Star Wars

When I first saw this advert for a second I was puzzled as to what it was for. A remake of the film, no a game!

I think that the 3D animation used within this trailer presents is with an incredibly captivating trailer, which leaves us wanting more, (or wanting to buy the game!)

Animation Principles

Looking at the use of animation principles:
-Ease
-Anticipation

Principles of Traditional Animation

The following principles were developed and named:

1. Squash and Stretch - defining the rigidity and mass of an object by distorting its shape during an action
2. Timing and Motion - spacing actions to define the weight and size of objects and the personality of characters
3. Anticipation - the preparation for an action
4. Staging - presenting an idea so that it is unmistakably clear
5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action - the termination of an action and establishing its relationship to the next action
6. Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-Pose Action - The two contrasting approaches to the creation of movement
7. Slow In and Out - the spacing of the in-between frames to achieve subtlety of timing and movement
8. Arcs - the visual path of action for natural movement
9. Exaggeration - Accentuating the essence of an idea via the design and the action
10. . Secondary Action - the action of an object resulting from another action
11. . Appeal - creating a design or an action that the audience enjoys watching

Personality in character animation is the goal of all of the above.

http://www.siggraph.org

Bumpers

Too literal? After speaking to Ste, Luke and a few others today we wondered whether having someone hanging in the noose was a little bit too literal. So I have decided to just use the noose hanging on it's own instead.

Cool Site

http://www.bloodisthenewblackstore.com/

Green Screen

We booked out the photography studio last week in order to do some green green screen. Last week I got some walking sequences done and I filmed the noose hanging. However, today I green screens the objects for my title sequence, here are some pics from today.

Music Video ABC

This is a video which I found on You Tube. It's a music video which explores similar idea to the ones that I want to use in my title sequence. For example using text within the t-shirts.

Incedental Typography Tests

I decided that I wanted to do some tests which allowed for type to be shown incidentally. So as elements passed each other whole words would be spelled out.

For example, in this clip below the text from the cover of one book would align to form the rest of the word on the other. Below is a quick test that I did using footage and then edited in After Effects.



Same again but different book and different text.



Here is a test using the idea of people passing each other with carrier bags, (very rough test!) Here the text is on the carrier bags and as they meet they show the writer of the TV Show.



This test below shows the idea of someone walking down the road. On the wall there are fly posters and as they pass the posters text on their t-shirts and text on part of the posters will meet to spell out a name. Here I have used a photo of a guy, however this element would be filmed on a green screen background. This means that I could then put it on top of a photo which has fly posters on it.

Spooks

These are the opening titles for the BBC series Spooks. A series about the MI5 security series. Being a series that I enjoy watching I thought that I thought that it would be a good one to take a look at. Also it is created by design sompany 'Why Not Associates', a design company that I enjoy looking at and have looked at previously.



Take a look at their website: WHY NOT ASSOCIATES

I really like the way that animated elements have been integrated into the sequence. I like the way that the animated elements seem to tie everything together. Definitely something that's interesting to me because Im considering how to tie stuff together at the moment.

Audio Consideration

I got given this piece of music the other day by a friend and thought that it could work really well for this piece. It's intriguing, whilst being mysterious at the same time.

Hot Fuzz Titles

As I'm looking at Crime Dramas in terms of title sequences I have decided to take a look at the titles for Hot Fuzz:



I decided to look at the titles although there comical in style because I think that there are element that I could consider in my sequence. The sequence is very faced passed and has narration to tie the sequence together. This is interesting for me, because at the moment i'm considering the way in which I can tie different scenarios within my sequnce together in order to make then flow.

Big Draw

We were asked to create stings for the Big Draw Event in Manchester. Stings, which would be broadcast in between the live interviews and prerecorded footage on the day. Here is the piece that I created:



This event is on Friday the 9th October and it looks like were all heading down. So post to follow on how it goes sometime soon!

