Having Fun with Floating Letterform

Here are two really fun and playful examples of one of the features of After Effects, motion tracking. From what I gather, motion tracking allows you to manipulate a portion of moving video with the manipulation remaining in the same place regardless of the video's vantage point (e.g. if you apply the texture to a sign and pan around the landscape, the texture will appear to remain fixed to the sign). Although I do not fully understand how the effect is executed, it seems like a very powerful effect, one that could be used as a mask, such as in this video, or to follow an moving object, like in this video.

Pop Projection

Although this is not technically an animation, I think this video demonstrates a very interesting take on motion design. By blurring the line between a flat projected video and a three dimensional space, the artists here create a very dynamic and moving experience. Although conventional animations exist in purely two dimensions, the scene here interacts with space around it, playing off the depth of the pop-up stage. This makes the video seem more lively; we are no longer watching a movie, but rather, a play that inhabits the same space as us. This creates a more intimate relationship between the viewer and the material, one that only enhances the emotional impact of the movie.

Life Inside a Painting

Here is a great clip created in After Effects that really shows how a powerful video can be created with only a few simple manipulation techniques. Although I'm not 100% sure of every effect that is being used, I can see the use of linear wipes, blurs, and some rudimentary 3D camera work. This treatment really brings Jackson Pollack's painting to life and creates a sense of dynamic movement in three-dimensional space. This animation really demonstrates how far a few simple techniques can take you.

The Depth of Stop Motion

Despite being composed mostly on a single plane, this music video demonstrates a crafty technique for giving stop motion animations a sense of depth. Depending upon the light source, making an object darker or lighter and layering it with other elements can create a perceived depth of field that enhances the animation. Variations in size can also influence our perception of where objects line in space.

Depth of field gives a vitality and a realness to compositions that is otherwise unattainable. It creates and defines our sense of space, giving us indicators for how objects relate to one another in the world of the animation. Just because an object seems small does not mean it necessarily is small; it could be a large object that is very far away. Without a clearly defined and executed sense of depth, the worlds we create appear flat an unrealistic.

An Artists Take on Stop Motion

Using construction paper as her medium, artist Jen Stark builds some very interesting sculptures that play with ideas of depth, both physically and optically. She also has created several interesting stop-motion animations with her construction paper compositions. These animations have a sense that you are moving through space by exploring changes in size and/or color. Like many other stop-motion animations, the take away from Ms. Stark's pieces is that small changes captured over an extended period of time can an create a powerful sense of motion. Pairing changes in size with changes in color enhances this perception.

Stop Motion, Great and Small

Here are two great stop motion videos done by the same animation team. The first one was created and filmed at a small, near microscopic size. I really enjoyed how the materials used to build the world of the animation, (e.g. a shirt pocket, coins, push-pins, measuring tape, etc.) really accentuate the tiny scale of the movie. Each aspect of the film reminds you that it is taking place in the minutia of daily life. It is an incredibly effective technique, one that demonstrates the power of a solid overall design. For enquiring minds, here is a fantastic look at how they made the video. As you can see, filming required incredible patience and a great attention to details to ensure that each frame was captured correctly and that it would all flow together.

Similar in style, this next video is done at quite the opposite scale. Working outdoors in a medium like sand must have been challenging and frustrating, but the animators pulled off another very successful video. While I do think their first video is much more successful, the use of the beach as a canvass for the animation reinforces the nautical theme of the movie. Again, there's another making-of video if you are curious.

Kinetic Type in Advertising

While watching TV tonight, I saw an interesting commercial that used kinetic type in an effective manner. Although the commercial also implements other animation elements, such as shifty eyes and a steering wheel, the use of type to imply the image of an arm is useful in conveying the overall message of the commercial. The type is legible for as long as it needs to be, and then it gets lost in amongst all the other arms fighting for the steering wheel. It is a simple and effective way of communicating that many factors can influence your decision making.

Imagining Type

This video is paired with an audio clip from "What's He Building" by Tom Waits, a haunting story detailing the near endless possibilities of what could be happening behind a closed door. The audio paints a very vidid picture of the unseen based on the small observed details of daily life. The video combines the use of type as image with dynamic animation techniques that enhance the landscape being described. The designer uses typography to represent many aspects of the story: a closing door, a tree with a tire swing, a dying lawn, etc. The type complements the detailed picture created by the audio by mimicking some of the elements in the story.

The animation used also enhances the story being told. Not only do elements appear or disappear as dictated by the story, but they also create new elements which are not part of the story. During the animation of "HIMSELF," all of the letters except the letter I fade into the background, enhancing the sense of solitude and isolation. The animation also turns the phrase "He's hiding something from the rest of us" to "he's hiding from us," a clever play on what is really going on behind the closed door. The type animation fits naturally with the content of the audio.

