Typeface Video

Communications Studio I Project 4: Time & Motion

Project Overview

This project is a continuation of Project 3 as I will still be focusing on the typeface Caslon. However, unlike the previous project, the medium is motion graphics. The final outcome is a 1-minute typeface introduction video. Although the same principles (Unity/Harmony, Balance, Hierarchy, Scale/Proportion, Dominance/Emphasis, and Similarity/Contrast) still apply, I will now have to take into account sequence, motion, and sound. From this project, I hope to develop the ability to make sensible design decisions regarding motion graphics and create a communicative video that is also captivating and beautiful, along with honing my After Effects skills.

Exploring Sound

Dec 3, 2020

I began this project by finding the appropriate music for my video. Since the rhythm and melodies from the music will be the backbone of my video, guiding the motions of my visual elements, it would be best to have a sense of what music I could use before I create a script or start storyboarding.

I started exploring songs that I thought possess the same characteristics as Caslon. Here are the 5 songs that I considered during this exploration:

1. Planetarium –– Justin Hurwitz

I really enjoyed the orchestra in this piece. The song is also very dynamic, with a distinct beginning, middle, and end that I could use to guide my storyboard.

2. House of Woodcock –– Jonny Greenwood

This song also caught my attention when I first listened to it. It has a certain gentleness and elegance that I was drawn to.

3. The Beach –– Alexandre Desplat

This is another potential song that I could use. I liked the melody in this piece; however, the pace might be too fast and too consistent throughout the song.

4. A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes –– Disney Peaceful Piano

This song initially captured my attention. However, it might be too mellow for my video.

5. Main Title (The Notebook) –– Aaron Zigman

When I listened to this song with my eyes closed, I automatically imagine myself just tracing the curves on the Caslon letterforms according to the rhythm and melody. However, although the song has a certain gracefulness to it, it might be too sad for the vibe I’m going for :((

After listening to all of these songs a couple more times, I decide to go with Planetarium by Justin Hurwitz. I liked how there were different states within the piece, varying in tone and pace. Besides sounding very elegant, the song is uplifting and has a dramatic touch that I believe will make my video more captivating.

Scripting

Having decided on the music for my video, I started writing a script. Since my typeface has a baroque-esque feel to it, and my song begins slowly, I wanted to start my video similar to the beginning of a classic fairytale or a poem. This would give the context and set the mood for the video. Then, as the stong speeds up, I would transition into the typeface characteristics.

Script

Storyboarding

I moved from the script to making a storyboard in my sketchbook. The storyboard would show the main frames of my video. I drew some alternative frames as thumbnails and included descriptions for camera movements and transitions.

My Storyboard

1st Attempt at Making the Animation

Dec 8, 2020

In today’s class, I showed Jaclyn my music choice and storyboard. Her recommendation for me is to first, make a plan for the duration of each part of my video, then edit my music down to 1 minute. Afterward, I should make my frames in Illustrator before moving into After Effects.

Editing Music

Determining the time for each section of my video was pretty easy since I already had in mind the timeline for the beginning, climax, and ending. Thus, I moved on quickly to editing my music. Since I didn’t have to do any complicated sound editing, the most efficient method was to do my editing in iMovie. Listening to the chosen soundtrack again, I made notes of what parts could be used for my video and how I could create smooth transitions between these parts.

Working in iMovie for simple editing

Edited Music

Working in Illustrator & After Effects

As I finished up editing the music, I revised the timing of my storyboard to fit the edited music and began making frames in Illustrator. I then transferred these frames to After Effects and started making my animation.

First Couple Frames

Progress 1

For class, I brought in the first section of my animation. The animation starts off with a narrative similar to the beginning of a short story/fairytale, which is appropriate for this typeface. With a lot of words on the screen, for the highest readability, the effects must be kept to minimal.

Feedback

During class, I got some feedback from Vicki on the frames I created and the animation I had.

1. The timing is nice. Just enough time to read the lines on the screen.
2. London might be overemphasized since it starts off really big and in all caps. Is there a way to tone it down?
3. Do optical kerning for words at big size.
4. Is the color too dark for the music?

