Brief 5.1 | Adobe After Effects

Primary and secondary research brought me to the conclusion that the industry standard technology/software in Adobe's After Effects CS3/CS4. Since I have no previous knowledge of this software, I had to teach the key elements myself, without being to able to go into too deep with the program itself. An advantage definitely will be having knowledge of the general Adobe package, where similarities in interface are to be found.

Adobe After Effects CS3 / CS4:
Adobe After Effects is a digital motion graphics and compositing software published by Adobe Systems. Its main purpose is for film and video post-production.

Brief 5.1 | Visual Research

Further rich visual footage:


'Typolution'

Very appealing, the way the letters and wording are playing with each other and intergrated with the piece. Footage shows the use of other characters such as commas, hyphens, and exclamation points, and creating a whole world out of it.


'The Child'

This takes you through the experience of a freaked out soon-to-be dad, a pregnant wife and a crazy car chase through the city on the way to the hostpital, with EVERYTHING made out of words.

Kanye West/ft T-Pain - The Good Life

Kanye West's video featuring T-Pain entitled 'The Good Life' has interesting typographically elements in it and displays a vivid mix of bouncy animation for use with live action.



Flash on the Beach

Titles made out of plastic were produced then to shoot them on the beach. Type interacts with the environment, like wind knocking letters down and people stepping over words.



TED 2008

3D typography that is the opener for the 25th anniversary of one of the most inspiring conferences in the world: TED.



Justice - Dance

Highly creative music video with the story told through changing motifs on the t-shirt.


Ya no sé qué hacer conmigo

This music video integrates characters which seem to be 'cartoonified' and mixes them with typographic elements along with other objects that help tell the whole story.


Gill Sans

Another brilliant typography based french motion video to embrace the importance of Gill Sans.

Brief 5.1 | Saul Bass

Useful interview with SAUL BASS:



Very useful interview to have an understanding of Saul Bass's working ethic and structure.

Brief 5.1 | Offline Research

Useful books (incl. After Efx workshops)


Motion by Design by Spencer Drate, David Robbins, Judith Salavetz, and Kyle Cooper (Hardcover - Feb 2007)


Creative Movie Title Graphics (Science Behind the Fiction) by Marvin Belle (Hardcover - 1 Oct 2006)


Motion Design: Design for Motion, Sequence and Visual Impact by Matt Woolman (Hardcover - 29 Oct 2004)



Type in Motion: No. 2 by Matt Woolman (Hardcover - Sep 2005)


Motion Graphics (How Did They Do That?) by David Greene (Hardcover - 31 Jan 2003)


Motion Graphic Design: Applied History and Aesthetics by Krasner (Paperback - 22 Feb 2008)


The Art of the Title Sequence: Film Graphics in Motion by Gemma Solana and Antonio Boneu (Hardcover - Jun 2007)

Brief 5.1 | Title Sequence Research

Inspirational Title Sequences from past to present as a starting point for my version of Snow White's Title Sequence...

When it comes to title sequences, there is no way around Saul Bass. He is the greatest creator of title sequences in history. He has an unique style of telling 'the' story in a compressed time and with visual rich information:

Saul Bass

The Human Factor


Exodus


Psycho


Anatomy of murder




Maurice Binder

Moonraker


Licence to Kill



Other influences:

Pedro

Almost like an illuminated manuscript come to life.


Lemon Snicket's a serious of unfortunate events

One of the most memorable and credible title sequences/openings in the recent years created by Jamie Caliri. What is appealing is the very dark and sinister atmosphere (aiming for my own snow white title sequence) combined with the playful music and rich visual elements.


Subprime

Very clear evolution is shown throughout some clever scene changes and adding up layers.


Mr Magoriums Wonder

Playing homage to vintage/retro toys and typical film title sequence design from the 50's.


RocknRolla

Danny Yount designed this 'banging' sequence design. Based on still images and masks.


Kite Runner

Simply designed title sequence with rich typography and calligraphy elements.


