Christian Schaaf's Blog + Portfolio

Category: Motion Graphics

  • Module 7: Advanced Motion

    Module 7: Advanced Motion

    For this last module, I explored advanced animation techniques and worked on the final project for “Motion Across Media.”

    Reading & Writing

    This week, I read Chapter 11, “Show and Tell,” in Liz Blazer’s Animated Storytelling: Simple Steps for Creating Animation & Motion Graphics. This final chapter focuses on strategies for effectively sharing and promoting animation projects. She provides steps to make your project stand out among others. In prior chapters, Blazer described how to tell a story in an animation project, and now it’s time to tell the story of the animation project.

    1.) Package Your Project: Animators must package their project in a professional way. The following steps will ensure that your audience has everything they need to view your project and consider it for awards:

    • Upload a password and share a workable link. The favorite service for uploading videos that are password protected is Vimeo.
    • Design a clean logo for the title of the project paired with a still photo from the film that captures the essence of the project.
    • Write a concise, clear description of the project that is one to two sentences in length. This hook will be used on other publications referring to your project.
    • Create a memorable, eye-catching, thought-provoking tagline to make your film stand out.
    • Write a director’s bio that is short and sweet. This can include what you want to be known as professionally. It should list your professional title and accomplishments that support that role.
    • Write the story of your film: Why did you want to make the film? Why did you feel a need to share this story? What was the process of making this film? Make sure to include both mistakes and triumphs.

    2.) Determine Where to Show Your Film: Head back to your creative brief to remind yourself who the film is intended for, and this will help you select your audience and proper film festival for the film.

    3.) Consider Skipping the Film Festival Route: Blazer suggests that film festivals are not for everyone. Other alternatives include directly releasing the project on platforms like Vimeo. Releasing it online could help get quicker feedback and inspire ideas for your next animation adventure.

    4.) Create Your Network: Having a positive brand on the Internet is essential for filmmakers. Join online communities for designers, filmmakers, and artists. Talk to them. Share your work with them. Be inspired by them. This can form real relationships and help build connections for the future. It is also important to be supportive of other people’s work. Be present and engaged. Be a good audience. Make your brand known, but don’t overdo it. It is important to be selective. Mix up self-promotion and other types of posts. Tease your work, but don’t give away the whole story in the post. This will entice your audience to view your project. Finally, it’s essential to network in person. Establishing these connections are vital for success in the animation/filmmaking industry.

    5.) Share and Repeat: Be as professional as possible when sharing your work. Once you share one project, start with the next. Continue to sketch, storyboard, write, and animate new projects. The sky is the limit!

    As I reflect on this class, I am so happy with what I learned throughout these seven weeks. Coming into this class, I had no prior knowledge or experience with animation. From reading Liz Blazer’s book, I now know the essential steps in creating animation projects, from research and storyboarding to production to editing and packaging the video. It’s amazing what you can learn over seven weeks.

    I learned how to animate in Adobe Photoshop, Animate, and After Effects. I also learned how to design a project in Illustrator and import that project into After Effects. I discovered how to create keyframes in After Effects, create my own animations manipulating the Opacity, Position, Anchor Point, and Scale of an object, and how to import music and sound effects into After Effects.

    I also learned how important it is to plan out the project – the script, the music, the visuals, etc. If you are diligent in the pre-production phase, it makes the production and post-production phases much easier. It’s very interesting how each element of a story – the words, the art, the music – can all work together to create a beautiful piece.

    I am grateful for the knowledge I have gained, and I hope to continue to experiment with these programs in the future. I want to use After Effects when creating promotional videos at my current job to hopefully elevate the quality and creativity of these creations. I hope that animation will be a part of each step of my career.

    Research to Inform

    1.) Chroma Keying

    This is an example of Chroma Keying as the green screen is replaced with an image in the background. I thought this was a good example because the picture chosen for the background is relevant to the movement of the subject. It reminds me of someone dancing on Broadway in New York City.

    2.) Ken Burns Effect

    This YouTube video showcases the Ken Burns effect by adding movement to still photographs of Glacier National Park. I love this effect as it adds realism to the photos. It makes me feel like I am there walking on the trails and hiking the mountains. Adding this movement to still pictures creates a very interesting effect as I feel I am transported to the setting of the photo.

    3.) Motion Tracking

    Motion Tracking refers to digitally recording and following the movement of an object. In this example, the human’s movements on the left are being tracked by technology to create the animated figure on the right. I thought this was a very accurate example of how motion tracking would look. The movement is very realistic and matches well with the actual movement of the person.

