Big Screen Projections

Final Infographics Movies

Group A: Huddersfield


Group B: University

Group C: Course Stats

infographics

I've been working on a very exciting project with year 2 graphics and animation students, creating motion graphics pieces using stats from the university website. There will be three pieces in total, about Huddersfield, the University, and the courses. Each student is creating ten seconds of animation, in four hours, and a wipe to cut between the stats. The clips will then be edited together to form one long composite piece, and then, hopefully projected onto the big screen that projects onto the front of the main design building. Clips and links and photographs all to follow. The first workshop happened last week and I'm really pleased with the outcomes, there was loads of great work and I was impressed by the speed of production, especially in Illustrator.

The idea is based on this piece I created towards the end of my time at BBC Sport. It was created using a series of very simple scenes, animating using the text presets in After Effects. And then all cut together using a series of very simple wipes, like it would be constructed in an edit suite.

BBC Sport: Arsenal in Numbers
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26673882

The students work is being constructed in exactly the same way. It's an interesting process that works well with collaboration, and I would like to explore it more. The text presets went down very well, it's the first time we have used them in the workshops.

Here are pictures of the data packs that have been created for each group. Each has a key colour which should help to link the separate pieces into a themed longer work. The final clips will each be between 2 and 5 minutes long.

Keyframe Workshops

I have been developing workshops for first year students to learn about animating the layer properties in After Effects using keyframes. Initially my reference for the project was the Animade Lernz series, using a character like the one I created a few years ago for the teaching work I was doing at Ravensbourne at the time:

And then I came across this clip from a student on the Digital Communication Design course at Epsom and loved it. The pace and feel of the first part of the clip is a great example of what can be done using editing and basic motion in After Effects.


Untitled from Digital Communication Design on Vimeo.

Art School (propositions for the 21st Century)

I picked up this book in the library and have been flicking through it over Christmas. One text in particular really stood out, a piece of writing by Liam Gillick and his students at Columbia University. It is a proposal for an art school, or an idea about an art school. I love the way it is written, as well as the ideas. I have been thinking about it in relation to my film proposal. All the things that surround creative practice and allow it to happen, and wondering if the proposal could be written in this way.

  

The History of Motion Graphics

I've just got hold of a copy of this book (three copies in fact, via the library at work) and am really excited about getting stuck into it. It's one the first, or only histories of motion graphics. An academic text focusing on and around the history of film and experimentation, rather than an account of broadcast design for television.

It's american, written by a practioner and academic called Michael Betancourt

I am going to introduce my new lecture series in the new year with the book. And follow it with a viewing of the short film below, by Motion + Design a really interesting project based in France.


"Motion Plus Design" Center : "What is Motion Design ?" from Motion Plus Design on Vimeo.

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