4D GIF
The final dimension to explore in Graphic Design for this brief is 4D. The first task set was to create 10 GIFS in Photoshop which were each based on one word to describe our personal lock down experience from the past year. The main guidelines given in this task were use a set colour code of: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black and White, the total number of frames for each animation were also set out: 2,3,5,6,8,9,10,12,15 and 20.
Artist Research
Before I set out in creating my GIFS on paper I researched GIF'S and artists who specialized in animation to help with my development and understanding of what limitations there were to creating GIF's without using other software than Photoshop.
Carl Burton
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I found Carl Burton's work to be really interesting, if I had more creative freedom with colour schemes and a greater time scale in another project I would definitely try and reference similar aspects of his work in my own. The imagery of his work comes across as fairly stripped back, with detail blending into the background however the simple contrast of brighter tones is cleverly executed and creates an interesting depth to his work.
After understanding the great detail and time taken to make animations flow perfectly I now see the amount of extra care and planning to make a GIF/animation more pleasing to the eye.
After understanding the great detail and time taken to make animations flow perfectly I now see the amount of extra care and planning to make a GIF/animation more pleasing to the eye.
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Hingston Studio
I came across Hingston Studio's when doing my research into Graphic Design animators. They are an Independent creative studio based in London. Although the work is more Animation and less GIF orientated, it was interesting looking at the work they have produced and how design through Animation is created for clients and in the industry.
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Pinterest GIF's- typography
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Ideas
I started off with thumbnail visuals and sketches before I started to complete my GIF's digitally. It took a few attempts to understand the process of planning each frame. Eventually I got the hang of making the components to each frame all come together.
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Work in Progress
Whilst I was creating my GIF's digitally I took screenshots of the process, some idea's changed and were tinkered with whereas others I had a clear vision of the outcome.
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These are the original images used before editing in photoshop.
Astrid
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Amber
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Developments and Youtube tutorials
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Final GIF's
Expecting (2)
Season's (5)
Peaceful (6)
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Companion (3)
Adventure (20)
Family (10)
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Puppies (9)
Time (12) |
Loss (8)
Unexpected (15) |
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Title Sequence
The final brief to end the 4 Dimensional tasks is based on creating a title sequence for a given genre such as; Period Drama, Sci/Fi, Rom Com, True Crime Documentary, US Dramedy, Scandicrime, Supernatural Horror, Hospital Drama and Specialist with a quirk.
Before I set out on deciding my theme I began by researching previous Title Sequences and artists who specialized in creating title sequences.
Before I set out on deciding my theme I began by researching previous Title Sequences and artists who specialized in creating title sequences.
Research
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Saul Bass
Saul Bass is the main man behind the creation of a moving opening title sequence. He first decided to do this when he was working on 'The Man with the Golden Arm'. In an interview from one of the clips below Bass mentions about the importance of creating the Title Sequence as the beginning of the film, to be a part of the story. This evolved the meaning of the opening credits, turning them into the introduction to the storyline rather than what people talked through.
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Oliver Kunztel & Florence Deygas
I was really interested in finding more work created by Oliver Kuntzel and Florence Deygas after watching the 'Catch me if you can' opening sequence and feeling really inspired by it's design.
The cleverly thought out introduction showcased exactly what the fundamentals of the film are, yet not too complicated to lose the viewers attention. I also really liked the background music as it added the perfect soundtrack to the films essence of being mysterious and sneaky, much like the main plot.
The cleverly thought out introduction showcased exactly what the fundamentals of the film are, yet not too complicated to lose the viewers attention. I also really liked the background music as it added the perfect soundtrack to the films essence of being mysterious and sneaky, much like the main plot.
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I researched more into Oliver Kuntzel and discovered it was him and Florence Deygas who created the opening sequences together as they are in a creative collaborative, Kuntzel+Deygas since 1990. You can really tell the strong influence of Deygas's fashion illustration in her characters which ooze sophistication.
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I liked how in 'On Otto' the simple use of bones in different layouts and angles were structured very well to show imagery of faces and people which causes the viewer to understand the emotive feel to this film before it has even began.
I was also inspired by the use of writing the credits on the objects with a marker pen. It adds a raw and stripped back approach to cinema.
I was also inspired by the use of writing the credits on the objects with a marker pen. It adds a raw and stripped back approach to cinema.
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Tom Kan
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Murder & Crime Title Sequences
After my research I decided I wanted to create a title sequence based on a Scandicrime/ thriller genre as I am quite a fan of this genre and have watched many series like this always based on the twisted lives of detectives and murder mysteries.
