Understating Motion Graphics!

Motion Graphics Principles, History, 

and Implementations 

Within the broad term of Animation, lies more dedicated sub genres that still follow the defining principles and theories of animation you’d find in animated film/television, though use different methods to display information/convey tonal and emotional queues. The one I’m exploring in this document, and this module, is the field of Motion Graphics.

‘Motion Graphics’ focus on the movement and animation of graphics and assets in a 2D or 3D space, applying design principles and factors of dimensions, space and time, and using these principles to advertise and convey information. However, motion graphics can be also, albeit rarely, to elicit emotional responses from audiences using narrative storytelling. The definitions of these principles are as follows:

Dimensions - Where assets and shapes fit in the space. Even 2D motion graphics can pay mind to 3D space to create more interesting forms of movement.

Space - Space is talked about in design language. It’s the concept of using space for the greatest visual effect, such as where to place assets so that your image can be read appropriately, with correct focal points.

Timing - Lots of the principles of timing can be referenced back to one of the 12 principles of animation, also known as timing. This is essentially knowing how slow or how fast certain assets should move, as well as knowing shot timings and the overall flow of your work to keep an audience invested.

The line between Motion Graphics and Animation is a fairly thin one, but essentially Animation can be attributed to more traditional techniques and outcomes such as animating characters and artwork, whereas Motion Graphics prioritise graphic design elements such as shape and text to convey messages in more restrained ways, as you’d see in digital billboards or mobile advertisements.

Motion Graphics have a humble beginning much in the same way as animation did, with early 20th century artists producing experimental, animated pieces focusing on geometry to convey concepts and emotions, such as Hans Richter’s surrealist films from the early 1920’s.

Technological innovations rapidly developed through the mid 20th century with the introduction of techniques like ‘pinscreen animation’, developed by Alexander Alexeieff and Claire Parker, which built on the work of Hans Ricther but produced far more rich images and higher quality textures. 

Innovations like this continued into the 1970’s as Frank and Caroline Mouris developed the technique of collage animation, and as motion graphics truly began to break out into modern popular culture, an opening sequence for Disney’s ‘The Black Hole’ and visual effects for ‘Tron’ were created by Robert Abel.

Throughout all of these examples, we can see a huge variety of approaches and developments, but we see the same consistent themes of geometry, space, dimensions (and timing though it can’t be shown in an image), which runs through the core of Motion Graphics.

Though many of the early developments in motion graphics could be described as tests or ideas, their practical applications came into their own once they had a commercial, and eventually, and informative use. Animation may have been sweeping the world post 1950’s, but motion graphics used in advertisements all around the world were captivating audiences and ensuring that brand logos and musical themes were lodged into their brains. Regardless of demographics or area of business, motion graphics can be used to make your messages far more entertaining and engaging to your audience.

Apples iPod advert is one of the most memorable in recent memory, using contrasting colours of black and bright greens, oranges, and purples to create a distinct visual style that was appealing to look at, simple to understand, and showed the product clearly in white. Perfect example.

Outside of advertising, Motion Graphics are used in a similar way to promote public safety or general information, focusing on using design principles of clarity, colour theory, and design language to convey important information quickly, putting people out of harm's way or spreading important health information.

Animation created for the NHS to show the use of primary care and 111 to the general public. A clear narrator and use of large, slow moving motion graphics that apply to the design principles previously mentioned, allow this to work across all demographics.

Though, a lesser mentioned use of motion graphics is their use in narrative and art pieces, as the broader term of animation seems to drown them out. Some of the most influential and creative animations focus on the use of motion graphics to tell their stories, or to supplement live action footage with motion graphics (visual effects) to create more interesting environments and compositions. 

Some great examples of this can be found in the 2010 action comedy ‘Scott Pilgrim vs The World’, in which various scenes are accompanied by motion graphics mimicking video game text/graphics, either for humor, to accentuate the power of characters during fight scenes, or to show their thoughts. 

An animated ‘VS’ symbol appearing between both characters before they fight. Serves as a nostalgic reference to classic fighting games, as well as clearly showing that conflict is about to happen between the two. The bright colours, fast motion, and accompanying sfx elicit an excited response with the audience.

Used for both humour and visual clarity, this shot shows us a depiction of the inside of a character’s brain before realising something. It’s a very quick gag, but uses motion graphics as an inventive way of showing what would otherwise be a throwaway moment of dialogue.

This shot introduces us to the use of motion graphics in the film, with the main character’s life being shown to be a video game throughout. This could be done through the use of live action and sfx, but the motion graphics make this film, and make it extremely entertaining on repeat viewings.

As for more dedicated, digital motion graphics that don’t supplement live action, I want to revisit an animation I’ve previously looked at in my design development work, ‘’My Brother’’ by Audrey Yeo.

I initially chose to look at this due to its use of transition, but as a motion graphics focused animation, it’s extremely good at using space, pacing, and design principles to accurately, creatively, and emotionally tell the story of the separation of two siblings living in different parts of the world. 

This shot uses animated text, line boil, and transitions to give motion to an otherwise static scene. 

This shot pushes the concept a bit further, animating the word ‘papa’ but forming it out of children’s cereal floating in milk, giving the audience an emotional response either due to nostalgia and parental bonds.

Showing the duality of the two sibling’s lives, this shot conveys the work that the brother is involved in working in Singapore, working in construction. The dark colour palette and use of dark orange elicit a response from us of danger, or of darkness, stuck in a huge bustling city.

This shows the use that motion graphics can have in a way that is different from traditional animation, by supplementing existing footage, or by using them to create new compositions from the ground up, using design principles and principles of motion to convey narrative or emotion to us.

This is the key of Motion Graphics, to use graphics to convey what a commercial or informational brief wants in a way that will resonate with the general public or a chosen demographic; OR to be used creatively in narrative and abstract ways.