Deconstruction of motion graphics #3

Alex Trimpe motion graphics - It gets better

This example of motion graphics was produced by Alex Trimpe an animator who i have previously mentioned on this blog. It is an extremely polished and well produced informative piece designed to be an informal and exciting way to get people thinking about the way in which they act. It has no clear set target audience as far as demographics are concerned for it applies to men and women of all ages and backgrounds. It was produced for a project based on reassuring people that life can be positive even when it may not seem like it. Although it is unlikely that this has, or will ever be used commercially it is finished to an extremely high standard including music produced by circa music, a company geared towards helping to develop music to accompany pieces so that the music slots hand in hand with the animation, advert etc... that is being produced. In this instance the music synchs perfectly with the words on screen, whilst the voice takes centre stage the music accompanies it perfectly, starting a little disjointed it becomes more upbeat when the discussion turns to peace and love. There is also a few examples of other sound effects in the animation, namely the sound of fire, or the crashing symbol when striking back is mentioned. Alex has employed a number of techniques in this short, whilst the typography is kept simple and bold, easy to read, the text flys around, growing and shrinking, appearing from different areas keeping it interesting. The synchronisation with the text appearing whilst the man reads it is a very good point, plus the selection of which words to show and when, as well as when to show symbols, images or nothing at all. The last thing that I wanted to point out was the use of a theme throughout, not varying from the earthly browns, oranges and yellows made this a very visually attractive piece. I'm struggling to find any bad points, this is a very high quality, well made example of motion graphics that I really enjoy. 

Alex Trimpe

Alex Trimpe youtube page

This is the youtube channel of Alex Trimpe, an animator I have found who produces a number of extremely impressive, high end motion graphics pieces. I can use some of these to deconstruct them and look closely at their inner workings, and the others I can simply take inspiration from that will help me when producing my C.V.

Deconstruction of motion graphics #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBJPu1zoSnA&feature=related

This piece was produced by a student studying at Arizona state university as part of their kinetic typography, naturally typography plays a large part in the production of most motion graphics, so I felt that it would be a beneficial clip to deconstruct. Whilst the use of fonts, sizes of text etc... is clearly the focus, there are a lot of nice things about this, including the use of panning, zooming, different camera angles, the constant movement, to keep the piece exciting and especially the manner in which the text is synchronised with the music. The music is clearly the theme driving the entire animation, so unlike other examples of motion graphics where the music is picked on the basis of what they wish the animation to do, the reverse is true here. There is no real traget audience for this piece, in regards to age, gender etc ... but naturally it is aimed at fans of Queen, perhaps those keen to learn the lyrics to one of their favourite songs, it will also be aimed to please the tutor or examiner who will be marking the piece so the animator is looking to show off their best work.
As listed below the video, the person producing the piece has used a number of different software, namely After effects, photoshop and illustrator, by being able to use different software they have produced a much more rounded and complete animation, using each to full potential, for example whilst photoshop may have been perfect for producing good looking text and backgrounds, after effects has the animating capabilities, by combining the two they have gotten the best of both worlds. It appears to have been produced to a fairly high standard, and as the comments mention below the video, it has been aired on the one show when discussing Queen, a tribute to the quality of the piece. Another good point to mention is the use of a theme running throughout, the use of dark green and black creates a pleasing aesthetic, whilst the fonts are repeated in certain areas to offer continuity. The only area where I feel this could have been improved is the use of some more unorthodox fonts in order to add some more life to the piece. Maybe a trip to dafont.com or even attempting to create their own font may have added an extra element to this piece. In my opinion this is a good piece of motion graphics with a number of strong points, the strongest of which is the timing between the text and the music.

Deconstruction of motion graphics #1

This piece of motion graphics was produced for sky sports, in order to promote the football games that will be shown in the coming months. It's main target audience is most likely men, probably ranging from teenagers to middle aged. It was produced by a man called Nick Motture, who's website can be found at www.moocowmedia.com, he has produced a number of other motion graphics including promos and idents for sky sports, BBC etc... He has used a range of techniques in producing this piece, including fast paced music, well timed cutting, zooming, panning etc ... Alternating between motion graphics and actual clips, a theme running through out as well as good use of timing. The loud, bold, yet friendly music used instantly grabs the attention, as this was produced for T.V. It is necessary to be able to make the viewer who may not be paying too close attention to the adverts, sit up and take notice, the fast pace of the music does exactly that. Also the rhythm of the guitar allows the clips to be carefully synchronised alongside the music, producing a pleasing aesthetic. Although the youtube clip doesn't truly do this justice, it has clearly been produced to a high standard, legible to be shown on T.V. There are a number of points that I would pick out to be extremely good about this work, his use of timing is certainly something that stood out for me, the way in which the camera pans onto the next piece of font, then slows down during a break in the guitar allowing a little more time to take in the information, only to transition on quickly once again. Whilst I think it's important to have a theme to the piece, I would have liked a little more change in the colours, perhaps changing the strands in the background to match the colours that the two teams play in, this may have made for slightly more eye grabbing work, however at the same time, I appreciate that it may have detracted from the most important thing, which is the text. In my opinion I think that this is a very high quality piece and has whole host of good points that I can take inspiration from, it is informative, well thought out and eye grabbing, everything that motion graphics should be! 

A tutorial on a particle effect

This tutorial may come in handy when trying to produce effective, eye catching texts for my CV.

Deconstruction -

What is it?
What is it about?
Who's it aimed at?
What the company is?
What techniques they've used?
Use of sound?
Quality?
What's good about it?
What's bad about it?
What's  my opinion on it?
Does it work well?
How have they matched it to a target audience?