Batman or Gotham Titles?

Ok so for the next project (the title sequence project), the theme that I am thinking of is based on the Batman franchise, but I'm torn between 2 ideas.

The first idea is basically to recreate the Title sequence from Batman vs. Robin (aka the worst of the Batman movies). Now why would I want to recreate this? I grew up watching these movies and, while it is a bad movie, the title sequence was pretty good. Although not great. When I watched it back recently I was commenting on how static the camera movement was until the bat and robin symbols fly in. But otherwise, there isnt too much in terms of the motion. And I was thinking, may using sure target and some clever ideas, I can make a a much more dynamic title sequence. Also maybe change some of the color and style to make it feel less sci fi and more gritty like Batman should be (Schumachers Batman movies I always found looked too futuristic and sci-fi-ish for Batman). I'd also make this one a parody, using references to what fans hate about this movie, like Bat credit cards and the infamous batsuit nips. So thats one option.

But I had another idea. It still pertains to Batman, but its for a TV show: Gotham. Gotham just started its second season, and is actually a pretty good show that serves as a prequel to long before Batman started roaming the streets of Gotham, following the character of Jim Gordon and most of the popular villains before the Dark Knight showed up. Anyway, it is a good show, but there was one thing that always bothered me, and that was the opening graphic title. Its because its WAY TOO Simple, its literally text moving pass the camera in Z space on a background of dark clouds. Its actually really sad in my opinion. I was expecting much more from it. So I want to try to challenge myself with this option. I would want to make my own title sequence for this show, something thats much more dynamic, something that reflects the show very well.

So either way, Im thinking Batman, but I'm not sure which way to go. Right now I'm leaning more towards the Gotham option mainly because I can be as creative as I want. But I could also do the other one and have a little bit of fun with it. I could really go either way. What do you guys think? Leave a comment and let me know which bat idea you like better.

Letter Inspiration

I stumbled upon this video on Vimeo designed by Jessica Hische. Since we are all making progress with our name projects and soon going to be moving into title sequences, I thought this would inspire some of you with font design and font choices. The color and design used in the video makes something so simple as just a letter seem more intriguing and personable. 

                     
                           Penguin Drop Caps Animation from Down the Street on Vimeo.

Google Doodle Fun

Today is Valentine's Day. The biggest highlights of my day were the warm weather (no gloves!), working in the floral shop at Wegmans helping flustered men find flowers for their significant others, and discovering the new Google doodle for the day!

Here is that doodle.

I have found that I am intrigued by these Google doodles. I wasn't even aware that they had a name, but they always bring a smile to my day. These doodles started off as still images. The Google founders played around with the logo to create a humorous image for the Burning Man festival. Two years later, in 2000, they asked Dennis Hwang, an intern at the time to create a doodle for Bastille Day. This was such a success that he was given the title of chief doodler. (See the source webpage here)

Nowadays, these doodles have a massive range of purposes from small moving images that dance when the mouse passes over them to in depth games to attached videos or audio snippets. Here is an example of an in depth game that has distracted me as I write this blog: Dr. Who.

It is astonishing that even though these look so simple, they can be so entertaining and fun. Who really expects to find something that makes you smile when you go to do research for an analytical paper? Even though some of these may not classify under motion graphics and animation, some of it must be created using these tools. In the Valentine's doodle seen above, each of the hearts has a story told with small animated shorts playing out across their surface. These are small creations that I would love to learn how they are made and created. So simple in look, though I'm sure they are complex, but so fun and popular nonetheless. I always look forward to seeing what Google has done to its logo on holidays.

To browse through the doodles, check out this website!

by Amber Capogrossi

The Last of Us

The Last of Us is a popular video game released just this passed June. I've yet to play the game myself, but I really hope to soon. I've heard incredible reviews about how successfully the game puts you right into the action. My roommate said he stopped playing the game because it got too terrifying. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic 2033. You must defend yourself against the zombie-like monsters along with savage humans and cannibals. The story line is apparently very intense with complex characters and twists in the evolving plot. Along with that, the game looks beautiful. Here's a in-game screen shot to give you an idea:

With so much thought going into a game, the title sequence could not be given any less. On theartofthetitle.com, I found a video of the title sequence and an in depth interview of how they made it.

First off, the intro:

The director of this title sequence was a dude named Henry Hobson. 

During the interview posted on the website, he was quoted in talking about the making of this video.

Kevin and I spent a day in San Diego, just covered in black ink, pouring it on every surface imaginable, and every shot just ended up looking like paper! We had black ink, some natural sponges, mosses — everything borne of nature — and then we had compressed air, literally computer cleaning compressed air. If you shook the can heavily you could actually freeze the surface of whatever you sprayed it onto, so the back end of the sequence is actually the reversed footage of this freezing and unfreezing of black ink. It creates the look of the black mould, but it wasn’t anywhere near far enough. It worked perfectly for the back end, but the front needed that extra help from real mould.

If you want to read the rest of the interview here's the link:

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-last-of-us/

It's a very interesting read and really got my mind thinking about ways to get creative shots. What's slight ironic (and I didn't realize until later) is that this intro was made with absolutely no CG effects. But we could easily apply this in After Effects and transform this footage into something that looked even more surreal. If you were looking for that effects anyways. 

As it is, I love the footage they got and I think it fits perfectly with the game. 

Let me know what you think!

Measuring the Universe

This is quite the interesting video. The Royal Observatory Greenwich put out this video last year, using motion graphics a bit of science to explain why we can measure the distance of things from us that are so far away, even if we can't physically measure them with, for example, and measuring tape.

The video reflects the narrator's commentary well, with simple, yet effective graphics used to accentuate the meaning behind each explanation.

Even with something as complex and mostly unknown as our universe, this editor found a way to make it all seem super simple and extremely understandable. And for that, he or she should be congratulated.

Face on Inanimate Object Effect

I recently found a fun and easy tutorial on ae.tutsplus.com on how to add your face onto an inanimate object. Also, with the Golden Doorknobs competition coming up, I'm really thinking about possible creative ideas to put together. With this, I could give doorknobs a personality of their own and make something really unique. Just a thought.... anyways, here's the example video the tutorial provides:

The full tutorial can be seen on the ae tutsplus website:

http://ae.tutsplus.com/tutorials/vfx/put-your-face-onto-an-inanimate-object/?search_index=6

It seems like a fun trick to know in general. It also helped me understand motion tracking a little better.
Enjoy the link and good luck everyone!

Timelapse

I'd like to share a video that features New York City when it was mostly without power. The guy who produced this went out on the streets and recorded timeless of the city without power. This was to show how ghost like and odd it was without power. You also have to respect the producer's framing with his time-lapse shots. You can tell they were very carefully chosen.

NYC Dark from Already Alive on Vimeo.

Adding Life to Objects

I thought this video was really cool. First off, I loved the music that went with this piece. It fit perfectly. Second, adding life to the clock made it look to cool. I love what they were able to do with that object. I also like the fact that they kept it classy by going with just black and white for this video. The title of "Stress" also seems like a great title for a piece like this. This has a lot of energy in it and that's what attracts me to it.

Stress from Babusjka on Vimeo.