Archer: Kinetic Typography Inspirations

As a collaboration project, myself, Beth Taylor and Ashley Woodrow-Smith have decided to explore kinetic type, as it is a media we've always wanted to learn and get involved with. we have decided to focus on the cartoon Archer. I've begun to look into kinetic type and various examples to better understand the outcomes I want to achieve. I personally discovered it through stand up comedy, of which I am an avid fan and began to find these kinetic videos of sections of comedians sets, and found them incredibly engaging.

The one piece of work that made me realise the mediums effectiveness was when I saw Tim Minchin's - Storm animated movie; A nine minute beat poem about existence.

Tim Minchin - Storm (Animated Movie) 
 
It is a beautiful mix of animation and kinetic type that has worked very well as a story telling tool.

From this, I searched other comedy based kinetic type and found ones of varying quality. From ones of very basic type use to including illustrations and more dynamic movement. I think that analysing other typographies will help me understand not only the direction I'd like to go in, but help me get a preference of style, speed and tone.

Measuring Quality

I know that there is a clear difference between kinetic type done well and not so well. I feel it's important to understand what those differences are, that will help me recognise the quality in my own work.

'In Figure 1a, the choice of typeface, rapid rhythmic motions, changes of scale, and rotation, all combine to convey a sense of exuberance. Whereas, in Figure 1b, a very plain typeface has been chosen, and a combination of slow and decelerating pace, reduction of typeface weight, and a shrinking motion analogous to slumping of the shoulders, combines to convey a sense of disappointment.'

Source: The Kinetic Typography Engine: An Extensible System for Animating Expressive Text

The first one here (Duckman on Comedy) is very advanced; it used a mixture of illustration and moving images to help communicate the message. The main type sticks to a colour scheme and typeface, alike most do in the videos i've seen. Also the use of a textured background (similar to the one above) I find a a lot more engaging and 'gritty' than those that are plain. Again, this is something that would be directed by the audio's tone.

The second one uses various different typefaces. Though not as 'clean as the first', in this context, it's used as a storytelling technique. It also involves illustrations but also 3D images. In terms of preference, I prefer the structured uniform style of the first. I feel sticking to one typeface allows a better flow, especially for longer videos. 

Also a 'clean' typeface is important. Something that read's well instantly. This is something I'll definitely look further into, most likely looking back at some of first years design principle work to better gauge what would be most suitable in this format.

My content will most definitely dictate the style and pace of my animations, and with Archer having such a distinct design aesthetic, I think will allow for very interesting and engaging outcomes.