Assessment 3 - Analysis of Three Motion Graphic Examples
âThis Incredible Animation Shows How Deep The Ocean Really Isâ:
The animation most likely uses Adobe After Effects as infographics and data visualizations mostly uses this software. Adobe Illustrator is most likely used to create the illustrations (with several elements using gradient for shading, though not all (for example, the bathtub and volcano illustration). Flat-colored illustrations are typically vector art. The background most likely uses other drawing software such as Photoshop as the clouds seem to be more blended as well as the oceanâs surface.
Mood and Aesthetic Analysis:
The art style uses 2D flat-color illustrations, featuring mostly block-colors. The art style may be inspired by Corporate Memphis; a subgenre inspired by the 1980s Memphis Group. This subgenre mainly has a clean look with vibrant colors.
Motion Graphic Principles:
REPETITION: there is a bar to indicate the ocean's depth, while different colors are used to represent the measurement of each ocean's zone.
CONTRAST: This can be seen with the blue whale's size in comparison to the size of a human being.
CONTRAST, ALIGNMENT, and PROXIMITY: There is contrast in regard to the colors of the shrimps and the volcanoâs lava, and in contrast to the black background. Alignment can be seen in how the thermometer is placed adjacent to the main illustration, while proximity is seen in the distance between the thermometer and the shrimps on the volcano.
SLOW IN SLOW OUT: At 0:24 when the blue whale dives deeper into the ocean, there is a slow out at the end of the animation. The same goes with the Mount Everest animation (at 2:20) as this scene has more visible slow in and slow out.
Use of Infographics for Data Visualization:
This video mostly relies on lines to indicate ocean depth, where a bar filled with different colors represent how deep each part is. Most data visualization in this video only uses text and lines to indicate measurements (for example, at 0:19 (bathtub) to indicate the bathtub's measurements, and at 2:54 to show the ocean's depth). A thermometer may also count as data visualization, but this can also fall under semiotics.
âWhat Actual Aliens Might Look Likeâ:
Kurzgesagt uses After Effects to animate, with their workflow having been explained in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFk0mgljtns.
Kurzgesagt mainly separate assets into parts and rig the illustrations for easier animating, while utilizing Adobe Illustrator for illustrations. This can be seen from the flat colors and gradient shadings on the illustrations.
Mood and Aesthetics Analysis:
Kurzgesagtâs art style mainly follows a consistent usage of vibrant colors, rounded shapes, and Western cartoon art style. They have a very specific art style which has become popular on the internet due to the color palette used in their animations, which can be seen in this video. The video also features very detailed illustrations using more flat colors for shading.
Motion Graphic Principles:
APPEAL: There is a very well-defined appeal to the illustration style which is unique to Kurzgesagt.
FOLLOW THROUGH: There is follow through seen in the bee's wing movement at 9:28, and at 2:27 where the fish's movement follows through its whole body, as well as at 3:14 with the aliens swimming.
REPETITION: Many illustrations, such as the ones at 2:15 with the seaweedus strangulans and at 1:46 featuring the occulus plant has repetition in the small circles moving around the illustration. There is also repetitive theme with the layout, seen at 1:46 with the column on the left and the illustration on the right.
GESTALT - CONTINUATION: There is visible continuation in the flow of animated lines throughout the video, such as lines orbiting planets, and lines that transitions to other animations.
Use of Infographics for Data Visualization:
Data visualization in this video mainly uses name or labels to emphasize what the illustrations are (at 0:39). Arrows are also used at 1:14 to indicate circulation of hot air meeting winds from icy outskirts, and it is also used at 9:23 to describe magnetic fields.
There is also emphasis on data using close-ups, with lines to indicate what is being emphasized by the narrator. This can be seen at 9:17 with the Ammonia illustration.
"What Humans Will Look Like In 1,000 Years | Insider Tech":
The animation is most likely done with After Effects as the style of the animation is similar to the first video. The assets are most likely made in Adobe Illustrator as the flat shading is a major indicator of vector illustration.
Mood and Aesthetics Analysis:
The art style mostly uses 2D block-shading, and seems to be inspired by Corporate Memphis subgenre as well. The color scheme is very straight-forward in a sense that there is not much stylization to the illustrations in terms of art style and color scheme.
Motion Graphic Principles:
TIMING: The timing of animation is according to script, as most are visualized using semiotics.
STAGING: Many of the scene compositions features staging, such as the close up to the humanâs faces to the microscopic zoom-ins on the blood vessels, then to the DNA. This then zooms back out to the humans and zooms out to a rocket.
REPETITION: The zoom-ins and zoom-outs are repetition used in the animation to further explain what the narrator saying.
CONTRAST: There is size contrast (at 0:31) with the womanâs head in comparison to the assets on the screen. There is also contrasting colors with the dog x-ray (at 0:50) as the skeletons are green in comparison to the black silhouette of the dog.
GESTALT - SIMILARITY: There is similarity at 1:35 visualizing the space suits of the woman and the man, indicating they are one type of group (in this case, the same species).
Use of Infographics for Data Visualization:
They mostly use assets for the video's explanation, meaning that there is not many infographics used for data visualization. Most data visualization is represented with illustrations instead of statistics or other infographic design (this is mainly seen in the dog x-ray and at 0:32). There is also repeated lines to indicate height comparison and text to indicate human heights (at 0:10).
