EXTRA CREDIT! Animated PSA

NOTE: I've changed this project from a Micro-Project to Extra Credit worth 10 points!

I'm looking for you to complete an animated PSA that will be 10-15 seconds long (or longer if necessary). Pick a topic such as Seat-Belt Safety, Texting While Driving or Don't Drink and Drive and create an animation for it. There are lots of PSAs online that can serve as a source of inspiration such as these:

Good luck and, as always, have fun!

Good MoGfx Inspiration

Sander van Dijk, a MoGfx artist from the Netherlands has created his latest reel. Great stuff!



Sander van Dijk - Reel Dyad from Sander van Dijk on Vimeo.

King & Country is a production house in Santa Monica, CA that does some really amazing work in AE.

Project #3 - Title Sequence

For our final major project...
I'd like you to create or re-imagine a title sequence. This can be a title sequence for an existing or soon-to-be-existing movie, TV, or web program that you've put your own spin on - or -it can be something you've conjured up on your own. It should be at least 30 seconds in length. Use your imagination and have fun with it. Remember, this is the most heavily weighted project of the semester, so show me what you've got!

A Little Love for Saul Bass
I showed a handful of examples of title sequences in class today (Thursday, March 29) that represent well the concept of using Motion Graphics in title sequences starting with the man who made the title sequence relevant, Saul Bass. Bass was an extremely popular and innovative designer from the 1950s until shortly before his death in the mid-1990s.

Quoting the Saul Bass Wiki entry: "In some sense, all modern opening title sequences that introduce the mood or theme of a film can be seen as a legacy of Saul Bass's innovative work. In particular, though, title sequences for some recent movies and television series, especially those whose setting is during the 1960s, have purposely emulated the graphic style of his animated sequences from that era."

Along with title sequences and movie posters, Bass was a groundbreaking logo designer who had a knack for creating timeless designs. "An analysis of a sample of Bass’s corporate logos in 2011 found them to have an unusual longevity. The most common cause of the demise of a Bass corporate logo (in the selection analyzed) was the demise of the company, rather than a corporate logo redesign. The average lifespan of a Bass logo is more than 34 years, and counting."(1) 

Bass himself said "My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it."(2)

OK... here's some examples of the work of Mr. Bass

"The Man With the Golden Arm" (1955)


"Anatomy of a Murder" (1959)


"North by Northwest" (1959) - Embedding disabled upon request

"It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" (1963) - Embedding disabled upon request

...and here's some work inspired by Bass

"Monsters, Inc." (2001)


"Catch Me if You Can." (2002)


"Casino Royale" (2006)


"Mad Men" (2007) - TV series - Embedding disabled upon request

These are just some examples of what's been done with title sequences. There are lots of other title sequences created without Bass-esque techniques that are really great, but I wanted to show these examples so you'd see the enormous impact Bass has had on the medium over the last 60 years. I hope they help to inspire you to create a really great piece that you'll be proud of. Thanks!

(1): http://annyas.com/saul-bass-logo-design-then-now/
(2): Haskins, Pamela (Autumn 1996). "Saul, Can You Make Me a Title? Interview with Saul Bass".

Micro-Project #4 Details: 2.5D Bumper

It's written "2.5D," but everyone I know pronounces it "two and a half D." That's indicative of the way AE handles 3D space... it's not true 3D, but it's more than 2D. Saying that it's not "true 3D" essentially means that although AE lets you work in 3D space, you're not working with true 3D objects. You're working with 2D images in 3D space. Anyway... on to the project.

This should be a 10-second piece, utilizing AE's 3D capabilities that could act as a bumper. You see bumpers all the time on TV. They're short network identity pieces that are usually shown immediately before a program begins. Most of them essentially say "Hey, we're such-and-such network and here's what's coming up next!"

What I want you to do for this project...
is either re-create (with your original interpretation) a bumper you've seen on TV that you find interesting -- or -- come up with something original which could be a fun idea you've wanted to try or a practical piece you will put to use advertising something you're involved with. Just make sure it's in the style of a bumper. Use your imagination and have fun!

