This video intro for my aerial shots demonstrates a 2D to 3D technique to add a realistic, three-dimensional camera movement effect to simple, static background images. The background images was applied to a simple quad of four vertices in Cinema4D. The trick is to move each vertex to create the impression of a moving camera .
Additionally, some seperate video layers, containing dust and durt, were added on top of the animation to simulate a vivid, non-static look and realism. I also experimented with realtime reflection effects in quite a few intro videos (see the glossy chars). This was actually not done in Cinema4D but with Sony Vegas, using masked video layers.
Cinema4D
I am working with Cinema4D for more than fifteen years now (semi professional), but I still find myself discovering new stuff almost every day. It's absolutely amazing how much functionality Maxon packed into this mighty tool while keeping a clean and intuitive user interface. For me, Cinema4D is the perfect allrounder and I use it for all kind of graphics and animations.Sony Vegas
I love working with Sony Vegas. In my mind, it's the most decent video editing tool today. You might argue that there are a lot more plugins available for Adobe products like Premiere and After Effects -but all major plugins are available for Vegas, too. At least, all my personal favorites. Vegas offers a cleaner, faster interface than Adobe products and, in contrary to Premiere and After Effects, it also runs perfect when you are using a non NVIDIA graphics card like ATI/AMD.