So, Was the Outcome Stellar?

Reflecting on the outcome of my final designs is always a valuable process that encourages me to consciously acknowledge lessons i've learnt. In turn, teaching me skills that can be applied in future practice. For this project in particular, I am proud of my final sequence considering this was my first After Effects project.

My final title sequence and end credits are exhibited below.

PROJECT OUTCOMES

Technical Achievement

When reflecting on my technical achievement for task 1, I believe I demonstrated a high level of execution of the required skills for the task. Whilst there are minor technical areas that could have been improved such as tiny resolution issues caused by not importing vector files properly - my skills demonstrated in the composition itself are well developed. For example, I implemented each After Effects transform tool (Anchor Points, Position, Scale, Rotation and Opacity) in a variety of ways to achieve different effects - which ultimately was the main focus of the criteria. These software skills developed will act as a solid foundation to expanding my motion design capabilities in future.

Implementation of Motion Design Fundamentals

My consideration of motion fundamentals such as primary and secondary motion, and temporal considerations were increasingly high and showed conceptual relevance (Krasner 2013). In turn, keeping my sequence engaging for the most part. For example, the easing in of each final letter in the title reveal symbolises a gravitational pull and mimics feelings of floating in space. Further, symbolising the idea of two worlds coming together which conveys the concept of time travel. Thus, posing relevance to the movie. I also considered interchanging paces between each element of primary motion and secondary motion as examined in the eclipse scene below.

By implementing these fundamentals I learnt that a good title sequence carefully considers all fundamentals and how they act together, rather than just strictly by themself. I can apply this takeaway to all future motion design work, making it highly valuable.

Overall, I also believe the steady and somewhat slow pacing of my sequence is well suited to the context and genre of the chosen movie. However, upon reflection there are some segments where the pacing could have been adjusted slightly to remove awkward pauses between transitions. For example, the exit of 'Jessica Chastain' off screen.

Snapshots of the Design Aesthetic of My Sequence

Design / Aesthetic Outcomes

I believe the reductive typographic and illustrative style of my sequence is effective and relevant to Interstellar. Further, I employed a consistent colour palette throughout to ensure the sequence felt cohesive. My choice of simple shapes used was also effective as it remained abstract enough to avoid disrupting attention to the supporting text. However, upon reflection there is something that feels visually disjointed about the one scene below. Therefore, if the style choices were refined here further for this scene, I believe the outcome would have felt more professional.

3 Critical Moments

1. Putting in Time is Extremely Important When Learning a New Skill or Software

What was made continuously evident to me during this production process and learning After Effects software was that it requires dedication and time at the beggining. By consciously making an effort to wrap my head around the basics of the program and playing around a lot initially - this made me more efficient in the end. The graph below is what I used as a guide to inform my time dedication to this project.

I think it is interesting as it reinforces that continued time doesn't result in a relative increase in quality or skill (to an extent). This is an important perspective to have gained and I will apply this when relevant to learning new design softwares in future.

2. Simple is Effective

In relation to creativity and aesthetics, it was notable that a simple design or use of motion effects doesn't mean a less effective design piece or title sequence. In fact - I would say it can mean the opposite depending on the themes and genre of the series or movie. Utilising white space is key - just as much as it is key in non-motion design.

3. Think Outside of the Box When Technical Skills are Lacking

You know what they say - when theres a will theres a way. I had a few moments in this project where I wanted to achieve a desired effect, however doing it 'properly' was too difficult. This meant I achieved it by doing it manually with the basic transform tools. For example, the flickering of the gradients was executed by manually putting in extensive amounts of positioning keyframes. Overall, this taught me that is important to think creatively and outside of the box - not only for this project but in all design work.

Keyframes used to achieve desired flickering gradient effect

I would have loved to explored the fractal bubble effect in combination with 3D illustration in particular, and other more complex effects in the ‘effect’ panel. However, it was important to develop an understanding of the foundations first as this will ensure no bad technical habits are formed when using After Effects in both future projects and the workplace.

Overall, increasing my technical ability for motion design has increased my attractiveness to employers as it has made me more versatile. Similarly, motion design is in increasingly high demand by designers and ‘trending’ - making it a desirable skill to have for current and future design practice (Meltzer 2024).

REFERENCES

Krasner, J 2013, Motion Graphic Design: Applied History and Aesthetics, Routledge, Oxford

Meltzer, R 2024, 'Top 10 Design Careers: In-Demand Job Titles for 2024', Career Foundry, 24th February, viewed 10th April 2024, <https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/in-demand-design-jobs/#:~:text=Are%20motion%20graphics%20designers%20in,platforms%2C%20and%20the%20automotive%20industry.>