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VCD302 Blog 6

I believe my VCD302 project successfully met the criteria in creating an animation that showed my technical fluency in After Effects and my design aesthetic.

I am proud of my technical development, which includes (but is not limited to) learning how to animate text, incorporate and edit videos in After Effects, and creating seamless transition between sequences. By spending hours on YouTube following tutorials and experimenting on After Effects, this self-learning led to a deep technical understanding of kinetic type.

My aesthetic goal for this project was to make an animation that portrayed happy, surfy and peaceful vibes, as I believe these characteristics best encapsulate the northern suburbs of Wollongong. I achieved this through using bold typefaces and bright colours to accompany the videos.

My project also utilises primary and secondary motion to achieve its aesthetic purpose. Videos of the northern suburbs of Wollongong are used as the secondary motion, with the aim of making the animation engaging, captivating, and to visually correlate with the articles content. The videos are mostly still and peaceful snippets of nature, so it does not take away from the primary motion of kinetic type.

Although I believe my project meets the criteria, there were three key design decisions that altered my design process along the way. Ambrose and Harris in ‘Design Thinking’ suggest that throughout the design process, it is crucial to constantly take stock of where you are, where you are heading, what’s working and what’s not (Ambrose & Harris, 2009). Thus, these three key moments I have identified were recognition of components that were not working and needed to be fixed before moving further along in the project.

The first decision was to not incorporate extravagant kinetic type in every single sequence as I had initially proposed. There are two key reasons for this. The first was purely due to kinetic type being time consuming to learn then put into practice. I learnt that detailed kinetic type for each sequence would significantly set back my production timeline. The second reason was that I found if the more extraordinary kinetic type was used more sporadically in the animation, it was easier to watch and follow along.

An example of detailed, extravagent kinetic type

An example of more simplistic, easy-to-follow kinetic type.

The second significant design decision was based around the usage of videos. Up until a week before the project was due, I had decided to use solids instead of videos as the animations background, as I didn’t have enough footage to cover the entire video. However, I decided that by not having video as the primary background, it defeated the purpose of visually marketing the region. So, I visited different locations of the northern beaches of Wollongong to get more footage. Although time consuming, I’m glad I did this, as it helps the animation clearly retell the article visually. Solid backgrounds are still used occasionally to help break up the text.

The final design decision that was crucial to my animation was choosing colour and typefaces. Originally, I had my whole text in white with the same font. However, I decided that this was plain and boring. Changing the typeface and colour took much longer than what I anticipated as each video had different colours, so I had to match the typeface colour to what best suited the video. I believe the diverse typefaces and colours were key components in achieving my intended aesthetic outcome.

“The feedback generated at the end of the process becomes a learning opportunity for future projects” (Ambrose & Harris, 2009). The biggest feedback I would give to myself is to plan in more detail and spend more time storyboarding before designing. My style of editing reminds me of David Barringer who refers to himself as ‘the legislator and philosopher’ when it comes to editing. He changes his editing trajectory along the way of working, and while he sees this as liberating and empowering, the indecisiveness and lack of planning is equally painful (Lupton, 2011). He recognises that he must be discipline and constrain his editing and does so by first recognising the limits of his concept- something perhaps I should have considered before diving deep into a project that I knew little about (Lupton, 2011).

Overall, I am so glad I took a leap in the dark and investigated kinetic type for this project. I am excited to use kinetic type in the future within my field of design and marketing for the purposes of social media, marketing videos and design collateral.

References:

Ambrose, G, & Harris, P 2009, ‘Design Thinking’, AVA Publishing, accessed on the 3rd of June 2022.

Lupton, E 2011 ‘Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming’, Princeton Architectural Press, accessed on the 1^st of June 2022.

VCD302 Blog 3

This assessment gave me a great understanding of After Effects and the fundamentals of motion design. I believe my project achieved the technical basics we’ve been taught in class, that it was framed by the motion design principles, and that the aesthetic appeal is satisfactory. Upon reflection of my design process and implementation, there are three key factors that were critical in my design process, and that I am keen to improve for the upcoming tasks.

My first regret is not spending enough time researching motion design and its aesthetics, as it took me a while to find a style that suited my own. I dove too fast into creating my sequence instead of taking the time to research and plan, and as a result, the first animation I created was structureless. If I had spent more time researching and planning, I could have better finessed my motion design sequence and spent more time being experimental with it.

The second critical decision was a direct consequence from not properly researching, and I ended up completely changing my animation idea. I was unhappy with the overall aesthetic and structure of it, and therefore realised I could not achieve the animation I had envisioned within the time frame. So, in week 5, I decided to change my whole animation idea. This last-minute change put the pressure on, but I am more satisfied with the outcome than I was with my original animation. For future tasks, I now know to slow down and not jump straight into animating, but to spend a good amount of time researching and mapping out my design process to avoid last minute changes.

