Lava (From "Lava" (Official Lyric Video))

My best friend Lauren recently created a masterpiece of a lyrical video for her final project and it really struck an interest in me. When I got home I started looking up some lyrical videos and stumbled  upon this masterpiece. I really can't explain the journey you're about to embark on if you watch this video but just know its going to change your outlook on life. This video projects the true importance in love, family and world peace. enjoy...

The Animation of Man

While searching through Vimeo once again I came across a short stop motion animated film that used paper cutouts. It's a simple story, the evolution of man, but the paper cutouts are charming and give evolution a whole new feel.

Another aspect of this short that I find incredibly intriguing is that the created left markers on the paper, so the process of stop motion is visible. I think this helps the audience realize that stop motion animation is incredibly time consuming and a very involved process. I also like that the creator put themselves into the work, even if they were just a hand.

This is a beautiful example of paper cutout animation and I hope to try my hand at it someday.



The Animation of Man

Oma, a short animated film

https://vimeo.com/164076380

I recently found this cool animated short called Oma by Karolien Raeymaekers.
It's about a young girl who has to conquer her fear for her own grandmother, who is terminally ill.

Change in Animation & Alice in Wonderland Behind The Scenes

What's really interesting to me is just how far we've gotten in animation. The technology and the process compared to the beginning of the whole idea of animation is just so wild to think about compared to the amount of software's and such that we use today. However when looking back on it, you can still see the core of the animation, especially for classic Disney films like Alice in Wonderland. It all comes back to a paper and pencil and from there what happens next is anybody's guess. I thought it was just fascinating watching this video, to see how much hand work went into the animation compared to the programs we use today.

Music & Motion

Bringing imagery to your favorite song is always interesting to see. It can completely change the song for you and make you love it or hate it. The stop motion and animation that is used in the video below is one of my favorites. It is so colorful, loud and interact. I would love to make something like that someday. The different materials that it uses and the motion of it all brings another type of psychedelic story and trance of "always going backwards." Its very well done and a great inspiration.

Stop Motion Animation

For my final project, I was weighing on what exactly to do and then I saw this video and was instantly inspired. I think stop motion is so fascinating and doesn't nearly get enough credit on just how difficult it is to create this type of animation. This particular video was so unique and I loved the sound effects, it's definitely worth checking out!

A$AP Rocky - L$D (LOVE x $EX x DREAMS)

This video dropped about a year ago and Ive been peeping it constantly ever since. In a way A$AP created a different style with his use of graphics when it comes to his music videos. Most of them consist of bright lights and heady effects that will turn heads no problem. His videos tell a story that only the viewer can translate in their own way, which is another reason why his videos get so much attention. Out of all the graphics in L$D the one that catches my attention the most is at 3:27 when the camera pans down towards a mirror and the view turns into a reflection of Rocky rapping. Its kinda hard to explain but if you watch I guarantee you'll enjoy it as much as I did. Im stumped on how the editor did this and would really like to learn how.

Title Sequence

This week I have been working between my infographic that will now be my final project and a title sequence. I have decided to do the title sequence for the 1996 movie Primal Fear. It is a story of deceit, murder, double personality disorder and injustice. I found my inspiration from the television series Manhattan's title sequence. It uses animation, layering and stop motion. I think it may be difficult, but I'm very excited to execution it and view the final product.

Drawn Animation! Looks Great, Takes Forever.

I've always been a huge fan of drawn animation and have wanted to take a stab at it for a long time. The process has always been fascinating to me. I remember watching some animation features from Disney films when I was younger that almost made me want to go into animating (I love it but I'm not sure I'm up to the task of having it as a career).

For some reason I never thought to look at modern cartoons and shorts and their process! From rough drafts to final animation. Here are a few that I found that emphasize the effort and labor that goes into creating even a couple seconds of hand drawn animation.




Niko animation process from studionx on Vimeo.

Tutorial on City Fly-Through

For my original idea of remaking an opening credit sequence, I was going to go through a city for the opening, however, I had no idea how to do that. After searching for a couple of tutorials I came across this one and I thought it did an incredible job of teaching you. It was extremely easy to follow along and for that I was grateful. I went on to watch a couple more of his videos and I thought they were really interesting and I learned a lot. I would definitely recommend watching some of his tutorials to help you out. He covers a lot, from basic techniques to more complex, but he does it in a really easy to follow sort of way.

Slow Wave Short Animation

https://vimeo.com/155080375

While looking for something to blog about I came across this video and instantly got intrigued. The animation throughout this short is really captivating. The storyline itself was so imaginative and it managed to capture such an interesting that every child has more than likely faced. I think it's incredible how much effort went into this animation. The way the floor moves, and the lights shine through is really interesting to me. There is so much texture going on throughout the entire short that it really does leave you intrigued the entire time.