Ian Macklin

Ian Macklin came into college yesterday. As Rick was in Holland for the week we were lucky enough to have Ian support us for the day. Early on Ian talked to us about his background and work and showed us some of his projects. I'm quite interested in VJing so looking at the type of concert visuals that he was creating was interesting. He created not only backdrops but pieces to go across the floor underneath where the acts stand.

We were still at the ideas stage within the project and we all sat down as a group and discussed our ideas and how to take them further. It was interesting to get someone else's opinion, not only as it was a set of fresh eyes on our project but because he's a designer working within the industry.

Church

Saw this on a church billboard a while ago. Loved it so here goes:

Is your life rubbish? Recycle it!

Durval Discos

Hey mate check this out i think it could help with your title sequence.
its not revealing text but it is revealing names when moving around the space.
its good, ignore the frenchness!

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2009/05/07/durval-discos/

Thoughtfull Portfolio Crit

A couple of weeks ago I got the chance to spend the day with thoughtful upstairs in their studio. It was a great opportunity to see the way that a real studio environment works. As a result of a chat on the day, they were interested in the work that I was producing in Moving Image. It seemed that they hadn't worked with anyone from Moving Image before, so they were intrigued to see some of my work at some point.

Last week I decided that it would be a great opportunity to get some feedback on my work and interesting at the same time getting feedback from people who work primarily with a graphics background. So I emailed Thoughtful and asked about the possibility for a Portfolio Crit.

Here's a copy of the email I sent them and their response:


First of all I'd just like to say thanks to James, Chris and Stuart who all sat down with me when I turned up in their studio last week. This was a little daunting at first, but nice to get all of their opinions. When I sent the email last week I wasn't expecting such a quick response, which meant that I had to spend the majority of last week finding a range of work that I could show them!

After creating our websites for Kodak last year I've been wanting to have a play with creating a portfolio site, so last week I put a little one together in order to present my work. I came to the conclusion that if I didn't put all of my work in one place, that I'd turn up and would be searching frantically for work and not knowing where to look, (which I didn't think was the right impression give!)

I decided that I would show them a range of the work that I have created both on the course last year/early this year and some of the things that I had the chance to get stuck into over summer. Work that was 2D, 3D and also the Video project that we worked on towards the middle of last year.

The feedback that I got on my work was good to hear. They liked the range of pieces that I took to show them and told me that they could see the amount of time and effort that I had put in on the pieces.

They asked me whether I felt comfortable with the the technical side of my work, as this is obviously an important element in the production of work. Ensuring that if they were asking for work to be created, that it could be produced at the right size and in the right format for example. I felt comfortable in talking about my work in terms of the technical side because I think the technical aspects of work are one of my strengths. But it's interesting to hear how important that is in the considerations of getting someone to carryout a brief.

They gave me some great advice, to make sure that don't just primarily just rely on working on screen. To actually get involved and create some stuff myself. Which was nice to hear because I really like organic and handcrafted design and for a while now have wanted to bring a bit of printing into my work. For example using printed background as backdrop for example.

It was insightful to have people who aren't moving image based give their opinions on my work because they probably look at it from a slightly different point of view, being print based.

Cheers again to Thoughtful!

Sweeney Todd Titles

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2008/january/Sweeney Toddd

Really cool link, interview with Sweeny Todd title Seq creator

photoshop artist

Maggie Taylor check this person out. Like now ... or whenever

Ripple Test

These are some tests that I filmed to look at how water ripples:



I decided to do these tests in order to works out the best ways to animate the word RIPPLE. By doing these tests it allowed me to see how I could animate the the word in order to reflect its nature.

Hyperreality

"The word "hyperrealism" is used in the art world to denote the activity of a group of artists who made paintings that "look just like photographs". This all happened in the late sixties, early seventies, (http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/~stam/suomi/stam/hyperreal.html, Anonymous, 29/9/09). In todays world we tend to find hyperreal imagery within advertising, which all play on the idea that hyperreal images may improve on reality.