Here's a few samples to get the juices flowing. Note the use of graphic objects in Z space. There are foreground, middle and background elements that emphasize that the pieces are in a 2.5D environment (particularly evident in the Cartoon Network collection). The MTV2 piece features a series of PreComped animated vignettes that were likely created as layered Photoshop designs with their own background and foreground elements. The Game Show Network spot features 2D objects in a spiral array distributed in 3D space.

MTV2 Network Bumper:


Cartoon Network Show Bumpers:


Game Show Network New Identity:


Here's a link to the Ink Blot Tutorial!

Walk Cycle

The steps in a walk cycle

Here's a link to a great blog entry about the walk cycle. It's geared toward those creating a hand-drawn character animation, but the same principles apply in many aspects of animation in general.

There are also many examples and tutorials dealing with animated walk cycles available on YouTube created in assorted media.

Wiki entry for Walk Cycle.

Kinetic Type Example

Here's the rendered version of what I created for the Kinetic Type Tutorial.

Kinetic Type Example from M Swanson on Vimeo.

Sorry I don't have a animated tutorial here... still having some computer/capture software issues at home.

The file I created in class can help you out. It's called "DV2780_InClass_02-23-12.aep" and it's in the DV2480 folder in the Class folder.

When I created this, I started off in Illustrator to lay out the type. You don't have to do it this way, it's just how I prefer to do it. You could lay out your text right in AE either in precomps or right in the comp in which you're working. Whatever you're most comfortable with.

Anywho... I laid out the copy in Illustrator and put the different parts onto 4 different layers (since my audio file has 4 distinct sections to which I'd like to animate). When I import the file into AE, I bring it in as "Composition - Retain Layer Sizes." I choose "Retain Layer Sizes" so my layers have a registration point that is central to that particular layer rather than the layered file as a whole.

Once the file is in AE, I arranged the layers in my comp in the order in which they appear. I then proceed to draw a mask (using the rectangle tool) around the first word on the first layer. This allows only that word to show through. I then renamed the layer by selecting and hitting Enter, typing in a custom name, then hitting Enter again. I duplicate the layer, delete the mask and draw a new mask around the next word in the sequence and so on for the remaining words on that layer. I repeat this for all the layers until I have all the words on their own individual layers. Then I change all the text layers into 3D layers.

Now I'm going to arrange the layers to form the "stair step" effect. The first group can stay where it is. The next line in the audio clip is "Officer" which I then rotate +90 degrees on the Y axis and move it's position downward along Y. The following two layers I move down along the Y Position axis to create the next "step" and I also rotate the 2nd "Officer" layer +90 degrees on Y and move it's position down along Y Position axis as well to get the final form of the "stairs."

Once all the layers are in position, I attach them to a null which I can animate to the audio track. I've also added a camera into the scene which will have a couple simple position changes.

To synch the animation to the audio, I'll "scrub" the timeline position indicator along the timeline while holding down the Command key. This lets you preview the audio so you can find points in the track to synch to. When doing this, I like to use markers to use as reference points while animating. To create a marker, I have my layer selected and hit the * key on the number pad of the keyboard. Now that the markers are set, I'll trim the layers (hovering over the edge of the layer in the timeline, waiting till the double-arrow appears, then dragging it to where it's needed) to the marker (or wherever is "right") so it will be invisible until needed. I do this for all the text layers until all my layers synch to the audio. Now all that's left is to add rotation keys to the null to which the text is attached and some subtle camera moves to complete the piece.

Hope that all makes sense. If you have any questions, post a comment and I'll add an answer onto this post. Thanks!

FYI: Expressions

We briefly discussed expressions in AE in class Tuesday.

For this class, you don't need to know how to use expressions, but if you're curious about what they are and how to use them,  here's a couple links that will help you get started:

My 5 Favorite Expressions by Harry Frank at graymachine.com

5 Easy AE Expressions at AETutsplus.com

Enjoy!