    Create

    My Running Journey

    For my final project, I decided to create a video similar to the “Self-Introduction” video format because I really enjoyed creating that project! My goal was to illustrate my running journey from when I started running to the present. In this project, my goal was to incorporate multiple animation techniques that we learned throughout the class, including:

    1.) An Advanced Animation Technique: I chose to try out the “3D in After Effects” technique and manipulate a 2D photo. I chose a photo of my dad and I when I first started running. It was a little tricky to do this technique with that photo because his head is somewhat cut off in the photo, and rotating it too much would have revealed that, but I am happy with how it turned out! I definitely want to experiment more with this technique.

    2.) Creating shapes/lines with the line tool in After Effects. I utilized this strategy to create the “hill” animation when I talked about the hilly cross country course. I also used this when illustrating the length of a 100 meter race on a track. It was fun to experiment with trimming paths to create these animations.

    3.) Classic animations in After Effects, using keyframes to change Opacity, Scale, Rotation, and Position. I feel a lot more comfortable now creating keyframes and working with these animation options.

    4.) Using sound effects and background music. I added a typewriter sound effect at the beginning of the video when I chose the typewriter text animation. I also added a heart beat to the heart animation to further showcase that my love for running was expanding in high school.

    5.) Using the “squash and stretch” animation principle on the location symbol. I wanted to utilize at least one of the animation principles throughout this project.

    I also wanted to create a consistent color palette throughout the video, so I chose a blue/green color, wrote down the HEX and RGB codes, and used those codes throughout the project. I hoped to create a consistent and coherent video that used the same colors and fonts from start to finish.

    I have thoroughly enjoyed this class. Coming in with no animation experience, I am so grateful for all of the techniques I learned. I’m excited to continue to experiment in these programs and explore more advanced animation techniques in the future.

  • Week 6: User Interface Animation

    Week 6: User Interface Animation

    For Week 6 of Motion Across Media, I am reading about the animation process in Liz Blazer’s Animated Storytelling: Simple Steps for Creating Animation & Motion Graphics.

    Reading & Writing

    Chapter 10: Animate! in Liz Blazer’s Animated Storytelling focuses on bringing a story to life through movement, emphasizing the importance of intentional animation choices. In this chapter, Blazer brings together all the tips that were taught throughout the beginning sections of her book: storyboards, color scripts, soundtracks, and more. Before starting to piece together your animation, she suggests to create a production calendar to track progress and ensure deadlines are met. She states to print out a calendar, fill it in backwards starting with the final delivery date, and then work back through post-production, production, and pre-production. This will help create a realistic timeline for the project. Once this is created, the information can be easily transferred to a digital calendar that can be shared with creative partners.

    Blazer highlights a few more important steps when starting an animation project, including making sure your tech equipment is up-to-date, creating simple file names to stay organized, and backing up your work consistently. Once these steps are complete, she suggests to start with the easy shots to gain confidence with the project. Since animation is a time-consuming endeavor, it is important to strategically plan out all shots before starting to avoid cutting any shots during the production phase.

    Blazer also stresses the importance of strategic movement in animation. She asserts to always anticipate and follow through to help illustrate the physics of gravity on weight and movement. Composing directional movement, such as horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or circular movement, will create consistency throughout an animation. In addition, Blazer offers tips to create a visually compelling animation:

    • Don’t put the subject in the center of the frame too often.
    • Mix up shot lengths. Use a mix of close-up shots, medium shots, and long shots.
    • Mix up shot timing. This will create different paces in your animation.
    • Add blur and grain, grunge, or vignettes.
    • Be flexible with the soundtrack. This could change during the production phase.
    • Mute the soundtrack to check that your animation is expressive without the music or sound effects.

    By reinforcing the idea that animation is storytelling in motion, Blazer guides animators to make thoughtful, impactful choices that enhance their projects.

    Research to Inform

    This UI GIF caught my attention because of the bright colors used in the design. I also think this showcases excellent UI design because as one section opens, the other closes. This allows the user to view the entirety of each section on the screen without scrolling.

    I liked that this graphic showcases good and bad UI design. Being a beginner in UI design, it was interesting to see how little changes in movement can impact user experience. The panel on the left shows different elements moving in the same direction, while the one on the right depicts movements from many directions. It is important to be consistent in movements and not overcomplicate user interface designs.

    I chose this GIF because I like the switch from blue to black. I also like the simplicity of this design. I also like that the “X” is fully animated when the blue object passes through it. This is a very intentional UI design.

    I love how the paper airplane is shot off into the distance. This animation also uses the “anticipation” principle of animation by the page dragging down and then flinging up to release the paper airplane. I also like the bounce that is created after the paper airplane flies. This adds to the realism of this animation.

