into the rectangular visual style of the voice. Also I added some not to concrete video footage of fashion shows, to better support the theme.

Client: The Voice (TV music channel)
Service: 3d modelling, lighting, animation, compositing
Software:

The client asked for an on air TV package containing openers, text/graphic inserts and closers for a clip driven show without a host. Stylewise they were asking for a rather urban approach to the graphics. The animation is used for the four countries Denmark, Sweden, Finnland and Boulgaria with different show titles.

Idea / Workflow

Shortly before the clients request, Nick Campbell (Greyscale Gorilla) released the City Kit, a Cinema 4d Plugin to procedurally generate a city scape. As a big timesaver fitting the clients request we chose to give it a try.

Due to the fact that the mesh would not hold up for closeup shots we chose to use it in a rather bigger scale, with a camera farther away. Because of that the show titles had to look big themselves in compared to the city, therefore I used closeup shots and low camera angles in the establishing shots.

Because the package relies havily on the typo I chose to do it in 3D (Cinema 4D) rather than in 2D post (After Effects).

Client: The Voice (TV music channel)
Service: 3d modelling, lighting, animation, compositing
Software:

Every year the TV music station The Voice organizes some concerts in their broadcasting countries Finnland, Sweden Norway, Denmark and Bulgaria. This time also they had already prepared some Posters and other print products, so I had to stick to their visual concept which was made of a white striped background and red, white and black rings. Due to the fact that their onair TV elements are mostly 3d nowadays I translated those elements into 3d objects and started animating.

Project Setup

I started working on the style frames directly in Cinema 4d because the animation I planned doing relied heavily on their MoDynamics / rigid body dynamics. As it turned out especially the part where the background spheres are attracted by the black sphere and then all spun together at increasing pace got kind of tricky. Because balancing the forces can get tedious quiet fast if you are looking for a specific effect.
After finishing the animation and importing the passes in After Effects I added the backround, some color grading, grain etc. In the end I dublicated the master comp to split its RGB channels and get an chromatic abberation effect.

Client: The Voice (TV music channel)
Service: 3d modelling, lighting, animation, compositing
Software:

Their core show needed an opener, text/image inserts and a closer. During the phase of the TV stations overall visual relaunch the cube deriving from their logo got some more emphasis in all their onair and print tools. Therefor I was wondering what to make up of just only cubes and stumbled upon the greeble effekt quiet fast.

Project setup

For those details on the cubes I used the free greeble plugin, which subdivides and extrudes polygons randomly. I then put several cubes and boxes into a particle emitter which I animatad along a spline, added some hand animated Cubes here and there and that was mostly it. The compositing in After Effects was just about cutting several cameras together, filling in a background and colorgrading all of it.

Client: Indola (Schwarzkopf subbrand)
Service: 3d modelling, lighting, animation, compositing
Software:

Indola is a subbrand of Schwarzkopf which sells haircare products for professionals.

Idea / Workflow

According to their streetstyle productline the client asked for an urban setting with billboards and other objects to add texts and their keyvisuals to.

I started with greyscales city kit as base, changed all its textures and added some custom buildings, traffic lights, stuff for the streets and cars. I hand animated something like 50 vehicles by hand and about 150 with mograph. In the end I composed the text in with after effects, because they needed a german, english, french, spanish and russian version.

Client: The Voice (TV music channel)
Service: 3d modelling, lighting, animation, compositing
Software:

Like every year the scandinavian TV music station THE VOICE was going to give a free concert tour in Sweden, Denmark and Finnland. So they needed Visuals for their teasers, bumpers, inserts and background animations for the stage as well as an opener and closer for their show.

Idea / Workflow

Because they already had a print campaign running in a tron like style I adapted that.

First off I built a stadium which was used in the movie and also some of the concerts where held in stadiums. Because of the rather fast paced camera moves I was able to get away with some rather low poly shapes but used bump maps to add some more detail without crashing the RAM.
The light streaks were done in cinema 4D too by simply extruding a spline and using a texture with gradient in the transparency and illumination channels.
In the end I added the lensflares, some colorgrading and the animated circuits on the walls at the logo shot in after effects.

Client: Langenscheidt
Service: greenscreen shoot, interface illustration, animation, compositing
Software:

The client asked for a video to promote and explain their iOS and Android app.

Idea / Workflow

Because the app was not finished when we started working on the animation and in order to be able to get up close to the screens I had to rebuild the JPG screens in illustrator. We filmed a hand doing all the movements infron of a greenscreen and added the cellphone and its screens in after effects later on.

