Type in Motion 5

The very unique thing about this video, especially when compared to kinetic typography, is that the artist didn't just use different fonts, styles, and color for different parts of the video; the artist created different brands for each section of the video.

The mix of color, graphics, lighting, and font selection creates a different look and feel about every three to eight seconds. This is a very noteworthy accomplishment to have done something based around text with such variation at such a fast rate. The type isn't just thrown around, either. It is carefully thought out, kerned, tracked, and leaded with a purpose, and it really shows in the end result.

The video does a great job of referencing things by the use of recognizable fonts. [1:04 Sega Genesis reference] [1:55 Fox reference] It's fun to look at how much a font can remind us of a brand is by its typeface. This shows how important and valuable a good typeface is to represent a brand and stick out in the minds of people that see it.

The retro feel of this video is great. The designer created classic old school effects. These effects look old and primitive, but they are actually very complex graphics and effects. The transitions between type/branding is great, the best of which is at 2:33. This transition from DVNO to the keys on a piano is awesome.

Type in Motion 4

I was actually surprised to find such a cool video that I haven't seen before! My personal taste conflicts with a lot of the video, but it is such a well done video that I will talk about it positively.

This video , as I talked about in another video, did a great job of staying true to, for what I can see, sticking with only text in this video. Everything that was made was created out of text. From the building to the streets to the street lights to the cars and people, everything is expressed by showing text. The very cool and interesting thing about this video is that they didn't just stick to forming figures out of text. They actually had legible words creating the objects, labeling what the objects were, such as "pregnant woman" with words describing what she is wearing.

To complement the typography, the creators used the music and sound bites to help describe the different things happening. I loved the car crash. Using color and variation of type size, they created something that really represents a cop car, without being in the shape of an actual car, at all. I think that the reason that I enjoy this so much is really because they chose not to create visual representations of the physical world with type. They did something different, and they were very successful.

The camera movement and lighting was great. It added so much to this video. The creators really did a great job creating a 3D world out of all text, lighting, and movement. They were really able to convey a story in a unique way.

WDIGTS Updates

Well, my Gantt chart really put things into perspective.. I was planning on taking a lot more time to do research, but -- as it turns out -- I don't have that much time to do research lol! My original Gantt chart was, I thought, pretty reasonable. But, I was mortified to see when I would end this process. I had to cut a lot of time periods in half. I'm currently working ahead to try to be on top of this schedule. It was a really helpful tool, to be able to visually see everything by when it's due, rather than a classic calendar look.

I'm having a hard time with logo design. I want at least 3 comps done by this Sunday, so I can get feedback from my graphic design teachers, fellow designers, and one or two professionals. WDIGTS wind up being the acronym of Why Did I Go to School. It's not very memorable, but the title is pretty memorable. [I'm not worried about the website being remembered so much. I think it's good.] The problem that I'm having is deciding what the logo should be, and if it should include the title of the website, or if I should try WDIGTS. I prefer typographic logos to symbols, because letters give another level of remembering something. [One doesn't just remember the look, they remember letters that correspond with the name of the company.] My title is too long to have as a logo, though. I'm trying different things out. We'll see what happens.

I realized that a sitemap cannot happen until my content lists for Video, Photo, and Graphic Design are complete. So, I'm working ahead on getting those done.

I realized that I need video content for this site to be successful. I'm planning on creating an animation for the main page explaining what the site is and how to use it. I don't want to be in the video, but I may need to do the voice. I really want to be able to stay consistent for the rest of the life of this site, so I think the only way to ensure that is for me to be able to produce it [unless I find someone that is close to me, who I won't lose contact with, who has a cool voice.] I hate my voice.

Until next time..

WDIGTS Research

My current research consists of a lot of books, websites, and videos. I'm comparing and contrasting how other people organize learning these subjects from the ground up, and seeing what I like and don't like (based on my own learning experience). I'd like to give a list of recommended books, as well as the website, video, and picture links that I will be providing. I still enjoy getting information through books, and I usually have no trustworthy source for recommending them. I've purchased a lot of video resources, throuhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifghout my learning experience. One ofhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif them was a video seminar by Vincent Laforet. This was very extensive, especially for video. Another video seminar was released, similar to his, by Philip Bloom.
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I'm almost done with Vincent Laforet, and then I willhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif move on to Philip Bloom. I have a few more videos to consult, and then I should have a final list for my video section.

In the realm of Photography, I have a lot of videos that I've been going through, including those by Joey L., Zack Arias, and Dean Collins.

For both video and photography, I have many more resources that I am looking through, but right now I am focusing on resources that are not free, to see how I can cover all of the bases that they cover through the free materials online.

I have over 35 books in the realm of video and photography that I'm consulting. I find that looking through table of contents sections of these books is helping with the organization of information. [Again, there's no reason to re invent the wheel.]

Graphic design is a little bit different. As far as http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giffree resources on the internet go, graphic design has had so many that I haven't ever needed to pay for any video training. Video and photography training were pretty exclusive, when compared to graphic design. But, since the rise of things like YouTube and cheap hosting, photography and video have been catching up. So, I have only Lynda and a few other paid graphic design resources to look at. I feel comfortable with this, though, because of the extensive options that we have in the realm of free resources for graphic design. I have plenty of graphic design books to supplement this section of the website.

