Onirik

While going through different animated videos posted on Vimeo, I came across a very beautiful animation. The video was made by two animation companies, Fink and Colts. The video is described as a "surrealistic journey through the minds of creative people". This video is a way to show the creative processes of different artists and how they can truly make their animations come to life. It's very entertaining and gives us a different perspective to animation. Check it out!

https://vimeo.com/154579371

Onirik from Fink on Vimeo.

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared... But Actually

The Don't Hug Me I'm Scared series, created by Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling, started in 2011 with the first episode. It just came out with the fourth episode on Tuesday and will be coming out with more soon. It starts off imitating a children's show through the use of singing and talking puppets, but the themes quickly become dark and absurd through psychedelic content and disturbing images.

I love the juxtaposition of the simple, seemingly innocent intros with puppets and song with the uncomfortable and scary ending that makes you question pretty much everything in life.

(These videos are not for the faint of heart.)

The first episode focuses on creativity and prepares you for feelings you will be getting for the next ones:

The second episode focuses on time and is my personal favorite:

The third episode is about love:

And here is the newest one, centering about technology/computers:

Becky and Joseph have won three awards, attended 12 festivals, and many talks for their great work and impact they've had on viewers. 

Motion Graphics for Learning

Hello! My name is Canon and I'm really excited to be finally be taking this MG&A class. Seeing as this is a blog I thought I share a quick bit about my blog experience... more specifically, the Wordpress I was working on this summer:

canongoeseverywhere.wordpress.com

It's mostly a collection of photography and traveling adventures I had this summer. By far the most epic summer I've ever had. But enough on that... what I really want to talk about is a fascination I've had with how motion graphics and animation can be used in educational settings. First, I recommend you watch a piece of this TED Talk by Hans Rosling. This video is now about 7 years old so it's possible you've already seen it. His data and information has come under criticism for being over-simplified, but the message behind his presentation is what's most important: data can be boring, but it's visualization is beautiful.

If you're tight on time I recommend watching the first 3 minutes and last 3 minutes. Of course, watching all of it would be best.

Motion graphics and animation have a huge potential in education because... let's be honest, we all love animation. All we have to do is sit back, watch, and enjoy. When you turn education into an animation, the audience becomes much more willing to engage. It doesn't stop with charts and graphs that move around. There is endless room for creativity when it comes to educational animation!

I'll leave you with this final video by Taylor Mali. It's by far one of my favorite poems, videos, and animations all rolled into one. Pay attention to how you can be educated, motivated, and entertained all at the same time. True brilliance.

Blog 1: Motion Graphics Introduction

Last semester I took a mini-course in After Effects and it really opened my eyes to the limitless possibilities of animation and graphic movement.  I know the very basics of After Effects but I can't wait to make a title sequence with this program.  I have always been in love with the Mad Men opening and would love to create something like that for my new television show on ICTV this semester.  The title sequence always sets the tone for a television show.  It can make or break the number of eyes on your content.  If you can't captivate an audience in the first 30-45 seconds, you're essentially done.  I am looking to hone my skills in After Effects but most importantly I am looking to use these skills to entertain.  You can "know" an editing program, but still lack creativity and captivation.  Below I have attached a link to the Mad Men opening.  In my opinion, it entices the viewer and creates the perfect amount of suspense to see what the show has in store for them.

http://vimeo.com/4877093

Easy Graphics

I came across this video as I was looking for something to post and I really took a liking to it. It is a unique mixture of actual live footage and motion graphics. What I found interesting was that all the animations were very simple and yet the movie still looks professional and well done. It just goes to show that you don't need a huge budget and over the top  special effects to have a good looking project. It is refreshing to see what we could potentially make by the end of the semester and have something that we are proud of. The video uses a child's voice to match the elementary images on the screen and give it a playful and innocent tone.
Creativity Motion Graphics

Motion Graphics inspiration

I found a site called Motionspire.com, which provides a showcase of videos that you can look at to get inspiration. You can search the videos by category or date, and even click on the links that will send you to the creative site.

One of the sites I was led to is called Prologue. This company specializes in visual effects and design animation. They have done a bunch of animations for different commercials, films, and television series. You can search their site and see everything that they have been involved in, but even cooler, they show you graphics that essentially show a "storyboard" of their video. One of the ones they have is American Horror Story.

Check out these sites because they could be very helpful when looking for further inspiration in the future.

How To Do It

Welcome everyone!. The following project structure is intended to provide you with a methodology to be both specific and help you track the progress and meet your milestones. Since individual projects vary widely some points might not apply. However, you can use it as a roadmap to define/clarify your deliverables and go back to it frequently and methodically.

It has four distinct phases:

DISCOVERY

This phase helps you understand the big picture and the opportunity to achieve the main goals of your project; to take an idea from conception to completion in the most effective manner.

Brainstorming, sketch models, scenarios, analysis and feasibility assessments.

Define the requirements, scope, timeline, budget (your time and resources) and benchmarks for the project.

Requirements of Analysis:

• Prioritize and validate requirements based on quality(1) and strategic factors
• Determine success criteria and metrics
• Define a preliminary list of production requirements.

Synthesis:

• Produce a final document with the discovery result.
• Develop a high-level implementation plan. (storyboard)
• Present a timeline and a budget estimate.

DESIGN

During this phase, create the look and feel of the solution (style). Develop the story requirements, the creative components, the technical design and infrastructure that supports the project.

Creative Design:

• Storyline
• Script
• Storyboard
• Art Direction
• Audio Design
• Production Design

Technical Design:

• Software requirements
• Set/backgrounds/location/plates
• Lighting diagrams
• Special efx design
• Models, textures

PRE-PRODUCTION

Develop and integrate all the creative, technical and information components.

Creative Production:

• Story
• Character Design
• Prototypes
• Graphics, 3D video/audio production needs
• Technical integration

Technical Production:

• Green Screen
• Lighting
• 3D camera
• Sound
• System testing
• Problem resolution
  

DEPLOYMENT

Demonstrate the solution after all final specifications and testing results.

Live environment:

• Rendering
• Audience Test performance and feedback
• Implement promotion/communication strategies

Showtime!

That's all folks!

1-Quality: the true nature of things, the peculiar and essential character

All Illustrations custom made by Rich Powell