The award-winning motion graphic designer, 3D artist, and trainer shares some of his favorite Boris FX Suite tools, most-used shortcut, and more.
John Dickinson has a knack for making complex software easy to understand. His friendly, inspiring teaching style has garnered a worldwide following through tutorials, live streams, and speaker engagements — and we’re lucky to have him as our Design Director. His endless creativity, paired with his deep industry knowledge, offers Boris FX’s user community a thoughtful approach to growing as artists.
Where are you from? How did you get your start in the industry?
I was born in England and came to Australia with my family in 1970. I got my start in the industry making sales training videos in the early 90s, using a very expensive Avid Xpress and an early version of After Effects!
What does your role as Boris FX’s Design Director entail?
I get to play with the Boris FX Suite, particularly Continuum, Sapphire, and Mocha Pro, to build looks, then break those down in tutorials. I also help develop new versions of the software by suggesting new features, testing them, and creating tutorials and other content using our software. Additionally, I'm responsible for marketing graphics used across various campaigns, emails, and related materials.
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John Dickinson at his many speaking events.
What are a few of your favorite effect categories/tools within the Boris FX Suite?
The Stylize categories in both Continuum and Sapphire are my favourite. As a motion designer, the effects in these categories are indispensable in my work!
What’s an under-the-radar effect or tool that users should know about?
Lately, I’ve been using Sapphire Dust in almost everything I create, including motion and still graphics. It’s such a useful effect for adding quick dust, bokeh or even embers to increase the drama in a shot.
What's a keyboard shortcut you can't live without? A must-have piece of tech?
I save a lot of time in After Effects when I’ve stopped a render and need to re-add it to the render queue by selecting the previous render in the list and pressing Shift Control/Command D to requeue it! Must-have tech is my Logitech MS Keys keyboard. It’s super quiet when typing, so no “clickity clack” in my tutorial recordings!
Where do you find creative inspiration?
I love looking at movie trailers and title sequences for inspiration as I’m particularly fond of type-based motion graphics. A few of my favorites are Se7en, The Pacific, Peacemaker, and Candy.
How do you unwind outside of work?
I spend most of my time studying Japanese, having language exchanges with friends in Japan, and walking the dog (while listening to Japanese, of course!).
What’s your go-to snack/treat for a quick boost during the day?
In the past, it was chocolate, but these days it’s organic nuts and dried fruit!
What's your favorite film and/or TV series?
Favourite film of all time is a toss-up between Field of Dreams and The Shawshank Redemption. For TV, it has to be Breaking Bad, the only series I’ve ever watched twice… though I was into ER back in the day.
If you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
I’d love to do concert visuals for one of my favourite bands… Depeche Mode, maybe… or Pink Floyd? Great music adds incredible emotion to visuals.
What career and/or life advice would you give your younger self?
Live in the moment and appreciate the small things… a blue sky, a warm hug, a smile from a stranger. Be kind and don’t react; take a breath first and think about your next move.
