Stephen Turcotte

From telecoms satellites orbiting the earth to recipes that can turn even Brussels sprouts into something tasty, animator Stephen Turcotte has the motion graphics skills to get his client’s message across in mere seconds. His secret? It’s a mix of great design, an ability to work with both graphical and photo-realistic imagery, and an instinctive sense of how to keep a communication clear and engaging. Based in Maine, Stephen works on CG and video-based projects, injecting them with life, colour and expressive animated elements, and ensuring that everything is seamlessly put together with clean, well-designed transitions. He works with a range of software, depending on what look and feel is required for the project, and often experiments with new techniques and technologies that can give his clients a visual edge. When he’s not sketching, storyboarding, creating graphics or editing live action video, Stephen loves distance running. He competes in two marathons a year in the beautiful Maine countryside – the Mount Desert Island Marathon which takes a coastal route every autumn, and the Millonocket Marathon which traces the logging roads of Northern Maine in the winter. His visual inspiration comes from artists like Chuck Close, MC Escher, Damian Ortega and studios like Buck and Man Vs Machine. He’s also fascinated by mycology – the study of fungi.

Training

Stephen trained in technical drawing at the Wentworth Institute of Technology before studying for a BA in Media Studies at the University of Southern Maine, where he focused on digital video production.

Approach

The approach Stephen takes to a project depends on whether it is pure motion design work, or video with integrated motion graphics. For the former, it all begins with sketches on his iPad as he plots out concepts and the composition of key frames. Then he creates the assets using the best tools based on the look and feel required, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Cinema 4D, X-Particles, Redshift Renderer and Premiere. If there’s video involved he’ll edit and colour grade the footage, layering in the most fitting motion graphics and type treatments for the project. Camera tracking and compositing 2D and 3D objects or rotoscoping graphics to match the video backdrop – neither presents a problem for Stephen.

Styles

As you can see in his animation portfolio, Stephen favours a clean and polished style that deploys clear graphics so that every message is as legible as possible for the viewer in 2D and 3D. Some of his work leans towards the playful and expressive, with embellished colours, type, physics and sound design, while other projects require a bit more realism and fine detail. Whichever approach suits the project best, he’ll guarantee a smooth, professional and convincing final production.