Marcus Eckert, a good definition of motion design.

There are no secrets.

In recent months, a trend marked a strong return in the small world of motion design: motion design.
Let's look closer at what term we use every day, and break down the order to (re) capture something essential:

Motion. Design.

• So we end up with one hand motion movement, animation. Move in the space of elements over time, and to apply speed and amortization to create dynamics and rhythm.
• But we often forget the most important, me included: Design: Motion Graphic Design. And this is the key to achieving a good level. We must first focus on developing his artistic talent before becoming a bully technique.

And what happens when these two skills come together?
When one combines the talents of a good graphic designer to those of a good facilitator?

Well we obtain very good motion designers! This is the case of Marcus Eckert , motion designer based in Germany, also at ease in the graphic with keyframes.

I invite you to discover his work, through a short interview through which he shares his vision of the motion, and how to create!

What does mean « motion design » for you ?

Well, there are two components as I see it (for the purely visual stuff that is). Design and animation. And to me it feels like that for a really good video you need be really good at both, although being extremely good in one area can kind of offset the other. I’m just now getting around to spending more time on design rather than on just purely getting the motion right. And then I spend time experimenting with this stuff until it feels right. Until it just hits the sweet spot and I feel I can attach my name to this and not be terribly ashamed. So it’s about developing and honing your sensibilities so that you’re able to tell when something looks good and more importantly when it doesn’t so you can go back into it and make it better.

Your animations are fully loaded with smart details. What is your favorite workflow to avoid some annoying client’s modifications ?

Ha! I wish I knew. I’m now getting used to the fact that often times people don’t really know what they want and it’s a process for them as well. Sometimes there is a bit of persuasion after the fact involved and sometimes there is no alternative to going back in and changing stuff. It only gets tough when they’re asking you to do stuff you know will look terrible but they still want you to do it. When you have to go against your aesthetic sensibilities. This I’ll never get used to. I guess it’s about presenting them with alternatives and options before you start animating and making them part of the process. I try to share the responsibilities so that people have a sense that we arrived there together and that I just didn’t run off and did what I wanted although sometimes I get asked to do just that and then people are less inclined to dramatically alter the video. And that I like.

Do you like to use some scripts in addition to the keyframe/graph editor combo to animate ?

I haven’t used any scripts so far. My workflow is not very streamlined I’m afraid. I’ve just gotten around to actually color coding my layers so I know which belong together.

What are your top 3 AE Scripts ?

I’ll give you my favorite plugins since I don’t use scripts: Magic Bullet Looks, Trapcode Particular, Frischluft Lenscare

What is your favorite motion graphic studio/artist ?

I love the works of Imaginary Forces and The Impactist .

What is your favorite motion ?

I like adding subtle glares/reflections to things, just makes it pop a bit.

What I’d like to add

I get asked a lot about expressions. In my mind expressions are more about control than animation. You can get very far without them, but they do streamline things quite a bit and they’re not as horrible as they look.

Screenshoots for motivation

Below are some screenshots, keyframes, layers, and no secret: always ask for a nice animation work, and time.

Thank you to Marcus for his time, and soon to discover other motion profiles of talented designers, who are a real source of inspiration and motivation for me!