Andy Eisenberg | Creative Technologist

Hi! I’m Andy. I’ve spent nearly two decades in motion graphics and art direction, and somewhere along the way, I became just as interested in building the tools as using them (so these days, I do both). My reel’s over on the right, and there’s more of my work and code just below.

Portfolio Code About

View my Motion Reel ↑

02 · Portfolio

Things I’ve made move.

A selection of my motion design and direction work. Hover a frame to preview, click to play the full piece.

University of Sydney — Work Live Play Learn — University of SydneyWork Live Play Learn

Jaecoo — J7 Adventure Spot — JaecooJ7 Adventure Spot

ABC — Boxing for Palm Island — ABCBoxing for Palm Island

Luffy AI — Process Explainer — Luffy AIProcess Explainer

FX — Criminal Minds: Season 7 — FXCriminal Minds: Season 7

Google — Skippy's Competition — GoogleSkippy's Competition

Foxtel — Foxtel Intelligent Video — FoxtelFoxtel Intelligent Video

Sydney Roosters — Hype Piece — Sydney RoostersHype Piece

TikTok — Backstage Social Promo — TikTokBackstage Social Promo

National Geographic — The New Pioneers — National GeographicThe New Pioneers

Australian Energy Regulator — What makes up my Electricity Bill? — Australian Energy RegulatorWhat makes up my Electricity Bill?

The Airport Economist — Title Sequence — The Airport EconomistTitle Sequence

University of Sydney — Sydney Nano Challenges — University of SydneySydney Nano Challenges

Care For Kids — Introduction Video — Care For KidsIntroduction Video

Pepsi Max — The Walking Dead Bumper — Pepsi MaxThe Walking Dead Bumper

Snap — Print is Certainly Not Dead — SnapPrint is Certainly Not Dead

Australian Maritime Museum — Operation Jaywick VR: The Krait — Australian Maritime MuseumOperation Jaywick VR: The Krait

World First — Borderless Business — World FirstBorderless Business

Stadium Australia — Cathy Freeman Dedication — Stadium AustraliaCathy Freeman Dedication

SBS — Inclusion Trailer — SBSInclusion Trailer

Charitabl. — Intro Video — Charitabl.Intro Video

West Tigers — Stadium Hype Reel — West TigersStadium Hype Reel

Good Game Background

A customizable After Effects background with randomizable hexes and icons and eight swappable colors, all driven by two sliders.

Resolution Adaptation Graphics

How to create a single After Effects mogrt that adapts a graphic to multiple resolutions (16×9, 9×16, 1×1) using a master switch in a master composition.

University of Sydney MBA TDS Graphics

Technical design details for a modular motion-graphics package with looping hero art, master comps, color sliders, and auto-resizing lower thirds.

Supermarket Speed and Template Improvements

How naming conventions, automatic resizing, and standardized assets speed up production for weekly advertising.

FX AutoDesigner

FX AutoDesigner automates strict After Effects branding workflows, cutting promo production time from hours to minutes.

Emerald Cruises & Tours Opening

Best practices for MOGRT construction using a master null, configurable transitions, and a streamlined Essential Graphics UI.

03 · Code

Things I’ve made run.

A few of the After Effects scripts and pipeline tools I’ve built to make production a bit quicker and easier.

ae-project-sort

// one-click project tidy
for (var i=1; i<=proj.numItems; i++) sortIntoBins(item(i));

Sorts and color-labels a messy project panel into a clean folder structure, in one click.

View on GitHub →

ae-color-palette-panel

// dockable panel, click to apply
function applySwatch(sel, color) { recolor(sel, color); }

A dockable panel for storing color swatches and applying them to layers, text, and shapes.

View on GitHub →

ae-simple-ring

// no data hookup, just numbers
buildRing(ctrl, pct); animateTo(pct, ctrl.duration);

Builds multi-ring and single-ring graphs connected directly to animated numbers.

View on GitHub →

ae-simple-line

for (i=0; i<points.length; i++) plot(i, points[i]); // up to 4 lines, 20 pts

Works with up to 20 data points across 4 lines. Fully animates and builds itself automatically with no external data needed.

View on GitHub →

ae-simple-pie

// slices straight from raw numbers
buildSlices(data); drawKey(data.labels);

Builds pie graphs with up to 10 slices without an external data hookup. Labels percentages and builds a key if requested.

View on GitHub →

ae-simple-bar

for (b in bars) animateBar(b, value[b]); // horizontal or vertical

Builds bar graphs with up to 12 individual bars and animates them automatically. Works horizontally and vertically.