Hyperreality is a post-modern theory described as being the following. “Not a defined movement as such, Super realism was one of many names (including Photo-realism, Hyperrealism and Sharp-Focus Realism). These artists worked in different ways and portrayed a variety of subjects – portraits, landscapes, cityscapes, suburbia, still life’s and leisure scenes of the middle classes. Although their technique was seen anonymous and machine-like at the time, examined more closely their works have as much an individual signature quality as the most expressionist artwork”.
(Dempsey 2002 p251-252)

Hyperreality is Jean Baudrillards word for aspects, which appear to be more real than they actually are. There are lots of examples of Hyperreality in today’s world and we see them all of them time without even realising. I have decided to look at Hyperreality in terms of moving image and how this post-modern theory is present within current work today. In the long run it will be more beneficial to me in term of understanding our pathway in relation to post-modern theories.

Obviously, if considering hyperrality in terms of moving image, then the first thing that comes to mind is the use of 3D animation. Nowadays, the advances in technology have meant that today’s designers are able to model almost anything. This is a great tool for designers, however I think that you have to be careful how far you push it. Hyperreality is used in lots of different way in advertising. For example hyperreality has been used in both the images below:


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/


http://www.sci-fi-o-rama.com/

Recently there has been an advert for ‘Coors Lite Beer’ shown on TV. I have to say that I am not a great fan of this advert and personally I feel that this is a good example of how the use of hyperreality doesn’t work in the companies favour. Here is a clip of the TV advert:


http://www.youtube.com/

Hyperreality as a theory considers the way that it is used to improve the look and appeal of particular aspects. The use of hyperreality in advertising is a way for companies to try and sell their products to the public. By improving the look of their product and making it look better than it actually it is, is potentially a great way to advertise. However there are some instances where it doesn’t work.

In this advert I think that they have attempted to create a 3D animation, which makes the drink look appealing. At the end of the ‘Coors Beer’ advert when we see the top of the bottle, we are presented with the idea of a cold refreshing bottle. However, the way that the animation has been modelled doesn’t seem to work. They have taken the ideas surrounding the post-modern theory, but in my opinion have not grasped the essence of using hyperreality to their advantage.

However, when we see images of Coca Cola, for example, we see the condensation on the outside of the bottle. We know that it’s not going to look like that when we buy it but we are still intrigued and do. Coca Cola is a prime example of a company that has explored the essence of the theory.

Rebrand of the Bill titles

Just thought that I'd post this. It's a video that I found on You Tube about the making of the Bills New Title Sequence. Check it out:


http://www.youtube.com/

Ripple example1

It's interesting to see the idea of the ripples used in a design piece and how it has been represented viualy. Obviously I have been looking at the use of ripple so to see it here is hel[pful in terms of giving me idea of how to represent them.

big draw

Here is a copy if the final sting I created for the big draw.

This is a copy without the final question mark:


This is a copy with the question mark:

Catch Me if you Can

I have decided to look at the work of Olivier Kuntzel, who is a part of design duo 'Kuntzel and Deygas'. Below is a copy of the title sequence creeated by the duo at Nexus productions:


http://www.youtube.com/

"Catch Me If You Can has been compared to “the light, sophisticated Cary Grant comedies of the 1950s and 1960s. Designed by Olivier Kuntzel and Florence Deygas for Nexus Productions, the sequence is a brightly coloured animation of geometrically stylised figures chasing one another through geometrically stylised scenery.

These titles have been widely noted by reviewers, who have likened them to Depatie-Freleng's celebrated animations for the Pink Panther films as well as more general design trends of 1960s titling such as the work of Saul Bass.

Sight and Sound magazine went so far as to describe the title sequence of Catch Me If You Can's as one of the film's two most striking features. Such acclaim in itself recalls that which greeted The Pink Panther credits".