Catch me if you can

Designed by Ken Ferris and parallels to Saul Bass very clear. Edgy style with basic strokes and lines.


Thank you for smoking

Simple story told by the use of different cigarette packages with bold movement.

Brief 5.1 | Title Sequence

'A title sequence is more than just a list of credits. It can be a mini-movie which sets up the film that it's a part of. It can establish mood, period and style. A title sequence can take care of backstory. It can soothe the audience or get them agitated. Title sequences are an art form of their own.'
– Big Film Design

A title sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title and/or key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound. It usually follows but should not be confused with the opening credits, which are generally nothing more than a series of superimposed text.

As cinema's title sequences grew longer we begin to see the involvement of graphic design luminaries such as Saul Bass, which directly influenced the 1960s television predilection for creating strong graphics-led sequences for many shows.

Film-makers at the beginning of the 21st century have many options open regarding title sequences. Some films superimpose opening credits over the opening scenes, while others elect to do away with titles entirely, instead including elaborate title sequences at the end of the movie.

Since the late 1950s, film title sequences have often been a showcase for contemporary design and illustration. The title sequences of Saul Bass and Maurice Binder are among the best examples of this though they inspired many imitators both in cinema and on television. In recent years Kyle Cooper's celebrated title sequence for David Fincher's Se7en (1995) again influenced a whole host of designers, though it is by no means unusual to see a film whose title sequence merely superimposes text over a black background, reflecting that the form's function remains the same today as it did with the advent of silent cinema.

source: wikipedia

Brief 5 | One Story, two Tales

S t o r y:
Snow White

Brief 5.1 - Tale 01:
Media Channel:
Title Sequence --> Independent movie version of Snow White (dark, sinister)

Theoretical Underpinning:
Semiotics, Walter Benjamin, Roland Barthes, Gestalt Principles, Alchemy

Artists:
Saul Bass (!!!), Kyle Cooper, Jamie Caliri, Maurince Binder


Brief 5.2 - Tale 02:
Media Channel:
Photoshoot --> Stepmothers view reflected in a photo essay / fashion photo shoot

Theoretical Underpinning:
Cubism, Marxism, Minimalism, Gestalt Principles

Artists:
David La Chapelle, Ansel Adams, Herman Leonard, Helmut Newton, Magnum Photos, Terry Richardson, Anne Leibovitz

Brief 5 | Snow, Glass, Apples

Snow, Glass, Apples
by 1994 Neil Gaiman
I do not know what manner of thing she is. None of us do. She killed her mother in the birthing, but that's never enough to account for it.

They call me wise, but I am far from wise, for all that I foresaw fragments of it, frozen moments caught in pools of water or in the cold glass of my mirror. If I were wise I would not have tried to change what I saw. If I were wise I would have killed myself before ever I encountered her, before ever I caught him.

Wise, and a witch, or so they said, and I'd seen his face in my dreams and in reflections for all my life: sixteen years of dreaming of him before he reined his horse by the bridge that morning, and asked my name. He helped me onto his high horse and we rode together to my little cottage, my face buried in the gold of his hair. He asked for the best of what I had; a king's right, it was.

His beard was red-bronze in the morning light, and I knew him, not as a king, for I knew nothing of kings then, but as my love. He took all he wanted from me, the right of kings, but he returned to me on the following day, and on the night after that: his beard so red, his hair so gold, his eyes the blue of a summer sky, his skin tanned the gentle brown of ripe wheat.

His daughter was only a child: no more than five years of age when I came to the palace. A portrait of her dead mother hung in the princess's tower room; a tall woman, hair the colour of dark wood, eyes nut-brown. She was of a different blood to her pale daughter.

The girl would not eat with us.

I do not know where in the palace she ate.

I had my own chambers. My husband the king, he had his own rooms also. When he wanted me he would send for me, and I would go to him, and pleasure him, and take my pleasure with him.

One night, several months after I was brought to the palace, she came to my rooms. She was six. I was embroidering by lamplight, squinting my eyes against the lamp's smoke and fitful illumination. When I looked up, she was there.

