In the Summer of 2010 I led fourth semester motion design students at the Berliner Technische Kunsthochschule in an Analog Motion Graphics assignment to visualize a series of haiku poems.
The 21 poems were written and recited by Branden Dashiell – a wonderful poet and old friend from college – who put a contemporary twist on traditional themes of seasons and days of the week. The students were challenged to find different techniques to interpret the poems. Approaches included the capillary action of coffee spreading through a paper towel, elaborate paper cut-outs, plexiglas manipulation of raw meat, as well as capturing the reflections from various different shiny surfaces. The final results are a colorful mixture of very abstract and more illustrative work.
Come join us at the DMY Maker Lab!
9-13 June 2010
DMY Festival
Tempelhof Airport, Berlin
The DMY Maker Lab will be a celebration of Open Design through practice, presentations, and collaborative action, created by instigators and participants alike.
Another spot in the series of Google Chrome ads. We see the browser in a competition with analog chains of cause and effect. In experimental and elaborate constructions the slow motion camera shows Google Chrome being even faster than lightning!
A thought-provoking speech about the effects of the pace of life in different parts of the world, visualized with hi-speed whiteboard info graphics. A frenetic and humorous approach which demonstrates the power of a good graphic recording can also make for great analog motion. Thanks to Mark Frazier for the link. Incidentally, our friend Anna Lena Schiller is a great graphic recorder in Berlin!
With this great example of analog motion the Langara College showed their “tips for better ideas” in an inventive and creative way. Instead of literally illustrating them, they found a mixture of different techniques for the visualization. In addition to papercrafted collages there is also a use of light and shadow, accordion folding, black light, and many other devices which work well in the context of the sketchbook format. An elaborate, funny, and often surprising piece.
During the Winter semester 2009/2010 I led a class of 23 fourth semester motion design students at the Berliner Technische Kunsthochschule in an Analog Motion Graphics assignment to collaboratively re-create a vintage drive-in movie theater intermission film. The original intermission film was obtained from the Internet Archive. I transcribed the audio track into an eleven page screenplay which, together with the audio, was used as the basis of the assignment. Students were not shown the original film until the end of the semester at the final presentation.
Using the audio and text as a guide, each group of students pitched concepts for their favorite of the 25 different clips in the film and created approximately 60 seconds of material using Analog Motion techniques. Students often spoofed the informational/commercial messages in the film, offering a critical and at times farcical update to the dated language and cultural assumptions from the 1960s-era film.
This gory and slightly naughty piece uses a very nice combination of flip-book style page turning and stop motion to keep us fascinated with the motion. Yet like many animated shorts the sound design creates an added emotional depth which makes the piece. Thanks to Annika Bauer for the link.
A simple use of the light-bending properties of a glass of beer from Magico Nakamura is only a slightly foamy taste of the genius she’s been involved with in the recent past:
This brilliant fan-made hypercubist work is a phenomenal example of the way in which choreography and graphic concepts can collide using analog methods.
Two versions of a video for the song This Lamb Sells Condos and then a making-of video/music video set to the Arctic Circle showcase a nice combination of live action with overhead transparency and shadow puppets. Admirably choreographed single takes encompass all the various elements aided by focal adjustments. Thanks for the tip from Zeesy Powers, the female performer in the videos.
The new Google Chrome ads are a real treat in how they use analog techniques to depict a wholly digital technology. Graceful camera movements and a live harp player give the spots an added freshness. The future is looking bright for analog motion when even Google is spending campaign dollars knitting and spilling ink into water