Android: Rock, Paper, Scissors Commercial

While watching TV one day this commercial appeared one day and I thought it was the cutest concept. Usually, like most people, I fast forward through commercials as they get so tiresome, but this one really caught my attention. Everyone knows the idea/game of Rock, Paper, Scissors and to make it into a little story I thought was really clever. I think it is interesting when animation uses real life elements and then puts animation into them, it creates a stronger story line that you feel more connected to. Overall I thought this was a captivating little commercial, I give props to Android for this new Rock, Paper, Scissors animation commercial series as it really is a intriguing concept.

A tutorial I found this week was that was very helpful was the way to prepare or make motion animations using Illustrator. This tutorial makes it so you can drag illustrator files in to After Effects, making it an easier process to apply effects to the movie. It is not always the best solution for motion graphics but definitely a good stepping stone and tool to learn. Illustrator is such a powerful software and when combining that with After Effects, its bound to create something worth while with the right skills. 

http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/create-assets-in-illustrator-for-after-effects/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_content=Pro-Tip%3A-How-to-Create-After-Effects-Assets-in-Adobe-Illustrator&utm_campaign=03-2016-facebook-posts

After Effects Tutorial: Particle Text Effect

I've been looking for a lot of After Effects tutorials that would give me cool text effects and give me lots of options for customization. This is a nice one that I found by Morocco that uses a particle effect--but I found that it could be altered to fit any other type of aesthetic.



I really like the style of this tutorial--it feels very modern and fresh but extremely customizeable. It's a good resource, especially since we've been dealing with a lot of text. Morocco's channel also has a lot more tutorials that deal with particles and logos and such.



If you want to explore more, definitely check out his Youtube channel--he has Photoshop tutorials as well as After Effects that are just as good.

Tackling Animation with Infographics

As I start to tackle my infographic project I realized how much animation is required. It may not necessarily be the most complex animation but I looked into some tools that will help. I was told the puppet tool would be very helpful for this project so I found a great tutorial for it from lyndia.com on youtube. I also found a principles of animation video that brings some theory to animation movement. These elements have been very helpful when building this infographic project.
 

Jamón

I'm the kind of person who is always browsing Vimeo for good short films because it's such a fantastic collection. If you're new to Vimeo I recommend at least following "Vimeo Staff Picks", they curate some amazing stuff. I'm also part of the "Everything Animated" group which posts exactly what it sounds like, animated shorts! This is one that I found a while ago and has remained one of my favorites.

Jamon is a Spanish short by Iria Lopez about a pig who lives in a human's world. It's tragic and funny and definitely deserves a watch. I'm a sucker for traditional animation and this one is beautifully done using silkscreen backgrounds.

If you have time please give it a watch! I promise you won't regret it.


Jamón film from iria lopez on Vimeo.

For my second project I have mentioned that I am looking into working on a motion infographic. The creation of the elements many be time consuming but I think it will be very worth it. I am currently working with a local design firm that is promoting a new cause called Pledge 4 Ithaca, which is about providing children in secondary schools a safe place or person to talk to if they are being sexual assaulted and then allows them to receive proper attention. I thought the launch of this program would be a perfect match for an infographic video.
I have begun to story board and think of effects and transitions, but am having trouble putting them into action. This is a tutorial that really helped me with navigating my way through After Effects.
 

Tutorial : Underwater

For one of my animation projects I wanted the setting to be underwater. I went on youtube to see if I could find any good tutorials and I came across this one. It’s a very helpful tutorial that captures the essence of being underwater. It goes as far as to create the light from the sun shining in through the water and shows you how to make realistic looking bubbles. I definitely recommend this tutorial if you are trying to create this scene. 

My internship last spring was with a music promotion company and Rose Betts was one of the artist that we worked with. I worked and promoted the launch of her new EP, where they did a first sneak-peak of this video of her stand out song. She was describing the amount of time she poured in this doing stop motion and thought to myself different ways she could use the after effects program to her advantage in this situation.

Its strange to think about the different perspective I've had watching this from a year ago to now. I hope to maybe do a project to a song of maybe a poem instead of a typical title sequence. I have learned this week how important movement and audio are when working together. I want to learn more and work with audio more to express visually the feeling the song or sound is conveying.

What I've Learned From Hand Drawn Animation

I pull open the door to Master Control. They see me and immediately begin typing on the computer--they know exactly what I'm here for.
      "Hi, I'd like to take out the animation room--room 147--" I say, just to be polite.
      "We know." They say. "It's your home now."

I've been living in my animation cave for weeks now. Hand drawn animation is going to be fun! I had said to myself. I wasn't entirely wrong but I wasn't right either.

Hand drawn animation is both intensely satisfying and incredibly frustrating. I could be there until 11pm (and I often am) and still only get a few frames done. Mostly because I have no idea what I'm doing...but still.

If you're like me (incredibly stubborn and love to live in a tiny room with a computer) then hand drawn animation is for you!

Here's a little clip to show you all what it feels like:



Happy animating!