Motion Graphics
Motion Graphics is the transformation of still graphics I to create he illusion of motion using technology. It can be distinguished from typical animation through elements like not being character driven or story based. In this weeks rotation we were taught the three core principles of animation; Squash & Stretch, Anticipation and staging.
Squash and Stretch: Prevents rigidity or stiffness to the motion. It allows for a feeling of flexibility and elasticity to your animation. The stronger the squeeze and squash, the bouncier the film will be. Anticipation: Preparation for the main action. The action should be built and the reaction released. known as “broadcasting intent”. Staging: Clarity in expression and clarity in direction of action Non-verbal communication that comes from contrast, colour, camera angles, composition and arrangement.
In this rotation we were tasked with designing and digitally compositing a 10-15 second long motion graphics composition using Adobe After Effects, with the theme of ‘connection’.
Concept: After brainstorming, I settled on the rough idea of our connection with animals, pets in particular, and how we non verbally communicate with them. To make this project personal, I am going to focus around cats as I have a cat back home so I know what its like communicating with them. I have been thinking about how cats mimic the sound of babies when they meow to get humans attention and think I will base my short around a cat and it’s meow.
Analysis
Although I struggled with this project, I am happy with the outcome and started to enjoy it towards the end. I think I wasn’t so confident with my idea ( hence it being slightly different to the story board) and that led to me enjoying it less and I was unsure of how to move forward. I chose the super simple cat design as I didn’t want to over complicate things and also I though it was the cutest. I built it in After Effects with shapes and fills, then did the tail and blinking on different layers. The tail was probably the longest and hardest component of this short. I watched a YouTube tutorial which was slow and took a lot of concentration, however when I finally completed it I was really happy with the outcome. I changed the word to purr as I had the idea of making the text vibrate. I tried out a few different effects but found using a wave to be the most effective. As the purr is a more relaxing sound, I decided to have my character coming into the frame and smiling as it shows how pets can make us happier. I chose the second character design as I felt it was more similar to the cat with its simplicity and coclour pallet. If I had more time I would have like to found/made music that better fit the movements, however overall I’ve enjoyed the rotation and learnt new things about After Effects.