Aug 24 2009Eye Candy: Beautiful Dancing Smoke Video

This is a video created by Esteban Diácono to the music of Olafur Arnalds' Ljósið using "Adobe After Effects, particular v2, soundkeys and a little starglow". It's basically a bunch of smoke dancing around. But not like that shit in Lost!

i first imported the audio and set up 2 sounkeys layers, one for the piano and one for the strings. Then i worked the particles and the particle subsystem and linked things like the emission, the turbulence, the velocity, the spin amplitude and the strenght of the fields to the soundkeys outputs. Then i set up the colors with 2 different palettes, and well, after that there was a lot of trial and error in order to achieve what i was looking for. There's a lot of randomness involved in here, so there was also a lot of luck, of course.

I don't really understand any of that, but what's new? The important thing is that you just got paid for watching a three and a half minute video at work. High five!

The most amazing, beautiful and realistic piece of computer art I have ever seen [thenextweb]

Thanks to Andrew, who once inhaled some of that smoke and got all high as a kite and forgot to catch the bus.

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Reader Comments

FIRST

First!!

Dammit!!!

PWNED

@1-4

seriously?

Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

as someone who uses after effects and all those plug-ins I can say that was pretty impressive. I've never been able to create smoke that looks that good using particular.

@6

LIAR!

@GFS

What is sky chilli and how can it help me get laid?

@GFS

What is sky chilli and how can it help me get laid?

@STOMPY

@STOMPY

It's Cincinnati style chili. If you are out at the club or bar in Cincinnati it is highly recommended you go to Skyline, Camp Washington, or Pleasant Ridge Chili and get yourself a three way. That's right. You can order three ways in Cincy. They're so nice.

that was beautiful...

WOW THAT SOUNDS GOOD

MY GOD DID THAT SMELL GOOD

MY GOD DID THAT SMELL GOOD

MY GOD DID THAT SMELL GOOD

"Eye Candy: Beatiful Dancing Smoke Video"

Anyone know what "Beatiful" means?

GFS, that website is like gastronomic prwn...

some of us aren't at work.
ugh first day of my last year in school today.
I was so happy when I found out geekologie wasn't blocked! :D

it would be nice without those cheesy phrases

@STOMPY

You have no idea how great a Skyline cheese coney is. I've been know to down 10 of those things on occasion.

*known

stupid N key

Maybe, te video IS beautifull indeed but the words in it,

what a bunch of new age BS

you need chaos to bring a new life, what the f... is he talking about? a woman mother is chaos? an anarchy-flesh eating tumor has to be the mother of your child?

God, this people is the real cause of all troubles of mankind, not governments, but lazy st... mommys boys "artists" (because momy instead of yelling go to study says: you are beautifull, your genes are beautifull. god, it makes jesus and the devil cry.

The result of this lazyness is they don´t have a clue how to think in ideas / words. So, pretty images but you never make a succesfull movie, for that you have to know something about life, but living with momm....

About me, I´m just a lawnmover you can tell me but the way I .....

HIGH FIVE GW!

FAKE!!!!

This is a complete photoshop job. You can tell its a fake because the shadow's are all wrong.

This is exactly like that scene in the movie Never BAck Down where Max was smoking a cigar and getting chewed out by a night court lawyer for attacking a position without orders. As he was being yelled at the big commander drove up and congratulated Max and demoted the lawyer.

typ0.

@23
eeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh what the hell
(body massage)
http://mrbodymassagemachine.ytmnd.com/

EYE SEA, ALL YOUR LOSERS ARE GOING HOME CAUSE WORK IS OVER.... WELL MAYBE I WANT TO STAY AT WORK... EVER THINK ABOUT THAT?

@28


No...I'm at home watching The Empire Strikes Back. Sucks to be you!

This is ... beautiful, wish I had a (HD) screensaver or soorta like that. or a visualization thingie from Windows Media Player

Oh and Daisy (#25) stfu =.=

@GFS
Vadar is lukes father. There, I ruined it for you now back to the webs...
http://vaderremix.ytmnd.com/

@GFS

What did vadar wish for for X-Mas?
SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW!!!!!!
http://vaderloveschristmas.ytmnd.com/

Aw, spelling fail in the title, GW. But I forgive you, you stud you.

You don't need drugs to ENJOY this video........ just need them to ENHANCE it!!!

Ah Starglow AE Plug-in - the cherry on top of the Particular Whipped cream atop chocolate sundae which is Adobe After Effects.

Oh man, where am I!?

Thanks GW

Wow, I really like it, seriously, it was very good, congratulations!

http://ubergosh.mybrute.com

There's nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it going to be a butterfly


...EXCEPT IT'S DNA YOU FRUITCAKE!!!

Anyone remember the episode of Lost where that dude was strapped in the chair watching all that crazy ass brainwashing shit? This seems like it would fit the part.

I admire people like you who take the time to do all this research and then to share the results with others. Due to time constraints I will have to come back and read all the articles you have linked to.

Thanks for the share.

@23

Nicolas, why do you say things like that? i mean, i don't care if you didn't liked the video, but please don't talk about me or my life because you don't know shit about me.

I'm 34 years old, and it's been a long time since i was a "mommy's boy". This piece was made for a contest about creativity, that's why the "cheesy" phrases are there.The cheesy authors are people like Brian Eno, Nietzche and Stephan Sagmeister, not me as you appear to think.

and i'm not an artist and i never said i was. I'm just a graphics designer who has been working for over 12 years in the industry. If you had take the time to read some of the comments on the vimeo page, you should have know these facts.

excuse my english, i hope you'll get the point.

Panerai watches

Moo

@ 43

Esteban, Esteban. Welcome to the interwebz. Feel free to post whatever you like, just don't feed the trolls and you would be wise not to fan the flamers either. I am disappointed that as a graphic designer you don't know these rules. There is no need to justify you work to anyone here. Keep the good and leave the bad.

BTW: "God is dead." - Nietzche

"Nietzche is dead" - God

Must See!!!

http://alturl.com/obg7
________________

photoshopped guy.. where are you? this is your moment to shine.

@ 43

Esteban,

I had a look at your your work on your website; it's great! I really like it. I work in PR and Advertising and you are the kind of guys i'd work with! Great job with the smoke :)

@47

I like your theory about the Trolls and the Flames..I "surrender unconditionally" ha!

The Baroness

I'm torn between "Wow!" and "Meh, pretty good for a media player visualization".

Also, the New Age BS... deez no halp.
Dude should change those for smoke-related meme adaptations (All Your Smoke Are Belong To Us..., You've Been Smoke-Rolled, anyone?) and it would definitely improve its kickassness in a Cheech & Chong way.

Pheonix...

Watching this on my PS3 woth HDTV = EPIC WIN !

i'll make sure to watch this the next time i want to fall asleep

Good blog, very good article. I have book mark the site.I will come again.


Thanks for posting, I really enjoyed your most recent post. I think you should post more often, you obviously have natural ability for blogging

nice video!

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