Ramp have a beautiful render on their site right now. https://ramp.com/
In case it's disappeared by the time you read this post, I've uploaded it above. Right now I'm using it as my primary reference for look development for the level 3 certification trailer. At Glide we've done a lot of dark mode and devices in empty space. Tom Parks recently showed me this video and I absolutely love the style, so I'm in the process of doing some development around it.
Reference frames
Floating Devices
One of the distinctions I made watching the ramp video is that There is no easing on the movement. Each frame is just a continual movement and then it cuts to another card that's also moving at the same velocity. It creates a nice continuous effect of movement and so that's what I'm going to aim to do for the certification launch.
So this is going to be the first of the flybys. A phone just slowly turning in space. And I imagine the next frame will be another device or devices. Turning at a similar speed and axis.
I tried playing around with vibrate tags and simulation and forces in Cinema today to try and create a zero gravity floating effect, but actually it often ends up very uncontrollable and you end up dialing in tiny decimal values to get it gentle enough. Basically all this called for, and indeed all that is used in the ramp video is simple keyframes on position and rotation.
Balancing Devices
I like the way the card is balancing in this shot. It reminds me of a recent render that I did with the Apple Pencil.
We'll have to see though whether the phone models actually look as elegant when touching the floor… I have my doubts.
Folded Paper
Tom had also designed this frame here 👆. It’s a long shot, but I am wondering if I can get this animated (and not look cheesy).
I chose black as this is an easy established style of ours. There is still more work for me to do to understand light mode devices. But here’s that same render with a white bg for reference.