Deborah Allison
http://archive.sensesofcinema.com

As stated in the extract from the artcile by Deborah Allison, there are clear references in the titles for this 2002 film. The image below shows still taken from the title sequence for 'Catch me if You Can', alongside some stills from Saul Bass', 'Man With the Golden Arm'. In both title sequences line and text are used in order to create visually stunning pieces.

Stills Taken from 'Catch me if You Can Titles':

(Mundi, Anima, 2004, Animation Now, Germany: Taschen, p218)

Stills taken from Saul Bass' 'The Man with the Golden Arm':


http://www.youtube.com/

Obviously the work by Saul Bass is a direct reference to design trends of the 1960's, however I think that the colour pallette that they have chosen for elements within the titles for 'Catch me of You Can' suggest a 1960's colour pallette. For example, the use of bright, bold colours.

Images reflecting 1960's colour pallette:

http://rlv.zcache.com/1960s

http://www.flickr.com/photos/locamama/2280901574/

The Pink Panther Titles:

http://www.youtube.com/

The titles for 'Catch Me if You Can' are a modern take on the ones for 'The Man with the Golden Gun' and 'The Pink Panther'. I think that it is a great example of how a modern designer can take influence from other animatoars, but still keep a sense of there own style, with a modern feel.

Stumble Test 2

The reason why I decided to represent the word stumble in the way that I have, is because one of the first things that came into my mind was a drunk person stumbling around. I found a sound clip on the web to use that is of a drunk person slurring their words and started to have a go at animating to the soundtrack.

These videos below show little tests that I created of different ways that I want the letteres to react. Taking on persona's of drunken people!

The letter 'U' swaying backwards and forwards:


Here the letters 'B and L' have a bit of 'argy bargi':

In this test I like the way that they initially move across the screen in the wrong order and the way that they irritate each other. I would like to try to play on this a little more and maybe come to some sort of resolve, (i.e. one could knock the other to another point on the screen).

Stumble Test 1

This video shows the original test that I created when trying to work out the best way to animate the word.



Here I had a play with the letters falling from the top, however after considering the idea of a drunk person and how they would react I'm going to animate them coming in from the left hand side of the screen. It isn't logical for them to fall from the top, so I'm going to move the letter forms from the left.

Crime Drama Animations

This is a post that I put up a while ago but I've decided to change the post date as I think that it's really relevant to what were looking at.

Now most people that know me would proably be the first to say that I am a bit of a TV addict and one of my favourite types of programmes are dramas, especially crime ones.

One thing that I really like about Drams/Crime Dramas are that generally they have really cool looking tiltes or promos made for them. I've put a few examples below from a few different TV shows.

Monk Titles:


Hallmark Channel

In this video I like the colours that have been used. Somethimes I think that a limited colour pallete is sometimes more effective and balanced than using lots of different colours. One thing about this promo which works well is the way that simple images/symbols are used within the typography. For example, the use of the lips and the fly. Aswell as using the imagery elements suggested such as, ' the bug zig zagging' are infered in the quik jolts of the camera from side to side.

House:


Hallmark Channel

This is promo for a meidcal drama called House. Something that I think both the videos above do extremely well is use humor in order to attract attention and keep peoples intrest.

I especially like the way that in the two videos shown above typography has been incorporated within the animations. The typography is used as a narrative, along with the audio in order to give the piece context.

CSI New York Opening Titles:


http://www.youtube.com

Iv'e seen these titles many times and found them interesting, even if not just for the use of music! However one thing that I find most exciting about this set of titles ,is the way that video footage has been integrated with the use of animation.

I made the post the other day about liking the way that in composite work you are able to mix lots of different types of media and I think that this is a good example of how when done right it works.