    This animation inspired the one that I created this week. I liked the animation switching from 4 to 5 and how the 5 started upside down until the new page appeared. I also like that the envelope is static. With the paper and number both animating, adding another animation would maybe make this GIF a little too busy. The still envelope contrasts well with the movement in the rest of the GIF.

    I love the morphing of the circle in this GIF. It almost creates a water-like animation where droplets of water are breaking off the big circle. I also think using the blue color adds to this effect. I also like that the three smaller circles go back into the larger circle in reverse order. This creates a nice loop in the design.

    This one is definitely a more complex UI design. but I enjoyed the flow from screen to screen. I like how the animations are consistent from screen to screen, creating a cohesive user interface design. I also like the contrast of the still elements with the moving screens.

    I think this UI animation does a great job of capturing a geometric theme. Each animation created in this design morphs into some geometric shape – circles, hexagons, lines, etc. Creating consistency and a theme are both important elements of UI design.

    Create

    User Interface Animation: Notification Bell

    Above are my User Interface Animation video and GIF. I first started in Adobe Illustrator and used the pen tool to design a bell. I imported the design into Adobe After Effects and then used the ellipse tool to create the circles. I wanted to change the size of the circle for when the person “clicked” on it and used the scale tool to achieve this.

    I then worked on animating the bell, and I moved the Anchor Point to the top of the bell to hopefully create a realistic back-and-forth motion of a bell. When changing the size of the bell with the scale tool, I copied the layer and moved the anchor point to the center of the bell to ensure that the size of it changed from that anchor point. It was a little tricky having two different anchor points, but with some experimentation, I think we figured it out!

    For the blue notification circle, I wanted the “1” to mimic the motion of the bell to create a cohesive design. I matched the angles that the bell was moving with the “1” to achieve this effect. I also wanted to practice creating a mockup, so I grabbed an image from unsplash.com and put the animation on a phone screen.

    In terms of sound effects, I used a click noise to emulate the person clicking on the icon, a ringing bell sound to showcase the bell moving back-and-forth, and a “pop” sound for when the “1” disappears. These sound effects are from pixabay.com. I also added in some happy and higher-energy background music to illustrate the excitement of getting a notification.

    Overall, I thought this was a challenging project. I don’t have any prior experience with UI design, and I think I have to train my mind to think like a UI Designer. The hardest part for me was coming up with an idea for the project. I was inspired to choose this notification animation because I was looking through all the notifications on my phone, and I thought it would be a fun animation to design. I am happy with how it turned out and I’m looking forward to practicing more user interface animations in the future.

  • Module 4: Stop Motion Animation II

    Module 4: Stop Motion Animation II

    Readings & Writings

    This week, I read Chapters 7 and 8 in Liz Blazer’s Animated Storytelling: Simple Steps for Creating Animation & Motion Graphics.

    Chapter 7: Sound Ideas

    In Chapter 7, Liz Blazer emphasizes the critical role of sound in animation and motion graphics. It is essential to sync the audio with your story. Sound can paint a picture of action and help tell a story. Blazer encourages animators to have sound lead a story and not wait until the middle or end of a project to select the sound. The sound should drive the story.

    In this chapter, Blazer identifies the difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Diegetic sound come from the physical world, such as a dog barking or a squeaky door, and music whose source can be seen in the scene, such as on a radio. On the other hand, non-diegetic sounds are not visible on the screen and are not natural to objects in the scene, such as a sad trombone illustrating the upset emotions of a character.

    Blazer also discusses two primary strategies for incorporating sound in a project: scoring to theme and scoring against theme. Scoring to theme involves selecting music that aligns with the scene’s tone, enhancing the emotional impact of the scene. Scoring against theme uses music that contrasts with the visual elements, creating an unexpected juxtaposition that can add depth or irony to the story. Thoughtful and intentional sound design can significantly elevate the storytelling experience by reinforcing the audience’s expectations.

    Chapter 8: Design Wonderland

    In Chapter 8, Blazer highlights the importance of world-building in animation. Blazer offers the following techniques to help establish the rules of your animation’s world:

    • Time and Place: What is the time and place of your world? What setting is your world in?
    • Natural Order: What are the physical rules of your world?
    • Social Order: What are the social rules of the world? Do laws exist?
    • Day-to-Day Life: Where do characters work, live, eat, etc.?
    • Family & Community: What do the family structures look like?
    • Technology: What technological advancements exist in the world? Are there any modes of transportation? Do phones exist?

    Blazer also suggests to gain inspiration from the physical world. She advises her audience to look around and explore the physical, social, and visual norms in society. In terms of motion graphics, it is essential to investigate brand values and establish visual rules. Creating and sticking to strict rules, along with finding inspiration from our world, will assist in creating immersive and cohesive worlds. By thoughtfully selecting design elements, animators can craft environments that not only support the story but also captivate viewers.