"Princess?"

She said nothing. Her eyes were black as coal, black as her hair; her lips were redder than blood. She looked up at me and smiled. Her teeth seemed sharp, even then, in the lamplight.

"What are you doing away from your room?"

"I'm hungry," she said, like any child.

It was winter, when fresh food is a dream of warmth and sunlight; but I had strings of whole apples, cored and dried, hanging from the beams of my chamber, and I pulled an apple down for her.

"Here."
...

Brief 5 | Snow White

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (SHORT)
Once upon a time . . . in a great castle, a Prince's daughter grew up happy and contented, in spite of a jealous stepmother. She was very pretty, with blue eyes and long black hair. Her skin was delicate and fair, and so she was called Snow White. Everyone was quite sure she would become very beautiful. Though her stepmother was a wicked woman, she too was very beautiful, and the magic mirror told her this every day, whenever she asked it.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the loveliest lady in the land?" The reply was always; "You are, your Majesty," until the dreadful day when she heard it say, "Snow White is the loveliest in the land." The stepmother was furious and, wild with jealousy, began plotting to get rid of her rival. Calling one of her trusty servants, she bribed him with a rich reward to take Snow White intc the forest, far away from the Castle. Then, unseen, he was to put her to death. The greedy servant, attracted to the reward, agreed to do this deed, and he led the innocent little girl away. However, when they came to the fatal spot, the man's courage failed him and, leaving Snow White sitting beside a tree, he mumbled an excuse and ran off. Snow White was all alone in the forest.

Night came, but the servant did not return. Snow White, alone in the dark forest, began to cry bitterly. She thought she could feel terrible eyes spying on her, and she heard strange sounds and rustlings that made her heart thump. At last, overcome by tiredness, she fell asleep curled under a tree.

Snow White slept fitfully, wakening from time to time with a start and staring into the darkness round her. Several times, she thought she felt something, or somebody touch her as she slept.

At last, dawn woke the forest to the song of the birds, and Snow White too, awoke. A whole world was stirring to life and the little girl was glad to see how silly her fears had been. However, the thick trees were like a wall round her, and as she tried to find out where she was, she came upon a path. She walked along it, hopefully. On she walked till she came to a clearing. There stood a strange cottage, with a tiny door, tiny windows and a tiny chimney pot. Everything about the cottage was much tinier than it ought to be. Snow White pushed the door open.

"l wonder who lives here?" she said to herself, peeping round the kitchen. "What tiny plates! And spoons! There must be seven of them, the table's laid for seven people." Upstairs was a bedroom with seven neat little beds. Going back to the kitchen, Snow White had an idea.

"I'll make them something to eat. When they come home, they'll be glad to find a meal ready." Towards dusk, seven tiny men marched homewards singing. But when they opened the door, to their surprise they found a bowl of hot steaming soup on the table, and the whole house spick and span. Upstairs was Snow White, fast asleep on one of the beds. The chief dwarf prodded her gently.

"Who are you?" he asked. Snow White told them her sad story, and tears sprang to the dwarfs' eyes. Then one of them said, as he noisily blew his nose:

"Stay here with us!"

"Hooray! Hooray!" they cheered, dancing joyfully round the little girl. The dwarfs said to Snow White:

"You can live here and tend to the house while we're down the mine. Don't worry about your stepmother leaving you in the forest. We love you and we'll take care of you!" Snow White gratefully accepted their hospitality, and next morning the dwarfs set off for work. But they warned Snow White not to open the door to strangers.

Meanwhile, the servant had returned to the castle, with the heart of a roe deer. He gave it to the cruel stepmother, telling her it belonged to Snow White, so that he could claim the reward. Highly pleased, the stepmother turned again to the magic mirror. But her hopes were dashed, for the mirror replied: "The loveliest in the land is still Snow White, who lives in the seven dwarfs' cottage, down in the forest." The stepmother was beside herself with rage.

