Making the Complex Simple

And then making it complex: unpacking the production of a simple gif:

We created a gif to demonstrate the C+S differentiating value: "We make the complex simple" To show this, I needed a visual representation of something that was powerful when simplified, but relatively useless when in a state of complexity. A metaphor sprang to mind (I make no apology for the pun). I thought of how useless a spring can be when it is tangled vs. its power when properly aligned. There was the concept. Now it was onto production. Even a simple animation like this can become tedious in After Effects if not set up carefully. I opted to automate the process. First I created a sphere with a stroke and no fill and changed it to a 3D layer. I duplicated it, but added an expression to the sphere size so that it would be the same as the ring below it, but slightly larger based on a slider multiple on a null layer. This way I could duplicate the clone as many times as I like and always have the same distance between it and the next smaller ring. If I wanted to increase or decrease the distance between the rings, I could simply change the amount on the slider. I also created a relationship in the Z distance between the layers so that I could create the spring action.

Next I created a negative one multiplier relationship between the rotation of each ring to the layer below so that the angles would alternate (15º, -15º and so on). To that I added a complexity multiplier, again, controlled by a slider. I also added controls for stroke width, extrusion depth, and stroke color. Once I had the rig set up it was just a matter of animating a few sliders and the copy and slapping on our signature end bumper to get the finished result.