Another key decision in my design process was to use the same shapes (seven polygons) for the whole animation. Thus, my motion design used primary and temporal motion, and did not utilise secondary motion techniques. The sequence is classified as primary motion as the main shapes do the entirety of the animating, without shifting backgrounds. It is also temporal due to these shapes continually transitioning and evolving into new shapes and compositions. I believe the use of primary and temporal motion worked for my design as it is seamless and aesthetically pleasing, however, I am keen to implement secondary motion in my future designs.

Despite these learning curves, I still believe my project met the criteria standard and demonstrated the fundamental principles of motion design. The amount of time, practice and research I put into this project led to me feeling confident and competent in the basics of After Effects. Additionally, the lectures and readings helped frame my animation as it gave me an understanding of how I should shape my work based on primary, secondary and temporal motion, and the key principles to implement in my animation. Overall, I am satisfied with my design, but am excited to experiment with more shapes and transitions moving forward. As David Barringer in says in ‘Graphic Design Thinking : Beyond Brainstorming’, “How do I edit? I dream, I improvise. I fail and try again”.

References

Lupton, E. 2011 ‘Graphic Design Thinking : Beyond Brainstorming’, Princeton Architectural Press, pp. 177-182

VCD302 Blog 1

The motion design used in the trailer for ‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina‘ (2018) draws upon the 1998 trailer ‘Night of the Demons’. The techniques used in both trailers effectively convey the respective movies are spooky, mysterious and will leave audiences feeling uneasy yet enticed.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina mostly uses secondary motion to create suspension. Secondary motion can be described as “The perceived motion of the viewer that dictates how the content is framed over time. It can have an effect on the audiences mood and perception of space” (Krasner, 2013). The trailer achieves this through using very slow panning on each frame which adds eeriness. However, whip panning is utilised between each frames suggests the movie is frightful and will keep audiences on their toes.

The primary techniques used in this trailer go hand-in-hand with the secondary techniques to make the trailer feel scary and on-edge. The timing of the primary objects is slow which adds an element of mystery. There is no anticipation with the primary objects- they all come about suddenly and unexpectedly. The creators also implemented the ‘follow through’ technique, as the details in the primary object continue to subtly move even past its termination point (for example, from 0.28-0.29 the woman’s hair continues to move even though the frames main shot has passed). Additionally, the pause used for each frame allows the viewer to catch their breath, yet also leaves them anxiously waiting for the next spooky motion.

The Night of The Demons trailer has a similar feel but uses more primary motion than The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The secondary motion differs as it uses a black background for the entirety of the trailer, creating the primary objects to be more prominent and is what moves frame-to-frame rather than camera shots. However, from 2:40-2:50, panning is used along the haunted house scene to allow the viewer to feel as if they are in there themselves. Zooming in and out motions are used, along with tilting to keep audiences unsettled.

As for the primary techniques, the ‘birth, life and death’ of each primary object is abrupt. A mix of fading in and out and growing in and out of frame is used. The overlapping used over each objects adds a level of fright and unexpectedness to each frame. The motion path is effective, particular from 1:00-1:15 as the flying creatures go from the bottom left corner to the top right, drawing the viewers eye to the text in the top right.

The contemporary piece draws on the aesthetics of the earlier piece in multiple ways. Firstly, the pausing on each frame and quick transitions to the next is what makes both trailers mysterious and unsettling. Furthermore, the graphics style of the modern trailer is inspired from the older trailer. Graphic style can be described as ““choosing the appropriate graphic style is critical to supporting your concept, message or mood” (Krasner, 2013). This is demonstrated in the dark colours used, scary kinetic images and the eery typeface amongst both sequences. This style helps portray the horror genre of both.

However, a key difference in both trailers is the era they were created in. As Kathy Zielinski, the creator of ‘Night of the Demons’ says, “A lot of the choices were made because of budget. That’s why there isn’t a lot of what we call ‘full animation.’ Most of it — especially the ghosts coming out of the graves going up the hill to the house – was cut-outs. Kutchaver would take my drawings and figure out how to put it together. A lot was shot under-camera, combining different camera moves. The hill coming into view with the ghosts running up, that was pretty difficult to figure out” (Lang, 2019). Thus, despite the creators of The Chilling Adventure of Sabrina having access to modern technology that could make the animation more complex, they draw off the style Zielinski used to best convey the motion design for a horror film.

References

Lang, A 2019 ‘Night of the Demons’, Art of the Title, accessed 25.03.22 at https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/night-of-the-demons/

Art of the Title 2018 ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’, accessed 25.03.22 at https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/chilling-adventures-of-sabrina/

Krasner, J 2013 ‘Motion Graphic Design’, Taylor and Francis, vol. 1, no.3, pp 162-204

Lessons from Layne Brown to succeed in the modern workplace

The modern workforce is making a positive shift towards valuing their employees for who they are as unique individuals, instead of simply valuing them for their ability to do certain tasks. I was recently struck by a recent guest speaker in BCM313 called Layne Brown due to his honest and genuine perspective of the workplace. He shared his experiences and relationships in the workforce that have shaped who he is today. I learnt that genuine authenticity fosters real relationships, to not be afraid of making mistakes, and that soft skills are crucial to survive in the modern workforce.

