Project 4 — Minion Video
Initial steps
To start out the motion aspect of the typeface, the first step was to create a script that spelled out the main things I wanted to capture about Minion.
The idea I wanted to capture was that Minion is a typefaces based on renaissance types, but revitalized for modern printing. Also, the fact that it such a clean, readable, and sophisticated typeface used for a variety of applications.
I watched a lot of kinetic type and motion graphic videos to get myself inspired about transitions or ideas I could try and incorporate in my video. I found a lot of extremely cool ideas, but I had to be careful with the ideas I thought were interesting vs. what works for Minion as a typeface & its identity. For example, stomp kinetic videos were exciting to watch, (like the “don’t blink” apple video, but the quick pace and strong/present nature of the type doesn’t match minion as a typeface at all.
Below are some of the initial thoughts I put down on my page…
I wrote out some transition ideas (like a renaissance building turning into an
“m”, or having things pull apart to reveal a new idea/screen. I also began to look at music I thought described the typeface. One I thought encaptured was the Orinoco Flow by Enya, but using the instrumental version so its less distracting. I thought its light nature, while also being a modern song worked well with Minion. I also more clearly wrote out the ideas I would want to capture about Minion-being more specific than my intial script by going into specifics about the letterforms like the teardrop terminals, axis, and serifs.
Quick Storyboarding
From here, I quickly sketched out a storyboard.
After showing this in class, I realized there were a couple things I had to think about before I digitized the storyboard. First off, I need to focus more on the information/story that I’m communicating before focusing too much on the transitions, because I may run out of time. Also, right now, its unclear how the video will end/how the story progresses, so I may think about adding a quote to show the readability of the typeface (but also the quote itself mentions characteristics of the Minion). Also, instead of a lofty word like sophistication, maybe its may work better to show how its sophisticated, so I would show the college wordmarks its used for and present the typeface as academic (which then entails sophistication). Also, I need to keep in mind that people need to be able to read the words, so they should not be overwhelmed / I shouldn’t add too many words on a screen at a time.
Digitizing the storyboard
I began to digitize my storyboard below….
I decided to begin and end the semester with millennial pink :). In the beginning of the video, I would have a black background as the history and usage is mentioned, then when the specifics of the typeface are brought up, the background switches to white. I am using 3 font sizes, and only 2 of minion’s style (regular and italics). Also, the quote I found (by robert bringhurst of “the elements of typographic style”, Vicki suggested I fade throughout so there isn’t too many words on the screen at once. As of now, I have quite a few adjectives I was planning on cycling through quickly, but Sherry mentioned the quick cycle through doesn’t really match the sophistication, elegance, and balance of Minion, so I will use fewer adjectives and present them in a slower, more delicate way.
The music I ended up deciding on is called “The Smallest Piece”, and its a delicate song with pluck of ?violin? I think. The song also starts slower, then picks up, which will be nice for transitioning into a white screen and making the video more interesting as it progresses.
I moved right into animating the storyboard, and found that the plucks in the song as well as the slow, increasing progression of the song worked quite well with the storyboard. I added in the typewriter animation for a more delicate style and worked to hit the beats with the entrance and exit of ideas. Also, I felt like I wanted to add an animated part to the “a” transition to “o” because I had the idea in my head, and I felt like I couldn’t get it out of my head until I tried executing it.
After animated a whole 60 seconds, I just had a few details to fix…
- The type out and in of the adjectives was too much typing, so I needed to fix it to be possibly by syllables or just show on the screen, then type out.
- The way robert’s name appears on the quote makes it hard to read the quote at the same time, so it should be placed before the entire quote appears
- the ending w/ the song should be fixed a bit, because just as the song starts to pick up the video ends, so I will probably cut the music, and use the very end of the song at the end of the video
- some words appear too big
- the way the “condensed letterforms” leaves the page is a bit disorienting
After fixing these details, I just had to finish up some more syncing to the music in order to reach my final video