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tylerhuguesdesign-blog · 6 years

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KINETIC TYPE SPECIMEN

Research

While I was looking at what kinetic type specimens can be, I was amazed at what they can all entail. There is no set algorithm or method to creating a type specimen, except for that it shows off the font. So if a font’s theme is comic books, the video or type specimen can not just be about comic books. It needs to show off the font, and make people want to use it. Some examples of video type specimens that I really liked can be seen below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZEFNfrkv6U (Univers)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMTneoiP6ik (DIN)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_63V4UZSgk (Helvetica)

*My research about the concept of type specimens, in general, can be seen in my post about my type specimen*

Another topic that I looked into was Retro Video games, and how their movement was. I felt that if I could bring more of an authentic feel to the characters/game objects, then it would be much more easily recognizable. I looked at the retr games below, in orger to try to make it feel as authentic as possible,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4EeF_nM0iY (Pacman)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYSupJ5r2zo

I feel that with everything that I have looked at going into this project, I have enough information to create a successful kinetic type specimen. With everything that I have learned, my eyes have been opened to the endless possibilities for kinetic type specimens. I feel that I am now ready to move onto the next phase of this assignment with full confidence.

3/28

When I first started thinking about my Kinetic Type Specimen, I first had to think back to what I had done for my Type Specimen booklet, given the kinetic version is an animated version of the book. So as I was sketching, I continued to keep in mind the game theme that I was trying to emulate with the book. So looking at my first 15 storyboards, I was thinking of a design that would have a whole bunch of intermingled game references, while also showing off my font. The other one I realized after would be about more showing the font than anything else, and therefore it really would not fit my theme as well. However, the sketches that I made for the first set of storyboards really paved the way for my actual video. If you look at some of the sketches, you can clearly tell where they are in the video. I feel that this might be my best thinking process with sketching because I was really able to picture directions that I wanted to do, right from the start.

4/4

This week, I was focusing more on getting the assets altogether, and trying to get the overall feeling of the video down. While I played with what exactly I could do for this project, I wanted to really incorporate the game references, while also making it about the font. So, I went into my sketches, and just started digitizing my ideas. By the end of this day, I had created all of the assets that I needed for the time. I did the assets in illustrator and just began playing with timing in after effects. I feel that this was a good start with my project. I was ready to start actually putting the video together for the next class!

4/11

This week I actually had a put together video ready to show. I feel that this first attempt really captures what I had in my sketches. I feel that this was a good start at what I was trying to accomplish with this project. I kept it simple, with some animations that make the video interesting to look at, and not had the feeling of it being the same scene shot differently. I also, tried to create it so that it didn't feel like too mechanic, or boring. The music I also felt added a nice touch to it, to make it feel more retro. The video of my first attempt can be seen below by clicking the link:

https://youtu.be/-HOk_EScsCo

4/25

The past two weeks, I have worked on improving speed and making the video seem more interesting. I had noticed that there was a part with the letter X and the i’s that really didnt have anything to do with retro video games. So I thought to myself, What can I add? Then it dawned on me. PACMAN! The Pacman I used on the cover of my book helped give me that idea. So I quickly made an animation of the character going up and down the screen, and I feel that it added a whole new level of interestingness to it. I think its just fun to watch, and it also shows off my font. Overall, I feel that this is my best attempt yet. The video of my second attempt can be seen below by clicking the link:

https://youtu.be/zB9fk0uSipk

5/9

Today is the day the project is due. I had gotten feedback about the first part feeling out of place, with the title, because it just did not fit with the theme. So I actually got rid of that idea and put the Game On to start the video. Then, I sped up the Pacman animations, and also just tried to make the whole animation more fluid. Another noticable difference that I made was the inclusion of text throughout the animation. I wanted to tell the viewer about my font, and I feel that the words helped with that. Another minor change that I made from my previous attempt was that the Pacman’s movement was slow, so I sped it up to make it more fluid. Finally, I added the name of my font in the end, in a smaller font, which is also set in my font. I feel that it makes it feel like more of a not about what the font is called. The previous version where the text broke apart just seemed out of place. This way adds a new level of sophistication to it I think.

This project has taught me a lot about what I can do in After Effects without necessarily going crazy with any of the preset effects. The minor edits over the course of this past month has truly made this a portflio piece! I am very proud of where this project ended up, and I look forward to futute projects like this! The video of my final product can be seen below by clicking the link:

https://youtu.be/hiK2cnySBdQ

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