Veterans of Color

PROJECT BRIEF

After meeting Mark Perry and being introduced to the overall feel of how the documentary will be, we were invited to gather as much information of what he was looking for in his title sequence.

"Opening credits have a larger job to do. They have to set up the movie. They have to get the audience prepared for what they're going to be seeing. Tone, content, all of those things need to be set up in the opening credits. How do the credits serve the film? How does it prepare the audience for the film?"

The time period: basically when the Civil Rights movement established itself, and the duration of that period.

Conflicts: African American men and women willing to serve and defend our country but struggling with racism.

Mood: Tension, anticipation, mystery.

Duration: 7 seconds per credit, approx. 1 minute long in length.

Colors: Preferably neutral

Personally likes the Casino Royal opening credits.






PROCESS


My process of coming up with a concept was a bit rushed because we were handed this project right before I left for a vacation to visit my family. I first took a look at several documentaries, books, and internet resources on African American soldiers in the wars that happened during the Civil Rights movement.

Seeing as Mark Perry said he enjoyed the Casino Royal opening, I got the inspiration of using moving planes in my animation. I wanted to keep a neutral pallet with parchment texture and use some symbolism.

Type choice: Trade Gothic was designed between 1948-1960 for Linotype. Its a classic for newspapers.
Aachen was designed between 1963-1969 for advertising.



CONCEPT STATEMENT

The flag of the United States has become a powerful symbol of Americanism, proudly displayed to show our nationalism, it unifies us as a country. The African American culture of our society struggled between wanting to be a part of our nationalism, fighting for our country, but facing adversity and racism every step of the way. When you take the colors out of the flag, the stripes become segregated bars of white and dark gray, you get a sense of segregation and imprisonment. As you follow the flag through each scene of a young man who wants to fight for his country, as so many uncredited african american soldiers have done in the past during the civil rights movement, the credits of the documentary are displayed. 

STORY BOARDS

CRITIQUE

Move credits further into the animation instead of having them at the start. Add an extra element to have far in the background. Show transitions between frames a bit clearer.

FINAL

Susan Bradley Title Artist Presentation

Click here to see PDF

Film Titles

The Number 23

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2009/03/09/the-number-23/

I love how simple this is: just a feel of a typewriter, typography and blood splatters. But it also conveys so much tension that gives the audience such an uneasy feeling. The other nice aspect of this is it tells you a bit of the history and story with the added element of infinite varations the integer of 23. The fast cuts, the music, everything just sets you on edge for the movie.

Catch Me If You Can

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2011/08/22/catch-me-if-you-can/

The unique thing about this title sequence that I like is how it was a handmade design that reflects the time period the movie is set in (1960s). The music also drives home this dated feeling of action and suspense which is nice. The creators of this title sequence really wanted to embody not only the feel of the 60s, but even had the mindset of how they would design this type of animation for a film if they lived in that era. I simply enjoy the simple graphic silhouetted figures and the story they tell.

Fight Club

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2008/03/28/fight-club/

I love this movie, I love this book. But I also enjoy the title sequence and the idea behind it. We're looking into the fear of Edward Norton's brain, inside the electrical impulses. And every moment we are changing scale, seeing as this fear envelopes every single part of his brain, to even the sweat dripping out of his pores. Then we travel up the reason why he is afraid. And are revealed the whole picture: a gun is in his mouth and he feels as if he is facing death.

Dexter

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2010/09/27/dexter/

I really enjoy the setup of his morning 'routine' because it seems to fit perfectly at the beginning of every single episode. I also love the touch of suggested actions of a serial killer added to every single thing he does in his routine: the way its shot and edited helps a lot to suggest these things. All the added emphases on blood also puts you in the mood of how much Dexter Morgan really loves blood. Also, I should note that the music also draws me to this title sequence; it is such an upbeat tone but at the same time so eerie and calculated. It ties together so nicely that its a title sequence you don't really want to skip, it sets the mood of the entire show. 

Sarasota Film Festival: Presentations & final thoughts

Presenting to Tom via Skype was an over all interesting experience. To be honest, I was a bit nervous to pitch my idea. I wasn't nervous because of Tom, though, but the fact the whole class was there and two professors were watching. I felt as if I was being horribly judged, as opposed to maybe having a one-on-one with the client with no one else there. However, even if I ran into a few technological hiccups, I feel as if the presentation went very smooth. The use of my animatic (or "boardomatic" as Kevin would say) really seemed to quickly drive home the points I needed to make. It also seemed to give the client a clear understanding of what I wanted. He didn't seem to have a whole lot of questions for me, but I was able to answer any he did have, as well as clear up anything my storyboards couldn't translate already.

