Ben Pohl - Motion Graphics & VFX

Interview with “Flip the Media”

Ben — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:14:17 +0000

For unknown reasons someone wanted to ask me a bunch of questions about myself and my craft. You can view the interview here:
http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2011/12/five-minutes-with-ben-pohl/

APEC CNN spot

Ben — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:41:40 +0000

Warning: Shameless self-promo.
This is a commercial I made for air on CNN. Made 100% in After Effects, using lots of Trapcode 3D Stroke.

Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/BngKNFWSeDM

How to Network

Ben — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:39:21 +0000

A few weeks ago I left my comfortable day job to start my own business. And I've discovered that networking is everything… simply everything.

This is a great talk by Michael Ellsberg. He is specifically talking about ditching college and going straight for critical mentor relationships.

Here's the brief summary:

You create mentor relationships by giving to your mentors. "givers get". But very important: When you give, it has to be selfless (although highly directional), only if your giving is genuine will you genuinely receive later in life.

There are 3 types of giving:

-Give your knowledge/consult (you know something they don't know, even if they're experts)

-Give your connections, give leads to people you know (both parties that you introduce must benefit, not 1-way benefits)

-Give/show your eagerness to put your mentors advice into action. It will speak volumes to them.

Divination Title Sequence

Ben — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:10:18 +0000

This is something I'm very proud of. The Divination Title Sequence:

http://youtu.be/RAyp69S1egY

Every image is the artwork of Gostave Doré. I wanted the title sequence to serve two purposes: To establish the worldview of the movie, and give a VERY brief primer on the conflict of spiritual creatures.

I liked Gostave's art so much because it looks like a historical drawing, as if the events were documented with pencils. I wanted the events of the past to feel credible and literal, like you were turning pages on an ancient history book.

All of this art is originally black and white. I added "old tones" and old paper textures to add to the "historic book" feel.

This sequence was designed and animated before we shot the film, it was a fun way to prepare myself for the huge task of telling this story.

John Jay on creativity

Ben — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:33:10 +0000

I watched this at the perfect time in my life. It's time to break out of the silo.

Filming Inception’s Corridor & Zero-Gravity Sequences

Ben — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:28:38 +0000

I have no words after watching this. So amazing….

http://youtu.be/ZB0PyyLNIV4

FCPX

Ben — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:21:50 +0000

Final Cut Pro X is making quite a stir in the post-production community. Final Cut Pro 7.0 has become the standard in many production companies. It was the editing system of choice for Divination. The main complaints, I gather, are that they've changed so many things, and removed so many features, that it's no longer a professional application. Personally, I wouldn't try to make feature film on it, it seems much more suited to the "straight from camera to YouTube" workflow.

But the best responses I've seen are these two:

Ron Brinkmann, who developed the compositing software Shake that was eventually bought by Apple, has a unique perspective on the Apple mentality.

And I love this video response:

http://youtu.be/VXepNCs_iZo

Time to dive into Adobe Premiere Pro.

Watch a 2-Hour Discussion Between Steven Spielberg, JJ Abrams and James Cameron

Ben — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:49:20 +0000

This is a real treat. All three of these directors in one place discussing Spielberg's work. Amazing.

Check it out here.

Full Divination Trailer

Ben — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 21:25:15 +0000

It's finally up! We'll soon disclose screening details. Enjoy…

http://youtu.be/EdcbNXSCdkQ

Brian Mcdonald on Storytelling

Ben — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:43:43 +0000

I had the pleasure of meeting Brian Mcdonald while shooting a documentary at University of Washington. He was teaching a CG animation class on storytelling. Ever since then I've been a follower of his work. His first book, Invisible Ink, was invaluable to me in writing for my first feature, Divination.

This is his interview with Warren Ethridge, discussing storytelling.

The High Bar w/ Warren Etheredge & Brian McDonald from The High Bar on Vimeo.