Friday, October 3, 2014

THAT 70's SHOW TRANSITIONS

Well this is the second time I'm writing this blog because of some fun connectivity issues so I apologize for my blunt writing style this evening. I swear the first time around I was painting word pictures that would be hanging in the Louvre in a hundred years if that ever becomes an exhibit.

Earlier today I began the long journey of watching the hit television sitcom That 70's Show from start to finish. As I laughed watching a young Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace make their careers, I was also reminded of one of the shows most fundamental elements: the transitions from scene to scene which not only featured the character who would be starring in the next scene but also had them moving or dancing in front of an animated background.

Here are a couple of examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy7kr5pTKJ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PG_w-z5vOI

These same transitions were used throughout the years that the showed aired but the first two seasons featured some very interesting transitions that weren't used again in the later years. Using a very cost-effective technique known as "Syncro-Vox" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncro-Vox) pictures of Farrah Fawcett and Richard Nixon were shown screaming rock lyrics. Syncro-Vox was developed by Edwin Gillete in 1956 for advertising purposes - making animals look like they can speak for commercials. History lesson aside, what I realized is that the caliber of animation in a hit television show is at the same level as the reel we watched in class on Thursday showing the work of previous Motion Graphic & Animation classes. Needless to say, I'm excited to see what kind of work I'm producing at the semester's end.

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