So research into motion graphics. Well I want to look at inspirational motion graphics that I have watched and grown up with that I think will help me generate ideas for my own motion graphics. But I can't really do that without understanding the man who redesigned motion graphics ‘Saul bass’. Saul bass had a long career that spanned over 40 years creating hit title sequences! Yes title sequences, I thought he created the movies that he worked on, no he created just the title screens, which is impressive to be known for something this influential a title screens as most day I don't really think about them, unless if its an animated show then usually there is a cool animated intro but I still usually just skip past them. But for Saul bass that wasn't the base, he made intro screens that weren't just a showcase of characters or just random parts of the movie/just the title itself. He created an emotional response in the first few minutes of sitting down to watch a movie.

 

His intentions were to understand what the movie would be before you even watched it, when I read this on IMDb I didn't really understand what's the point of knowing the entire movie before you've even watched it, but looking at some of his intro title screen on Youtube I understand what he meant. Yes it explains the whole movie but in a simple way so you sort of only understand the plot, like the blurb on the back of a book. It tells you what the book is before you read it but you don't know what's going to happen to lead up towards those events. Saul Bass's work is just visual blurbs in my head. He also used things like strict colour palettes and simple shapes that i think made his work even more memorable because for the 1920’s it was new, it was something that no one had done before, though even now his work holds ideas and created the base for everyone else, you don't really see many movies with the begin or even shows like that but I think his work helped to create a wider range of interesting and powerful intros, even styles for drawing and new ways to work, to make something simple but impactful. 

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What he is most known for is intros to many famous thrillers and suspense work such as “The Man With the Golden Arm (1955)’ ‘North by Northwest (1959)’ and ‘Psycho (1960)’ of course he did much more and created most of the posters form any films though his life and many other title screens. Looking at the internet archive of posters that you can buy lots of his posters/titles for films always include the primary colours and black and whites. Not too much detail with very intricate lines and high quality photos just simple cut out graphics sort of looking like cut out paper animation or sort of propaganda posters with the bright colours. I feel as though the reason he became famous for these works and the creation of things is because of the usage of colour or more the lack of colour. It makes it more interesting and eye catching to look at using blacks and white because they contrast each others it creates a sort of film noir look but in an animated way, they way he can tell simple stories with just a few images is impressive a really amazing illustrator/graphic designer evoking emotions in just the something like a few lines. Even though yes the colours are impressive as well as the way the small images and cut outs are used but  think what really helps the graphics to be even more memorable and impressive is the typography. I have never really thought into typography really but looking at Saul base's work it's something that is very noticeable and seems to play a big part in the feeling you would get from the movie you were about to watch. I guess it makes sense just that a normal font wouldn't grab people's attention. A fancier font or a scratchy font creates a certain feeling in people when mixed with other elements like reds and blacks and whites. It's like the Avengers title, the font is such a big part of the brand that you recognise it even if it was used as something else. Lego and TESCOS and big companies also hold the same feeling the lettering and the font is sort of become part of what they are and i the case of Saul bass’s work the font adds to a suspense or a horror feeling making the movie something that is noticeable by certain demographics of people because it is linked to that sort of media in people's heads.  

 

Pieces of media that I think have similar feelings to them, are a multitude of things I have consumed in my life but the ones I am focusing on are the Japanese animated space western show ‘Cowboy Bebop’ ,made in 1998. The horror sci/fi ‘Re-Animator’ made in 1985, 2008 Iron man End credits, The intro to Spider-man 2002 and something I discovered in my lesson for motion graphics Catch me if you can 2002 crime/comedy movie ( have never actually watched this movie I just really enjoy the intro). The reason I am focusing on these things specifically is because I think it shows a good range on what morions graphics can look like and they have influenced me the most in by watching them. The motion graphics for these examples all have a powerful impact on the viewer giving a little bit more exposition on the piece of media creating just that but more of an atmosphere and vibe specific to whatever the media is. Just like Saul Bass's work I think that the things I am looking at here are just as effective, in the same way he was. For 'Cowboy Bebop’ the intro has a film noir feeling to it and uses the same single colour with blacks and whites, it's fast though sophisticated giving it the right feeling of an action anime with a hidden feeling inside. I think the music really helps along with the intro for this one, sound design is super important from what I have explored and for this intro it has a western though futurist feel which I mean hye cowboys in specs they need that it feels sort of casino like and it makes sense that cowboys people who are outcasts doing things for money have that vibe it all just works. Something I really like about this intro is that I like the usage of what looks like newspaper or just lots of overlaid lettering for backgrounds its a really cool visual mixed in with the animated style that the intro has giving it a even more “old feeling’ but i also think it creates the idea of wanted posters fast moving letters shows how fast they are going through the galaxy. 