View on GitHub →

Utilities

small, single-job scripts

ae-wip-maker

Turns a selected comp into a framed, client-ready WIP version.

ae-guide-maker

Shrinks a layer into a locked reference thumbnail, hidden from renders.

ae-same-above-as-below

Matches a layer’s in and out points to the one above or below it.

ae-read-speed-calculator

Estimates read-aloud time for a script and builds a timed comp.

ae-alphabitizer

Stacks a long list of text layers into alphabetical order.

ae-fast-slideshow

Builds a Ken Burns-style image slideshow comp from scratch.

ae-mogrt-rigger

Wires text layers and null-driven controls into Essential Graphics automatically.

ae-screenshot-generator

Saves a PNG of each selected comp every N frames.

ae-adaptive-resolution-template

A starting-point AE project for building adaptive-resolution templates.

View more directly on my GitHub →

04 · About

Things about me.

Hi! This is me (and my friend’s dog)

Folks I’ve worked with:

Google
Cisco
Palo Alto Networks
American Express
Canon
Toyota
ABC
Qantas

Motion designer who writes way too many lines of code.

Hello, I’m Andy, a creative technologist and designer with close to two decades of experience making colorful things move. My career started in broadcast graphics and art direction, and somewhere along the way I discovered that I was just as interested in building the tools as I was in using them. So, while I was a senior designer at FX Australia and National Geographic Channel, I quietly automated my own job. I took the networks’ branding guidelines, resources, and templates and programmed them into an After Effects pipeline that would automatically make promos and graphics for me each week.

It worked exceedingly well (too well, in fact; I had to start taking on new projects just to keep busy). That project set the direction for everything since, and I’ve been combining design and code to make productions and pipelines faster and easier.

These days I keep a two-day-a-week Creative Technologist role at the University of Sydney, and spend the rest of my time on an international freelance practice, taking on motion graphic projects with studios and agencies, building branding assets and TV graphic packages with MOGRT/Essential Graphics templates, writing ExtendScript automations, and helping teams figure out how to enhance their production flows. I care a great deal about design and direction, but I care just as much about efficiency.

If you’re looking for someone who can do both (and talk sensibly about how they connect), I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

View full CV (PDF) →

Experience

Creative Technologist & Motion Designer

Freelance

Feb 2016 – Present

Deliver motion graphics and art direction across broadcast, digital, print and large-format specialty screens
Design and build templates, systems and automations for broadcast, agency and in-house production teams
Teach production workshops in university and corporate settings on a variety of topics (JavaScript/jQuery, Cinema 4D, After Effects, Premiere Pro, HTML5)

Creative Technologist

University of Sydney · Business School, Learning Innovation Office

Apr 2024 – Present

Build and maintain the motion graphics systems underpinning the editorial pipeline, supporting five producer/editors and two support staff in an 11-person team
Develop automations for the office’s project management system
Research, assess and test emerging production technologies (including AI) against real pipeline requirements before adoption

Editorial & Graphics Officer

University of Sydney · Business School, Learning Innovation Office

Jul 2019 – Apr 2024

Built and maintained reusable template libraries and bespoke motion graphics for various teams and courses
Developed custom classification and workflow systems for project managers

News Graphics Production Manager

Seven News Sydney

Jun 2015 – Feb 2016

Ran a team of 13 designers producing graphics for daily news bulletins, directing design and liaising with producers and reporters
Coded custom software to automate standard assets, freeing up the team for more complex and custom work

Senior Designer

National Geographic Channel & FX Australia

Jul 2012 – Jun 2015

Designed and produced original artwork for broadcast, print, outdoor and digital across four core channels and advertising partners
Built the automation systems above and brought PR kit development in-house
Major campaigns included The Walking Dead, Cosmos, Justified, Wayward Pines, Vikings and Da Vinci’s Demons

Education

Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts (Honours)

University of Sydney

Master of Film and Digital Imaging

University of Sydney

BFA Visual and Media Arts (TV/Video)

Emerson College

BA Writing, Literature and Publishing

Emerson College

View full CV (PDF) →

Selected systems & automations

Retail Supermarket Broadcast Templates

After Effects smart templates for a national retailer that include features such as text-driven content, automatic re-sizing and spacing and swappable assets standards to meet tight approval cycles.

USYD MBA Graphics Package

A 12-course MBA graphics kit developed for a compressed schedule. Auto-resizing lower thirds, slider-driven key art, adjustable transitions. Deployed across a five-editor team.

NatGeo Lower Third Pipeline

Excel-to-After-Effects system generating nearly 100 schedule-driven, production-coded lower thirds a month. Cut a three-day manual build to roughly two hours.

FX AutoDesigner

ExtendScript system that coded the network’s branding guidelines into an automated promo builder. Cut average 30-second promo turnaround from four hours to fifteen minutes.