    Research to Inform

    To prepare for creating my stop motion animation project, I researched a few projects with effective title and end sequences along with some projects that utilized effective audio. I hope to use some of these techniques in this project and in future animation endeavors.

    Text Animations

    1.) Catch Me If You Can

    This title sequence is effective because it provides a preview of what’s to come in the movie. Catch Me If You Can, directed by Steven Spielberg, is about an impersonator and master of deception. The title sequence is fast-paced, energetic, and consistent throughout each slide. The mysterious jazzy music in the background also adds to the excitement and action that we are about to see in the film. The bold colors are eye-catching, and the moving graphics showcase that the con artist is always on the move.

    2.) Spider-Man 2 Opening Credits

    I love the consistent text animation that is used in this title sequence. The letters move in different directions, almost one-by-one, in a very fast animation. The path that the letters animate on almost creates a spider web-like image. I think this is a very useful text animation as it illustrates the main theme of the movie. In addition, the fast-paced animations along with the suspenseful, building music creates a sense of urgency and foreshadows the action in the movie. I also love the animated graphics, the use of black and red, and the slanted lines that further emphasize the web theme.

    Background Music & Sound Effects

    1.) Monsters Inc.

    The light-hearted, fun jazz music used in this movie introduction caught my attention. At the beginning of the clip, the animations match up with each jazz note in the background. I think this is very effective and showcases that the music and animation can enhance one another and work hand-in-hand. In addition, when the “Monsters, Inc.” text is changed and hit with the monster’s tail later on in the video, there is a bump sound effect that adds to the text animation change. I think this is a great choice by the animators to create a dynamic and fun opening sequence for this hit Disney film.

    2.) Captain America: The First Avenger End Credits

    The background music used in this end sequence is upbeat and exciting, and this leaves the audience with a sense of hope at the end of the film. Since this movie is about a hero fighting for justice and freedom, the music adds to this optimistic theme. The music also has a patriotic feel to it, and this compliments the graphics in the end sequence. It is important that the music matches the theme of the project to enhance it’s overall quality and make it more realistic.

    On a side note, I love the style of art in this end sequence. I think it is very well done with intricately selected music, color palette, and text.

    Create

    The Shape-Shifting Shoelace

    I was very excited to work on the stop motion animation project this week because I was passionate about the “Shape-Shifting Shoelace” idea. For this project, I used my Canon camera and a tripod from work. I set up blank large white sheets of paper on a flat surface to take pictures and taped the paper down to avoid any movement. I also used a white background to contrast with the dark shoelace color to emphasize the shoelace’s movements.

    I took almost 900 photos in total. The biggest challenge for me with this project was moving and manipulating the shoelace. Because it’s a thin and flimsy material, it was hard to move it on and off the shoe and create shapes with it. For this reason, I decided to create more simple shapes with the shoelace. Overall, I think the hardest part was weaving the shoelace back into the shoe. I wanted to avoid moving the shoe when doing this, so that was the toughest challenge.

    After finishing the production phase, I imported the photos into Premiere Pro and created title and end sequences in After Effects. For both sequences, I used a font titled “Running” for the “SHOELACE” test because the thin line design reminded me of shoelaces. I also chose a blue background to match the color of the shoe. I used the same animations in both the title and end sequence to play along with the “Book Ending” storytelling technique. I also edited the image sequence in After Effects and used the color correction tool to increase the brightness of each photo.

    In terms of music and sound effects, I wanted to choose an upbeat and fast-paced soundtrack to compliment the fast-moving shoelace. With the theme of shoelaces, shoes, and running, I thought that a quick, excited soundtrack would work well in the background. The background music is from bensound.com. In addition, I decided to use three sound effects in the project to further emphasize the shapes created by the shoelace. I used a heart beat sound effect for the heart, rustling tree branches for the tree, and a hissing/rattling sound for the snake. The sound effects are all from pixabay.com. My hope is that these sound effects help communicate the shapes made by the shoelaces.

    This was a fun and challenging project, and I’m happy with how it turned out. I enjoyed learning stop motion animation and furthering my knowledge in After Effects and Premiere Pro. 

  • Module 3: Pre-Production for Stop Motion Animation

    Module 3: Pre-Production for Stop Motion Animation

    Reading & Writing

    This week, I read Chapters 5 and 6 in Liz Blazer’s Animated Storytelling: Simple Steps for Creating Animation & Motion Graphics as we prepared to create stop motion animation videos.

