Kinetic Typography

In order to flesh out my project, I felt that I had to add not just pieces of illustrative animation but also pieces of text. It was already in my thought process to use text to highlight spontaneous observations, judgements, comments on passers by etc but I felt I had to expand on this. As I journeyed through town, I would often listen to music, or if I wasn't, hearing songs from car radios as they passed by, or out of shops would trigger me to start to sing or hum along to the song. This caused me to think about how music can trigger certain memories of particular places, events, periods of time etc and I felt that this notion could add another interesting aspect to the animation. Certain songs or even just lines from a song can remind me so much of certain events, but often particularly of my family, as we are a family that often listen to music together during social activities; in the car, during dinner, whilst putting the Christmas tree up, decorating etc.

I began to think of ways of which of presenting these thoughts and the most obvious form is obviously via the use of text appearing and flowing around the screen. This could either be done in rather basic form like in Hodgson's work or if it is a longer piece of text could be portrayed via the use of the technique, kinetic typography.  

Kinetic typography, to use the online definition is "is an animation technique that requires the mixing of motion and text to express ideas using video animation. This text is presented over time in a manner intended to convey or evoke a particular idea or emotion".

Kinetic typography instantly hit me as something exciting, fresh and inspirational. I enjoy the sense of freedom that is giving to the words as they move about the screen in an array of transitions and how the text can add so much more meaning or emphasis to quote/ phrase taken from the audio. Many examples of kinetic typography are used for film scenes or songs, so I was sure to pick up some interesting ways to present lyrics within my animation.

Below are a few examples of my favourite pieces of kinetic typography found on Youtube.

This is one of my all time favourite scenes in Lock Stock and I feel the use of motion graphics really emphasis the dramatic and cutting edge tension within the scene. The use of splat graphics to portray the idea of blood being spilt is so simple, yet so effective and also the transformation and rotation of the explanation marks, to create the allusion of them daggering into the screen is incredible and a technique I would indefinitely incorporate into my work, if I chose to follow this lead of animation.

I also feel the choice of colour scheme is spot on and really adds to the cutting edginess of the scene. The harsh contrast between the rough black font and the bright yellow background ensures the viewers eyes are transfixed on the motion of the text, it then reverses half way through to black background and yellow text as the subject of the audio becomes deeper and darker. I feel this is an effective and simple way to use colour to emphasise the change in tone within the subject of the audio.

This kinetic typography is of a Owl city song and I feel the movement and fluid flow that the technique gives to the lyrics adds an alternative and aesthetically pleasing visual. Although at times I feel a few of the movements are slightly over-elaborated I have taken inspiration from this piece and others I found online and realised that for my animation I would only have to use simple movements and transitions as the inclusion would only be for a few short sentences of lyrics, used just to add a break and contrast from the real life footage and the animation world and maintain the chaotic and fast paced flow of the project.

The next step was to practice creating some of my own pieces of kinetic typography and they will follow in the next few weeks...