"She must die! She must die!" she screamed. Disguising herself as an old peasant woman, she put a poisoned apple with the others in her basket. Then, taking the quickest way into the forest, she crossed the swamp at the edge of the trees. She reached the bank unseen, just as Snow White stood waving goodbye to the seven dwarfs on their way to the mine.

Snow White was in the kitchen when she heard the sound at the door: KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Who's there?" she called suspiciously, remembering the dwarfs advice.

"I'm an old peasant woman selling apples," came the reply.

"I don't need any apples, thank you," she replied.

"But they are beautiful apples and ever so juicy!" said the velvety voice from outside the door.

"I'm not supposed to open the door to anyone," said the little girl, who was reluctant to disobey her friends.

"And quite right too! Good girl! If you promised not to open up to strangers, then of course you can't buy. You are a good girl indeed!" Then the old woman went on.

"And as a reward for being good, I'm going to make you a gift of one of my apples!" Without a further thought, Snow White opened the door just a tiny crack, to take the apple.

"There! Now isn't that a nice apple?" Snow White bit into the fruit, and as she did, fell to the ground in a faint: the effect of the terrible poison left her lifeless instantaneously.

Now chuckling evilly, the wicked stepmother hurried off. But as she ran back across the swamp, she tripped and fell into the quicksand. No one heard her cries for help, and she disappeared without a trace.

Meanwhile, the dwarfs came out of the mine to find the sky had grown dark and stormy. Loud thunder echoed through the valleys and streaks of lightning ripped the sky. Worried about Snow White they ran as quickly as they could down the mountain to the cottage.

There they found Snow White, lying still and lifeless, the poisoned apple by her side. They did their best to bring her around, but it was no use.

They wept and wept for a long time. Then they laid her on a bed of rose petals, carried her into the forest and put her in a crystal coffin.

Each day they laid a flower there.

Then one evening, they discovered a strange young man admiring Snow White's lovely face through the glass. After listening to the story, the Prince (for he was a prince!) made a suggestion.

"If you allow me to take her to the Castle, I'll call in famous doctors to waken her from this peculiar sleep. She's so lovely . . . I'd love to kiss her. . . !" He did, and as though by magic, the Prince's kiss broke the spell. To everyone's astonishment, Snow White opened her eyes. She had amazingly come back to life! Now in love, the Prince asked Snow White to marry him, and the dwarfs reluctantly had to say good bye to Snow White.

From that day on, Snow White lived happily in a great castle. But from time to time, she was drawn back to visit the little cottage down in the forest.

Brief 5 | Brainstorm

Ideas:

- Young Robin Hood
- Fresh Prince of Bel Air
- Julius Ceasar
- Snow White*
- History of troubled Sri Lanka
- The Brave 300
- Mignon
- Legend of old Egypt
- Monty Python
- Bogeyman


*Evaluating these initial ideas, personally I see the most possibilities with the theme of snow white, having a fashion photo shoot / or photo essay in mind after finishing the brief 4.

Brief 5 | Storytelling

Storytelling
is the conveying of events in words, images, and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture and in every land as a means of entertainment, education, preservation of culture and in order to instill moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot and characters, as well as the narrative point of view.

The evolution of technology has changed the tools available to storytellers. With the advent of writing, the use of actual digit symbols to represent language, and the use of stable, portable media stories were recorded, transcribed and shared over wide regions of the world. Stories have been carved, scratched, painted, printed, or inked onto wood or bamboo, ivory and other bones, pottery, clay tablets, stone, palm-leaf books, skins (parchment), bark cloth, paper, silk, canvas and other textiles, recorded on film and stored electronically in digital form. Complex forms of tattooing may also represent stories, with information about genealogy, affiliation and social status.

Storytelling as art form
Elements of the oral storytelling art form include visualization (the seeing of images in the mind's eye), and vocal and bodily gestures. In many ways, the art of storytelling draws upon other art forms such as acting, oral interpretation, and performance studies.

source: wikipedia