Motion Graphic Evaluation Task 2

I have analysed three different types of the same motion graphic and will be discussing and describing them in this article, the type of graphic I chose is idents.

The first ident I analysed is one from BBC3 which I found on the Ident Gallery. The graphic has no real use of text with the exception of the BBC Three logo which has to be included anyway, this is done because text isn’t really necessary in an ident because it is only a very short graphic that is mint to sum up a channel with images. The graphic is basically a small planet and the camera moves across the planet showing the things on it, the camera moves around the planet as if it were round as opposed to it being a flat planet. At first we see some coral and some trees with a car parked near them, as it moves further across some large colourful appear out of the ground, this is done because the channel in general is aimed mainly at teenage girls and a dull graphic with little or no colour isn’t going to interest them. After that we see a road in between some large buildings and also there is a large plant and a large speaker, the large speaker is there to represent music, concerts and parties which are all things that interest teenage girls. The camera moves across the planet as the road continues where we see a cardboard box on the right of the road and more buildings on the left, there are also tubes with bright colours flowing through them on both sides of the road, this continues the bright colours effect and links to the target audience. As the camera gets to its end we see a bright coloured BBC3 logo and a large puddle of pink liquid spills onto the floor, once again representing bright colours effect. The BBC3 logo which is basically made out of tubes becomes filled with pink liquid as well, there are some large screens to the right that look like either cameras or wide TV’s, this appeals to the target audience because most teenagers watch lots of television or use cameras often. Once the BBC3 logo has been filled with colour the graphic basically finished. The camera moves quite quickly through the planet because it tries to cram in as much as possible. I think this graphic is the best of the three I have analysed because it best sums up it’s channel and includes the best use of techniques whereas the other don’t use many techniques, I think it is very well made.

Techniques used include animation which is used throughout the graphic, more or less everything we see in the graphic is animated, this links to the target audience because it should appeal more to teenagers instead of just being plain and boring. The animation used on this graphic could be recreated on adobe after effects with help from Photoshop or illustrator because of the style, the style of my E-Stings graphic is quite similar as well so it has helped in that way. Visual effects are used for things like the bright colours and the sparkling of the colours which links to the target audience and the bright colours effect. There is movement in the graphic such as the camera moving across the planet and the things on the planet moving, it’s used to include a bit more in the graphic and stop it from being boring and dull. Rotation is partially used because the camera moves around the

planet as if it were round which is essentially the camera rotating around the planet; it is done so we see more of the planet and what’s on it.

I have linked this to my E-Stings motion graphic because BBC3 is aimed at teenagers (mainly females but some males) and E4 has a very similar target audience so I know what needs to be included in order for it to fully appeal to the target audience. I included things such as bright colours, plenty of movement and animation in my E-Stings motion graphic, all things that were included in the BBC3 ident.

The second ident I analysed is one from channel 4 which I found on the Ident Gallery. Likewise to the BBC3 ident there is no use of text other than the logo (channel 4 in this case) for the same reasons, it is not used much in idents. The graphic starts with a road in a busy city centre where we can see lots of cars driving up it. The cars are centred at the bottom of the screen and we can see tall buildings and sky above them which take up more of the graphic. Channel 4 is more of a mature channel for adults, about 22-45 would be an average age, it has appealed to the audience with the cars and the road in the town centre which is something a lot of working adults will see daily when they go to work. The graphic is more or less the same throughout but it goes under an arch with sign posts on and then under a bridge at another point, for a bit of variety and to make it more realistic. After it comes out from under the bridge, we can see what looks like pieces of buildings merging to create the 4 logo in the sky, these have probably been cut from other buildings in editing and dropped in to create the logo. The camera follows the same one taxi throughout the majority of the graphic, other cars come and go but that one taxi is nearly always in shot, and this is called continuity. It is a very different theme from the BBC3 ident because the target audiences are very different, this one being a more mature audience. The BBC3 ident had lots of bright colours and younger themes in such as the flowers and speakers whereas this one is very realistic and includes things as such as cars, buildings and a town centre and no real bright colours. It has a similar motion to the BBC3 ident though because it’s the camera moving through something for most of the graphic which it does with the planet in the BBC3 graphic and the town centre in the channel 4 graphic, this is because most idents are quite similar. I think this graphic is a good one because it is well made for a more mature audience and is very different to the other two graphics because it’s aimed at an older audience, there isn’t a big use of techniques but it’s not essential because the target audience wouldn’t be very interested in a graphic that uses a load of techniques. It’s not my favourite of the three graphics but I think it’s well made.

