From the course: Cinema 4D S22 Essential Training: Motion Graphics

What are motion graphics? - CINEMA 4D Tutorial

From the course: Cinema 4D S22 Essential Training: Motion Graphics

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What are motion graphics?

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- [Instructor] A concept or idea can be communicated through motion graphics in a way that blends the principles of graphic design and filmmaking through animation techniques. There really are a vast number of applications for motion graphics. Take your favorite television shows opening sequence. It's likely to feature motion graphics in some form. Movies and television shows rely on motion graphics to drive story elements such as the user interfaces with which the cost interact. Motion graphics can be seen in everyday life too. From the signage in airports, in the stations, to screens in shops and malls. Apps on your phone or watch have motion graphic elements too such as the way the interface reacts to user input. So no matter what size screen, motion graphics can be applied to it. Let's take a look at some of the graphic design principles you should be aware of. Here we have line and different quality of line, shape, size, value and color. Texture, alignment, contrast, contrast in color, contrast in shape and contrast in direction, repetition. And here we're using contrast to draw your eye towards something on screen that could be more important. Space and proximity. Once you start to incorporate these principles in your work you'll really start to improve the look of your motion graphics projects. Filmmaking is about storytelling and there are some techniques that we can look at. Cinematography, lighting, sound, staging pacing, and editorial. And there's certainly some crossover when you look at animation techniques. Timing and spacing, anticipation, follow through, overlap, easing, secondary motion, exaggeration, squash and stretch. Think of a ball bouncing down some stairs. It wouldn't look right if it was a linear animation you'd easy in and out of each key frame and there'd be some secondary motion too. You'd want to exaggerate the motion to add some character, incorporate some squash and stretch to deform the ball as it bounces and make contact with the stairs. So you should be thinking about the techniques mentioned previously when you're animating to produce a more convincing result. Amongst other software applications I've always been aware of Photoshop, Illustrator After Effects and Premiere. These can be considered as some of the tools, a motion designer typically uses and learning the tools is a very important part of becoming a solid motion graphics artist. It was when I wanted to add another dimension to my skillset that I looked to incorporate a 3D program. And for me that was cinema 4D. Cinema 4D has a fantastic set of tools specifically aimed at motion designers called MoGraph. There's a variety of objects, effectors, fields, tags, and shaders, and all these things combined can create some truly stunning motion graphics projects. So motion graphics can be applied virtually anywhere on any screen, in any format to facilitate the communication of an idea, goal or story in a way that blends the principles of graphic design and filmmaking through animation techniques.

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