Motion Graphics and Animation
Student Work

 

Each section of this class has had slightly different assignments. For the student work I focused on one semester, Fall 2015, to illustrate the relationships between assignments and the progression through the class.


Experiments in Motion

This project is a series of motion tests edited together to form an abstract composition. Each day you will create a new motion test based on curiosity or observations you have made in your motion studies. At the end of two weeks you will edit the 14 compositions together to create a 14 second video. For this project you will develop a color palette that unifies the 14 tests.

Consider these questions as you create your project:

  • What is natural motion?
  • Does motion have to conform to the physical properties of space?
  • How do our expectations change the way that we see motion in animation?
  • Can you change our expectations of motion?

30 Motion Tests (Steffen K.)

Requirements:

  • 14 seconds of experiments in motion
  • 1920 x 1080, 23.976 fps
  • Rendered using Media Encoder with H.264, 1080p Vimeo HD setting
  • Uploaded to joint Vimeo.com account

Student Work: Erin Barry, August Bomer-Lawson, Madison Plummer, Maya Tors (All Fall 2015)

Little Movies

This project is a little movie based on a little story. For this project you find a story that can be told in a loop of one minute or less. Your story should respond to or challenge the issues that you confront in your paintings, prints, photography and drawings. You will create your little movie using vector drawings created in AfterEffects or Illustrator.

Consider these questions as you create your project:

  • Can a story have a different form than the traditional pyramid?
  • How does the loop format change a story?
  • When you distill a story what is the most essential element?
  • How important is the space of a story in an animation?

Google Doodles
Grella, Animation Hotline
Manovich, Little Movies

Requirements:

  • 1 minute or less of animation
  • Illustrations created in Illustrator or Aftereffects
  • 1920 x 1080, 23.976 fps
  • Rendered using Media Encoder with H.264, 1080p Vimeo HD setting
  • Uploaded to joint Vimeo.com account

Student Work: Paris Baillie, August Bomer-Lawson, Colleen Craven (All Fall 2015)

 

Found Text

This project is a title sequence for a book. For this project you need to choose a book that was published before 1923. Your title sequence can use text from the frontispiece as well as names of characters in the book. Your title sequence should establish the mood of the story and suggest the narrative. You will create your title sequence using scans, photographs and video footage captured using a camera and masks that you create in AfterEffects. You should try to incorporate the themes from your own work as much as possible.

Consider these questions as you create your project:

  • What pieces of a story should be revealed and what pieces should be hidden in a title sequence?
  • Can the frame of an animation change the way that we see and understand the animation?
  • How are space and time be manipulated through transitions?
  • How is montage different than an animation with a single shot or perspective?

The Art of the Title

Requirements:

  • 1 - 3 minutes of animation
  • Materials should be photographs, scans and video
  • 1920 x 1080, 23.976 fps
  • Rendered using Media Encoder with H.264, 1080p Vimeo HD setting
  • Uploaded to joint Vimeo.com account

Student Work: Piers Boyce, Elissa Shea, Lisa Fierstein, Matt Fenster (All Fall 2015)

Placeevent

This project is a short site specific work. For this project you will choose a site on campus and create a piece that can only be seen in that site. You will need to find or commission a piece of sound to accompany your piece, you can choose to work with students from Adam Tinkle's class. You can create your animation using any of the media we have explored so far, vector animations, scans, photographs and film footage. Think about how the piece continues the work you have done in this class. It can be narrative or nonlinear. The pieces will be shown together during a one night performance as we move through campus.

Consider these questions as you create your project:

  • How does the space of the site change the way that your film is viewed?
  • Are there new types of frames you can use–multiple frames or a different shaped frame?
  • What is role of the audience in your piece?
  • What does it mean to create a piece that is ephemeral?
  • How can our perceptions of time and space be changed by your animation?

Requirements:

  • 1-4 minutes of animation
  • Creative Commons or collaborative sound track
  • 1920 x 1080, 23.976 fps
  • Rendered using Media Encoder with H.264, 1080p Vimeo HD setting
  • Uploaded to joint Vimeo.com account

Student Work: Paris Baillie, Lisa Fierstein, August Bomer-Lawson (All Fall 2015)

Animation Short

This project is the culmination of your work this semester. For this project you should pick a subject or material that resonated with you. In this project you will build on those ideas developing them further into a short animation or motion graphic piece. For this project you should consider how the narrative or ideas you present in the piece form new thoughts or ways of seeing.

For this project you will create a proposal, storyboards and a set of questions that you will work to answer.

There are no requirements for this piece except that it is uploaded to Vimeo and Blackboard.

Student Work: Piers Boyce, Lisa Fierstein, Matt Fenster (All Fall 2015)