The only technique used in the Channel 4 ident is movement. Most things in the graphic are moving, the camera of course and the main focus which is the cars are constantly moving. You can see things in the background moving too though such as people moving and you can see a few things being blown by the wind. This is done for two reasons, one being to make sure the graphic isn’t boring and to make sure there is something happening, and something to focus on. The second reason is because it makes it realistic, in a town centre

like that it would normally be busy and everyone and everything would be constantly moving. In the BBC3 graphic there are quite a few techniques used whereas there aren’t really many on this one. That’s because the BBC3 target audience required visual effects and animation to make it appeal more to that audience whereas the audience channel 4 aren’t too bothered about visual effects.

This isn’t a graphic that will help me gain of understanding of what to do in my E-Stings because the target audience is different to that of E4, it does however give me an idea for the future of what themes to include when making a motion graphic aimed at a slightly older target audience. Quite a few techniques are used and it has given me a better understanding of them.

The third and final ident I analysed is one from ITV1 which I found on the Ident Gallery. Likewise to BBC3 and Channel 4’s idents, there is no use of text other than the logo of the TV channel used. The graphic begins in a dodgem cars arena and we can see lots of dodgem cars lined up at either side, two of them move out into the centre but avoid each other than each row comes out quickly and shortly all of the cars are out in the centre of the arena. Most of the cars just dodge each other but some of them hit each other and most of them start spinning around for a while. Like the BBC3 ident quite a lot of bright colours are used, the lights on the side of the dodgems, because ITV1 could be aimed at almost anybody over the age of about 12 so it is a lot easier to make a graphic for it. This particular one is probably aimed at a slightly younger audience because of the bright colours and because dodgem cars is something that would appeal to younger people rather than adults. The cars continue to spin around as two in the centre crash into each other and then the ITV1 logo appears and stays for a few seconds until the graphic has finished. The graphic is made to catch attention because of the bright lights moving around which could just catch the corner of your eye and it might make you want to watch if you weren’t already. It is quite similar to the BBC3 ident because of the younger theme but it isn’t animated and it isn’t focussed primarily on females like BBC3, and it’s one that adults will see because they also watch ITV so they didn’t use too many young themes. I think this ident is very good because it’s a simple idea and looks very good, it appeals well to the audience which is quite a young audience and uses a few techniques to make it better.

The main technique used, likewise to the channel 4 ident is movement, the dodgem cars are constantly moving right after the start which is done to keep the graphic moving and hold audience’s attention. It is also done to help might the bright colours stand out more and make them slightly mesmerising which all helps hold the audience’s attention. Like the Channel 4 ident, not a large amount of techniques have been used because they don’t really need visual effects for the kind of graphic it is and partially because it will be seen by an older audience as well and they have no real interest in visual effects. Rotation is also used as the dodgem cars are rotating almost all the way through the graphic, this adds to the effect of making the bright lights look mesmerising and hold your attention. Rotation is

another technique which is used in the majority of motion graphics which shows it is quite a basic graphic because it uses only the techniques which are used commonly.

This graphic has had some effect on my E-Stings motion graphic because again it is aimed at a slightly younger audience and shows me what needs to be included to appeal that audience e.g. bright colours. The main difference being that the BB3 ident is animated and that is the ident that has most influenced my E-Stings graphic, this one has helped however because it shows me what techniques should be included and has also give me some help for future graphics. It also shows me how to create a non-animated graphic which is aimed predominantly at a younger audience but will be seen by an older audience.

All three of these graphics are very different but are the same type of graphic which shows how many techniques you can include to make your graphics different. They have all influenced my E-Stings motion graphic in one way or another.