Just a Quick Startoff

So it’s been quite a while (almost a year) since I’ve delve into the world of motion graphics. I was just on motionographer and I found this:

GSG Cast: Intro to After Effects from Nick Campbell on Vimeo.

A basic intro to After Effects for those who need it, or for those who need a recap. It’s practically everything that was just covered in class—all in one video.

On another quick note, I’ve been meaning to post some videos that have recently caught my eye.

Oren Lavie’s Her Morning Elegance

It’s another stop-motion video and a beautiful one. The idea is simple but extremely clever. The execution is flawless. For more information about how it was made, go to his myspace. And if you haven’t seen it already, be warned because it’s a highly addictive video (and song) and it will make you smile .

Tetley Red Tea Commercial

Although you might have seen it over and over again, I like this commercial for its visuals and music and it was developed at an agency right here in Toronto.

Course Reflection

On the whole, I wouldn’t say motion design is much different from other design specialties. The same principles apply, only they are applied in a whole new dimension in which we also have to concern ourselves with timing, space, movement, and the way we see movement in space, not to forget music and sounds. Most of all, how all that affects and changes the way a message is communicated. With all that combined in the right way, how the message is communicated and how we feel about it can in turn be more powerful than what an ordinary print can do. I think this is what makes time-based communication stand out from other areas of design.

My favourite part of this class (other than not having to worry about printing issues and costs) was starting this blog. I’ve benefited most from it as it forced me to look deeper into the world of motion graphics and not only look at them on the surface. I was able to look at them in a way that I never would have done if I didn’t have to write about them. I’ve learned a lot about how certain things were created to finding people who do this as a job. As much as I’ve enjoyed writing my own posts, I always learn something new reading my classmates’ blogs. Whether it’s a post about a new designer or a video, the fact that it’s design that’s not static makes it all the more entertaining.

I took this class having some idea of what to expect. I was most excited about learning how to put design in motion, seeing that I’ve never used After Effects before coming in here. Although this whole process truly is time-consuming, I did find myself enjoying it and having the patience for it — if only I had more time!

Now that I’ve had my fun with After Effects, film is something I could always look into next. That was the one thing in this class that I didn’t do. What I took from this class was valuable. I can now look at a video and know it’s not impossible to create.

Computer Arts

This is the place to find real tutorials. Computer Arts is a magazine geared towards graphic designers, digital artists, illustrators, and animators. Their tutorials are covered by professionals and used in the real world – no cheesy tutorials! I’ve learned more doing one tutorial from this site than I have from several other sites. There’s more than just After Effects. They cover 3D animation programs like Maya and 3ds Max too for those who are interested. If not, it’s a great site for refreshing some Photoshop/Illustrator skills.

Little Dragon – Twice

I just found out about this Swedish band Little Dragon. The music is pretty fantastic and this music video is beautiful, and haunting at the same time. The story is so simple, but sad. I was intrigued by the delicacy of the whole puppet show, from the movements of the tiny intricate puppets to the sheer fabric used as background and water. There was even a sense of depth in some scenes, when trees in the background were behind the fabric and looked blurry. Watch as the bird sheds its tears or as rain pours over the skeleton.

http://www.myspace.com/yourlittledragon

I Met the Walrus

I just watched the Oscars so I thought I’d post this up:

I Met the Walrus trailer. Josh Raskin and Jerry Levitan. Oscar nominee for best animated short film.

This was one of the Canadian films who competed for an Oscar but unfortunately they didn’t win. It’s taken from an interview recording from a 14-year-old obsessed Beatles fan (Levitan) who knocked on every door of a hotel right here in Toronto in 1969 until he found him. Lennon found it funny to see him barge in and was kind enough to let him stay. After being shelved for so many years, Levitan wanted to do something artistic and meaningful with the tape to honour the late Lennon. It features his message about world peace and what we could do to promote it.

I like the whimsical line art illustrations that’s apparently the style of Lennon’s own drawings. Lennon’s own words are coincided with visual puns that morph from image to image. The transitions are fluid and seamless.

Take a look at their awesome website: http://www.imetthewalrus.com/

Ventilate.ca

Just added this site to my blogroll: http://www.ventilate.ca/. It’s another useful site if you’re looking for inspiration, and it’s Canadian!

MographWiki

MographWiki is a site where you’ll find almost anything you want to know about After Effects. It’s a big resource site with links to articles, tutorials, forums, blogs, and other inspirational sites on motion graphics.

20/120

Promax/BDA, an international association of entertainment marketers, promoters, and designers held a conference last year screening short films by 20 companies and designers. They ranged from serious to funny, from documentaries to fake infomercials.

These were the only guidelines: 20 pieces. 120 seconds. The theme is “change.”

This is in many ways similar to the project we were given. 20 companies/designers were given a topic and were required to construct a time-based concept.

Out of the twenty, these were some of my favourites:

I was amazed at how such a simple idea was executed so simply and effectively. By flashing image after another, and typeface after typeface, “change” was cleverly demonstrated by “changing.” To accompany the flashing images was music with the same brisk tempo.

Everyone interpreted change as transformation or metamorphasis. This was the only team that saw change as money, and it’s funny too.

Here’s the link to the rest of the films: www.twenty120.com

Project 2 Blog

Here’s the link to my Project 2 blog with Wenwan.

Why is 8 afraid of 7?

Here’s my 10 second counting leader!

Design Statement

“Food Chain Countdown” is a playful 10 second leader in the style of cut-out animation. Using felt cutouts, the story begins with the number 10 being dropped into the water and eaten by 9. Within a second, 8 comes along and swallows 9, 7 eats 8 and so on. As it counts down, each figure is swallowed by its succeeding number. At the end of the food chain, 0, which supposedly eats 1 turns over and floats to the surface of the water.

Complete with light, cheerful beats in the background and characters of different colours, the final result is a fun, lighthearted video with a humorous ending!

Credit Information
The Free Sound Project for the sound of the ‘crunch’ and the bubbling water.
Flashkit for the background music.