Typolution

Type can be used in creative ways to create images. Letterforms themselves can be very beautiful and expressive. However, they can also be combined together and abstracted to create new forms and images. Here is a video illustrating this point. While the letters that are used in this video do not necessarily carry much meaning and importance for the video as a whole, when they are combined and repeated, they form new images that create the video's content.

It is important to note that the designer does not try and combine too many different letters together when he is creating his content. The impact of this animation technique can easily be muddied and lost if there is too much conflicting information. Combining several letters together may result in less effective imagery. I think this is truly a case where less is more.

Help Me If You Can

This is a fantastic video. Not only does it feature a classic Beatles song (one of my personal favorites), but it's a great example of kinetic type. The small robot provides us with a cue point throughout the video, and the choice of typeface and animation techniques are dynamic and expressive. The selection of typefaces and animation melds well with the different locations of the video (on land, in outer space, under water, etc.). Additionally, it is interesting to see how animation alone can convey a sense of depth and motion, despite the fact that there is no background texture or color to give us any visual clues.

Music Makes Video

From a 2007 TED talk, designer Jakob Trollback re-conceptualizes what a music video really is. Rather than prominently featuring the artist, or telling a story through live action footage, Mr. Trollback demonstrates how the music can actually be the director, representing tones, instruments, and vocals through abstract and typographic elements.

Mr Trollback strives to push motion designs outside of the box, and I think he succeeds in this instance. His use of graphical elements certainly enhances the mood of the song. He successfully creates a sense of depth on the stage. allowing elements that appear closer to the viewer to represent something louder, while elements further away represent something softer. He maintains a consistent and logical design throughout the video. Several vertical bars represent the bass; a streaking pale-blue light represents the etherial vocals; etc. While I'm sure this treatment will never replace the traditional music video, a marketing tool designed to promote the artist's face as well as the song, it is an interesting example of how motion graphics can be used in today's society.

A Bit of Fry and Kinetic Type

Here's are two great example of how kinetic type can be used to enhance the overall message of the words being animated. Both of these audio clips come from the British actor, comedian, and know-it-all Stephen Fry. However, their design is very different.

Although the animation and type selection of this first video is not at all too thrilling, the final reveal is quite interesting. It becomes apparently during the move that something is going on with the placement of the individual words, but it isn't fully clear exactly what is happening until the end of the movie. You can see that a lot of time and attention went into planning and creating the overall design before any animation took place. I think the overall design and animation serves to enhance Mr. Fry's statement, that the use of language should considered in context.

The second video is much more aesthetically interesting. Again, the animation of the words and the treatment of the type enhances the content of the video. However, in this case, it is the rhythm and pace of the audio that is reflected in how the type is animated. Certain words are highlighted in a different color or singled out in a different type face that reflects their meaning. These aesthetic choices also serve to enhance the importance of certain words at a certain time or in the context of the video as a whole.

Title Slides

Prologue is a creative agency founded by Kyle Cooper, considered to be one of the top creators of movie title sequences working today. Prologue has created hundreds of title sequences for a variety of films; their recent work can be found here.

Their importance often understated, title sequences can play a critical role in establishing the mood and tone of a film. Aside from an opening scene or two, title sequences are some of the first images that an audience sees. It is a blank canvass where designers can incorporate styles from the film to come, enhancing these choices through color selection, graphic treatment, and animation.

Typically, title sequences rely heavily on transitions. For some films, it is important not to break continuity as you pan from one actor or actresses name to another. Two fun examples from Prologue's works are the sequences from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and X-Men: First Class. You can see how it appears as if the entire sequence is one single shot. Creating such a seamless design is difficult, but if your audience does not have to "recalibrate" it's understanding of your design direction, your message will be understood much more easily.

Advertising as Motion Art

Eyeball, a design firm right here in New York City, specializes in creating visually striking motion graphics for their clients, whether through live action video or animated graphics. For several years, they have partnered with Target on their "Arts for All" campaign, a series of videos that highlight Target's support of the arts. Eyeball's most recent creation, "Art Unfolds," cleverly integrates Target's brand with hand drawn illustrations.

The video is very well-crafted and engaging. The transitions from one illustration to the next are seamless and flow quite naturally. The Target logo is heavily utilized throughout the design. It is used quite deftly and does not seem like an afterthought. Rather, its treatment appears as an integral part of the overall design direction. I think it is quite difficult to integrate a company's logo into a solution without it appearing forced or overly designed. The simplicity of Target's logo makes this task somewhat easier. However, Eyeball clearly takes great care not to destroy or obscure the essence of the logo while it is being manipulated. They achieve a delicate balance between attention to the logo and attention to the illustrations.

50 Years of Great Motion Graphics

Any fan of great title sequences will appreciate this link. It contains all 21 opening credit sequences from the James Bond films, save for the most recent film Quantum of Solace. Because of the longevity of the series, it is fascinating to see the changes, and consistencies, in the treatment of the title sequences across the decades. I think it speaks to the aesthetic styles that each era appreciated. Although the website is in French, the videos are incredibly accessible. Happy watching!