On Listening to Users, Getting Effects In Camera, and Anticipating What's Next in Motion Design

Founded in 2010, the Rampant Design Tools effects library has come on strong over the last two years. In 2013, the company opened a studio space in Orlando, FL, where founder Sean Mullen creates drag-and-drop effects as QuickTime (Apple ProRes) elements using 4K cameras from Red and Blackmagic Design — along with VFX knowhow gained from his years in the Hollywood trenches. (Because the effects are actually video files, they're compatible with any NLE that can play ProRes on the timeline, and can thus be used to layer and blend the effects over and into footage.) At NAB last year, Rampant introduced libraries of effects at 2K, 4K and 5K resolutions—and this year's NAB was where high-res workflow really started to catch fire. We talked to Mullen about business at the show, staying in touch with an audience of editors and VFX experts, and keeping both eyes on the next big trends in visual design for film and television.

So how was NAB for you this year? How did it compare to the last couple of years?

This is the best show we've ever had. We had far more traffic than ever, and people's attitude toward 4K and tools for editors in general has become much more positive. Over the last few years, I had people coming up to me and saying, 'You know, I'm running out of work and I don't know what to do.' This year, I had people saying, 'Take my money.'

It feels like over the last two or three years we've had all this 4K technology introduced, but people haven't taken it seriously as something that's actually feasible without some kind of supernatural magic to make all that data flow through. Now, with Amazon and Netflix demanding 4K acquisition and deliverables, they're realizing that 4K workflow is real and attainable. 

It doesn't hurt that Amazon and Netflix are doing this, and it also helps that you can go to Best Buy and see a myriad of TVs available for sale. Last year, people were still a little scared. It reminded me of when we all went to HD and people were flipping out about that. One thing that helps is that 4K is one standard format now. It's not like when HD came out.

Another buzzword at NAB this year was HDR. That's probably not the same as 4K — if you have a 4K timeline, you're going to want to use 4K effects on that footage — but is the arrival of HDR going to have an impact on the kind of clips you're producing?

We haven't had many people, with the exception of some high-end studios, ask for HDR. I will absolutely create what my clients and my customers want. But I know that if I started offering HDR clips right now, about 90 percent of our audience would look at me funny. I don't say that to belittle it …

No, it's good that you're in close touch with your audience so that you know what they're asking for.

Well, Rampant Design Tools is only two people — myself and Stefanie [Mullen, CFO and web designer]. So we sit down and we just talk to people. We're not pounding a pulpit saying, 'This is how to use Rampant!' We're asking, 'What do you do and what are your needs?' We want to know how we can help you, or how we can guide you to someone else who can help you more. We work really well with plug-ins from Red Giant and Video Copilot, so we have no problem directing people to them if that's what they need. Anyway, with the exception of the major studios, not one person has asked me about HDR. We already say that 4K is fantastic because it gives you so much more latitude in your images.

You mentioned that RDT is just you and Stefanie. You come to this with a solid background in visual effects, correct?

Yes. I worked in Hollywood for about 15 years on projects including Any Given Sunday and Charmed and Ally McBeal. I worked in Hollywood until the late 2000s. Among my mentors were people who worked on the original Star Wars at ILM, so I was taught how to create practical effects. In the mid-1990s, you weren't relying on CG. So I know that if I'm going to release a light product, like light leaks, I'm going to do it for real.

Looking at your effects, it seems apparent that many of them have a very photographic look, rather than CG.

WIth the exception of our mattes, I try to do everything in camera. If I release a distortion product, I don't use plug-ins to create distortion. I break and destroy video and then capture that. There's an organic recipe to what I do.

Is Rampant Design Tools your full-time gig now, or do you continue to work in VFX?

Well, Rampant is probably a 120-hour-a-week job. But I do have a roster of clients who just won't let me go. I'm not going to say no to them. And working on their projects just keeps me relevant and plugged in.

Who is your audience? Is it mainly editors, or are there compositors and other VFX artists in the mix, too?

The great thing is — and this is why we had so many people representing us in our booth — it's everyone. We had a lot of small, indie film editors alongside L.A.-based film and television editors. We had motion graphics artists and visual effects artists. We have everything, up to 5K effects libraries that are being used by huge companies that produce visual effects for film and television. And we have customers who use our products for corporate work, event videos and wedding videography. We have something that applies to anybody you can think of.

What's the breakdown between people who buy your individual libraries piecemeal, according to what they think they can really use, and people that just get the full offering on a drive?

Believe it or not, the people who buy piecemeal from us turn around and buy drives pretty quickly. We don't charge them extra for that—we give them credit for what they've already purchased. But at this point, 50 percent of our sales are hard-drive based. The exception is international customers, who don't necessarily want to buy drives even though our shipping is free. The problem is they don't want to wait for the drives to get through customs, which can be a big hold-up.

You mentioned that you do occasionally work for long-standing clients, and that keeps you connected. Where else do you get ideas for new effects?

I have a huge circle of friends from L.A., and they're always showing me their reels. I'm always looking out for design trends, and monitoring them on Netflix and on television and in the movies. I always have between 40 and 60 ideas percolating. When I'm happy enough with something that I'll let it leave the building — I have some faith in it, I think it's cool — I'll send it out to a handful of people I trust and get feedback. If the feedback is positive, we'll put it out there. But more often it's not yet what I want it to be. So it's all about talking to people and having a good pool of beta testers.

A big part of what you do is tutorials and education that show people how to make the best use of your products in terms of storytelling. How complex do you think it can be for your customers to really make the best use of your product in order to enhance the narratives of the video they're creating?

Well, with our tools, if you can drag a clip from a bin to a timeline, you're done. Unfortunately, the majority of people leave it there. We had one demo artist at NAB named Monica Daniel who is a TV and film editor out of L.A., and she took one of our effects and just completely layered and tweaked it. She was going multiple layers deep in Avid and Adobe Premiere Pro to completely make these her own effects. I was really proud to see that. People see that they are QuickTime based, and the assumption is that you just drag them onto your timeline and you're done. But if you have time to tweak and stack and build your effects, you'll find that's much more powerful than drag and drop.

Can you offer any insight as far as trends that you see, talking to customers, in terms of how they're working or what kinds of effects they're looking for now?

The most-requested effect by our audience is organic transitions. Editors are really looking for effects they can use specifically for transitional purposes. That's coming in our next batch of effects. People are getting tired of the typical dip-to-white or flash frames. They want something more organic that can be tailored to the particular style of the edit they're doing?

You mean flash frames are going out of style!?

They might not be going out of style, but people want more of a variety of flashes — some aggressive, some more subtle and beautiful, some more colorful. The typical dip-to-whites and flash frames may be going by the wayside in favor of something a little more stylized and designed.

Anything else you want to talk about before we let you go?

Just one thing — a personal pet project. 4KFree.com collects a couple hundred free 4K style effects with no strings attached. You can use them in professional and personal projects. They're designed for low-budget and no-budget users. Maybe you're scared of 4K and you want to experiment. You sign up, the link comes straight to your email, and you can download the effects and use them in your projects right away. It's just our way to give back to the community and support anyone, regardless of their budgetary constraints.