Showcasing the last several years of my motion design and compositing, this reel… to me… is unreal. As an artist, I can rarely step back from my own work and say “Wow… I made that?”. A proud feeling for sure.
This reel is without a doubt a quick rabbit-punch to the throat that will leave you yearning for a second viewing.
Special thanks to everyone I’ve worked with along the way that has helped me to learn, grow, and develop my craft in ways I never thought possible. For a full breakdown of my roles in all of these clips, click here.
A short stylized animation I created at Artistic Image using fully-rotoscoped footage that I shot using a Canon 7D. I match-moved the scenes and used Trapcode Particular to create the chaos that trails behind the skateboarders. Rowbyte Plexus was used in the first clip as well. This project was an immense undertaking, consuming nearly two full-weeks of rotoscoping alone.I’ve had this vision in my head for well over a year, and it is really awesome to finally see it all come to fruition!
Radio Flyer Boys Shockwave from ARTISTIC IMAGE on Vimeo.
A recent spot I had the opportunity to work on at Artistic Image to promote Radio Flyer’s venture into the realm of kids scooters. Ed Dye art directed the piece and Ken Soons directed the shoot. Daniel Wiggins, Lee Kordel and Jeff Ling handled the 3D animation. Randall Champagne and myself handled the compositing and post.I was primarily responsible for the shot where the helmets form on the three kids in a Tron-like fashion, the ramp build-up shot, jump call-out shot, and compositing the 3D for the hero shots of the scooter.From what I hear, this spot is getting a lot of airtime on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel!
Pure. Drifting. Awesomeness. I don’t even remember saying that.
Also… what Ryan Tuerck says in this trailer is SO right on. I am forever in debt to this crazy sport for all of the experiences and relationships with incredible people it has bestowed upon me. Real talk.
My excitement level went through the roof when Will and Josh sent me a link to the rough cut of this teaser! I could not wait to sink my teeth into some motion graphics for the piece. I was worried, however… that my schedule wasn’t going to free up to allow me the luxury. Lucky for me, it did! I was eager to try some new things, and help give the teaser a deservingly polished style with the graphics treatment. I am very pleased how they turned out, and cannot wait to work more with Will and Josh on the rest of the project! I am enthralled at the idea of expanding on what I did for this teaser and further developing it into something even stronger for the project.Hats off to Will and Josh for the shots/edit. I really cannot wait to see more!
Growing up skating, there were always certain videos we would watch before a sesh. Videos that would get us all hyped up, amped, and ready to hurl our carcasses onto a handrail down a flight of stairs without a second thought. This video is right on par with that… but for drifting. It incites that same urge to do something ridiculously dangerous with little regard for consequence, and I CANNOT get enough of it!
* I did not edit this piece, only helped with some mograph muscle. Huge thanks to Andy Laputka (director/editor), Brian Casse, Mark Lenardon, and Chris Szczypala, Chris Boon, Hertrech Eugene, and Mike Vogt for their efforts shooting.
Back in November at Artistic Image, I was tasked with creating an animated book trailer for Thinking Small by Andrea Hiott about the history of the Volkswagen Beetle. Armed with photos from the book and a script… I tried to come up with a look that was remnant of the classic VW ad campaigns by DDB, while trying to take the viewer on a journey through some the history behind the car. I enjoyed utilizing some typographic muscle to try and pull all the moments together with a cohesive look by using various weights of the Volkswagen typeface.This project was right up my alley in so many ways… and was a lot of fun to work on! I learned so much about Volkswagen’s history in the process, and can’t wait to read the book!
Back in September, I was part of the team at Artistic Image that got to work on the player introduction for the Falcons Jumbotron. This piece plays at each game before the players leave the locker room and run onto the field. The player footage at the beginning is mocked in for placement where they shoot a live feed from the locker room/tunnel area. Ed Dye directed the piece, while Daniel Wiggins and Daniel Barnes handled the 3d animation. Lee Kordel and Jeff Ling did the texturing, shading, and lighting. Owen Chikazawa animated the mid-section with the rotoscoped player footage, while I was responsible for compositing/effects. I learned a TON putting these elements together and helping bring this piece to life. This was an awesome piece to work on, and it is definitely exciting to know that a stadium full of people see this every game!