Kinetic Type

Here is a video that I found on the internet. I've posted this because I think that it's a good example of using typography, especially the way that they phonetically represent the type.


http://vimeo.com/2860622

Stewie kinetic type

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDYq7_yHLYk&feature=related

Kinetic Type

This is a video that I found on the internet using kinetic type.


http://www.youtube.com/

12 seconds into the video the word 'just' is represented with a very fast paced animated section which represents the nature of this word, in its context well. The thing that I like about this piece is the way that the words are represented phonetically.

This image below may look like a 'big blur', however it just illustrates the nature of the word:

Polaroid

This is an image created by a photographer using the design of a Polaroid-photo as a way of presenting the piece.

http://www.photoshopuser.com/
When I found this image on the internet the first thing that came into my mind is that this could be turned into an animation. Looking at the image above I can imagine that the women could move the photos around, as her hands and arms have broken out if the frames.

I think that this could be something really interesting to have a play with and see how content within a 'framed space', (i.e. the polaroid), could interact with its surroundings.

Stop Motion Animation

Here are two similar videos of some stop motion pieces created around the idea of a t-shirt. I think that both are simple, but effective pieces in their own rights. The first animation is titled 'Human Flip book', which I think is an interesting description of the piece because effectively that is exactly what it is!

Human Flip book:

http://www.youtube.com/


http://www.youtube.com/

When I stumbled across these pieces, I thought that is was an interesting way of presenting a piece of animation work. By integrating the animation on the t-shirts within live action gives the piece more depth.

ITV England

Whilst on Liquid TV's website I also found this animation, which I thought was a great example of a nice blend of both 2D and 3D animation.



It's described on Liquid's website as the following, "We were comissioned to make an opening sequence for ITV's coverage of England football matches. We wanted to take a slightly different approach, so the balls of fire and endless whist-less glances in t'yonder from the England football players were ditched. We instead pitched an idea which contained no football in it what so ever, except for an occasional reference. We wanted to create a feeling of pride in the country, its diverse cultures and architecture ... it's a celebration, not of the players but of the country they play for" http://www.liquid.co.uk

In a similar way to the way that in the F1 titles the viewers are taken on a trip out of the stands onto the track, here viewers are taken on a trip around London in an attempt to create a sense of pride. I think that they are successfull in created that feeling amongst the viewers and one thing that helps to do this is the soundtrack that accompanies it. The iconic music that plays alongside the exciting visuals has been used alongside many sporting triumphs. The music comes together at the end with a roaring cheer as the Wembley Stadium is revield and we as viewers are shown both the Saint George flag and the England teams emblem.

Liquid Tv's Website

When I found Liquid TV's website I was drawn to the clean, geometric layout. Everything was balanced and had an interesting linear format. In terms of the way that the movie clips were presented it seems almost reminiscent of a strip of film, possibly something whcih was behind the idea when it was made.

Overall I feel that this website is a good example of a Flash Site which is visually exciting and easy to navigate, (which is what would expect of a motion graphics company). As a potential client you would want to feel confident about their potential, so it is important to present a website that works well and isn't a let down to the viewer.

There are different elements within the site that work extremely well. One of these is the preloader. Generally I am not a fan of preloaders as they usually take a while to load, however with this site the loading time is extremely quick. The sites preloader has been created in an interesting way by integrating a wheel withing the letter 'O' of the logo.



Interactivity plays a big part within this site. In order for the viewer to navigate around a site it is important that a clear, clean and simple navigation is put in place. This site is easy to navigate around with a simple linear menu on the left hand side and in order to view video clips there is a simple to use rollover menu of clips.

The movie clips are set to work like a scroller and when you move your mouse up and down, the line of clips moves up and down. When you rollover a particular clip it enlarges and is shown in colour. Unless you are over a clip everything is shown in a muted tone, this works well as it is clear to the user what they are on/where they are.

Normal State:

Rollover State:


Another feature within the site that I love is the swimming fish. Sometimes animation within sites can be awful, however this fish has been animated in a beautiful way. This brings an element of class to the site, which only strengthens the viewers impression of the company. The use of an animated fish, which swims towards the viewer as the site has loaded and then away again is a nice way of tying the name of the company with a theme.



