FMC Review: Trapcode Form Training with Harry Frank

By David Basulto

What does $24 buy these days? Let’s see. I can take the wife to a movie and possibly buy some popcorn. I can “fill” up the car with 7 gallons of gas. Great stuff. An even better choice would be to pick up Trapcode Form Training with Harry Frank at ToolFarm.com.

As always, Harry Frank does a top notch job of explaining the extremely deep, newest plug in from Trapcode called Form. The Adobe After Effects plug in is amazing and enables you to make some fantastic fluid and organic patterns. Form uses particles not unlike Trapcode’s other plug in Particular to create these shapes. The key here is there is no birth or death of the particles.

If you are new to After Effects or really want to learn the nuts and bolts of Form to get you up to speed extremely fast Trapcode Form Training with Harry Frank is the way to go. The video training contains four well taught chapters:

1. Basic Fractal Shape - Duration: 9:42
2. Box - Strings - Duration: 11:18
3. Audio React - Duration: 7:43
4. Layer Maps - Duration: 6:02

Also included are the project files for you to dismantle and learn from.

I especially liked chapter 3 which explained in great detail the Audio React capability of Form. Harry Frank’s examples were great and in depth. After watching the video I was able to create some fluid, organic shapes that would react to the music I placed with them. As I showed some friends the ever satisfying “oohs and ahhs” were abundant.

I give Trapcode Form Training with Harry Frank a whopping 5/5 stars for well explained training and ROI. You can pick up the training at ToolFarm.com. I highly recommend Trapcode Form Training with Harry Frank for anyone wanting to get going with Form fast.

About Harry Frank

Harry is a freelance motion graphics designer and instructor based in Detroit, Michigan.

As a classical percussionist, he earned a degree in music and audio engineering from the Fredonia School of Music in New York in 1995. Since then, his professional career has spanned the titles of audio engineer, music composer, video editor, graphic designer, finally settling on "motion designer".

His experience as broadcast design instructor has spanned universities, festivals, seminars and training centers across the country. Currently, Harry is an "Adobe Certified Expert" in Adobe After Effects.

As Toolfarm Forum Expert, contributor to aefreemart.com, and contributing writer to DigitalArts magazine, Harry is an active member of the worldwide motion graphics community. He is the author of the series "After Effects Expressions", a training series that teaches the scripting language within Adobe After Effects.

Focusing mostly on After Effects, Maya and Cinema 4D as his tools, Harry is available for freelance work off-site or on location anywhere in the world. See examples of his work, free tutorials, and various ramblings at
graymachine.com.