I'm extremely honored that my animation idea was one of the 6 chosen to animate. I feel as if so many people had wonderful ideas, I can't begin to imagine how they were able to narrow down to a final 6.

I didn't particularly follow all the guidelines that were required in this project. I got a little bit behind at one point so I was playing catch up by the time we got to storyboarding. I think we had to create two different storyboards to our audio: one that represents what the person is saying in a literal way and one that is more abstract. I only did one storyboard and ended up working from there so I wouldn't be too far behind from everyone else. But also after discussing some ideas with other people, it felt like the one I ended up going with was the better idea anyway.

This project taught me a lot of things, almost too many to even list. I think the most important thing I have learned would be knowing how to talk to people. Going through the interviewing process as well as talking with the client were major key elements in helping me learn this. Communication with your client is extremely important from beginning to end of the project. You need to have a clear understanding of what the client wants, needs, and is looking for. You get this information by sitting down with your client and talking through the project until you feel as if you have a good idea in your head in what direction you want to go and how you will get there. By the time you pitch, you need to relate your ideas clearly and effectively to the client. It was really important in this case because Tom had to relate our ideas to his staff, so he needed to understand our ideas well enough to translate them to other people. The best way to relate your ideas is visually, not only verbally, so having very clear storyboards helped everyone. I found the animatic useful because he could see exactly what I wanted to do along with the audio.

Sarasota Film Festival: Final Storyboards

A wonderful thing about movies is that it helps you explore and discover the world, see new places and experience things without having to go anywhere. Watch the globe unfold into iconic landmarks as people talk about how they love seeing new places as they watch movies.

Sarasota Film Festival

After getting our brief on this project, we all set out to get some interviews from people out on the streets. The experience of interviewing people I've never met before was new and challenging, but a whole lot of fun. I never realized how many different nationalities and color we have here in our own back yard. Sarasota is a wonderful place to discover.

After looking through my audio pieces I found quite a few people described movies being a way to see the world. Which is a beautiful concept that I wanted to capture. I cut it down to a 20 second audio clip to use, without any background track. I kind of want to figure out the mood of my animation first before I decide on what I want to play underneath the interviews.

As for ideas on my animation I came up with a few, but here's the general breakdown.


IDEATION

Travel

Truth

Discovery

Other places

-------

Literal translations:

earth

countries

planes

trains

cars

boats

passports

stamps

cultures

people

traditions

famous movie scenes

maps

postcards

passports

beaches

Non literal translations:

Arrows

Lines & dashes

Circles

Color

Flag symbols

Papers

Outlines of continents?

Water

Ideas:

The world turning into the sarasota logo.

Maps of famous places collaged on top of each other.

3D stills of famous movie scenes placed in different parts of the world.

CONCEPT
A beautiful thing about movies is how they help you discover the world from where ever you are. Explore new places and experience things without leaving your seat.




MOOD BOARDS

Ryan Woodward

It was an amazing Wednesday to have the pleasure of meeting storyboard artist, special effects artist, and animator Ryan Woodward. Drawing with him on the beach in the morning, then hearing his presentation that night - I learned quite a bit about him, what he does, and how he does it. He started his presentation with a bit of information about himself, how he had broken into the business with no degree as a special effects artist for Warner Brothers. Then went onto explaining the story of how he went from an underdog doing inbetweens to doing storyboards and his own animation.

One piece of advice I really grabbed while listening to him talk was how to be an opportunist. He has a tendency to take on jobs just to learn how to do them. He said its a great way to learn more and it empowers you for future projects. For example, when he started to do animatics, he had no idea how to do After Effects. But when he got the call to do one, he took it, spent all weekend long learning, and put all his effort into doing his best even if it caused late nights. Being a Motion Designer, I think we are all opportunists  We all want to learn more, experience more, especially with the industry we're in today. It helps us solve problems for our clients or our employers or our projects. The more we know, the more opportunities we take, the better and more empowered we are in our own futures.

I also think a very important thing Ryan had to say that I will note is how not to become too attached to everything you do. Artists have a very deep bond with everything we create and it destroys us to see it get taken apart or turned down by other people. This industry is brutal and it will challenge us as artists. Not everything we create is worth what we think it is. Its a very good idea to detach ourselves from the projects we do, very good advice and warning.

The last thing that I really will remember Ryan talking about is how we really need to recognize when something interesting or big happens to us. We need to dig deep into those feelings or that moment and actually create something out of it. Its what we do as artists, visualize important moving emotions for others.