I'm excited to get through more information! It's nice, being able to do research about things that I thoroughly enjoy!

Type in Motion 3

One thing that I really like to see in still typography design is creating a scene and or things, creatively, out of only type. It is something that takes time and a lot of detail work. I was surprised to find a well done animation using this visual technique. As much work as it takes to create a still frame of typography like this, adding motion adds a new level of complexity.

There are three elements of animation going on in this video: animation of the camera, animation of elements (groups and separate within and outside of the groups), and masking (creating a drawn on affect).

I love that each element used is a letterform of some sort. The beginning really caught my eye, where the commas are falling as rain. One of the most brilliant parts of this entire video is when the commas hit a surface, bounce up into an exclamation point, and a ripple is made out of parenthesis.

Even without lines defining a ground, this video demonstrates some really intuitive techniques for showing space and perspective, including linear and areal perspective minus elements that we're used to seeing as signs of perspectives (defining lines).

The sprouting growth of the "Y" trees was also something that I liked. Some of this video, however, I didn't like. Some of the camera movement wasn't very well done, and a lot of the letterforms looked very bitmap/non-vector. Also, it doesn't look like the project was rendered at a very high quality. This, however, was a fun project to observe, and the person responsible did a great job.

WDIGTS - Site Design

I'm thinking a lot about the design of the website [not the development]. I'm the type of person who loves a design for a month, and then wants a new one. It's really hard for me to settle on a design. I want something that will come across as a neutral design, but I know that even a "neutral" design will have to conform to styles and colors. I would love to define an age group, but I know that my audience is not age specific. I can estimate that most of the viewers will be male, based on career statistics and purchases of equipment, but I do not want to appeal to males, only. I want this to be open and welcoming to everyone.

The thought of having a few designs and customizing it when you enter the site crossed my mind, but I don't actually feel like coordinating that. Plus, I want brand recognition, and - because my product is a website - I want to have a standard.

I'm really attracted to so many different styles that I'm not sure what to go with. I definitely want a clean look. Part of the reasoning behind the website is organization of information on the internet, so I do want something that isn't distracting: I don't want grunge, particles, or small detail stuff.

I'm thinking of a very clean 3D look with some soft shadows and high key lighting, only using slight shadows to define and separate text or simple shapes.
















Copyright Videocopilot [Andrew Kramer]

I'm potentially looking for something like this, but with more diffused and feathered shadow, brighter light, and the light source would be closer to the camera, making the shadow closer to the text, itself [not so dramatic].

I probably won't go the 3d route, just to make things easier in the design process and workflow with consistency. But, it may be an option for the logo.

I'm currently tabbing pages in a book that I ordered with a lot of visual inspiration. I'll have some updates [hopefully something to show] soon. I'm going to have to start working on the logo, as a part of the design. I have a little cartoon school stuck in my head, but that really goes against the look and feel that I'm going for. WDIGTS is too long and hard to remember to use as a good logo, probably. We'll see. I've got to put a pencil to paper to get some ideas.

Waka Flocka - A Serious Lyricologist

For my video, I chose the contemporary literary genius Waka Flocka, the most lyrically gifted artist on the market. The video does highlight some women. Some Questions that we will look at are those presented by Sut Jhally: How are women shown?, What is their role? Whose desires are being fulfilled?, What is their attitude?, Are they a part of the story, members of the band, dancers, or the audience?

Some of the women highlighted in this video are shown in quick cuts back and forth between the girl and the artist. [This implies that, somehow, Waka FLocka is responsible for or has some connection to hardly clothed women who dance and want you (the audience).] The women are hardly clothed, and what IS covering their bodies is skin tight. Wind is blowing in their hair as they dance and have gangster looks on their faces. The gangster looks are interchanged with confident “I know I’m hot” looks, involving eye contact with the camera, and looking off camera, still with the sense that they know they are being viewed.

Another woman highlighted in this video is a woman in the car with the great Waka Flocka. She is seen doing her makeup in the car, and holding the phallic stick shift with Waka Flocka. This girl is shown looking at Waka Flocka in a very admiring and flirtatious way.

There is one shot showing only the hands, phones, and breasts of women. The women all have their phones out texting people, as if that is a gender role. [Ex: stereotype of women always texting on their phones..]

Something very interesting is the exclusion of women in shots of people having fun, dancing, and being a part of the group. There ARE group shots including women, but that is when the shots are of the whole neighborhood. When it is just a select group of 25 or less, the shot usually only contains males. This shows a distinct separateness of women and men. Regardless of the intercutting and the shots of women with men in shots of the whole neighborhood, there is a distinct separation of women and men in most of the shots in this video.

In conclusion, women are shown as a part of a young male fantasy in this video. They are shown dancing in similar settings as the main singer. The highlighted women of the video all seem to want sex from the great Waka Flocka or the audience (when the dancer makes eye contact with the camera, as if piercing an arrow of true love right through audience members’ souls). The role of the women is to be a sexual figure that is unrelated to the video, other than the deeper implied meanings and connotations. The only thing that seems close to a story, including a woman, is when Waka Flocka is in a car with a girl who is all over him.