Motion Graphics and Compositing: Project 1
09.05.2024 - 30.05.2024 / Week 03 - Week 06
Sylvia Lau / 0356130
Bachelor
of Design (HON) in Creative Media
Motion Graphic and Compositing /
Project 1
INSTRUCTIONS
Project 1: Technical and Motion Graphics Sensibilities
Week 3
After familiarizing ourselves with the use of After Effects, we were given the
next task which was to let us explore and increase the technical proficiency
and knowledge levels. There was an After Effects template provided by our
lecturer.
Figure 1.1
From this template, there were 8 principles of basic animation:
1. Movement
2. Hierarchy
3. Balance
4. Direction
5. Symmetry
6. Focus
7. Scale
8. Rhythm
And we needed to recreate 4 of the principles. Before doing so, I began
searching for some inspiration from YouTube and studying how they animated
them from tutorials. So lastly, I chose to recreate movement, symmetry, focus,
and rhythm.
Week 4
Movement Animation:
Based on the definition of movement, refers to the way the eye travels over a
design. The most important element should lead to the next most important and
so on.
Figure 1.2
So, the idea I had is a ball rolling downward to attract the audience's
attention. In the beginning scene, only the main line and the ball will be
shown.
Figure 1.3
Then, the surrounding lines gradually appear, and I adjusted the thickness
of each line to create contrast, which could achieve visual balance and
harmony.
Figure 1.4
Besides the lines, I added some shapes to avoid making it too empty. While
adding shapes, some have scaling and rotation animations to enhance the
visual effect.
Figure 1.5
As the ball slowly rolls outside the screen, those lines and shapes also
disappear, leaving a completely black screen at the end.
Symmetry Animation:
The concept of symmetry is that both sides of something mirror one another.
When creating symmetrical art, all areas attract an equal amount of
attention.
Figure 1.6
I began the animation with a diamond shape in the middle. However, later
I needed to split the shape in half, so I used two triangles to form it.
Figure 1.7
Next, I added a line in the middle to divide the shape and moved the
triangles in different directions.
Figure 1.8
Then, in the rotation part, I rotated the entire object by 45 degrees and
added two lines to separate those shapes, pushing them outward.
Figure 1.9
Finally, the lines on the screen will gradually disappear; the two outer
lines will continue to move outward while the middle line will slowly
reduce its opacity to zero.
Figure 1.10
The two triangles will collide again to form a square.
Focus Animation:
Based on the given example, I roughly understood what was the meaning of
this principle, so I created a quite similar animation.
Figure 1.11
The idea that I would be doing is something like fireworks. Firstly,
extend the lines from the center point outward.
Figure 1.12
Once the lines reached their endpoints, they would gradually
disappear. Then, I reversed this step, with the lines extending from
the outside inward.
Figure 1.13
Since there was still some time left, I made three more small ones.
Figure 1.14
Using the same method, I created one and then just copied pasted into
different positions.
Rhythm Animation:
Rhythm was created when one or more elements of design were used
repeatedly to create a feeling of organized movement.
Figure 1.15
What I had in mind was just a very simple animation: a ball
bouncing.
Figure 1.16
The shape still remained its shape although it touched the line.
Figure 1.17
But once it bounced back to the top, the ball changed into another
shape. The next shape was a square, and while it fell, I added
rotation to make it look more natural.
Figure 1.18
Lastly, it turned into a triangle. Each shape bounced with the same
timing, which I think it was like a rhythm.
Composition:
Week 5
After the four short animations, we would be doing the second part which was
to create a composition remix by combining the principles that I had done
previously. The duration of the time would be 16 seconds.
I will connect each composition through shapes or color backgrounds to
ensure there is a flow; otherwise, it will look disjointed. This was my
first attempt of composition remix animation.
Week 6
After receiving feedback, my lecturer asked me to add background music to
enhance the viewing experience. However, I wasn't very satisfied with the
first attempt, so I tried another composition.
I continued looking for inspiration on YouTube and Pinterest and gradually
discovered that I could apply other principles to my remix
composition.
Figure 2.1
Figure 2.2
So, I decide to do hierarchy and scale.
Figure 2.3
I also made some changes to the rhythm animation, cause I thought it was too
simple.
Composition:
Next, I searched for background music. Among many choices, I liked the
feeling brought by this particular music. When selecting music, I also
needed to consider the rhythm and tempo.
This is my second attempt, and I am indeed more satisfied with this
animation compared to the previous one.
Remix Composition:
REFLECTION
Before starting our first project, sir gave us some exercises to get familiar with the basic operations of After Effects. These exercises helped us master fundamental animation techniques. The requirement for this project was to use black and white tones and simple shapes to animate different principles, and then combine these elements into a single animation.
I found the most challenging part of the entire process was integrating different principles into a 30-second animation. To achieve this, I needed to carefully consider how to make the transitions between each scene smoother. I tried one version but it simply placed different elements together, making it feel very monotonous and unsatisfied. To improve this, I designed several additional principles to enrich the transitions within the animation. The final version's result was much more satisfying to me.
Through this project, I learned how to effectively use After Effects for simple animation production, particularly in terms of transitions and the integration of principles.
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