Opening Titles - The Kite Runner

This is a very simple but powerful opening-title sequence directed by Ben Radatz at MK12. It is really appealing to me because it is an example of a very economical approach to design that works very effectively. The title animation for Kite Runner presents the credits moving around space and being connected through moving brushstrokes that relate to the typography used throughout the piece. It is simple but nonetheless efficient and while being aesthetically pleasing it also clearly connects to the cultural theme of the film.


MK12 // The Kite Runner: Opening Title Sequence from MK12 on Vimeo.

I can see many of the things we learned in class being used in this piece; variations in opacity, camera movement and the general animation of the brush-strokes  and letters although extremely well crafted seems to be very straight-forward as to the way they could've been made, specially if using after effects. It is nice to see that as the semester went by and we kept exercising what we learned I can now look at some of these title-sequences and figure out how they were made and even try it by myself.

Nice try MGFX

This was a pitch for the X-Men: First Class title sequence.

The makers, MGFX Studios, followed the 60's feel that the following X-Men's other introductions.

The minimalistic look is created by simple shapes and various hues of colors. 

The shapes are to represent the first recorded image of DNA.

The continuous usage of the X and the DNA images comments on the mutation that has affected the characters.

I chose this video because in preparation for our next assignment, it is interesting to look at runner ups to title sequences and the thought process that goes behind each creation. 

As I was looking around for something to post this week I came across this music video. I finally decided on posting it for a few reasons. The first is the use of both 2D and 3D elements, which is something you don't see very often. I think that's a very powerful tool that was implemented well in this piece. Also, 2D elements like the ones used in this video are totally achievable using the techniques we've been learning in After Effects, they'd be a lot of work, but a lot of the same principals are there. The second reason I picked this is because of its aesthetics. This is something we haven't really hit on in class yet, but it's a very important part of creating anything, an animation in particular. this strange whimsical world the animator has created is pretty unique, which is not only tough to do, but it also generates a very specific response from the viewer. That response is hard for me to put into words but it does convey a sort of feeling or mood. That is also an important part of creating anything. You want to make your audience feel something, whether it's the theme of the movie following your opening sequence or the message of a song as a designer it's your job to do that.

"Dont try to be original, just try to be good"

Paul Rand. Many of you may know who he is. I did not.
However, I do know the companies associated to these logos.

How is this possible? How is it that I know all of these pieces of work, yet not the artist?

Paul Rand has a unique way of looking at his art. He is not looking to recreate the wheel, he is more so looking at make a good quality image.

I feel like when I try to be creative, I feel like I need to create something new. Yet, creation is at its best when the artist takes from what he sees around him.

Hey guys, my name is Hugo and I'm really excited about taking MG&A and working in After Effects and Maya.  I'm hoping to learn a lot this semester, so hopefully by the end of it I'll be able to create some title sequences of my own, but for now I'll leave you with this piece I really enjoy.

This is Superbad's opening credits sequence. I really enjoy the retro style and the simplicity of it, plus it's a lot of fun watching Michael Cera's and Jonah Hill's "dance moves".

Also, some of you might have already seen this, but this is a cool short called "A History Of The Title Sequence." It's actually supposed to be the titles for a fictitious documentary about - of course - the history of the title sequences. It shows the names of some iconic designers while referring to some elements and characteristics of their different styles.

A History Of The Title Sequence from From Form on Vimeo.

Final Holiday Movie: A Christmas Carol

This is the epitome of motion graphics and animation.  From making Scrooge look like Jim Carrey to the life like images telling a classic christmas story.  They are able to capture the comedic timing of Jim Carrey with the vivd images of Charles Dicken's story.  The 3 ghosts are exactly what I pictured when reading this story.  I love this movie even more than Polar Express.  It always leave me in awe how detailed the images are; from Scrooge's grimy teeth to his large pores in his crooked nose.  It is definitely  a film worth watching this holiday season.

Born This Way - Lady Gaga

Saying this video is strange is a bit of an understatement.  However, the special effects and what the editors did makes this video very visually interesting.  This video is about Gaga's space utopia.  There is a very futuristic kind of feel with the costumes, lights, sets, and special effects.  There are many mirror effects and x-ray like shots.  I especially love at the end when Gaga is wearing gloves and she turns into a dancing shadow with brilliant white gloves on.  Even though I feel like I need to take an art history class to get all of Lady Gaga's references, I can appreciate the special effects in her music videos.

Titles design for film Thesis project

So, this week I thought I'd just share some screen shots from a title animation I am doing for a friends Thesis film . The piece is a stop motion animation titled "Stick it to the Pattern," with the pun in the title meaning exactly what you think. I started out by developing a concept for each the beginning and ending credits with the filmmaker (Siobhan Cvanagh, if you know her) and then working from there. Since there is a major shift within the attitude of the characters from the beginning and end, we both agreed that the titles should reflect this shift. So for the opening credits, which I have posted a few images of, we wanted to reflect the concept of rigid and exact patterns in the film. The look of the titles is supposed to reflect that of an old-school computer screen, which is actually one of the characters in the film. At first I was just going to use techy looking font but after a long (and worthwhile) discussion with Arturo I decided to bite the bullet and build each individual letter out of blocks. The advantage of doing it this way, however tedious it may be, is that I can now animate the blocks to at first appear random and then eventually form the words of the title sequence. The first image on here will be the last frame in the sequence and is an image identical to the pattern the factory workers in the film are forced to stick to, and subsequently eventually "stick it to". Although this project has already taken up a considerable amount of my time, it is one that I know I will be really proud of once it's finished. I would promise to post it on here once it's finished, but I think it would be more fun to wait to see it on the big screen at out screening, don't you?

