Motion Graphics: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

So far this semester, I've noticed something about motion graphics. Putting together a motion graphics project seems like a way to cram everything I've learned in my communications studies into one project. Something I've learned about recently is color theory, how colors can incite emotions in the viewer and different ways to create meanings and illusions with color.

This doesn't, or at least shouldn't, pertain to just the classroom. The pros at Igloo Design know about color and put it to good use in their showcase video "Igloo Reel 08":

Igloo's designs show good use of color and a good grasp of the principles of color theory. I like how every time the brand changed, the color scheme changed with it. The use of contrasts in the work Igloo has done caught my eye. None of it was too harsh, but it created enough excitement. Something I saw a lot was the use of colors in the same color family, different shades and tints of one color or similar warm or cool colors.

Watching the video made it easy for me to see why so many different companies hired Igloo. Their work is good and creates a strong brand image that is professional but can still be fun.

I went against the rules here a little bit and found a motion graphic that uses color poorly and is visually UNappealing. That would be wwwourmachinecom's "MTV Bumpers", another showcase reel of work done for MTV. Let's take a look:

I really didn't like these. Something about them was unappealing and even jarring to my vision. The colors didn't quite clash, but the creator of these motion graphics didn't really choose a nice palette of anything. The main colors used were red, black, and white, although pastel blues make an appearance. Red and black are both strong colors with strong emotions associated with them. Together they seemed to send a message of fear or even violence (like blood in the streets or something), possibly salsa dancing at their best.

The color choices seemed inconsistent and tacky,like the target audience for the channel would probably wear outfits with these colors and patterns. Oh yes, the patterns. Those were also displeasing, even though they were generally the only visually interesting part to the motion graphics. The checkerboard patterns and graffiti-styled writing put me off, and didn't add anything to the poor choice of colors.

Between the poor choice of color and loud patterns, the whole thing looked haphazardly put together. This may have been what MTV was going for, but somehow I doubt it. It was more "What were they thinking?" than "This is so cool!" I think MTV was going for exciting, but I must have missed that.

Ta-daaaah!

Hello again everybody! After quite a long sabbatical from blogging (shame on me!), here I am again to share the wonders of Flash Game class and what I'm learning. First off, the paper prototype was pretty much a success, and I'm busy busy busy today in class. A lot of loose ends are to be tied up today. Right now, a lot of thought and planning are going into my game. The paper prototype video should help demonstrate how my game works.

So, without further ado...

Next up should be another post on my research topic... for those of you who don't remember, it's about the history and evolution of RPGs. That will probably be published at some point today or this evening. Feels great to be blogging again!

Azumanga Daioh--Missed Communication?

The first chapter in Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston's The Illusion of Life, a book dedicated to the art of Disney animation and the theory and techniques behind it, deals with communication as a part of animation. Thomas and Johnston make the claim that successful animation happens with the animation "conveys a certain feeling". It is not simply enough to have a good narrative or to make the audience laugh, but there must be a deeper emotional connection between the animated characters and the audience. This is the second thing that Thomas and Johnston stress in the first chapter of their book: The audience assigns emotions to the character based on the action that is happening in the animation. It is the character's personality that makes for successful communication in a piece of animation, that is, how well the audience can connect with that character emotionally and stay involved with what happens to the character.

Here is an example clip from the anime series Azumanga Daioh.

In this scene, a group of schoolgirls are gathered around a vending machine at school while one girl buys a drink. When she makes her purchase, a paper cup is supposed to drop out of the machine and be filled with milk tea. Instead, she and her friends watch in horror as the tea is dispensed back into the bottom of the machine. Another friend comes by the machine to buy a drink, and recieves not only her cup of tea, but a second cup--what is presumed to the the first girl's missing paper cup.

Analyzing this clip using the guidelines for successful communication in animation set forth by Thomas and Johnston, I would say that the Azumanga Daioh clip is not a very good example. I did not relate to any specific character on a very deep level, even though I had no problem reading the subtitles while watching the action, so I still understood what was going on. There was very little use of dialogue, and the dialogue that was used was nothing too profound or interesting. (Although I am in no way trying to say that dialogue and communication are directly related! This may have done better with no dialogue, and there are plenty of scenes in movies where no one talks and it is visual and music only and the communication is still effective.) I understand that nothing too important needed to be said, since the main point of this scene is for comic effect. Also, this is an everyday situation, so none of the characters need to be making long speeches.

Aside from dialogue (or lack thereof) I related more to the situation than the characters in it. The same thing has happened to me at vending machines many times, and I did get upset, albeit not nearly as much as the girl in this anime. The characters themselves seemed more like personifications of stereotypes than anything else: the adorable younger friend who is cheerful and helpful all the time, the energetic and emotional friend (the one who throws a fit over losing her paper cup), the friend who's not quite all there all the time (the one reassuring the vending machine after it "lost a lot of trust"), and the older, more sensible and practical friend (the one who buys a drink at the end of the clip). I watched other bits and pieces from the show, and these stereotype personalites seemed to persist. This particular clip was funny, but it didn't communicate on a very deep level.