DES 251 Digital Media Design III / Spring '24
DES 251 Digital Media Design III

5_2: Research (Visual)

Due: Th, Feb 29

Collect materials related to the film, time period or message. This collection will serve as inspiration, visual reference and/or source material for the next phase.

Due:

Upload visual materials to the "W2 Visual Research" section by Thursday, 29 (end of class).

You should research the Sound Effects/Music for your title sequence but you don't have to decide on one single song yet. We can discuss your selection and decide shortly before or after Spring Break. Consider combining sound effects with a music soundtrack. Sound effects can contain/express important (audible) information related to the film. The soundtrack can have a big influence on the mood/tone overall.

Mood/Inspiration Board

Create or/and collect visual "material" that you feel is related to you film choice or expresses an idea you plan to communicate. This is not to be confused with the Storyboard, we'll work on afterwards. This collection can contain, for example,

Prepare a Photoshop document (1600x1600px) and cop, paste and place images into it (similar to making a collage). Save it as a JPG and post this collection to the class website.

Next to collecting image material it can also help to collect motion/footage. It's just for inspiration, so stock footage sites have the most, best organized material. You can just grab clips from there (control-click the preview and save to your computer, then to the class website):
Pexels
storyblocks
https://stock.adobe.com/video

"Research is key to effective communication. Intriguing concepts and cutting-edge design may not be enough to effectively communicate the information if adequate research is not conducted ahead of time. Diving into the creative waters too soon poses the danger of time and energy being wasted on ideas that may be dynamic but are irrelevant or inappropriate to the project’s objectives. Therefore, a thorough analysis of your subject matter should occur before you begin to conceptualize."

"...restrictions should not be perceived as limitations to creativity, but rather, as guidelines to help give your ideas direction."

"Being aware of trends in the industry is healthy, as long as your design does not become reliant on them. The range of digital effects that are available can also intrude on creative thinking, since they require minimal artistic skill or sophistication. Although they can be beneficial when used intentionally, they lack ingenuity, and their ease of use can impede imaginative thinking and obscure aesthetic judgment"

"Creative designers, like laboratory scientists, trust their intuitions and are not afraid to face new challenges. Yet, the creative process can be elusive. Ideas sometimes spring up when we least expect them to. Inspiration, risk taking, and experimentation can foster innovative thinking and allow ideas to develop naturally."

Examples:

Mood Boards for Title Sequences:




Mood Boards for Branding:




Mood Boards for Interior Design:




Mood Boards for Film/Movies:

Please read this chapter (visual footage/materials) from Jon Krasner's book.

Code for collecting stock footage

See the Pen quick embed video by Oliver Roeger (@uic-des) on CodePen.

Sound

The motion graphics designer considers both typographic and image movement in addition to editing decisions in response to the audio. All designers should gain understanding of the impacts sound can have, and should consider audio as integral to the message as type and image. Like imagery, sound can be categorized as literal or abstract.

Literal sound is referential and is necessary to support reality. It conveys a specific meaning. For example: voices (news or sport reports, children on playground, breathing...)

Abstract sound, such as a musical score, is not essential to the content of a sequence, does not point to the originating source, but can emotionally enhance the message. The mood that audio evokes is an important factor in how a viewer reacts to a typographic message. Two sequence examples may be identical except for the musical score applied—one attempts solemn, pondering state, while another may attempt excitement and energy.