Getting to 37 Seconds

Dec 10, 2020

From the feedback I got, I edited the third frame. I changed “In the streets of London” to “In the city of London ” and took out the scale change on “London” both to save time and to make it doesn’t pop out too much from the line that it is in. I also decided to keep the color palette as I felt that they were representative of the 18th Century aesthetic. The navy backdrop also reminded me of the nighttime sky, which fit the airy feel of the music. I continued making my animation, transitioning from the first part to the second part of my video.

Progress 2

Feedback From Jaclyn

Although a lot of things were still not refined, on Sunday, I had a chance to meet with Jaclyn to show her my progress. Here is what we talked about:

1. Use easy ease to make transitions smoother.
2. Maybe the background should transition to blue faster.
3. Caslon could possibly waver at the same time as the “ding” sound before the pause.
4. Play with the motion for “The First English Typeface.” It feels like someone is just grabbing it and moving it around.
5. Bracketed serifs should come up on beat.

Getting to 1 min

For this part of the project, I decided to make more frames and changed some of the compositions. I increased the size of “1722” to emphasize the year even more and also create a more distinct hierarchy for that specific frame. Similarly, I also changed the movement and composition of “The First English Typeface.” I revised my script adding “Revolutionized Legibility” and “Revolutionized A Country” to make the narrative even stronger. I also refined a lot of the transitions, playing with easy ease and the graph editor to make the transitions smoother.

More Frames

Feedback

In class, I got feedback from Vicki, Jaclyn, Alison, Zimmy, and Maggie.

1. Ending fades out at peak of the music. This is a bit confusing.
2. Serifs don’t line up completely.
3. Caslon should exit the screen completely when transitioning to “The Origin of English Typeface”.
4. The baseline is off when the guides come up.
5. Play with the tempo when zooming in from 00:38 – 00:45
6. “William Caslon created” seemed a bit too tight on the screen. Play with scale.
7. Caslon should be moved a little bit to the left because there’s an illusion of it being off-centered when putting it at true center.
8. Possibly change the reddish-pink color I used to highlight ascender, descender, and serifs.

Refining My Video

After class, I also scheduled a meeting with Andrew to fix some technical difficulties I had with camera movements and timing. Andrew showed me how to utilize the speed graph which was really helpful to get precise movements that I was going for.

Reflecting on the feedback I got, I kept refining my video, mainly focusing on the ending and the quick transitions between 00:38 – 00:45.

Progress 4

Feedback

I met with Vicki one last time to get some feedback before the final crit on Thursday.

1. Change “Amidst” to “amidst” since it comes after a comma and not a full stop.
2. Maybe decrease the scale of the headers during the characteristic analysis part of the animation since they are too big or too close to the word “Typeface,” making them a bit distracting.
3. Slow down the part where the Declaration of Independence is shown. Provide more time for the audience to take a look. It’s a bit too fast.

Final Touches

Considering the feedback I got from Vicki, I made the changes discussed in my animation. Furthermore, I also changed the part where the serifs, ascender, and descender show up. At first, I was trying to make them pop up according to each note. However, in that part, there is no distant ending to a note as it switches to another. This made it hard for the viewer to follow along. Therefore, I made them pop up at the first note and fade away at the last, hoping to increase time for reading. I added the credit at the end to conclude my video.

Final Video

Reflection

Overall, this was a challenging, but rewarding project and a good way to wrap up the semester. Since this was my first real animation project, I had learned a lot about the technical side of animating, using After Effects. Reflecting back on the project, I also learned that it is very important to keep the big picture–the storyboard–in mind when animating. Sometimes, you can get caught up in the little details of trying to create a certain effect that you have in mind early on in the process. However, losing sight of the bigger big will affect how each part of the animation plays out, and you might find yourself trying to squeeze everything in the time frame at the last minute, dampening the effectiveness of your narrative. I also enjoyed imagining how my typeface would move and trying to encapsulate that.

Ultimately, this project also clearly ties back to the first topic Vicki introduced us to during the first day of the mini: Empathy. Unlike the other project where the viewers can take as long as they want to look at the work, they had no agency over time in this one. Thus, I, as the designer, had to really empathize with the viewers to understand how to effectively and beautifully communicate what I want to. This is something that really stood out to me in this project and–hopefully–something that I will remember throughout my design career and my entire life.