Stuart Sinclair Macro Animations

Recently we have been admiring the work of Stuart Sinclair on Vimeo. It turns out he’s just acquired a new Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens and his early experiments are quite something to behold. The first video shows how his footage can be used as a displacement map in Cinema4D to produce some abstract yet beautiful shapes. It shows the value of an organic process, as Stuart filmed liquid and composited it in After Effects using keyframes from the bass and the treble of the music to create an otherworldly and lively piece of motion graphics.

He has now posted up a second experiment with the macro lens, this time filming ‘the little friends on his balcony’. Using a self-built macro studio and a plastic pot Stuart was able to capture the details of these bugs and insects, before motion tracking typography on in After Effects.

“It took me about a week to do the graphical elements, whilst the shoot was more sporadic, depending on when I found the insects” Stuart tells us. “I’ve only had a DSLR for the last year or so and I’m still learning a lot about lenses. I saw the Macro Kingdom films by Clemento and decided I just had to get a macro lens. This lens is like no other, it’s tricky to use and getting the subject in focus can be frustrating to say the least. The guys who really impress me are the guys who go out and film insects in their natural habitat.”

What is possibly most impressive about Stuart’s personal pieces is how polished they feel, it’s great to see animators take self-initiated projects seriously and publish such a creative sketchbook of motion design. Without experimenting we won’t create anything original.

Stuart has been freelancing for 8 years since he graduated from Central St Martins. Check out his site here.