    Chapter 5: Color Sense

    Blazer opens the chapter with explaining color vocabulary, including hue, saturation, and value. Hue refers to the common color name like blue or green. Saturation is the intensity of a color, and value is the lightness or darkness of a color. This chapter explores the power of color in animation and motion graphics, emphasizing how color choices influence mood, storytelling, and audience perception. Blazer explains that color is more than just an aesthetic decision – it’s a psychological tool that can evoke emotions. She discusses the significance of color harmonies, contrast, and saturation in creating a compelling visual narrative. In the chapter, Blazer notes the difference between CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) and RGB (red, green, blue) color systems. CMYK is used for print materials and colors are created by mixing pigments on paper. On the other hand, motion uses RGB where light is used to mix color.

    Blazer also walks through the steps to create color scripts, a technique used in animation to plan color palettes across an entire sequence. By mapping out color changes over time, artists can reinforce story beats and emotional shifts. Blazer offers the following tips when using color in an animation project: limit color palette, design for movement, use surprise color for punctuation so it stands out, use one thematic and one accent color, and make your own rules.  

    Chapter 6: Weird Science

    In this chapter, Blazer encourages readers to experiment with animation and to not be afraid to try weird, creative rituals. Like Jimi Hendrix made his own weird science, Blazer suggests that animators should experiment, mess around, test limits, and do something new with an animation. This chapter delves into the technical and experimental side of animation, encouraging artists to push creative boundaries by incorporating unexpected elements. Blazer discusses the role of physics, movement, and timing in making animations feel believable yet imaginative. She highlights how exaggeration, squash and stretch, and secondary motion add depth to animated storytelling, making scenes more dynamic and engaging.

    The chapter also emphasizes the importance of observation and curiosity in the animation process. Blazer encourages animators to study real-world physics and then bend those rules to create something new. She explores the connection between art and science, stating how technological advancements, such as motion capture and procedural animation, can improve traditional animation techniques. This chapter inspires readers to blend logic with creativity to create unique animations.

    Research to Inform

    To prepare for the creation of my own stop motion animation, I watched a series of videos that used different techniques to inspire my video.

    1.) Paper Stop Motion Animation

    I thought this was a very unique way to showcase stop motion. The creator cut out pieces of paper to create a scene and moved the pieces with their hands. When their hand touched the screen, a new element would appear.

    2.) Fruit and Vegetable Stop Motion

    This was a great example of a nonlinear story line where the fruits and vegetables would transform into other objects. For instance, the creator had a watermelon transform into a globe. Then, the seeds from the watermelon fell off to the ground which then morphed into an egg. I was personally struggling with coming up with an idea for nonlinear stop motion, and I thought this video was very helpful in thinking of an idea.

    3.) Clay Stop Motion

    This video utilized 2500 pictures, and the creator used clay to morph each object into the next. First, the craftsmanship of this video is impeccable, and I aspire to achieve this type of cleanliness and precision in my animations one day. It’s amazing how animators can think of these “out-of-the-box” ideas to create a storyline with just small pieces of clay. I also liked how the creator used sound effects to enhance the video and make it sound more realistic.

    4.) Stop Motion with Drawings and Origami

    In this video, the creators illustrated the idea of “where do ideas come from?” They used pieces of paper and drew elements on each page. I thought this was another create idea with a linear story line. They first introduced the question, answered with through different animations, and then finished with “The End.”

    5.) Elephant Stop Motion

    This is another clay animation, and I love how they illustrated a clay elephant coming to life. The sound effects were well placed and enhanced the story. They also used different hand motions to sculpt each part of the elephants. I also like how they created a still background that wasn’t just blank – the nature elements, including the mountains and the trees, help paint the picture of the scene. In my future stop motion animation video for next week, this might be a good idea. I want to strategically think about the background and how it can enhance the animation.

    Create

    Pre-Production Templates & Storyboards

    For my two stop motion animation project ideas, I thought I would stick with the same theme of racing and running, similarly to what I created this week. Since Blazer suggested to choose a subject that you are very passionate about, I thought this would be a good topic for me.

    When thinking of an idea for my linear storyline, I was inspired by three Hot Wheels cars I found in my basement when I was looking for materials for this week’s stop motion animation project. When I was younger, I was obsessed with all things cars, and I thought it would be a fun idea to create a stop motion animation of the three cars racing each other with car-related sound effects.

    For my non-linear storyline (and if I’m honest, I think I prefer this one over the other one), I was inspired by looking at my running shoes. I thought, “what if I could create an animation with a shoelace?” I was thinking I would start with a shot of the shoelaces attached to the shoe, and then it would venture off the shoe, go through a series of animations, and then return to the shoe. This would follow the Book Ending storytelling strategy as discussed in Blazer’s book.

    See the link above for my creative briefs and storyboards!