Client: The Voice (TV music channel)
Service: 3d modelling, lighting, animation, compositing
Software:

The client asked for a morning show package containing openers, text/graphic inserts and closers. According to their actual styleguide the elements were based upon primitive shapes (cubes, spheres, pyramids). The animation is used for the four countries Denmark, Sweden, Finnland and Boulgaria with different show titles.

Idea / Workflow

When working on the graphical concept I first thought about how to introduce the primitves, because all shows of the Voice have to start and end with their logo in the center of the screen. Some time before working on this project I stumbled upon a cinema 4D plugin called thrausi, which can cut polygonal objects into random shapes whilst preserving their UVs and automatically asigning textures to the newly created objects.

My idea then was to visualize that The Voice is literally made up off music. Therefore I cut up the logo primitive into pieces and transformed them into Objects related to music. For easier interchangeability I then chose to setup the show titles in After Effects, rather than cinema 4d.

Client: KiKA (Kinderkanal)
Service: 3d modelling, lighting, animation, compositing
Software:

The client asked for a 3D character and virtual studio set for a realtime full CG show.

Idea / Workflow

Because the show was about helping and answering kids on topics of their everyday life the character who worked as a host for this show had to be able to express feelings. Also it had to be suitibal for girls and boys as well without being to childish. We soon came to the conclusion that the character EVE from wall-e had certain aspects that were needed here as well.
Due to the fact that the show was produced as if it were run live the models had to be low poly and all the ambient occlusions and shadows had to be backed in. The clips, pictures and texts on the boards were then edited in realtime.

Client: The Voice (TV music channel)
Service: 3d modelling, lighting, animation, compositing
Software:

The client asked for a seasonal and localized package containing openers, text/graphic inserts and closers. The animaition is used between commercials and shows to separate those elements visually and also promote events, other shows etc. I also produced the other three season packages each for the four countries Denmark, Sweden, Finnland and Boulgaria.

Workflow

First I started with modelling the planets and produced some still frames, so that the client was able to comment on the style. After their approval I started working on the animation itself doing lots of low poly test renders to check just the timings. When they were to my liking I started the full resolution renderings which I then imported to After Effects and did the Postproduction there.

Project setup and postproduction see making of

Client: Uwe Gerkens e.K.
Agency: neusite GmbH
Website: www.uwe-gerkens.de
Service: Screendesign
Software:

Uwe Gerkens is a TÜV certified traditional fitter / plumber company, which has been founded in 1928.

Service

Because their running website was outdated (design and content wise) they were looking for a relaunch. Most of the content was reused but partly restructured.

The main updates concerned a more streamlined navigation, by decreasing the number of Buttons on the main navigation and deleting the second navigation bar. Also a search engine, a connection to social media portals and better - because on every page visible - contact info were introduced.

Besides their logo and blue tone I had no stilistic advice and therefore was free to design what felt appropriate for a fitter / plumber company.

Client: Mediagrill GmbH & CO KG
Website: www.mediagrill.com
Service: Flash animation, Actionscript / HTML / CSS coding
Software:

Mediagrill is a cut and post production agency based in Cologne Germany. They have been working for clients like Esprit, The Voice, ZDF, Nickelodeon, Kika, Viva etc.

Workflow

First I started with the layout of the restaurant in 3Ds Max. After determining the proportions we send those layouts to Rene Alejandro Hernandez (www.pixelfreak.com) who did a great job on pixeling the buildings and characters in photoshop. I then cut those parts into pieces to be able to animate and layer them in seperate PNGs. After importing almost 500 PNGs to Flash I started animating and actionscripting the events. I also added a custom XML driven content management system to drive the video clips and text sections.
Besides the popup screens I pixeled some charakters, events and props myself later on to enrich the scene. God I always loved looking for those kinds of easter eggs in old school games like Monkey Island and Larry Laffer :)

Client: Krah und Burghof Rechtskompetenz
Website: www.kb-rechtskompetenz.de
Service: Screendesign
Software:

Krah und Burghof Rechtskompetenz is a Cologne based lawyer´s office.

Workflow

After discussing the sitemap and contents with the client I started working on three main screendesign layouts from which one has been chosen. Derivations of the chosen design have been made for several subsites like news, kontakt, team etc.
The category icons have been made in 3Ds Max which is a kind of overkill considering their size but I was doing some tests on this software anyway...

Client: Afra El-Scheich-Schmidt
Website: www.afra-schmidt.com
Service: Concept, Screendesign, HTML/CSS coding
Software:

Afra El-Scheich-Schmidt is a Cologne based nutrition consultant. She does personal training as well as inhouse seminars and trainings for clients like AOK, BEK, IKK Nordrhein, Bayer, Berlin Chemie, antwerpes ag, BBDO Düsseldorf GmbH, DocCheck AG, Grey Healthcare GmbH and lots more.
Besides a logo she needed business cards and a website, which I designed in that order.