Swimming fish:

Overall I think that this site is a excellent example of a simple to use Flash Site. Check it out at: http://www.liquid.co.uk

This ones for you Ste!!

I found the video below on Liquid TV. These titles were made for the return of F1 season on BBC. Im extremly interested in title sequences, especially when they integrate elements of 2D and 3D. I watched the beggining of the season with Ste at his flat, with a few beers when I saw these titles for the first time. I can remember thinking that they were a great new set of titles, which realvitalised the essence of the sport itself. With the iconic music and captivating visuals we are taken on a journey. It allows the viewer to feel engaged with the title sequence and feel like they are personally witnessing a journey.

I found this video on Liquids Website,where it as being the following: "As the most expensive show on earth returns to the BBC, we were charged with creating a brand which could out manoeuvre it's previuos on air years and inject a new zeel, whilst remaining instantly recognisable. Working on the principle of 'fusion', the brand takes the viewer from out of the stands and puts him smack in the middle of the action where cars, teams and locations fuse and de-fuse in a high octane, breakneck battle for supremecy and the checkered flag".http://www.liquid.co.uk/


http://www.liquid.co.uk/

After reading the description of the brief, it is clear to see that Liquid wanted to create a sequence which brought a new energy to the sport, whilst ensuring that the people who would be watching were able to instantly recognise the F1 Brand.

Some new work by David Foldvari

Once again the power of the blog! When I came on this morning I saw that David Foldvari had posted on his blog saying that hed managed to update his website, I didn't even have to go looking.

Amongst his updates were some new pieces of his work, some editorial work and some other pieces. Here are a few of my favourites!

Today, for once it's too hot, which means that it's too hot for my brain to engage! So I'm going to quickly sum these pieces up in as few words as I can.

Democracy at it finest:

Well balanced composition, drawn to face through spot colour:

Simple use of spot colour, effective, creates impact:

Intriguing:

Nice idea:

Never to young, (or whats the phrase . . . "Your only as young as you feel", or is that "your only as old as the person your feeling!"

Sex sells:

http://www.davidfoldvari.co.uk/

Free Pizza Anyone?

Recently I have re-designed the menu and display board in Pizza shop 'Don Francesco', based in Great Moor.





Below is a photo of the menu board in the shop itself
(145.97cm x 117.01cm):


Free Pizza Anyone? Register online at donfranciscopizza.com for your free 12" pizza now!

My Textures

A couple of weeks ago after I'd had a play in After Effects that I wanted to go out and take some photos of interesting textures that I could use within my work. So here are a few of my favourites:

A Banks Project, More 2D!

Well, this could just be a phase but I'm still enjoying researching 2D Animation. This piece has been created using After Effects. I found it on YouTube when looking for 2D work.

It's quite easy to deduce that the piece is a music video, as the audio and visual work well together. The piece is energetic and vibrant and the synchronization between the audio, with the integration of animated elements is great to see. The piece really comes alive before our eyes.


http-//www.youtube.com/

I think that sometimes it's good to see amateur work, that hasn't been created by people working in the commercial world. Generally the pieces are not as refined, but the work is sometimes more experimental, which is great for me to see as 2D animation is a fairly new subject area for me in terms of what I'm trying to create myself.

Will Sweeney/ Steven Malkmus

Personally I think that this animation is . . . awesome!


http://www.bigactive.com/moving-image/

The reason why I think that this piece works so well is because of the great idea behind it. To see an image of someone with tattoos all over their body might seem a little strange within a piece of design work, however the way that the piece has been executed demonstrates how a quirky approach to something can really work.

We get to see the illustrated tattoos, which are art in their own way, come alive. This is a captivating piece of moving image which shows how when the right audio and visual come together, they can work brilliantly together.

