Motion Graphics Assignment Part I

Here comes the second week of After Effects… are we ready?  I think we are.  The tutorials have really helped me get used to the software.  Coming into this section of the course, I was a little discouraged and unenthusiastic.  Last year, we used tutorials online from Video CoPilot, but they were so dull and tedious because they were pretty long (20-40 minutes).  As a result, we didn’t have much time to explore with the effects before our class ended.  However, now that we’re shown the basics of AE, I find it much easier to experiment and come up with effects by myself during my lab time.

Fonts and Shapes tutorial.



Type Animators tutorial: animating a whole word letter-by-letter, instead of creating a layer for each letter.




This is the original trailer for the movie that I want to base my Motion Graphics assignment on.



Some of the keywords and images that are significant the movie are beach, music (piano), family, friendship, forgiveness, letters (from Ronnie`s dad) and love.  Using them as a starting point, my initial idea was to go to a beach and write the Last Song in the sand and record it being washed away.  In AE, I would reverse the footage, making it look like the waves pulled back to reveal the title.  However, the weather has been pretty horrible.  Therefore, I scrapped that idea and went back to the drawing board.

Ronnie moves in with her estranged dad in his beach house for the summer, where she meets Will, a boy she soon falls in love with.

Now, instead, I decided to show the images through photos.  In Photoshop, I would add a white boarder to them.  Then in AE, I would animate them to gather in a box, representing the protagonist (Ronnie) packing her father’s belongings in boxes at the end.  To reveal the title, I would have someone put the cover on the box.  Other possibilities that I`m thinking of are to somehow create the illusion of waves washing the photos away or winding blowing them away to reveal the title.

Ronnie`s little brother, Noah, is upset by news he receives as summer comes to a close.

The inspiration for the photos flying into the shot is from Lindsay Lohan`s music video for Confessions of a Broken Heart, which coincidentally is about her father as well.  At 3:00 in the music video (below), the photos fly from the ground and her bed to stick on the window.  I`m hoping to reproduce a similar effect for my trailer, using the 3D axis and stills that I have taken.

The Last Song Trailer and Ronnie and Will
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwLmQqRanvM
Noah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_VdwVr-Ua4
Lindsay Lohan - Confessions of a Broken Heart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leg-vg2YQDM&feature=related

What's Your Type? - TWLOHA

Poster for the campaign, To Write Love On Her Arms (from the Poster Assignment).

It mainly uses a very simple, but powerful typeface, Arial.  The biggest area of writing and contact information/call to action uses just Arial, in a white colour, bolding key phrases.  The area below it uses a bolded version of Arial in a light blue/cyan colour.  The name of the campaign uses a white coloured Arial Black font (a thicker and bolder version of the bolded Arial). 

These fonts are effective because they state the point of the piece and information in an uncluttered way.  Although there is a lot to read, the main focus is the name of the campaign; therefore, it is much bolder and it pops out more than the rest of the information.  As well, the alignment and placement of the text really helps with the visibility and clarity of the piece.  The simplicity of the font and its in-your-face, direct characteristics help to reinforce the importance of the campaign and its urgency.  Although, suicide, depression etc. are a complicated issue, the first steps to getting help are not.  Therefore, TWLOHA wants to make clear that those steps are simple and not lose its meaning in the intricacy of the font. 

Overall, as simple as the typeface is, the poster’s choice is very effective in delivering its message because of their choice of colour, font and placement.

TWLOHA
http://www.glogster.com/media/1/1/49/36/1493676.jpg

What's Your Type? - The Last Song

The Last Song is a movie based off the book with the same title, written by Nicholas Sparks. It is about a rebellious girl, spending a summer with her estranged father after many years of not contacting him, to find out that he is battling cancer. Through the story, the protagonist, Ronnie Miller, overcomes the challenges of forgiving herself and those around her using the power of love and music.

Title and actors font.

The typeface used in the movie poster is Times New Roman.  Everything except the quote is in Small Caps (the quote is regular writing).  The choice of the simple, classic font depicts the classic tale of family and love very well.  However, the fancy ‘the’ in the title suggests, despite its simplicity, there is a bit of grace and elegant beauty in the movie. 

Use of white font to contrast with the dark background.

Furthermore, the choice of colour in the font is extremely effective.  The black and white choices follow the naturalistic, calming sunset colour scheme and does not conflict or battle with the rest of the poster for attention.  However, it is made clear what the title is by its white font and black stroke (to help it stand out better).  Everything else is in black font because it stands back from the title, and it is also more visible on the lighter colours of the poster’s background.  The one exception is the white font at the bottom for the credits of the film.  However, it does not compete with the white title because it is so small and there is no stroke around it. 

Therefore, the choice of typeface and font in this poster is effective, because it does not disrupt the balance of the poster; instead, it blends effortlessly, but at the same time, stands out as necessary.