    My First Stop Motion Animation – M&M Race

    For my first-ever stop motion animation, I decided to create a race with two M&M’s. Since I am a runner, I was inspired to create something involving a race. When I was younger, I would always create obstacle courses in my backyard, so I was inspired to create a little obstacle course race for the M&M’s.

    For this project, I used my Samsung Galaxy s20 and took 350 photos. I had a few issues with importing the files, and I had to rename each photo to import the images as an image sequence into Adobe Premiere Pro. I decided to take aerial shots for this project and taped down the marshmallows, popsicle sticks, and paper to the table so there would be no movement besides the M&M’s. This was a fun project to create, and I’m excited to create another stop motion animation video next week.

  • Module 2: Personal Intro in AE

    Module 2: Personal Intro in AE

    Readings and Writings

    This week, I read Chapters 2, 3, and 4 in Liz Blazer’s Animated Storytelling: Simple Steps for Creating Animation & Motion Graphics.

    Chapter 2: Storytelling

    In this chapter, Blazer asserts that storytelling is limitless, where you can take the viewer on a journey simply with shapes and colors. She introduces the idea of story “beats,” and it is important to plot them out to create a unified story with the most emotional impact. Even though there is boundless potential in storytelling, it is essential to approach it with discipline and intentionality. The chapter introduces two storytelling models:

    1. Three-Act Structure:
      • Act 1: Problem Introduction (The Beginning): Establishes the main character and presents a problem or conflict.
      • Act 2: Attempt to Solve (The Middle): Depicts the character’s efforts to address the problem.
      • Act 3: Resolution (The End): Concludes with the problem being solved.

    This structure is versatile and can be applied to motion graphics projects. For instance, Act 1 might present a question, Act 2 explores potential answers, and Act 3 provides a solution.

    • Nonlinear Story Structures: Blazer also explores alternative storytelling methods that don’t follow a traditional linear path. They follow their own set of rules and are often whimsical and unorthodox. These structures offer creative freedom to the animators. Blazer shares some approaches within nonlinear storytelling:
      • Book Ending: Starting and ending with similar scenes or themes.
      • The Beaded Necklace: A series of related but distinct segments connected by a common theme.
      • The Countdown: Establishes the climax and then rhythmically builds towards that climax. The build becomes more intense the closer to the climax.
      • The Puzzle: Presenting pieces of the story that the audience assembles to form a complete picture. This structure offers a fun interactive element for its audiences.
      • High Concept: These films have a basic concept that is so strong that it controls all other elements of the film.

    These methods encourage creators to think outside traditional frameworks and experiment with the flow of stories.

    Chapter 3: Unlocking Your Story

    This chapter serves as a bridge between conceptualizing a story and visualizing it through storyboarding. Blazer provides practical exercises to help creators edit their narratives:

    1. Clear Conflict, Reveal it Early: Identify the central conflict of your story and introduce it promptly to engage the audience.
    2. Start Later: Begin the narrative at a compelling point and skip the set up to this point. This is the “rip the Band-Aid off” strategy. The goal of “Start Later” is to hook the audience immediately.
    3. Biggest Secret: Determine what information is withheld from the audience and decide the most impactful moment to reveal it.
    4. Get Graph-y: Visualize the emotional trajectory of your story using graphs.

    Blazer also introduces some strategies for experimental animation, including visual music, pure poetry, repetition/evolution, continuity/diversity, anthology, and cut it out & play. These exercises are designed to give the animator freedom to shed the rules of a traditional structure and to hone in on the visions that inspired the film in the first place.

    Chapter 4: Storyboarding

    Blazer emphasizes the importance of storyboarding as a tool to translate written narratives into visual sequences. She begins by introducing the idea of thumbnailing, which are the first rough sketches of storyboards. Good thumbnail drawings only show the most essential information. She outlines best practices for creating effective storyboards:

    • Shot Composition: Focus on framing, perspective, and camera angles to convey the desired mood and information in each shot. Some examples include a close-up, wide shot, and panning extreme wide shot.
    • Framing: Framing is about keeping the eye interested. Using the “rule of thirds” is a good strategy where you break your single frame into nine equally sized quadrants.
    • Staging: Planning out where to put the subject in space, creating a visual hierarchy.
    • Continuity: Continuity refers to the natural flow of visual information from one shot to another.
    • Clarity and Simplicity: Ensure that each frame communicates its intended action or emotion clearly, avoiding unnecessary complexity.
    • Consistency: Maintain uniformity in character design, proportions, and environments.
    • Feedback and Iteration: Regularly review storyboards with peers or mentors and be open to making changes.

    By planning through storyboards, creators can ensure that they create a compelling visual narrative.