Below I have uploaded series which I have watched and thought created a good basis of influence and ideas.
Below I have uploaded series which I have watched and thought created a good basis of influence and ideas.
The Killing
The Bridge
The Missing |
Luther |
Fargo
Top of the Lake |
Mind Hunter |
Dark
The Sinner |
Orphan Black |
Research into Creating Animations
I had a good idea of how to create in photoshop using the animation timeline, however I was not knowledgeable in using the video animation or Premiere Pro, as this is where I wanted to push my skills and learn new software. I set off in looking into as many tutorials as I could which could give me a basic understanding of the software to better prepare myself for when I was ready to begin moving my work into Premiere Pro.
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Beginning with Idea's
Now that I felt I had a better understanding of what Genre I was aiming for and had a basic understanding of even just beginning in Premiere Pro (YouTube at the ready!) I was ready to get some idea's down on paper.
I found it quite difficult to try and get my vision in my sketch book as my mind kept jumping to different scenes that could be used but not sure how I wanted it to be viewed etc. Never the less, I got as much down as I believed would set me up with structure and a good idea of where I wanted to go before heading into the world of digital software.
I found it quite difficult to try and get my vision in my sketch book as my mind kept jumping to different scenes that could be used but not sure how I wanted it to be viewed etc. Never the less, I got as much down as I believed would set me up with structure and a good idea of where I wanted to go before heading into the world of digital software.
I didn't want to delve too much into plots or character names, I knew what the general vibe was for these series and just made up character names based on people who I know and switched them up. My main objective was that I wanted to use the landscape around me to my advantage and create a theme and location for my genre on a loose basis of being a small town in a mountainous remote area with a Lake, which is moody and atmospheric and rains a lot.
I thought about using text as the main element in my title sequence and getting inspiration from the Stranger Things opening scene as it the view scans over the title name. I didn't pursue this idea for now however I may refer back to this in the future.
My main idea's which kept coming back to me involved a blood droplet taking you through the various scenes, and eventually dropping into water. This also entailed lots of landscape shots, rain and cloud immersions and mostly dark and mysterious moody scenes.
Developing my Ideas
Now that I felt I was on the right path and had some idea of what I was going to do I set off on finding imagery on my local walk which has lots of aspects of creepy and dark themes if you capture them in the right way and apply the correct effects in photoshop.
From here I also used some stock imagery from online and edited these. I did not use a lot of them however it still helped me get to the direction I wanted to be in.
From here I also used some stock imagery from online and edited these. I did not use a lot of them however it still helped me get to the direction I wanted to be in.
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Stock Images
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Images Developed for use
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Adobe Illustrator creations
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Creating animations for scenes
After experimenting and developing my images and idea's I began animating them in photoshop by adding clouds and water droplets to mimic rain and movement in the images. The first 2 are not great however it's all a learning curve.
I really liked how the rain scenes turned out and edited them as well however I prefer the dark grey theme for my title sequence.
I really liked how the rain scenes turned out and edited them as well however I prefer the dark grey theme for my title sequence.
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Scenes used in Title Sequence
Here I have posted the moving animations that I used in my title sequence. I went down to the lake and took slow motion shots of water, below I have added the one which I used in my sequence.
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I created the blood drops by editing the photo's of the rain droplets and then using the liquify tool to elongate them and create that dripping effect. I was quite pleased with how they turned out as this is what I wanted to use quite frequently in my title sequence.
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Putting it all Together
Now that I had all my imagery and animation ready it was time to start putting it together in Premiere Pro. At first it was a nightmare and I couldn't add effects or cross over's in the right way. However eventually after lots of right and wrongs my Title Sequence was coming together.
I added crossover dissolves and fade to black transitions to help create a smoother finish. Once I got the hang of it, it was a great tool to use to get the effect that I wanted for my video.
Below I have added screenshots of my work along the way and video's which helped me through the tough times!
I added crossover dissolves and fade to black transitions to help create a smoother finish. Once I got the hang of it, it was a great tool to use to get the effect that I wanted for my video.
Below I have added screenshots of my work along the way and video's which helped me through the tough times!
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Music Choice's
I knew I wanted an eerie or dramatic song for the beginning however finding one was more tricker than I thought, I went for Corduroy in the end as it fitted well with the Title Name scene.
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Final Title Sequence
The Edge
For my first proper animation I was happy with the turn out with my Title Sequence however I did find it hard to get it being completely smooth and some of the effects are not great but I am happy with my effort. It was challenge that I am glad I overcame, with the skills in Premiere Pro beginning to develop, this will hopefully help with any future projects.