The Last Song
http://images.ados.fr/cinema/photo/6844909684/ecrans-images-jadore/the-last-song-230850405a.jpg

What's Your Type? - Fight for You – Jason Derulo

This a lyrics video made for Jason Derulo’s new song, "Fight for You", off his new album Future History.  Recently, lyrics videos have been quite popular on Youtube, almost as a teaser to their upcoming music videos. 

Colours are used to differentiate between the main voice and the background vocals.

There are three different fonts used in the video.  With the exception of some letters and alternations, the first is similar to Agency FB with lines in each letter, making it look almost like a blueprint or scaffolding, used in the chorus.  The bridges and verses use a similar, but bolder font.  Both of these fonts are a cool, metallic, intense blue colour.  The echoes in the song are a variety of warm and bright colours.  They are similar to Eras Light ITC, but again, with some exceptions of some letters.  These variations may be used to make the font more original or fit better with the context of the song. 

Simple, block and capitalized font used.

The simplicity of all of the fonts works very well with the song because they are easy to read (especially important when the song has a fast tempo).  As well, the alterations and colours make the font more futuristic, which is the theme of the album.  Furthermore, the captivating and intense colours of the font and the flashiness of the video are very effective in targeting its audience of teenagers and young adults.  The light flashes, vibrant colours are what we are accustomed to and like to see.  The special effects added to the music video to make it more futuristic and modern also enhanced it. 

Sometimes, it is hard to see the lyrics because of the flashes on it.

However, there are some aspects of the video that conflicts with the lyric’s legibility.  The bright flashes sometimes come on top of the font, covering the words, which is (on top of the fast tempo).  Lastly, at the point with a lot of action, a lot of the lyrics appear behind each other as the move from the background to the foreground.  When this happens, the font behind those in the foreground gets lost and hard to read. 

Different fonts, colours and layers are used to make each part of the song distinct from one another.

Ultimately, this lyric video targets its audience well, but because of how busy it is, it is ineffective since the lyrics are not clear and visible.

Jason Derulo - Fight for You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXUae9uE7J0

What's Your Type?

Image from Cody Simpon's Angel lyric video.

Along with still images, video and motion graphics, typography is a great way to deliver a message.  In fact, it can be a key component in the medium previously mentioned.  Type can be an effective and powerful asset if used properly.  It can help tie together a piece and communicate key information in a visually appeasing and captivating way.  However, it can also be disastrous if used inappropriately, distracting from the overall message and overpowering the other elements.

Different typefaces used for branding.

The difference between font and typeface is:

Typeface: a set of type of the same design.  Above shows the Morgan TYPEFACE.

Font: type with a specific style and size in a type family (includes elements such as bold and italics).  Above shows the Morgan Big Light FONT.

Here are some examples of font that are used for various purposes and medium.

Fight for You - Jason Derulo

TWLOHA Poster

The Last Song Movie Poster

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/typeface
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/font/

Cody Simpson - Angel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McDkw7jVeH8&feature=relmfu
Typefaces
http://www.photographyrea.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Cool-Fonts-Collection.jpg
Morgan Typeface (Font edited by me)
http://typophile.com/files/font2_0.JPG

Motion Graphics

One frame of a motion graphic of a water drop hitting the surface.

Motion graphics is basically just that.  Graphics that are in motion.  Imagine how boring it would be to stare at a graphic that isn’t moving—okay, well I guess a picture can say a thousand words.  However, with motion graphics, even the simplest of shapes can be manipulated and put in motion to create something creative and breathtaking. 

Screenshot from Disney's Fantasia, a great example of combining music with shapes in motion graphics.

So much we see in the world is motion graphics, but we just don’t realize it.  They are used in ad spots, music videos, films, television, commercials, websites etc. 

MTV TV spots have amazing, short motion graphics--some of which are done by RTAers too!

One method of motion graphics is stop motion.  That is when the artist takes hundreds (literally) of photos, moving the subject by minuscule amounts every time.  When all of the photos are played one after another, what is seen is an animation.  The difference between stop motion and pure animation is that stop motion is more jerky and static, whereas animation is very smoothly transitioned images.

Animations are smoother because there are more details and stills between movements.

Stop motion is fun and great to work with, although it can be very tedious work.  The camera CANNOT move and to move an object five feet may take fifteen photos.  That will probably just be a couple seconds of footage.  Imagine doing that for 10, 15, 30 second spots and more. 

Only a couple of the stills from Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie.

A while back, I created a stop motion with my friends.  It’s about a girl trying to throw away her alarm clock because it keeps waking her up and she wants to sleep in—mind you, this was a while back, so cut me some slack ;).  Anyways, in stop motion, one simple idea doesn’t mean simple work.  We had to resize every image one-by-one because our dimensions were set wrong… and there were almost two thousand photos!  It drove me crazy, although the final result was amazing. 

(I gotta find it) ;)

Here are some examples of stop motion:

Her Morning Elegance is created by Oren Lavie.  When I saw it in my lecture, I was awestruck.  It’s beautiful, creative, unique and innovative.  There were at least 2000 photos taken over the span of 48 hours.  I feel horrible for the actress, but she did an amazing job.  Especially since it was on a bed--I don’t know, I think I would feel the unbearable urge to just get up and jump around.  Also, imagine the pre-planning that must’ve gone with this piece!  Every little detail of where every pillow, sock, arm, leg and sheet goes for 2000 shots.  I’m actually at a loss for words to describe how moved I was with the piece.  You just have to see for yourself.