Workflow

After discussing the contents and sitemap of the website with the client I started working on the layouts in Photoshop. One or two presentations later I was able to start with coding the site in simple HTML/CSS without a CMS. Nowadays I almost always let the programming be done by other freelancers or agencies which enables me to keep my focus on the design part.

Client: imfernsehen GmbH & Co. KG
Website: www.fernsehserien.de
Service: Screendesign
Software:

imfernsehen GmbH & Co. KG is a network of TV related portals and forums with more than 11 million page impressions per month.
They needed a redesign of fernsehserien.de but wanted to keep the overall structure and contents in order to keep their user base satisfied.

Workflow

From the beginning it was clear that we would keep an orange / yellowish tone as base colour, because it is quiet unique in this segment. Also the color (besides the topic it is about) distinguishes the site better from the others of the imfernsehen network.
I freshened the color up to a yellow to orange color palette and added some Javascript based features to improve the usability. I also redesigned their Logo in Illustrator so from now on they can use it on every medium they might want it on.

Client: A+M Architekten
Website: www.am-architekten.de
Service: Concept, Screendesign
Software:

A+M Architekten is a Cologne based architect bureau which has been doing urban development, construction supervision and planing for almost 35 Years.
They needed a relaunch of their website, because their current site was made of static HTML and they wanted to be able to update its contents easier.

Workflow

First we had some meetings with the client discussing their needs and sitemap. According to those statements I developed two different layouts and presented 2 pages each. Although they chose the lighter version I still prefere the darker one which I present here. For the one chosen I developed other subpages and after their approval I sliced the design for the web developer who did setup the CMS and the site itself.

Client: medicalpicture GmbH
Website: www.educational-pictures.net
Service: Screendesign, HTML/CSS coding
Software:

Medicational Pictures GmbH is a stockimage agency specialized in medical images. They wanted to build a subbrand with another target audience. In this case they wanted to address students, teachers and institutions.

Client: pixelasm
Service: 3d animation, lighting, Screendesign, Actionscript, HTML/CSS coding
Software:

When I started working as a freelancer flash was quiet popular and attracted my attention a lot, so did 3Ds Max. So I thought why not learn more about those software packages by building my startup portfolio with it.

Workflow

I started with the logo in Illustrator, which I then imported to 3Ds Max where I built up all the elements with the rounded rectangular found in the logo itself. Every single object in that scene is a scaled / skewed / rotated rounded cube deriving from the logo.
Due to the fact that at that time bandwith was a big deal I did the animation and exported single frames for a 12fps animation. The rest was more about actionscripting to which I was quiet new at that time. But exactly that was the reason I developed it in flash and 3Ds Max.

Until this very day I prefere jobs where I can learn new styles, techniques and programs...

Client: medicalpicture GmbH
Service: Concept, Layout
Software:

Medicalpicture GmbH is an image stock agency, specialized on medical images and animations. They were looking for a special kind of flyer to promote their service. Hence they had a special theme (Faces of blood) on their mind the time they contacted me I thought about ways to promote that.
First I thought about ways blood is transported, stored, collected etc. and found blood collecting tubes best conected to the theme and able to transport a message.

Workflow

Because only small ammounts were needed I searched ebay for lidded tubes similar to blood collecting tubes and did some quick flyer size testing on the sizes I found. When we were happy about the sizes I bought several hundreds of them.
Lucky me I only had to do the testing on how to fold the flyer and setup everything with the cord so that the flyer pops out easily when pulled. The handy work was done by the coworkers of medicalpicture. Great thing about small clients and especially that one is that they are more willing to support ideas.

Client: Various
Service: Concept, Design
Software:

You can find a selection of logos I designed here and some more on my logopong portfolio.

Client: Personal interest
Service: filming, 3d modelling, animation, compositing
Software:

Equipment

• Go Pro HD
• Dye i4
• Planet Eclipse Etek 3

Setup

First time I ever used the GoPro. Good thing it comes with several different mounts, so that I was able to attach it to my helmet and paintball marker quiet easy. Unfortunately the hand filmed parts got very shaky instead. In order to adress that problem I bought a flycam already but have not tested it yet ...

Postproduction

Due to the fact that I did this animation for my personal tutorial purposes I was able to play arround with some effects I haven´t done before, like the metaballs / blob mesh in the intro, filming in generall and some minor effects like the LED style boards etc.

