Archer

So the new season of Archer is here and that means more antics from H. Jon Benjamin's character Sterling Archer. Other than the hilarious plot of the show, Archer has a unique style of animation that combines 2D and 3D animation into a show. The backgrounds are 3D whereas the foreground, usually the characters, are 2D.  The scenes in the show where this is most noticeable is in the car chases. The best way to illustrate this is to watch "Archer and Conan's Day Out" above if you haven't already.

Inspiring

After our attempts to animate our names in class, I felt good about what I had done. It was exciting. Then, I saw a few advertisements on TV that inspired me to look up some real motion graphics designing. I came across this website that showed 25 different motion graphics animations and was completely blown away by what I saw. It made my name look like a drawing done by a two-year-old child. So much for feeling good about getting my name to write itself across the screen. I know there is a lot to learn, probably more than we could ever possibly learn in this class, but it is inspiring to see the complexity and beauty of professional work in the industry.

I just want to share a couple that really caught my eye out of these 25:

The end of this video blew my mind. It had been completely designed with the entire speech written out  in different ways, but all on one "canvas." Then to match the pacing of the talk and incorporate not only camera motion over the words, but zooms in and out and different twists for emphasis, must have taken quite a while. The animation added to some of the comedic tone and phrases and made the viewer actually read the most important parts of the speech. It really made the whole video come alive.

Speaking of which, this one was my next favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnKirux5EPA

Unfortunately, the video wouldn't load on the blog, but I encourage you to check it out. It is a commercial for Clear Water and Unicef. The animated water was fantastic and it was interesting how even the water bubbles seemed to have child-like shapes and spirits to their movements. In this we also see the importance of sound, even in animation. Without the sound, I would never have been as drawn into what was happening. This was created in a way that made me feel like a child again. I'm still smiling from watching it.

Finally, there is a third lesson learned from watching these examples:

Motion graphics is not just about adding cool explosions or aspects to a video or film. It is about telling a complete story. Just like any other medium, we can use motion graphics to pull an audience in, tell a story, and reveal a conclusion. Only with this medium, we can do really, really, really cool, shocking and amazing things! I encourage everyone to go and watch some of the videos on this website:

http://creativeoverflow.net/25-amazing-motion-graphics-animationsvideos/
(written by Harry Jay Clement)

Even the examples that aren't ads seem to tell a story through the motion graphics and the sound. They are inspiring. I hope that the next time I animate my name, maybe a lot later in the semester after we have learned more, I can make it seem more like a story and less bland.

by Amber Capogrossi

Conan O'Brien & Others

I was looking through some Motion Graphics websites and I came across a compilation labeled "25 Amazing Motion Graphics Animations", and I came across a really fascinating and well-done video created to Conan O'Brien's farewell to NBC. Unfortunately, I am unable to embed the video, but it can be viewed here.

The entire compilation (25 Amazing Motion Graphics Animations) is full of not only amazing videos, but stuff that after a few months of class, I think I have at least a mild understanding of how they possibly executed some of these, if using AfterEffects. All of the videos are complete with screen shots and the video themselves, you should all check them out for some inspiration!

This video in particular had some pretty cool use of particles: