Thanks to faster processor, cheaper hardware, mainstream software and the Internet, creating motion design work and putting it in front of billion eyes has become easy. So easy in facts that millions of anonymous are giving their chance to the “Video Viral Star of the Day” game. And I’m not talking about lolcats videos.

Broadband not only allowed mass sharing of video content, it also helped mass learning in video content. Sharing knowledge, and getting skills have never been so easy.

But before giving us the privilege of watching your new piece of art, please, follow these few advices.

Videocopilot

In the mograph community, we all know videocopilot.net and all the main tutorial websites. So before posting you new cool video, asking us to share/like/comment, make sure it’s not a lame barely touched tutorial project file. You have no idea the backlash you’re gonna have.

Copy, Steal, Paste

The other bad idea is to re-create a very look-a-like effect (not to say a rip-off) of something you just saw online that is trendy. Remember thoses tasty Apple iPod ads ? Well it got old before everybody riped-it off.

If you are inspired by something you just saw, it’s cool, stay inspired and take the idea, bake it with your own sauce, and push it to the next level.

Motion to the Music

Rythm is the key in music. You’ll probably put a music on your soon to be masterpiece. Ok, then don’t forget to keep the animation to the beat. If you’re not easy with that, buy some plugs like SoundKeys for After Effects.

Default Particles

We all love particles, so cool when you make 3D camera moves. All this sudden depth, these gorgeous animations… We basically eat particles for breakfast. So be imaginative and don’t stop working after clic this preset button. Presets are good as a starting point, but are bad for anything else. And just changing the particle color doesn’t count. Be creative, and don’t overuse particles. If you don’t need them, don’t use them.

Comic Sans Ms

Well, if you’re gonna put some texts, animated or not, be sure not to use the dreaded Comic Sans Ms. Just sayin’…

Lense Flare

Lense flare are a real plague nowadays. Thanks to the nifty and affordable plugs like Optical Flare. But don’t be J.J. Abrams. Don’t put lense flares everywhere, we are all fed up with that. And go beyond the presets please.

Presets

Already told this twice in this article, but we are never too carefull. Presets are only starting points, not end of the line. Pros don’t stop on presets, so you shouldn’t.

Bokeh

Bokeh is that lovely shape defining your cute looking depth of field. Since DOF made a great comeback thanks to DSLRs, don’t forget that all shots don’t need nor have it. If you put that everywhere, even on wide lense shots, it won’t meaning anything anymore (except that you blured your backgrounds just to hide low quality stuff)

Make it look easy to do

The more easy to do it looks, the more impressive it gets. I can’t tell you why, I have no idea.

Finish it

Last but not least, don’t release a Work in Progress version prior to your final version. We don’t care how you did it until it becomes the new trending topic on twitter. Don’t build hype on nothing. Do your video, finish it, publish it and promote it.

Then you’ll have plenty of time to show us how you did that incredible scene.

If you follow these simple guidelines, all you’ll need to have is a brilliant idea, and time to make it happen.