Client: Personal interest
Service: Shooting, post production
Software:

Equipment

• Canon 40D, 1/250, ISO 125
• Canon 50mm 1.2 @ 1.4
• Canon 580 EX I with Flash2Softbox softbox

Setup

We shot in a hotel room with some natural light from the left and a Canon 580 EX I Speedlite with a softbox from the front. The Speedlite was radio controlled with an Elinchrom skyport so that the sooting was more flexible.

Postproduction

After some color correction on the RAW files I did some minor skin touch ups and retouched the hair. I also recoloured the white background wall to extend the back of the bed, because I found the wall rather distracting. In the end I added an outer shine to the model and turned the whole image to align the back of the bed horizontally.

Client: Personal interest
Service: Shooting, post production
Software:

Equipment

• Canon 350D, 1/250, ISO 200
• Tamron 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 @ 18mm 3.5

Setup

I was on a walk home when the sun went down, so I just took three RAW photos free hand from the other side of the Rhine in Cologne Deutz. No filters or flashes needed here, although a gradient normal density filter might have had come in handy at that time ...

Postproduction

I started with importing three RAWs in Photoshop. At that time I did not know about the stitching plugin of photoshop, so I aligned and transformed the images by hand. When everything matched up I flattened all layers to a single one and cropped it temporarily. I applied a sepia effect and enhanced the contrasts with curves seperately for the Rhine, the City and the sky. In the end the file grew to about 400mb and had a resolution of 6000x2300 pixels

Client: Personal interest
Website: http://c4dtools.net/textsphere/
Service: Xpresso programming
Software:

Textsphere

is an Xpresso setup I built for placing text and splines parametrically in and onto spheres.

Idea

I was working on a clients Job, which was about animating spheres by hand and some with dynamics. Because I had to put a lot of artists names onto those spheres I soon thought that Xpresso might save some time here, streamlining later text changes. After the job was done I refined the setup and added the insphere part as well.

But first off I always wanted to record a tutorial myself and second dig deeper into Xpresso.

Client: The Voice (TV music channel)
Service: 3d modelling, lighting, animation, compositing
Software:

The client asked for a seasonal and localized package containing openers, text/graphic inserts and closers. The animaition is used between commercials and shows to separate those elements visually and also promote events, other shows etc. I also produced the other three season packages each for the four countries Denmark, Sweden, Finnland and Boulgaria.

Workflow

First I started with modelling the planets and produced some still frames, so that the client was able to comment on the style. After their approval I started working on the animation itself doing lots of low poly test renders to check just the timings. When they were to my liking I started the full resolution renderings which I then imported to After Effects and did the Postproduction there.

Project setup

I split up the animation in 6 main parts: 1. opener planets in front 2. opener big planet 3. opener background planets 4. middle part blocks 5. middle part background 6. closer. Each part contained several render passes for masking and color grading some parts separately as well as ambient occlusion, depth matte etc. Because Only the big planet contained localized typo I only had to render this part 4 times.

The grass was made with the hair plugin which lets the render times explode. Plus I used some displacement mapping for the planets surfaces to give them more depth. After some global illumination tests I decided to just go with ambient occlusion which is much less time consuming than GI.

The texts and images on the blocks were composited in after effects, so that they can be changed rather quickly. After some testings I prerendered most of the comps to speed up later exports with other footage.

Postproduction

After imorting all the passes (RGB+alpha, depth, ambient occlusion, and several object channels for masking single objects). I started with a backround layer which is made of several cloud and sky domes to fake some more depth and movement.
By using particular I added leafes, dust, butterflies and sparks to the planet. The birds in the back were pic whipped to a null which I animated to form a path for them. Whilst the butterflies were moved randomly with a wiggle expression.
In the end I color corrected the footage and tinted everything with some gradients to fit the season better, added a lensflare and a vignette.

Client: Personal interest
Service: Shooting, post production
Software:

Equipment

• Canon 350D, 1/640, ISO 200
• Canon 50mm 1.2 @ 1.2
• Canon 580 EX I with Flash2Softbox softbox

Setup

The shot was taken in a 6x6 meter room with natural light from the left and a softbox from the right front to light up the shadows a bit. Although a reflector might have done the trick as well

Postproduction

Unfortunately I flattened the master PSD by accident years ago, so I can´t show inbetween steps.
First off I cranked up the contrast in the midtones and did some minor skin touch up. To get this more artwork like look I almost overexposed her skin and intensified the colour of her hair and background. The lips were recoloured to match her hair. In the end I desaturated the fleece jacket so that the colour / warmth contrast stands out even more. Last thing to add was a vignette.