Adam Westbrook // ideas on digital storytelling and publishing

How to make motion graphics animations

Posted in Online Video by Adam Westbrook on November 24, 2011

Motion graphics have grown in popularity over the last few years, as an effective form of both storytelling and data visualisation, exploiting the popularity of web video.

I’ve had a few requests from readers this year for information about how motion graphics animations are created. So I thought I would open the lid on the process using Storify to show the steps of designing a short motion graphics animation from start to finish.

A quick caveat: I am not suggesting this is a particularly good motion graphic – it was done to a very tight deadline, and if I could go back, there are lots I would change. But it’s a good example of kinetic typography, one of the most popular styles of graphics.

I can’t embed the Storify unfortunately, but click on the image below and you’ll go straight there.

 

 

And if you want to see the finished piece first, here it is:

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  1. Deyson said, on November 24, 2011 at 12:17 pm

    Great work ! 🙂

    I am a huge fan of Motion as well. I just used it for a video campaign, along with Blender which is another killer app.

    Keep rocking!

  2. thebenhall said, on November 24, 2011 at 3:04 pm

    Nice to see how it’s all done – really like the end product.
    Hadn’t heard of Apple Motion properly until now – looks like it packs a lot of good stuff in there if you know how to use it all.

    • Adam Westbrook said, on November 24, 2011 at 3:24 pm

      It’s a good alternative to Adobe After Effects (a bit cheaper too I think). It takes a bit of getting used to, but is relatively easy to get to grips with!

      • Deyson said, on November 24, 2011 at 3:37 pm

        It is actually a lot cheaper than After Effects, AE is $999.00 and Motion is $50.00.

        I also believe that if you are just starting to do Motion Graphics work it is easier to learn Motion than AE.
        I have not used AE in 2 years since I got deep into Motion and I have been using AE since version 2.

        I love Motion! 🙂

      • Ben said, on November 24, 2011 at 6:05 pm

        Thanks for the advice,
        I’ve been looking into AE and the like for a couple of months now. Your finished product certainly looks at the very least as good as some of those I’ve seen in AE and yes, it is much much cheaper.

        Thanks again,
        Ben

  3. Karsten said, on November 25, 2011 at 7:32 am

    Good work! A question, though: at roughly 1:59 you’ve chosen a serifed font, obviously, and I just wanted to know: why?

    • Adam Westbrook said, on December 1, 2011 at 9:29 am

      Hi Karsten, the serif font’s the same one used right at the beginning – it reappears in the same way the more downbeat music does to bookend the piece.

  4. eadnordhannover said, on November 28, 2011 at 12:51 pm

    Thank you! Inspiring … 🙂 Feel even motivated to do something towards the idea:-) (which, I suppose is the best reference your work can get?! 😉 How did you go about with the music (rights and such?)
    Have a great day.
    Klaus (from germany/as excuse for my awkward lingo;-)

    • Adam Westbrook said, on December 1, 2011 at 9:28 am

      Hi Klaus, I bought a licence to use the music royalty free from a UK based music company – details are in the Storify 🙂

  5. How to produce online video from scratch « Adam Westbrook :: online video & entrepreneurial journalism said, on December 15, 2011 at 9:29 am

    […] recently showed the behind-the scenes progress of a motion graphics commission using the curating tool Storify and it went down pretty well so I thought I’d do it again, […]

  6. 2011 in motion graphics projects « Adam Westbrook :: online video & entrepreneurial journalism said, on December 19, 2011 at 10:32 am

    […] November 2011 – A recent commission for V Inspired a UK organisation helping young people become leaders. I’ve written about the creation of this piece in more detail in this blog post and Storify. […]

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    Thanks very much! I’ve heard of Blender but not thought of combining it with motion work before – nice idea!

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