Essay Example on Confuse film animation and graphic Design

Many individuals can easily confuse film animation and graphic design within one another This problem is only heightened when motion graphics is mentioned This chapter will explore the differences between film and animation and graphic design in contrast to motion graphics The history of digital animation is formed by the convergence of cinemas and computing Chong 2007 p31 John Whitney was one of the first to use computers to create an animation Through his foundation in traditional animation and adapting the computers mechanisms Whitney was able to create abstract animations which were recognised by art institutions and brought the form to the publics attention Chong 2007 p32 Since the 1950's title sequences have evolved as a form of experimental film making A films opening credits are designed to create a sense of the tone and style Film titles can be traced back to the silent film era where credit sequences were presented on title cards containing text They were included in the film to help maintain the flow of the story However once sound was implemented film titles became their own art form with narratives Krasner 2008 p 20 Opening sequences for directors such as Alfred Hitchcock Martin Scorsese and Stanley Kubrick amassed public attention and were considered miniature films in themselves They were seen as a rebirth of abstract animation seen in the experimental Avant Garde films of the 1920s Referring to Saul Bass Martin Scorsese had to say 

Bass was instrumental in redefining the visual language of title sequences His graphic compositions function as a prologue to the movie setting the tone providing the mood and foreshadowing the action Byrne 2011 p 50 It could be argued that pioneers like Saul Bass utilised motion graphics but saw a connection and shifted it towards storytelling when creating title sequences Furthermore title sequences differ from motion graphics because they are like miniature films themselves Referring back to Frantz who defines motion graphics as non narrative non figurative based visuals that change over time Frantz 2003 para 4 title sequences cannot fall into motion graphics because they have a narrative It may only be short but title sequences tell a story and set a scene Therefore despite having a stylistic approach and using graphic arrangement they are better suited to animation and film Motion Graphics and Animation tend to rely on very similar software such as Adobe After Effects Cinemas 4D Maya and Photoshop to name a few due to this animation and motion graphics would most likely go hand in hand However there are distinctions to be made An animator relies on character and narrative to communicate ideas to an audience 

As motion graphics is a fairy new field multi disciplinary designers have to find collaborators to achieve the mixture of expertise needed on projects Motion Graphics is an umbrella covering numerous disciplines and because of this a lot of skills are required to create striking but well designed work Therefore it could be argued motion graphics requires specialised skills Today motion designers tend to be generalists bringing together skill sets from graphic design illustration and film making then mixing in much more advanced tools CloudRaker With the field being so much newer than more prestigious design forms there will only be a small number of specialist available As a result design work solely for motion graphics is limited However if more University courses offered either a Bachelors or Masters degree in motion graphics it would be a fantastic opportunity to give people a background in the necessary skill sets and give them hands on experience with the software This is something that will be further explored throughout this essay