Design industry

Motion GraphicsMotion graphics are generally short pieces of time-based visual media which combine the languages of film and graphic design. This can be accomplished by incorporat-ing a number of different elements such as 2d and 3d animation, video, film, typography, illustration, photogra-phy, and music.

Below are some examples of motion graphics created by the companies i looked into. They are some of the best examples of how far technology has come since the days of when Saul bass and Harry Marks motion graphics started out. After watching many examples of motion graphics i was drawn into how you make basically anything possible, like “cats with thumbs” (Cravendale ad) The creativity and imagination some of these adverts use is amazing.

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Above: Screen shots of motion graphics examples

Design CompaniesAfter watching various companies show reels, I chose the ones I found most inspiring and sent them my question-naire. I emailed Scorch London, Red Bee, Bl:nd, Brand New School, Main Frame, Kristofer Strom and Noah Harris. I had 2 responses but unfortunately only 1 was a

full reply to my questionnaire. Kristofer Strom said he would try and take the time to reply, but never did. Noah Harris on the other hand did reply, and answered my questions very well.

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Above: Screen shots of companies websites

QuestionnaireThese are the questions i emailed to companies iwanted to caontact.

- How did your Company start? Where do they pitch? Clients?- Are you interested in certain parts of motion graphics, if so, what and why?- Where do you look for inspiration, and why?

- When creating motion graphics, what is the most important aspect, planning, desig or implementation? - What skills are required in the creative industry?- Do you have set deadlines for briefs, or do they depend on the project/client?- Has modern technology helped develop motion graph-ics?- What drives you to continue designing?

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Above: Screen shots of motion graphics examples

E4 identAfter having Noah Harris’s reply from my questionnaire I decided to create an E4 ident inspired by his work. After watching his E4 idents I noticed that they were all set in different locations, and had a certain theme and feel to each one. For example the “Beach hut” ident had objects in it that related to the beach i.e. beach balls, rubber dingy, fishing rubber ring etc.

So I decided to find my own location and see what I could do with it. I wanted to find an abandoned place to use, as I’m interested in Urban Exploration. The first place I went to was an old asylum, but they wouldn’t let us in to film as there was a lot of building work going on! So the next best place was an old abandoned house near by.

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Above: Screen shots from Noah Harris E4 ident

Above: Mock up idea for ident

Urban ExplorationThe plan was to have a 180 degree pan of the room, and then animate it afterwards in after effects using 3D and 2D objects.

I decided to try and use objects that where lying about in the abandoned house, I found an old “Henry the hoover” and decided to try and make him come to life. I tried

animating various other objects that were found, but they weren’t as successful. After trying to put all of this together in after effects it proved difficult, trying to have objects moving but staying in the same place was hard because the camera was moving. Below are screen shots from my panning footage.

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Urban ExplorationThe panning video didn’t work out so I decided to use a still photo, and then animate it. Below are images of an abandoned asylum, I wanted to take inspiration from what I found in the asylum for objects in my animation.

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3D experimentationI wanted to have some 3D objects in my animation that you may find in the asylum, but also wanted to incorpo-rate some other objects that you wouldn't find.

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Final OutcomeOnce I was happy with my animation and idea, it was time to put it all together. Because id made my 3D animations in Cinema 4D I could import them straight into After Effects. Conveniently E4 have an Estings competi-

tion running at the moment which means they have files and theme tunes to use for your Esting. So I thought I would try and stick to there rules for my Esting, so it would have to be 10 seconds long and could use any of the theme music if you wanted. Below are stills from my

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Design Industry ReportFor my design investigation, I decided to look into motion graphics as it interests me and I don’t know much about it. I started out by researching what motion graphics is and the history of it.

Motion graphics are generally short pieces of time-based visual media, which combine the languages of film and graphic design. This can be accomplished by incorporating a number of different elements such as 2D and 3D animation, video, film, typography, illustration, photography, and music.

Like graphic design, it’s hard to pinpoint the exact start of the motion graphics as a discipline. In the early 20th century people such as Viking Eggeling, Oskar Fischinger, Len Lye were experimenting with films that resemble motion graphics. Saul Bass‘ film title sequences in the 50′s and 60′s took it a step further and into the public eye. In the late 70′s and 80′s people such as Harry Marks and Robert Abel helped bring dynamic computer-generated graphics to broadcast television.

After looking into the history, I then started to look at examples of motion graphics to see which parts interested me most. I found that I was most interested in the visual effects side of it, I liked the way you could make anything possible, even if it was total random and bizarre. After watching various companies show reels, I chose the ones I found most inspiring and sent them my questionnaire. I emailed Scorch London, Red Bee, Bl:nd, Brand New School, Main Frame, Kristofer Strom and Noah Harris. I had 2 responses but unfortunately only 1 was a full reply to my questionnaire. Kristofer Strom said he would try and take the time to reply, but never did. Noah Harris on the other hand did reply, and answered my questions very well.

I wanted to gain a better understanding of how the industry in motion graphics works, and some information about the companies themselves. I found out that in a large motion graphics companies you wouldn’t work on lots of different parts, you be more specialist in a certain area. So there would be a big team working together on a brief, but each individual would work on their own specialist parts.

When I asked Noah Harris “Are you interested in certain parts of motion graphics, if so, what and why?” I was surprised by his response, “ To be perfectly honest I’m not that interested in motion graphics. That is part of why I shut the company down.. As we were doing more and more motion graphics and I found it very boring… I am interested in film, and design can form a big part of that,

but I don’t really have an interest in animating type and graphics any more. I think a fully computer generated project would bore me senseless.”

From his response I think it’s important to have an interest in more than one area in motion graphics, because otherwise you will end up not being interested in it. Or if you are only interested in a certain part, then you should work for a larger company so that you can collaborate with others, trying to create it all yourself will just prove to difficult.

Overall from Noah Harris responses I gained knowledge of what skills you need to have to become successful. He quotes “you have to have an ability to talk through your ideas and explain them concisely, a great passion for what you’re doing, and an open mind, to deal with client requests for change.” I think these are all very important points, because if you can’t do those then you won’t have the ability to communicate with clients and colleagues. But overall the most important quote that stood out to me was “ inspiration is something. You shouldn’t have to search for.”

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