Sports Illustrated

Looking through the four different websites, there are dozens of very well-done after effects videos to be seen. Some of them consist of effect after effect, leaving the viewer to wonder “how did they do that?” Others are very simple and self-explanatory, but still very powerful. My first attempt at creating an after effects video will be done without using any video at all. I am planning on using only still images so I decided to analyze the video created for Sports Illustrated by Trollback and Company.

This video is called joy and it was created as a commercial. Being that it represents a magazine, it only makes sense that still-frame images were used instead of video footage. All of the images are of very high quality and the first word that comes to mind when you see each one is JOY. That great feeling of accomplishment and ecstasy that comes with winning the big game. The video is extremely simple. The camera jump-cuts from picture to picture. For some pictures, the camera zooms in or out, or pans left and right to create the illusion of movement. At the very end, there are effects applied to make the final picture look like a magazine being flipped through. Overall, the video is extremely simple. The power comes from the quality of the images and how well they all tie together. As a finished work, it definitely says, JOY.

The Negotiator-After Effects

Looking at some of the film titles in class last week, I had not yet finished part one of the after effects tutorial book. Now that I have gone through part one and part two, I have gained a whole new respect for the work done by the people at Imaginary Forces. Their mastery and creative implementation of the software is remarkable.

I took a closer look at the beginning titles for The Negotiator and noticed several things. Still frames are used throughout the composition and there are only a few seconds of actual footage. It appears as though these images were taken specifically for use in these titles and are not from the actual film. The motion in this composition is created by using pans and animating masks that lighten the masked area. There are a lot of vertical bars of light that stream across the screen. Occasionally the screen will jump to black, leaving only the tiles.

The color in this composition is effective and cooperates with the music. All of the images, with the exception of a few seconds of a multi-colored scene, have a blue hue. This helps to create a dark and suspenseful mood that agrees with the soundtrack. These titles are a great introduction to the storyline and the film.

Senor Sombra

Most of the animations that I have blogged about in the past have been from the flash2004 website so I wanted to look for something different. After searching on google, I found this Spanish animation, called Senor Sombra- Capitulo 1. Obviously, this is in Spanish, so I thought it would be interesting to see how well the animator conveys the storyline without depending on understanding of the narration. It turns out, in this particular animation, there is only a small segment of narration in the beginning. The story line is quite easy to grasp.

There is one idea in this animation that really fascinates me. When Senor Sombra walks into the little boy’s bedroom and is exposed to all of that color, he is horrified. He sucks all of the color out of the room and then out of the little boy’s body. The way the animator illustrates this is very creative and effective. The color comes off of the boy like a mask, leaving behind very dull yellows. When the color leaves the boy’s body, it is drawn into a colorful stream that is sucked into Senor Sombra’s mouth. It is a very creative idea and well executed.

This animation relies on color palette in order to work. If the colors in the beginning were not all cool colors, then the effect when the door to the boy’s room is opened to reveal all of those bright, warm colors, would not be achieved. This animation is well done and I’m glad I finally branched out to a whole new world of flash other than what is presented on flash2004.

Armageggon

After completing my first flash animation which included sound, I have to believe that the animator who created Armageggon new exactly what the soundtrack was going to be before he or she even began to animate. The sound works so well with this animation. Every action coincides with a part of the music. I can’t imagine the time and effort that must have been required to get everything to synch up so well.

I really like the blues. The color creates a cold, lonely atmosphere that fits the story line. It helps to make the green land in the end more effective. The camera angles are great. They help to create a lot of motion and to give a sense of stillness when appropriate. Again, if I could point to one thing that really makes this animation come together, it is the music and how well it is used.

Walking Together What Remains

Walking Together What Remains is an animation I found on the FlashForward2004 website. This animation provides a solution to our current assignment, to animate a poem in a non-literal fashion. This animation uses bitmaps, one bitmap image to go with each line from the poem. The colors in the images are dark. To tie all of the images together, the animated gave each image the same, canvass-like texture. The technique is really effective here.

The animator does some very interesting things with the type. He uses a different transition for each line of text and within each line of text, he uses different type sizes to create a very modern look. He includes the line number with each line of text. To me, this is more of a distraction than a necessity.

He uses the same transition between the images throughout the entire poem. For my own animation, I will probably use the same transition between images throughout the entire animation as well. I was worried that it may seem too repetitive, but I think, at least in this example it works. As long as the transition is not the central focus of the animation and there are other things happening with the text, I think it looks ok.

Gooberstory

Wow! I know that many of you probably won’t watch this animation because it takes forever to load but if you ever get the chance, I definitely recommend it. “Gooberstory” is basically the legend of the peanut. As insignificant and boring as that sounds, this animation is amazing. The animals and objects in this animation are so life-like and fluid. I’m not sure how the background was done but the colors are brilliant and the scenery is quite realistic. I can’t figure out if the backgrounds were derived from bitmaps or if someone is just really good with illustrator. I can’t even imagine the amount of time that went into this work. It’s like a short film and everything fits together so well. The animator uses color schemes to create a mood and then uses music very effectively to compliment that mood. If I ever had a chance, I would love to sit down with this animator and see how this was done.

Ride The Fence

This week I chose to look at an animation that I had seen in the past through the flashforward2004 website. It is one of the past winners. I chose to look at it this week because it is similar to the assignment we were just given. This animation, called “Ride the Fence”, illustrates the lyrics to a hip-hop song. The lyrics express the author’s stance on many common issues, several of them having to do with black rights. The overall theme of the animation is to encourage people to take a side and go all the way with it. You’ll never change anything if you always just “Ride the Fence.” This animation differs slightly from our assignment because it is a fairly literal illustration of the statements made with the lyrics.

The animation is done using very simple characters. They are just shapes with black outline and a dark grey fill. As far as the actual animation techniques, there is nothing too far out of the ordinary there. The quality lies in how well the animation coincides with the song (both beat and lyrics).

I also paid closer attention to color palette while looking at this animation. Having discussed it in class last week while reviewing the student animations, I had color in mind. This animator used a lot of dark color and everything is outlined in black. There is a strong emphasis on shape. Having noticed these characteristics, I still find myself unsure of the reason for this color choice. I certainly would like to learn a lot more about color palette choice in order to make my own animations more effective and to gain a further understanding of other animators’ color choices. If anyone has any suggestions of good places to find such information, I would be glad to hear about it.

Kunstbar

Kunstbar is an animation from Whitehouse Animation Inc. This animation really emphasized an important point. Over time, if the effort is given, any individual’s technical animation skills and familiarity with the software can become top notch. What is made clear with this animation is that a good animation is all about creativity.

A man is walking by a bar and sees another man running out screaming. His curiosity overpowers him and he enters the bar. He looks at a menu which lists names such as Matisse, Dali, Picasso, and others alike. He orders his drink and when the bartender serves it to him, the bartender throws the drink all over his face and the texture of the man’s face then resembles a piece of artwork done by the artist that he ordered. Immediately after that, the camera cuts to a different man sitting at a table drinking Picasso’s “Starry Night” and the man’s ear falls off.

The animation continues and different drinks are served and different works of art are animated. This animation works so well because it is unique. The animator took a clever idea and put it into motion. It is not only the actual animation techniques that are impressive. It is a combination of the animation and the concept that make Kunstbar something that the viewer will remember.