Using Special Effects to Your Best Advantage

ZephyrStar · Post by **ZephyrStar** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 12:44 pm

Ok...I thought I'd post something useful here. I know this has been discussed a lot in other forums and ranted on quite a bit, but my intention for creating this thread is for you to share instances of effects done RIGHT. Love effects or hate them, they're here to stay. So maybe in this thread we can post some videos with effects and maybe the reasons they appeal to us. Try to be constructive

I'll go first.

Kind of a random pick, and I know I plug this one a lot, but I love this video. The idea, music, and overall feel match up perfectly. I love the fact that text is used to tell part of the story, and it's done with gusto. Being a graphic designer myself, I have an appreciation for typography, and the fonts are very indicative of the mood and just lend to the overall feel. I'd love to see more people use text in this manner.

I get cold chills watching this, as it brings to mind the darker, mad science kind of steampunk scifi, one of my favorite genres. I actually like the story being told in this video better than I like the original story in Metropolis, which I found to be rather bland and predictable. One can say that this video would have worked without the effects, but by use of a rather simple film grain effect, the overall feeling is just solidified. Not to mention the flickering in the film grain echoes the frenetic pacing of the music. (I went out and bought a CD with this track on it because of this video)

trythil · Post by **trythil** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:34 am

I'm going to expand the definition of "effects" to include all the stuff that people here usually label as "effects": motion graphics, digital manipulation, and stuff like that. Whether or not that's really "effect work" is really dependent on the context of the work, of course, but expanding the definition makes my choices a lot easier.

That said, here's a few. I'll post more as more come to mind.

- Michel Gondry's Star Guitar. As will become evident as you read down this list, I love motion and internal sync, and this video uses some really clever, well-produced manipulations to deliver that in spades. Of particular interest to me is the way Gondry associates the aural shape with the visuals. I guess the best example of that would be around 1:15.

- Also by Michel Gondry: Come Into My World. Keying madness.

- Also by Michel (and now Olivier!) Gondry: Behind. It's a little like Star Guitar, except with extreme time compression. Quick note: the video is really much, much smoother than the youtube copy. Unfortunately, I can't find a copy online that runs at a higher framerate -- sorry.

- Not by any Gondry: well, actually, I don't know who made this video, but I'd love to know. Remind Me. You know the style of those airline safety cards and related stuff? This is all that stuff. Animated. This video's visual style really appeals to me.

But it's not just that. I see it as a somewhat mocking commentary on the complex machinery behind modern life. There's also the beginning of something that looks like a romance and then it...just disappears. In other words: the clean, slick, corporate visuals aren't just for show. Watch it and you'll see.

- Thomas Hilland, Eple. More motion work, and I've already stated several times how much I love that stuff. I don't know if there's any story here, but there are certainly clear themes -- world travel and associated memories being the most obvious ones.

CrackTheSky · Post by **CrackTheSky** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 3:30 am

trythil wrote:- Michel Gondry's Star Guitar. As will become evident as you read down this list, I love motion and internal sync, and this video uses some really clever, well-produced manipulations to deliver that in spades. Of particular interest to me is the way Gondry associates the aural shape with the visuals. I guess the best example of that would be around 1:15.

That was un-fucking-believable.

ZephyrStar · Post by **ZephyrStar** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:19 am

Gondry is God. Might I also mention that the video for Let Forever Be is simply insane. I can't even begin to visualize in my head how I would have to set up cameras...and tracking...and yeah...for all those flawless transitions.

http://www.director-file.com/gondry/chemical1.html

JaddziaDax · Post by **JaddziaDax** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:35 am

ZephyrStar wrote:Gondry is God.

XD agreed... i like his movies too

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind FTW!

trythil · Post by **trythil** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 11:08 am

ZephyrStar wrote:Gondry is God. Might I also mention that the video for Let Forever Be is simply insane. I can't even begin to visualize in my head how I would have to set up cameras...and tracking...and yeah...for all those flawless transitions.

http://www.director-file.com/gondry/chemical1.html

Oh, hey, thanks for that link -- seems that they have an encode of "Let Forever Be" at a much higher framerate than I'm used to seeing. Motion is so much better when it's smoother :)

Greggus1 · Post by **Greggus1** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 9:18 am

Seems this forum might come in handy after all

Gondry happens to be a good drummer, too. Guess it helps with the sync or something. Or maybe it's the other way around

Oh, and here's my contribution to the fun : Little Wonders

Damn cool motion and art style.

guy07 · Post by **guy07** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 10:49 pm

http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... hp?v=74029