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For the horror sci fi movie intro reanimator using anatomically correct human x-rays and the inside of their bodies in different bright colours is really impactful with the name like reanimator you would assume it has something to do with well reanimate the dead and the intro reinforces that idea i think the usage of bright colours give it a sort of toxic feeling, they are much brighter than the background making them pop and once you've watched the movie the bright colours make even more sense as the re-animator injection is a toxic looking green. It gives away the movie without actually showing to the viewer that it gives it away. Something else to also note with it, well of course if is the sound design. I think most motion graphics are nothing without sound otherwise it's just a bunch of moving images and pictures with no feeling. Knowing this it is really important for me to know that when I make my own motion graphics I want to be able to find music or a mixture of foley and music that creates a sad feeling.though also hopeful as I want the same feeling that I felt watching the movie to be shown through my work. Something I relayed from watching this intro and other intros that  I am looking into is that motion graphic intros seem to always transition from the intro into the movie. Not fade to black or be a harsh cut, it always, always has a transition, in the case for this movie out transitions from the eye of one of the human diagrams. 

 

This transitional effect is also used in the next 2 movies I looked into but in different ways. For the movie ‘Spider-man’ it doesn't use bright colours or anything, it uses spiderman's branding colours red, blue and white. It also uses the spiderman font just like i mentioned with Saul basses work the font of spiderman is recognisable that people relate that sort of look to spiderman. The motion graphic that it utilises is DNA strands alongside spiderwebs. Which you  know makes a lot of sense to use for spiderman as well he is a spider and a man, it also showcases his suit and the main villain giving you the exposition of the story and the plot but without showing what is happening throughout the movie. A visual blurb with important actors and directors names so then if you want to know more you can. Once again there is a final transition where one of the spiderwebs is just a normal spiderweb in the world making there to be a link with the real world and getting you straight into the story without taking you out of the moment. For the Iron man credits it is different. The motion graphics come from a part of the movie like in the middle changing screen to a sort of comic book layering to then professional blue prints. This motion graphic is actually one of my favourites ever because well I like iron man and I like how it includes the comic style to show that hey! Iron man is a comic originally go read it and also the bluerpins to show the technical side of iron man, that Tony stark is a creator an inventor and it just like everything else gives away what the first movie is without showing everything, just the blueprints which is pretty much the most important art of the movie as its his origin !!

 

Finally the 2002 movie Catch me if you can is directly inspired by Saul basses work which is why I thought it was important to include and study. This motion graphic even though widely different from the examples I have looked at (besides Cowboy bebop I supposed they have similarities with using the cartoon looking style) it is something that caught my eye in the same way the others did. Something that I especially like about this motion graphic is the usage of texture. For my own work I was thinking of also using textures of things like mud or jean fabric. The textures used for this intro looks like Printing with ink? And I really like the constant slight movement it has makes the graphic have a little bit more personality than it already has and I think it's a call back to how things used to be with motion graphics and graphics in general having to use things like stencils. I really like the silhouetting within this intro. I haven't watched the movie like I said but from what I can see the intro really lives up to its name, a man hiding within many other people in the intro different colours to show different feelings you should feel at certain points, blue at the beginning showing professionalism the yellow taxi being able to transport into something else yellow showing the richness and impotence of those parts. I like how the backgrounds at coloured and everyone doesnt have very defining features just simple shapes though for the man we are following within the intro he is still simple simple shapes though he has a little bit more detail like a pair of glasses and a tie. These details make him easier to spot throughout the intro and then the parts that aren't black are able to make him hide in the background though if something like papers or a light shines on him it reveals a hiding spot which coming from someone who hast watched the movie it makes the movie seem very clear without actually knowing what is happening a guy is hiding trying to getaway or to something while being undetected, this is also shown with the movements that the character is doing looking side to side slightly moving out of tune with the music. Yes the music audio once again seems to be the one thing that really carries motion graphics and creates the correct feeling for it. Without certain music it could make it feel eerie or the wrong music could make you feel happy or sad but the right music gives it a mysterious feel a detective feels chasing the character. 

 

Overall what I have learned from this research is that probably using silhouettes and specific colour palette as well as music, foley and all of the sound design seems to be incredibly important as well the typography. Something that I am quiet afraid to explore though I really want to try it out specifically put it with blood or something to do with death that happens within the book/movie. I really would like to use bunnies and Rabbits as the silhouettes to really push Lennies hopes and dreams, push the story that George always told to give them something to work toward to together something that they never get, though is the main focus.