When life picks up speed, the momentum can be somewhat overwhelming. In wake of that momentum, I have totally neglected my own site. Typically I hate the “Oh, sorry I haven’t been posting much, but hey… I’M BACK” entries. Yet, here I am. So much has happened in the past 8 months that I don’t even know where to begin. Over the next several posts, I would like to get things back up to speed with what has been what in my neck of the woods.The biggest change in my realm, is undoubtedly work-related. In late November, I was contacted by a local Atlanta studio to freelance on a showreel of animated print advertisements. The studio is Artistic Image, located in the King Plow Arts Center in west Atlanta.
The studio is really awesome, and does amazing work! After working on the showreel I got to work on some really fun spots for Cartoon Network LA. I was given all of the graphic elements to animate, and the concept was that ordinary back-to-school items would transform into giant aliens and battle it out. Really really fun spots to work on!
Then in January, the crew at Artistic Image asked me on full-time for a 6-month contract to work as a part of the team to revamp the historical Stone Mountain Lasershow.
The project would entail video-mapping technology to create the illusion that the mountain comes to life… giving the show an added element of dimension that the traditional lasers could not provide. It was an incredible project to work on, and took an immense amount of work to complete. Everyone on the team at Artistic Image did an amazing job. I had a chance to see the show’s opening July 4th weekend, and judging by the crowd’s reaction – this renovation was a HUGE success! I feel very honored that I was able to work on a project of this magnitude, and one that has such a historical significance to the state of Georgia.This spot on 11alive.com gives a little more insight to what we did.
June marked the end of my contract, at which time, I was offered a full-time position as an animator. I graciously accepted the position, for I have been wanting to transition away from designing for web/print for well over 5 years. I was finally able to make the jump to motion design full-time, and I am incredibly happy about it. Everyone on the team at Artistic Image is super-talented, and most of all – really great to work with! I’m really excited that they gave me the opportunity to come on board and be part of the team!
2009 Motion Graphics Reel from Andy Sapp on Vimeo.
My 2009 reel showcasing my motion graphics efforts. Short, sweet, and right to the point. EnjoySoundtrack: Motor by SebastiAn
Believe it or not… I actually SKIPPED the Southeast Drift event at Turner Field today for a class. That’s right. I ditched drifting for school. An opportunity came up to take a class in Cinema 4D – which is an animation software that I have been dying to get my feet wet in. Even though I would miss out on an awesome event at Turner, I knew this would be my chance to get acclimated with Cinema 4D.
Darrin Frankovitz, lead trainer at Maxon was instructing the class at MGFest ’09. The class went over the basics of C4D, and the Mograph module. I learned a lot… including that I have A LOTTT to learn.Here is a screenshot of one of the project files I was making. The extruded Helvetica looked too much like elements of the Comcast commercials to pass it up… so Comcastic™ it was.
A quick snap of some of the motion graphics I am putting together for this years SHOT Show video for Advanced Armament CorpI’m pressed for time… but this is turning out NICE.
2008 Driver Profile – Andy Sapp. from Andy Sapp on Vimeo.
This edit is well over a year in the making. This cut is as close to perfect as I will ever get it. This video is the most thorough, polished, and complete example of my abilities behind the wheel… and my abilities behind a computer. Period.This digital short showcases the past 3 years of my professional drift effort. Features amalgamated footage from Formula Drift and Nopi Drift events, as well as various Nopi/NDRA demos, grassroots competitions, practice events, SPEED TV, and other television appearances.
Very very special thanks to everyone who provided me with the footage to edit this video.
Soundtrack by Slayer.
Keep drifting fun. OR ELSE.