Sketchbook Work

Over the last few weeks I've been thinking about the way I go about working and how a lot of the process is digital. Obvioualy with the nature of our pathway it is Multimedia based and creating work in a digital form, but considering how we get to that end process is what interests me.

It reminded me of when I had my interview with Rick and we were looking through my work. One thing that I remember Rick saying was, to carry on work sketchbooks. Don't get me wrong I love working on computers, but one thing that I think allows for some peoples work to have an edge is to have an element of a handcrafted approach. Obviously, it isn't something that is always the way to go, or even appropriate but it is definately an approach that I like.

Over the last half of term last year I thought about continuing sketchbook work, but never really got time to do so. At the end of last term I got my Foundation Sketchbooks back and I had a flick back through them. One thing that I noticed about the way that I worked then was all about EXPERIMENTING!

I created quite a lot of work on foundation in sketchbook form and that was down to the way that I made sure that I got stuck into briefs. I'll be the first one to say that some of the compositions didn't work, but I'll also say that the way that I got to the ones that did was by exploring ideas, haphazored or not. A mindset that I'd love to get back to.

Sketchbook work to come!

Kate Gibb

The two images below are screenprints by Kate Gibb, that I found on the Big Actives Blog. As compositions I think that they work well, especially the first image, (my favoutrite of the two). I think that the first image is a very eye catching and striking image. I think that this is down to the use of the variations of the vibrant blue colour that has been used.



http://www.bigactive.com/

The light blue colour that has been chosen as the background colour works well with the rest of the piece. This gives the impression that the dark blue head is lifted from the page, which allows for impact. There is also a figure of a woman within the head shape. The detail within this section works well and I think that it could be classed as texture within the piece.

I love the process of screen printing, as it allows for great effects to be created. The amount of detail and texture that is created is what makes the process such a effective one. A outcome which may not have been able to be achieved otherwise. I had a go at screen printing the year before last when on my foundation course and from what I remember out of all the printing processes it gave a very professional outcome, definately something achieved in the two pieces shown above.

During one of the previous briefs last term I wanted to use some printing within my work to create interesting backgrounds, however I didnt get around to doing so. It is something that I would really like to have a play with with in future briefs, if appropriate.

Basement Jaxx

"If you caught Basement Jaxx recent headline show at London’s Wireless festival in Hyde Park you’ll have spotted some curious visuals that accompanied the band while they played their latest single ‘Raindrops’. The animation features the new artwork we’ve created for the band’s forthcoming album, Scars", http://www.bigactive.com/blog/

http://www.bigactive.com/blog/

I like this animation, especially the use of colour and I think that the style created in the animation reflects the way that I believe the music of the band to be portrayed; very upbeat, lively and vibrant.

This animation works well with the music. The syncronisation between the audio and visual is spot on. It reminds me not only of some of Tal Rosners work, but what I remember him saying about his pieces in his lecture last year. The way that inrigue and tension and different emotions can be visualised. The stacato like representation is very remenicant of the way that Tal Rosner uses line and imagery to visualy represent the changes in the audio.

Stills taken from one of Tal Rosner's animations, Doppelganger:

http://www.talrosner.com/doppelganger

Gerard Saint

Creative Art Director

This is an interview with art director Gerard Saint, which I found on the Big Active blog:

What did you want to be when you grew up?

Lead singer in my band.

What was the first record you bought?

45rpm - Stranglers ‘Peaches’

33rpm - Sex Pistols ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’

What was your first big career break?

When I discovered music though listening to John Peel as a kid.

What has been your career path up til now?

I founded Big Active with design friends after leaving art college and I’ve been running with that ever since. On the journey we’ve art directed and designed everything from album covers to fashion magazines to photography books to brand identities to pretty much every aspect of graphic design really I guess. And along the way we’ve worked hard and played hard and created some work that I’m really proud of. That’s what it’s all about really.

What does your job involve?