And two animations that I really love (I know, they’re not really stop motion, but I just had to add them).

Number Uno: Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars.  I LOVE the lyrics and meaning behind it.  However, visually wise, there are sections where the image of Bruno singing is created by cassette tape animation.  It was the first time I saw something like that and I was so amazed.  Watching it, I would say that is that it’s a mix of techniques from animation, to stop motion and digitally create images.  Hello After Effects!  (Learning that in today’s lab—can’t wait!)



Numero TWO: Draw with Me by Mike Inel.  I actually don’t remember where I found this, but when I watched it, I cried.  I love the story and how the music and animation goes together.  As well, I love the colour scheme, with the transparent-like and contrasted colours (possibly drawn by hand, or even digitally drawn and then edited on Photoshop).  Also, the special effects that were put on it for the floating glowing balls and filters really adds to the fantasy of it.  Nice to see you again After Effects =).



So after seeing all of these beautiful masterpieces, I’m excited and inspired to begin my motion graphics assignment.  I’m not going to give too much away, but it will probably be a 5 second trailer for...

The Last Song written by Nicholas Sparks and starring Miley Cyrus.

Motion Graphics

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/28/monday-inspiration-graphics-in-motion/

Fantasia

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Mickey+Mouse+Fantasia&view=detail&id=A8CE3E4E3025A463AF4674CE67E67352660ECCD4&first=91&FORM=IDFRIR

MTV

http://www.krackblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/mtv_logo-e1280919938556.jpg

Animation

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/226/3/3/Dance_Animation_Steps_by_NaNyax.jpg

Her Morning Elegance

http://nurseito1.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/full_storyboard.jpg

The Last Song

http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy75/Kason13/normal_the-last-song-poster1.jpg

Her Morning Elegance Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY

Just the Way You Are

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjhCEhWiKXk&ob=av2e

Draw with Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRkgH7Uu-hA

To Write Love On Her Arms - Artist Statement

TWLOHA Poster by Sophia Nguyen (Me).

To Write Love On Her Arms is a movement against suicide, addiction, depression and self-injury. What began as a small effort to help a friend has grown nationwide. When I heard of it, I wrote love on my arm and it was overwhelming when everyone asked me to do the same. Since then, I have connected with the program and it touches me to see people opening up about their problems and getting the help they need.

Me and my sister writing love on our arms.

The concept behind this poster is the fact that people tend to hide behind smiles, make-up, clothes and, in this case, words. When I write, behind the words is actually a girl, trying to reach out for help, acceptance and security, but is too afraid to ask. Therefore, I placed a girl, reaching out from behind her own words for an understanding hand. Her journal is filled with dark and confused thoughts. On the side, are many different ways of expressing love. I chose the colour blue in monochromatic style, specifically the lighter shades, because not only are they the campaign colours, but also, they represent healing, tranquility, health and understanding.

TWLOHA campaign colour scheme.

This poster is to inform and encourage teenaged girls to reach out to those who may need help and express themselves in a healthy and safe way. I want my audience to feel that they are not alone and `rescue is possible`.

TWLOHA helps build bridges to recovery, but also, everlasting friendships. Photo from Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.

Before, when I used Photoshop, I usually use photos from Google—I’ve never had to create a piece where it is all original. Therefore, I had to organically create my poster’s background and scan it into the computer. Having never used a scanner for Photoshop before, I created multiple copies, just in case the scanned image does not turn out the way I had hoped. As well, I struggled with coming up with the right idea and approach for a specific audience. I wanted my poster to have a deep meaning, but also, be original in its concept. I brainstormed a couple ideas about what this movement means to me before choosing the ones that will work best together.

(First Draft & Second Draft)

Through the process, I learned that sometimes the most intricate designs are authentic and not digitally created. My eyes are opened to the possibilities of the scanner and how it could really take my work to a whole new level. Also, I learned how to manipulate my layers and use filters such as multiply and overlay. My finished piece has reached and even surpassed my expectations and initial objectives. The alterations to the original plan that I made throughout the process have made my piece better. As well, I believe that this piece has and will address my intended audience, for I used images that they can relate to and added an actual person in that demographic to the poster. Since my target audience is one that I fall into, I thought about what I did and needed and attempted to translate that into a poster that represents an everyday teenaged girl, going through struggles, but overcoming them.

Underdog team overcoming the odds and winning the Science Olympics together.

TWLOHA Wallpaper

http://www.ownzordage.com/images/twlohabackground.png

Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2008/database/blakelively/blakelively6_135.jpg

BDC192 Poster Assignment 2nd Draft

This is how it SHOULD look like, but just with my original photos--still a rough.  The QR code doesn't work and the photos here are from google.  My final draft will all be original works.

What do you think?  =)