BLOG TOPIC 4 – VCD302 Motion Design
My project
This Project will be an animation styled infographic that visually communicates the destruction of the natural world.The animation will feature an audio created by the ‘World Economic Forum‘ that has world-renowned environmental advocates like David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg. The animation will link to what they are speaking about to entertain and educate viewers.
The function of the animation
This animation will focus on rhythm for it will be following along with the audio mentioned above. The audio has a fast rhythm, and it reminds me of a crash course, speaking as much about the environmental crisis as one can within three minutes. The audio stresses the crisis by mentioning many topics such as climate change, burning of fossil fuels, the destruction of forests, the polluting of the ocean, the loss of species, the increase of mass cities, lack of recycling plastics, climate refugees and demanding green policies.
I will visually demonstrate these topics within the time they are spoken about.
Secondary motion will also be a focus point for this animation as it follows the different topics of discussions in the video. For example, there are ten speakers within the YouTube audio, and they each discuss a different point on climate change. The audio cuts from speaker to speaker and I plan to visually communicate flow of communication by adding camera pans, zooms in and out from primary objects. The primary objects will be infographics of statistics and symbolic figures equating to climate change.
The form of the animation
The animation will be a narrative that takes the viewers on an educational path, gradually exploring the depth of the topic.
The animation will involve bold vector graphics that will work as symbols, graphs and actions that reinforce the topics of the video. The animation will include other visuals amongst the statistics such as animated graphics of polluted smoke, mass cities, forest fires, melting ice, and forms of plastics.
This project may also become a series of smaller animations, but this will be decided later on in the design process when I can understand if the time frame I have for this project will consist of enough time for myself to complete more than one video.
Techniques
Techniques such as basic rotoscoping will be used to trace and recreate objects that will appear in the animation, such as swaying trees, a falling leaf, a water droplet, a moving crane, etc.
Secondary camera motion will be heavily used in this animation to move from scene to scene; such as a secondary transition panning away from a graph towards a scene of moving icons. Techniques from Disney’s 12 principles of animation will be considered when making the vector icons to make the scene playful and entertaining.
Visual inspiration
This project’s concept was inspired by Noma Bar’s animations that he created as a way to communicate and educate his viewers about all different kinds of political, social, health and economic issues.
I love Bar’s focus on smooth transitions and minimalistic vector graphics that flow and move with the subject matter spoken from the audio.
Here is a mood board I have created to visually communicate the colour pallet and types of imagery that I plan to use within the animation.
Progress so far…
Here is one of my thumbnail sketches which has assisted the direction of a particular scene in my animation.
Here is an illustration that has been created for the sketched scene above!
Down bellow is a few seconds of an animation I have started. It is not much but it will work as a rough storyboard from future development.
References
Ball, J 2019, ‘The Double Diamond: A universally accepted depiction of the design process’, Design Council, weblog post, 1 October, viewed 14 April 2021, <https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/double-diamond-universally-accepted-depiction-design-process>.
Better Video Tutorial 2019, ‘NOMA BAR – NewYork Presbyterian “Cracking The Code” Precision Medicine – 90sec’, online video, 13 March, Better Video Tutorial, viewed 20 April 2021, <NOMA BAR – NewYork Presbyterian “Cracking The Code”Precision Medicine – 90sec>.
Entertainment 2015, ‘The Illusion of Life, Principle of Animation, 12 Basic Principles of Animation’, online video, 13 Feb, Entertainment, viewed 20 March 2021, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiGY0qiy8fY&t=4s&ab_channel=Entertainment>>.
Seiden NYC 2016, ‘NYP – Unmasking a killer: How immunotherapy helps your body find cancer and destroy it’, online video, 8 February, Seiden NYC, viewed 20 April 2021, <NYP – Unmasking a killer: How immunotherapy helps your body find cancer and destroy it.>.
World Economics Forum 2019, David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg’s plea for the planet, online video, 19 September, World Economics Forum, viewed 20 April 2021, <David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg’s plea for the planet>.
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