Authenticity is an important dimension in the development of more meaningful careers. No longer do individuals just look at financial rewards for work options, they strive to also find meaning in what they do that correlate with their personal values and beliefs (Reis, Braga & Trullen, 2017). Authentic leaders are described to ‘know who they are, and their self-knowledge empowers them to transform their lives and the lives of the people they lead’ (Hollis, 2018). They build relationship with their co-workers and understand each individual employee has a set of valuable attributes that is beneficial to the team.

Layne gave a beautiful example about of an authentic leader in his community who had the intention of building a relationship with anyone he met. Layne recalls “He just came in with friendship, with love and with a gift. Everywhere he went he went with a with a packet of Tim Tams. And everybody knew him. How could you not have a relationship with someone brings in a gift like that?”. It is important leaders make the time to create relationship with their employees, so they can gain broader understanding of why they work like they do, how they communicate, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. It makes employees feel valued and more inclined to work diligently. Therefore, without leaders fostering relationships, it can lead to dissatisfaction and conflict. As Layne said, “workplaces where those relationships haven’t been built is often where it’s been time to walk out the door and find a new job”.

Mistakes are inevitable. When it comes to work, everyone goes through four stages of competence- these include unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and unconscious competence. Thus, everyone is incompetent at one point, but if you view mistakes as a learning curve instead of an error, it can lead to significant growth. Layne stated, “sometimes you got to accept that you’re going to make mistakes. Things aren’t going to happen the way that you would like them to happen, and sometimes you just have to do it. The biggest lesson that I learned was just doing things, regardless of the result, without getting caught up in your head in your heart.” Therefore, creating a culture where mistakes are seen as an opportunity to grow can help employees to break outside of their comfort zone and achieve great results.

Mistakes are also vulnerable, and vulnerability is a massive asset in a workplace culture. As Professor Brene Brown recently said in an interview with 60 minutes, “innovation is idea, iteration, failure, iteration, failure, iteration. Places where they’re doing the most high-risk high reward innovating- they have huge tolerances for vulnerability. If you’re preaching a gospel of vulnerability is weakness, or modelling that, just don’t expect great things” (Brown, 2020). Vulnerability can help employees be more confident in their authentic selves and can overall make teams stronger in the workplace setting.

Soft skills are our innate human qualities that we apply to the workforce. They include communication skills, organisational competencies, passion for learning, risk-taking ability, public service orientation and independence in decision making (Deng, Thomas & Trembach, 2014). In the modern workforce, soft skills are more sought-after than technical skills. An employee’s ability to interact in a team and deal with conflict is seen more valuable than how they perform their job. A recent study proves this, where results indicated hard sills contribute only 15% to ones success, whereas 85% of success is due to soft skills (Robles, 2012).

Layne emphasised how important people skills and conflict resolution techniques are in the workforce. When asked “has that absence or lack of human acknowledgment affect your career path or career journey?”, he replied “Yes it has…. I’ve had situations where I’ve just been my authentic self and they’ve been their authentic self, and because of that difference, that led to continual disruptions in the workplace through misinterpretations of each other”. Soft skills are essential to create a workplace environment of understanding, harmony, and communication.

In conclusion, Layne taught me the importance of valuing employees for their strengths and weaknesses instead of their ability to work. To practically implement this workforce leadership, culture and relationships must be evaluated. Leaders must be authentic and create rapport with employees to increase their self-value and work motivation. Leaders must also create a culture of allowing room for mistakes and vulnerability, which ultimately leads to employees pushing themselves to achieve even greater results. Furthermore, identifying soft skills helps leaders to understand how employees deal with team settings, conflict and work processes. No longer are employees valued solely for the work they do, instead, individual attributes are celebrated and seen as benefits to the workplace.

References:

Brown, B. 2020 ‘Vulnerability, not oversharing’, 60 Minutes, accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e257BL851Uw on 01/10/2021.

Deng, L., Thomas, A. & Trembach, S. 2014 ‘Shaping the 21st-century information professional: A convergence of technical and “soft” skills for workplace success’, Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, vol.51, no.1, pp 104

Hollis, N. 2018 ‘Blueprint for engagement: authentic leadership’, 1st edition, Taylor & Francis, New York

Reis, G., Braga, M. & Trullen, J. 2017 ‘Workplace authenticity as an attribute of employer attractiveness’, Personnel Review, vol. 46, no.8, pp 1962-1976

Robles, M. 2012 ‘Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today’s Workplace’, Business Communication Quarterly, vol. 75, no. 4, pp 453-465.