A creative director’s job is to oversee the bigger picture - directing the creative output by driving the wider vision of individual projects that we are working on. It also involves commissioning and directing other image makers - photographers and illustrators for instance who may want to collaborate with to bring a project to life. As a studio we are a very close team so I suppose it’s like being the lead singer of the band.

What is your average day?

Artists, bands and record labels come to us to create imagery to package the way their act and music is presented - it’s all about creating individual identities - and as every act is different so too every project is unique - so I guess there’s no such thing as the average day.

What is the best thing about your job?

Having the opportunity to collaborate and work with some of the the best creative people in the world.

What is the worst thing about your job?

Dealing with new artists who might be under the illusion that they’ve just reinvented the wheel.

What are the main qualities needed to be an art director?

Ideas and an open mind, a sense of vision and the ability to keep focused on the bigger picture.

Which artists/projects have been the most fun to work with, and why?

Every project we work on is different, that’s what makes our job so interesting. As a studio we’ve worked with lots of great artists recently including White Lies, The Enemy, Athlete, Keane, Snowpatrol, Subways, Muse, Goldfrapp and Basement Jaxx - so having a really diverse range of clients always keeps things pretty fresh.

What to date is your proudest achievement in work?

We won a D&AD Yellow Pencil for our work on ‘The Information’ by Beck a couple of years ago - which was great as it’s an album package that I’m really proud of. Beck was a brilliant artist to work with and we wanted to create a sleeve that brought the listener closer to the spirit in which the music was recorded encouraging them to really engage in the creative experience. Our idea was to create a DIY album cover for fans to design or customize themselves by using sheets of individual stickers by many different image makers whose work we commissioned and curated for the project. We then simply created a blank cover for fans to fill in. That way the packaging format itself could personalized and as a result no two albums might ever look the same. This was encouraged further by setting up an online forum for fans to upload and share their work. We hoped to create a much wider story by bringing into question the whole idea of making a physical album package at a time when more and more people are simply downloading music digitally. In this case you really had to own the physical album artifact to complete the experience.

What in your view is the future of your industry?

Good integrated music design is about creating the defining image which can work across many different platforms from physical packaging that you can touch and feel to new digital platforms that can interact with in alternative ways. Image will always be a requirement of selling music and now there’s so many more new ways to express that side of the creative process. The music industry model is really changing right now and in the next few years I think we’ll see some really innovative work being done.

How do you think your job will adapt in the future?

It will involve working with many different forms of media and mastering the cultural connections between them. In a way the ubiquitous CD format has long been the enemy of innovative music design - but now record labels are having to adapt to a wider fragmented market where music can be accessed in many different forms and I believe that’s going to be very liberating for designers.

What are your career ambitions?

To continue to create great work.

Top 5 Tips for aspiring music art directors/designers?

1. Obviously be passionate about the culture of music, design and image making.

2. Recognize that the music industry is changing and music design is no longer just about the album cover.

3. Remember every act and project is individual - and difference is what makes people sit up and take notice.

4. Always be ambitious about the bigger picture but ignoring the detail means you’re not really looking.

5. Never pitch ideas for free - be professional - your work has value.

(http://www.bigactive.com)

The reason why I decided to post this interivew, that I found on the Big Active blog, is because there are lots of things which are very insightful and advice that I think that anyone with the ambition to operate within the design world could realte to.

I've been familar with the BIg Actives work now for a little over a year and I think that is not only exciting to hear about the work that the company creates, but the way in which the design callaboration works. To them it seems like a way of life, which I believe is the way it should be; after all to be a success in something you have to live and breath it!

Textures

When I was having a play the other week with after effects I bought a pack of elements to use in after effects. These included high def textures/ low def textures, ink splatter and ink drops.

Some images of the riot gear stock:






There are some great elements within this pack and Im glad I bought it, but it got me thinking why not look at collecting my own textures. Post to come soon!