Kinetic Typography
This workshop is about exploring kinetic typography in After Effects. Speed, motion, advanced use of keyframes, and the properties in the timeline, text tools, and the specifics of use type and text on screen. We needed to create a motion piece about a typeface of our choice. We needed to prepare visuals, text, information about the font, history, style and design. Along with colours, layout, background textures and images which must be created in illustrator of photoshop at HD widescreen (1920 pixels x 1080 pixels). The text will then be reconstructed and animated in After Effects.
I experimented with several animation presets to add throughout my animation. I browsed and previewed these using the Effects & Presets Panel.
In my free time, I wanted to explore kinetic typography further by revolving 3D Text.
Sans Fight Animation- NCHProductions
Kinetype from François Pellae on Vimeo.
For my chosen typeface, I chose the font 'Lithos' which is a sans-serif glyphic upper case only typeface based on Greek inscription style. Lithos was designed Carol Twombly in 1989 for Adobe Systems. The idea behind my theme and colours was based of the Greek pattern designs and colours of the flag. Below I have a collage of greek themes and ideas which will help me create my own design for the workshop.
Kinetype from François Pellae on Vimeo.
For my chosen typeface, I chose the font 'Lithos' which is a sans-serif glyphic upper case only typeface based on Greek inscription style. Lithos was designed Carol Twombly in 1989 for Adobe Systems. The idea behind my theme and colours was based of the Greek pattern designs and colours of the flag. Below I have a collage of greek themes and ideas which will help me create my own design for the workshop.
These are screenshots of my stills in Photoshop.
First step in After Effects was to introduce the Font name and who it was designed by. I added a ripple effect to individual blue and white rectangles which make up a similar representation of the Greek Flag. The ripple effect was used to represent a moving flag.
As Lithos is available in five weights; extralight, light, regular, bold and black, I wanted to show this in my animation. I did this by starting with the lightest weights onwards. I added a fade-in ladder effect, in which the first one fades in then the next one fades in, carefully looking at my timeline.
As a transition from the Lithos weight page, the individual rectangles and those which have the font placed on, swipes out of the screen, the white rectangles slides left and the blue rectangles slide right revealing the next part. I also added Easy Ease to the rectangles, and motion blur. Motion blur is used for a smoother playback and easy ease is applied to a frame to either slow down when approaching a keyframe frame or speed up when it leaves a keyframe.
I experimented with several animation presets to add throughout my animation. I browsed and previewed these using the Effects & Presets Panel.
These screenshots shows information about the text, on the left screenshot I added a typewriter effect for when the information comes on screen letter by letter giving enough time for the viewer to read the information.
To transition to the next slide, I used the column to swipe from right the left to reveal the next part of information about this font.
My animation then ending with a short credit screen. My final piece can be watched below.
Extra animation techniques:
