Project 1: LifeStoryBoard
We all love a good web comic. It is known. The Oatmeal makes me giggle, Hyperbole in a Half is gold (those dog illustrations!), Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is both nutritious and delicious, and Nietzche Family Circus has completely transformed my worldview by being the most dada art currently being made that I'm aware of. Now is your time to shine, and now is also the time to simultaneously claim the mantle of glory and tell your life story.
Part 1: Using Storyboard That or good old fashioned pencils and paper, draw a storyboard of your life story so far. You need 15-18 panels, with captions. (10 points).
Part 2: Then storyboard your next ten years. What kind of plans are you hatching for the future? Where do you see yourself at age 25? What are your goals and what will it take to achieve them? You need 6-10 panels with captions telling your future plans. (5 points).
Part 1: Using Storyboard That or good old fashioned pencils and paper, draw a storyboard of your life story so far. You need 15-18 panels, with captions. (10 points).
Part 2: Then storyboard your next ten years. What kind of plans are you hatching for the future? Where do you see yourself at age 25? What are your goals and what will it take to achieve them? You need 6-10 panels with captions telling your future plans. (5 points).
Project 2: Kinetic Typography
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The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type any given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare. I don't know about you, but I'm personally not comfortable ceding the power of literature to the other members of the animal kingdom. Examining our own track record, it seems that primates do not always wield power responsibly, you know?
Furthermore, I ESPECIALLY do not want monkeys figuring out how combine the cubed powers of narrative storytelling, typographic design, and motion animation. Unfortunately for you, you are not a monkey. So you have to do this project. (And you don't get opposable big toes.) Here is one of my favorite pieces of kinetic typography. I really like Ira Glass and his message to aspiring creators. Take a look and a listen, this one is well worth your time: |
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Part 1: Simple Kinetic Typography in Premiere Pro.
-Choose an interesting piece of audio. It could be from a song you like, your favorite Youtuber of vlogger, TV, movies, radio or podcast, whatever your heart. If I understood what TikTock is and/or does well enough to advise you on whether or not that's an ideal source of media, I'd advise you on that but I do not so I will not. Ultimately, you're looking for 10 seconds of good audio. It must include spoken or sung words.
-Open that audio in Premiere and follow this tutorial. It will teach you how to trim an audio clip, create and place markers, generate color mattes and type, and manage video assets on a timeline.
-Think like a designer. Make conscious decisions about your use of the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. How are you using color? How are you using your space, both occupied and unoccupied? How is movement playing a role in your design? What kind of alignment rules are you following? What is the hierarchy of scale in your work (big things carrying more visual weight, small things carrying less) and how does that reflect which words are most important? Which things are you emphasizing and why are you emphasizing them? Which font(s) are you choosing and why did you choose it? How is line weight used in the font you chose? What picture or other visual elements are you using?
I will be asking you many of these types of questions. There are no right or wrong answers (unless you're using Comic Sans, that's just wrong), but if you aren't able to articulate the reasons behind the design choices you make, you need to slow down and think about why you're doing what you're doing. Good design is rarely the result of random choices. (Except for when infinite monkeys and infinite typewriters are involved.)
Looking for good imagery to use on this project? Try searching https://www.vecteezy.com/. Refine your search by looking for FREE stuff rather than pro stuff. (This is public school, not Disneyland!) . In need of any good fonts? Look for .otf and .ttf fonts at https://www.dafont.com/.
-Choose an interesting piece of audio. It could be from a song you like, your favorite Youtuber of vlogger, TV, movies, radio or podcast, whatever your heart. If I understood what TikTock is and/or does well enough to advise you on whether or not that's an ideal source of media, I'd advise you on that but I do not so I will not. Ultimately, you're looking for 10 seconds of good audio. It must include spoken or sung words.
-Open that audio in Premiere and follow this tutorial. It will teach you how to trim an audio clip, create and place markers, generate color mattes and type, and manage video assets on a timeline.
-Think like a designer. Make conscious decisions about your use of the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. How are you using color? How are you using your space, both occupied and unoccupied? How is movement playing a role in your design? What kind of alignment rules are you following? What is the hierarchy of scale in your work (big things carrying more visual weight, small things carrying less) and how does that reflect which words are most important? Which things are you emphasizing and why are you emphasizing them? Which font(s) are you choosing and why did you choose it? How is line weight used in the font you chose? What picture or other visual elements are you using?
I will be asking you many of these types of questions. There are no right or wrong answers (unless you're using Comic Sans, that's just wrong), but if you aren't able to articulate the reasons behind the design choices you make, you need to slow down and think about why you're doing what you're doing. Good design is rarely the result of random choices. (Except for when infinite monkeys and infinite typewriters are involved.)
Looking for good imagery to use on this project? Try searching https://www.vecteezy.com/. Refine your search by looking for FREE stuff rather than pro stuff. (This is public school, not Disneyland!) . In need of any good fonts? Look for .otf and .ttf fonts at https://www.dafont.com/.
Once you have taken a test drive of Premiere, let's play around with After Effects. This will allow us to further modify our kinetic typography and add more movement and customization to each graphic or video element in your design.