This World Music Day, our global report shows that while independent musicians greatly value marketing, 79% struggle with it — revealing a major industry challenge.
THE ART OF MOTION GRAPHICS AND MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE
We talk with one of the newest members of our author community about photography, motorcycles and how joining Videobolt improved his design skillset.
Balalaika is a talented motion graphic artist who joined Videobolt authors just a few months ago. In such a short span of time he submitted 32 stunning slideshows and stomps. We had a chat about his design process, where he finds inspiration and how he maintains a healthy work-life balance. Enjoy!
Petar Drndarević
What do you think, how has the world of video changed since you joined the global motion graphics community?
Balalaika
I started making templates in late 2017. At that time, stomp videos — fast, dynamic videos with minimal animation were trending, clearly standing out from other templates. Nowadays there's a lot of variety and it's hard for me to single out a prevailing trend. Simplicity combined with dynamic elements seems to have stayed evergreen.
Petar Drndarević
Is there one particular moment in your life when you realized you wanted to design motion graphics? What happened?
Balalaika
Prior to 2017, I was shooting stuff like music videos, commercials, nightclub promos, and so on. All the editing was done in Premiere Pro. When you live in a small town and deliver good work, word of mouth spreads quickly and you become the person people call when they need a video. Client work also got tiring quickly, everyone has their opinions and they're entitled to them, but as a filmmaker and designer I didn't always agree. I was left tired and burned out from working this way.
Petar Drndarević
I know the feeling. How did you recover?
Balalaika
One day a friend of mine suggested I try making templates for stock. The biggest obstacle was that I didn't know how to work in After Effects, and the production level at popular stock sites was already high. Just as I was trying to find my way in, a new kind of stock started selling — templates for Premiere Pro. I saw this as my opportunity to enter the market. I later decided to convert my projects from Premiere to After Effects, which brought me to Videobolt.
Petar Drndarević
What would you say is the most challenging thing about being a motion graphics designer? Can you walk us through your design process?
Balalaika
I consider inspiration to be the hardest part of my job. You have to concentrate as much as possible, clear your mind and visualize the project as it should be in the final version. And inspiration, as you know, is a capricious thing. You have to spend a lot of time looking for it.
Petar Drndarević
Do you plan your projects thoroughly or just start working and find inspiration along the way?
Balalaika
I tend to consider my work as much as I can. Creating a project in your mind's eye, you can quickly change any element of the project — animation, text, colors or compositions. And then you open your eyes and turn on the computer and realize that the project is ready, the only thing left is to take it out of your head and into After Effects.
Petar Drndarević
How would you describe your design style?
Balalaika
I don't really know how to put my style into words. I try to create simple dynamic projects and play around with different themes. As mentioned above, it all depends on inspiration and mood. Some days you wake up and realize that today the mood is for a dynamic opener, some days the mood is for a romantic slideshow. I always do projects that I like myself, that my gut feeling and mood tells me to do.
Petar Drndarević
Are there any designers who have inspired you?
Balalaika
When I got into motion design the first person I heard of was 3umaleto. I guess I would call him my hero in motion design.
Petar Drndarević
Can you remember the moment you discovered Videobolt? What was your first impression?
Balalaika
Oh, I remember that moment like it happened yesterday. As I mentioned, I got into motion design thanks to Premiere Pro. Then one day in one of the motion design communities, I got a message that there's a new platform in town, Videobolt. The only thing was they only worked with After Effects projects. At that moment I realized that’s exactly what I need to learn. That was a push that took me even further in my career as a motion designer.
Petar Drndarević
What are you working on right now? What's coming up next?
Balalaika
At the moment, I'm taking a break from work. It's summer and the motorcycle season is in full swing, so I want to get as much road under me as I can before the weather gets cold. I'll then be recharged and ready to work full steam in the fall.
Petar Drndarević
I'm glad you found a more sustainable approach to creating your art. Thanks for talking to us, can't wait to see your new projects later this year.
Balalaika
Thanks. This was my first ever interview. Hope it was alright.
Join us in celebrating 10,000 Videobolt templates as social media star Jo Mendes reveals his five favorite picks for creating video content that turns heads.