    Research to Inform

    1.) Fritz-Kola

    This animated clip describes the creation of fritz-kola’s journey from a startup to one of Europe’s main cola brands. There were a few aspects of the video and choice of animations that piqued my interest:

    1. Color Palette: Throughout the video, Kinisi used black and white colors and halftone textures to illustrate this journey.
    2. Simplicity in the Background: I loved that the illustrations in the background were minimalistic.

    I think the hook they used about the creators of Fritz-Kola was very effective and relatable. They are trying to figure out what they wanted to do out of college, and Kinisi utilized a calendar animation to flashback to the beginning of their brand creation. In addition, one audio line about their goal stood out to me: “Make something that makes spending time in their favorite place even better.” Overall, the audio, sound effects, and animations work harmoniously together to whimsically illustrate the beginning of this brand in a concise and eye-catching manner.

    2.) “Longevity” by Chá de Bold Estúdio

    I chose Chá de Bold Estúdio’s animated clip because I was interested in the title: “Longevity Hackers.” I thought this could have multiple meanings, so I was curious to figure out what they meant by this title. This animated clip explores the idea of how humans try to beat death and increase lifespan. To illustrate this, death is made into a character. There were two animations that stood out to me:

    1. They used an escalator to illustrate how humans are trying to catapult human life.
    2. They created a scene of chess where the character “death” was playing a human. In the end, death declares “check-mate” on the human, showing that humans cannot escape death.

    The chess scene reminds me of the animated illustration in Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows where they describe the three deathly hallows and how death always wins in the end. I also thought that the tone of voice used in the audio was effective. The voice was serious and almost monotonous, conveying the severity of this idea.

    3.) “Outside” by Simon Braud

    The title “Outside” grabbed my attention to click on this animated video. I first thought, “what could Outside mean? Is this a video about nature?” After watching the video, I realized that “Outside” is the solution presented to the problem in the video.

    I like to split this video into three sections. The first section is characterized by a monotonous voice, more geometric animations, and sound effects that create a futuristic feel. Then, the middle section introduces the problem: the creative block. There is a shift in music here that elevates the intensity of this issue, and this builds until reaching the proposed solution.

    I also like the simplicity in the first clip. The words appear one at a time, and a simple sans serif font is used. This contrasts with the rest of the more complex animations throughout the rest of the video.

    One other element of this video that I thought was effective was the use of pauses in animation and audio. There is a pause after the clip of the trapped human, and this adds to the dramatic effect of the person being “stuck” because of a creative block.

    The animations in this clip are phenomenal. I’m curious how long it took to creative this video. I like how the animations seamlessly flowed from one to the next.

    Create

    Personal Introduction – Christian Schaaf

    This was my first time ever using Adobe After Effects, and I really enjoyed learning this program. I started off with writing my script and planning out the graphics and video clips that I wanted to use. I found all the images that I wanted to use, brought them into Photoshop and/or Canva, and exported them with transparent backgrounds. I also pulled some royalty-free images from pexels.com, one by Cristian Dina and the other from Emic Can Acer. My background music is “Ukelele” by Benjamin Tissot, a copyright-free music track from bensound.com. Following these steps, I got my camera and shot the few video clips that I wanted to include in the video. Once those steps were complete, I started working in After Effects.

    Once in After Effects, I wanted to choose a color palette for the graphics and text. I chose two main colors: a light blue and black. To ensure consistency, I wrote down the HEX code for the blue color and used that throughout the project. I had a fun time experimenting with the different text animation presets, trying to choose ones that would work best for each clip. For instance, there is a clip of me running, and the animation I chose for the text in that clip looks like it’s bouncing up and down. I chose this to try to mimic a running motion.

    I also enjoyed learning about keyframes and utilizing the scale, opacity, rotate, and position animations within this project. Overall, I had a fun time experimenting in After Effects, and I am excited to learn and practice more features in this program throughout the duration of this course.

  • MODULE 1: BASIC MOTION

    Readings and Writings

    In the Introduction and Chapter 1 sections of Animated Storytelling, Liz Blazer discusses the importance of pre-production for any creative project. She begins her book with making a distinction between animation and motion graphics. Animation, on the one hand, derives from the movie-making industry while motion graphics has been part of the graphic design discipline. She provides tips on how to become an expert storyteller and defy gravity through animation.

    Described as the doorway to creating a successful animation, Blazer breaks down the pre-production process into three steps: Concept Development, Previsualization, and Asset Building. During the Concept Development phase, animators should start with creating a creative brief and answer the following questions: What must it be? Who is it for? How long must it be? What is the objective? What is the deadline? The next step is to identify the Big Idea and follow the Yes…and rule, welcoming any idea that comes to mind. Then, it’s time to zero in and create an elevator pitch, capturing the tone, plot, and theme within a sentence or two. Blazer suggests a few more helpful exercises in boiling down the main idea of a project, including creating a six-word story and tagline.

