Evaluation

Final Piece

Processing Lab

I found the processing lab today very interesting. The sketch application began quite easy, with simple tools such as changing the dimensions of the composition and also the background colours. We must remember to use a semi colon after each piece of coding otherwise it will not work!

We then had the introduction to shapes and lines, changing the stroke colour as we went along. We also gained an understanding of the x and y coordinates, moving the shapes around the composition. 'Rect' and 'line' were used to add these components.

We then added ellipses, using 'ellipse' to do this. We changed the stroke colours and positioned the rectangle using the 'CENTER' option (spelt in the American form)

After we worked with this composition, we began introducing movement making our work more dynamic. We inserted 3 ellipses. We then learnt about 'float' and the effects of changing different variables.

To make the sketch interactive by clicking your mouse, we need to include a piece of code to do this. We need to tell the system that every time you press the mouse, you want a new background and call the variables again.

Feedback

After showing my video to a few people, I received quite positive feedback. However, the main problem was the speed of my piece. A lot of people felt it moved quite quickly and after working on the video for so long, I could not longer hear myself really how fast it was going. I then re recorded the voiceover, remembering to ask the vocalist to slow down and allow for breaks for movement of graphics and text. The font choice for my piece was well received, with people saying it was clear and readable. This is essential when working with typography to make sure that the text can be read easily.

A few assets

Below are a few of my final assets that I used for my artefact. I hand drew a lot of the designs myself, so that I could have full creative control of my final work. All drawings were quite big and scanned in at a high quality, so a lot of them did not need not be further manipulated. However, I did have to edit some where the lines where I had drawn didn't join and therefore filling the shapes became quite difficult later on in Photoshop. I did overcome these problems and I felt I had a large range of graphics that supported my text throughout my piece.

Rendering Problems

Whilst rendering my project, I encountered a problem where the motion freezed, and then sped up quickly. I'm still not particularly sure what happened here yet decided to not opt for the curtains anyway, as they were bad quality and I felt it didn't flow particularly well with the rest of the piece. Below is the first version. Although a problem doesn't show up here, when i play the file back on my computer using quicktime player, I always encounter the above problems. I also noticed the graphics used for 'hell' was of poor quality which is why I changed this as well. Below are the before and after changes that I made:

Rope Test

After the lab with the guest speaker, I learnt an expression that was extremely helpful. Below is what I used for my final piece. The expression below will allow for a slower swing up to an angle of 35 degrees. However, I experimented a lot with these variables to achieve the motion that I wanted. I adjusted how quick the movement was and also up to what angle I wanted my rope to swing.

Math.sin(time*1)*35

Below is an example of what happened when I changed the variables:

This video used the expression Math.sin(time*8)*55 therefore the swing is extremely quick and up to a large angle.

Sound Problems

I recorded a voiceover for my piece yet once I had edited it on Logic Pro and exported it, a lot of quality was lost and it didn't sound as good as it should have. I discovered that it was perhaps how I recorded it originally that was the problem rather than how I exported it. I re recorded my voiceover, with the zoom microphone much closer to the vocalist and in a much quieter surrounding and the quality was greatly improved.

Jon Krasner

"Value and colour can create mood, symoblise ideas, and express emotions to produce a desired audience response. Understanding methods of colour contrast and how colour can evoke different emotional responses individual, gender, and culture can help dictate how we make colour decisions" page 39 - 'Motion Graphic Design'

I experimented with colour throughout my piece. I made quite a daring decision for the phrase "who are you to think you deserve to be different?" I tried numerous colour combinations before eventually deciding to go with bright green and pink. This is due to them working extremely well together, probably due to them being complementary (sitting opposite on the colour wheel). Throughout the piece, I have not used these colours so it really helps emphasise what the vocals are saying. Bright green and pink are different to the rest of the colours; they're bold, daring and confident and the psychologist speaking is questioning why the patient feels they are allowed to be different to everyone else. I thought choosing these colours emphasised this strongly. It made me realise how much of an impact colour can have on an audience and the different feelings it can provoke.

ANGIE TAYLOR ON COLOUR

CHAPTER SIX

• Be aware of what different colours mean internationally and how they change over time e.g green used to represent money yet now it is for the environment
• RED: stimulating, used with caution, attracts attention easily, can represent heat, power love, anger etc, use to highlight important elements
• YELLOW: highly visible and bright, bold when against a black background, used for nature, represent sunshine, happiness, brightness, illness, betrayal
• ORANGE: warmth, fire, energetic, cheerful, brash, healthy
• BLUE: cold, winter clarity, liquid, ice, detachment, calming, peaceful, metaphor for sadness, fairly conventional and accepted, 'safe' colour
• GREEN: nature, growth, renewal, nausea, envy, evil, safety
• PURPLE: regal colour, luxury, bravery, wealth, conceit, worn by larger than life characters,  use when you want your designs to be daring and exciting
• PINK: girls, toys, dolls, make up, feminine, used by the gay community, good when combined with blues and greys  
• BLACK: formal, powerful, mysterious, sophisticated, used as a background in design
• WHITE: purity, innocence, truth, cowardice, peace, as a background it creates open space simplicity

JON KRASNER ON TYPOGRAPHY

MOTION GRAPHIC DESIGN

"Kinetic forms of typography can convey emotions through graphic impact and movement. In many cases, type no longer reads as text but is perceived as physical shapes that create complex semiotic experiences through metaphor and movement" (page 39)

Krasner is saying here that text are no longer just words on a screen. They open up a whole new powerful tool for designing and attempting to evoke a reaction from an audience. A lot of thought has to be put into deciding how your text is going to move around the composition. I feel my complex storyboards enabled me to really think about each word and the meaning that it has. It also allowed me to see which words actually meant something, and which ones I didn't particularly need to emphasise as they are not significantly important.

Examples Continued

Extensive list of kinetic typgraphy examples

I found these extremely useful whilst conducting research for my project. There is a huge amount of work done on kinetic typography in the industry, which is great for inspiration for my own piece. I particularly enjoyed the RW Glenn - The Doctrine of Propitiation. The layout was clear and concise, simple and highly effective. Definitely something to consider when creating the title credits at the end of my piece.

Examples of Kinetic Typography

Again, here are some great examples of kinetic typography which really inspired my work and got me thinking about the way text and images can move around a space. This website provides a variety of videos ranging from videos that are based on film excerpts, adverts and many more.

Kinetic Typography Elements

What makes a good kinetic typography piece

This website makes some really interesting points, definitely something to consider for when I start production. There is a great emphasis on simplicity, especially when working with text. Timing is also a key factor, not to rush text and allow users time to read the message. It is essential to ask someone to watch my final piece before I submit it as when you are working on a project for long periods of time, you forget how it looks to your audience.

Day O Typography

I feel that even though this is extremely simplistic, it's really effective and entertaining to watch. The timing is perfectly synchronised and you can tell that a lot of effort has been put into it. I like the layout of the piece and how it revolved around the 'O' in the middle.


Day'O Typography from Julien Loth on Vimeo.

Kinetic Typography Tutorial

Good Example of working with kinetic typography in After Effects

In the above tutorial, it shows how to import files from Illustrator into After Effects and how they can further manipulated in this software. He reiterates the importance of precision when syncing your audio to textual words when they appear on screen to create a seamless effect.

Shop Vac Ad

Below is a great mtion graphics piece I came across online. It shows the importance of attention to detail. For example, the word 'dog' in the piece has a flicking tail on the end of the leter. It is things like this that make the piece so clever and entertaining. The journey through space as well is seamless; it flows and makes sense to the audience. There is also great focus on textures which are all of high quality and relevant ot the piece.