If you go to New Orleans

Ok, brace yourself for a blog post that is only mildly motion graphics related but something I feel everyone should know. I’m not sure if any of you heard but last week the 5 (or 6?) police officers accused of murdering innocent civilians on a bridge in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were finally charged. Although they were charged with wrongful use of a firearm and not murder and it took 7 years to finally prosecute them, better late than never I say. The killings of these innocent people are not the only things Katrina related that the government has taken more than too long to fix.

This past January I went down to New Orleans with a group of 17 other students for a week long service trip. Coming back from NOLA each of us was hoping to find a way to use our media skills to share with people in Ithaca what we learned about some of the many misconceptions of the disaster that occurred in August of 2005.  Hurricane Katrina was not what destroyed New Orleans, the storm actually past 5 miles South East of the city. The real damage, which caused up to 15 feet of water in some places, was caused by a failed Federal levy system. This levy system whose construction started in the late 1960’s, was only supposed to take 15 years to finish, instead they never finished. Because of the broken levies many areas were flooded, and while most of New Orleans has since been cleaned and repaired, areas of historically lower income, such as the Lower 9^th Ward, look as if the storm hit yesterday. I’ll leave it to you to form your own opinions about why this happened and what it means, but you can see how this could be seriously upsetting to many people. I and many of my friends who were on the trip with me, were very shaken by this. Myself and my good friend Connie Honeycutt decided to make a testimonial style video about what we learned down there. After learning how to use after effects I decided that it would also be beneficial to do a typography animation to go along at the end of the video, because sometimes reading the words yourself can be more effective than listening to someone talk. However, for some reason I can't get the video to upload on here so I am just going to pop it in the dropbox folder Arturo made. If you want to learn more about what really happened, come see me and Connie as well as 4 other friends present about what we learned and screen the entire video at the Whalen Symposium this upcoming Wednesday!

Evan Seitz

Below is a short 30 second video made by motionographer Evan Seitz that takes 13 famous lines from movies and incorporated them into short animations. I could only figure out about half of these movies, how many can you guys get?

After watching this unique video, I checked out Seitz's page on Vimeo. There is definitely a very distinct style in his work. It pairs together the act of motion graphics with a storybook feel to it. When watching his reel, you can see that a lot of the projects look like a paper stop motion, or a comic book. Throughout the reel, it is interesting to see how peoples skills can vary and how much your style will change depending on the client and the message you are trying to emit. Especially how it differs from an educational or informative animation to one based off of a television show. Animation allows you to easily access different feelings and reaction from your audience that just videography might not allow you to.

Amazing 3D in the Amazing Spider-man

So this weekend a friend and I went to see, you'll never guess...The Hunger Games :-) And yes the 3D animation used to create the Capitol and other VFX was awesome in this movie too. However, what stood out to me even more was the sneak peek I got for the 3D work that has been done on the new Spider-man movie due to be released this summer. Not surprisingly the storyline and writing appear to be relatively weak but visually the movie looks awesome. Having taken Special Topics in 3D last semester I know exactly how difficult it is to make even a simple character using 3D animation, let alone design an entire city. While, I don't think watching this trailer on a computer screen really does the effects justice, seeing them in the theater was impressive. Not because the effects were flashy and in your face but because the design of the city and especially the shot at the very end where the radio antenna falls look so real. If you're not in the business of animation or movies then you probably wouldn't even know right away that it was computer generated. Keeping in tune with the legendary status of the last few Spider-man movies even  the titles in the trailer are well designed and I'm excited to see what they come up with for the opening sequence!

Whoops...Last Week's Blog

So I meant to post this for last week's post but with the packing and traveling for spring break, I just seemed to forget. However, I hope this can still count as last weeks blog, and I will be more than happy to post more over break.

Anyway, after handing in my first project before break, which was an animation for my production company, I continued to think of different way to enhance it and make it better. The original starts out with a silhouetted  figure running out of frame and has the words "Driven Productions" carve out of the wall behind the individual. Here is the actual video, so you may have an idea of what I am talking about:

However, the music ends abruptly and I wanted to add a little something extra. For example, having the entire wall explode afterwards and then have the words "Driven Productions" appear behind the exploding wall that will be shining or glowing, just to give the entire opening a more of a "bang" ending. This is one video I saw that I am going to try and recreate for the wall exploding.

MoGraph Festival

This is the promo for the Motion Graphics Festival 2008 and I loved the style and beat of it. I feel that the form meets the content very well in this piece and portrays a lovely irony. I also found it very fitting as it is obviously a nod to Kyle Cooper's work which was just covered in class. The Motion Graphics Festival is a festival based out of Chicago that showcases a large number and variety of motion graphics work that is definitely worth a look.


Motion Graphics Festival 2008 from Psymbolic on Vimeo.

This promo was done by Lift Motion Design (LiftMotion.com). They do a lot of commercials, (5 gum commercials, and Geico) as well as the type of fast moving, heavy impact animated graphics for sports shows like ESPN.


5 Gum - Lush from LIFT MOTION DESIGN on Vimeo.


Race to March Madness from LIFT MOTION DESIGN on Vimeo.