    Previsualization is the next step where an animator develops concept art, solidifies design direction, and establishes animation methods. During this phase, it is helpful to find inspiration online and experiment with different mediums in the physical world. This step is all about experimenting with design directions and making changes to the story based on this experimentation.

    The final stage, Asset Building, is where an animator identifies all needed assets, including logos, character designs, props, fonts, scripts, and more – essentially any piece that is needed to create the final project. Then, Blazer suggests to create a style frame, a single image that encapsulates the overall look of the project. Once these steps are completed, it is time to move onto the production phase.

    Research to Inform

    1.) Running GIF

    The first GIF I chose is a running GIF, and I selected this one because running is a big part of who I am. I also thought it would be interesting to see what a drawn running GIF would look like since we are tasked to draw our own GIF this week. I feel that animating a runner would be tricky because both legs and both arms are moving at all times. I personally like that the outline of the runner is not “perfect” and has some interesting lines that add texture to the GIF.

    2.) Text GIF by Matthew Butler

    I have always been fascinated with text animations, especially in movies. With having no prior experience in creating animations, I am intrigued by the different movements of each letter. I like the geometric feel of this GIF and how the movement is either completely horizontal or vertical. The two lines between each word are a nice touch too, furthering the idea of “Line Dash.”

    3.) Banana Cheerleader GIF

    As I was researching GIFs, this one stood out to me for a variety of reasons: I was not expecting to see a cheerleading banana, and the bright yellow color made it pop. I also like how the banana looks side-to-side in addition to moving its arms. This is a creative, eye-catching GIF.

    4.) Penguin at the Olympics

    This GIF also stood out to me because of my love for the Olympics. I like this GIF because there are two different parts of the animation: (1) waving and (2) pointing at the medal. I think that was a creative combination of movements. This also caught my eye because part of the image is static (podium and Olympic rings) while the penguin is in motion, which I think adds a nice contrast to the GIF.

    5.) Lion and Young Girl

    I wanted to find a GIF where there were two subjects interacting with one another. First, the line art is incredible. I also like how the animator had the girl move first, and then the lion, and then the girl again. Not only are the two subjects animated, but the lines that create those subjects are in constant movement. This animation strategy gives the GIF a greater sense of excitement and energy.

    6.) Globe GIF

    I chose this GIF specifically because I like the series of animations throughout the GIF – the globe spinning, to the zooming in, and then the construction of the building. When the building appears, I like how the foundation appears first, then the walls, and then the roof. It’s almost like the building is being built before us. I thought this was a very interesting way to capture that idea.

    7.) Happy New Year GIF

    In contrast to the “Line Dash” text GIF above, I wanted to find another text GIF where the text was dormant and there was another element of the image that was animated. I thought it would be interesting to compare the look of each text GIF. I think the confetti animation completes the purpose of this GIF, but if I had to choose, I think I like the other one more because of the greater visual appeal. I do however like that the text is the background for this GIF and the confetti is the only element that is moving.

    Create

    1.) Photoshop Cut-Out: Olympic Rings

    For my first GIF creation, I used an image from VectorStock.com. I created different layers for each Olympic ring and used the video timeline method to create this animation. Creating layers with the Olympic rings was a little tricky. I used the Magic Wand tool to select each ring, but because the rings overlap with one another, I had to create two separate layers for each ring and then merge them together. I then used the Loop Playback feature to create a loop. If I were to continue this animation, I think I would add an animation to “PARIS 2024.”

    2.) Onion-Skinning: Beach Scene and Back Flip

    This was my first time ever using Adobe Animate, and as I watched inspiration GIFs for this project, I saw one of a bird which reminded me of the beach. I was also watching a gymnastics meet earlier in the day, so I decided to combine both ideas and create a beach scene with a bird flapping its wings and a person doing a back flip on the sand. Onion skinning and drawing with a mouse were both challenging, but practice makes perfect! Using the onion skinning button in Adobe Animate was very helpful, especially with the person doing the flip, to ensure that they followed a circular path. I’m excited to continue to use this program and improve my onion skinning animation skills.

    3.) “You Are My Sunshine” GIF

    For my third GIF, I decided to go back into Photoshop and experiment more with the timeline feature. For this GIF, I created different frames for the sun and drew different-length rays in each frame to create the sun animation. I also retrieved an orange and yellow background image from vecteezy.com and created frames for this too. For the background, I slightly adjusted the Hue/Saturation levels in each frame to create the changing background colors. I wanted to add some text and chose the “Cardives” script font. In the future, if I were to continue editing this GIF, I might add some animation to the text to increase its size or change the opacity/transparency in each frame.