Project 4: Time & Motion
I started by studying some videos that might offer insight into how to pair music with a scene.
SONG CHOICE
The music I immediately had in mind is “La Femme D’Argent”, a song by Air in their hit album Moon Safari. The music can best be characterized as electronic easy listening, featuring a smooth bass line and muted organ accompaniment. As an added bonus, the album was released in 1998 (Same cultural era as Chaparral, which was created in 1997) and reflects the aesthetic design of the time. There might even be some parallels in the history of electronic music and digital typeface, with both rising to massive success by the early 2000s. I even watched the music video for a sense of the color palette and aesthetic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH5bL_XbO64
Overall, this song brings out qualities of the font that I’d like to showcase: Low-pressure, richly versatile, and approachable. With this in mind, I began to take notes on timestamps within the song that might be useful.
Alternate music choices as part of my due diligence in exploration:
Visual Direction
One angle I may explore in the future is the element of 2000’s nostalgia, and how that overlaps with the friendliness and general compatibility of Chaparral.
I have been heavily inspired by the music video for “Do I Wanna Know?” by Arctic Monkeys. There’s a lot that can be done with just a line on a simple background- especially with such a groovy, easy-listening soundtrack. It serves as a visual representation of the “attitude” of the typeface.
Crit Feedback
One idea I should be incorporating is when to “give up the goods”, so to speak. Is my video/music better suited for a quick reveal, or one that builds up to a climax? This is a tough question considering how uneventful my song is relative to other “punchier” soundtracks that reach a more distinct climax.
After talking to Langston in the junior class, I walked away with some ideas. There is a subtle hypnotic quality to the music (he pointed out) that when combined with a gentle rhythmic motion creates a sense of relaxation. If I could keep the vibe simple and comforting throughout the video, then a “climax” sequence wouldn’t need as many bells and whistles (punchiness) to impress the viewer. By simply adding a bit more color, detail, and movement, I can turn up the wow factor while staying within the reasonable bounds of the aesthetic and music.
Planning the Climax
Since I keep talking about the broad compatibility of Chaparral, the best way to showcase this would be a highlight reel of its uses in various contexts. I am making various vector illustrations for this. Minimal camera movement or text, with a focus on animating subtler elements within the art. I’ll let the illustrations do the talking, so to speak.
I was frankly a little to excited to do this sequence and skipped over some parts in the middle.
The sequences laid out are as follows:
- Introduction
- Various usage types
- Micro-analysis of the letterform
- Ramping up to “Chaparral” reveal (shorter)
- Highlight reel
The animations of the first 3 sections are a little simple compared to the finale. I may need to brush them up to make the visual read more consistent and less jarring.
I really like the idea of combining the beige napkin-doodle aesthetic with a sort of nightlife version, with more vibrant colors and a funkier mood to match the music. Up until now, I’ve been working in stark black and white, but now is a good time to add color especially with the inclusion of a climax.
One resource that has been particularly helpful is this website which helps me see real world applications of Chaparral.
TA Crit Feedback
Hannah suggested that maybe the dark sequence would be too jarring if the colors were too “nightclub” like. Given the short timespan and rapid movement of different elements, bright colors may be too distracting and would actually reduce readability with too much contrast.
Final Crit Feedback
- Spend some time balancing out the dark sequence time. Increase visual comfort by allowing the eye to rest in between quick movements.
- Resolve the coffee cup steam- it looks a little janky.
- Really polish up the typesetting- make sure your text elements are aligned perfectly!
- Allow elements of your climax sequence to seep backwards into your earlier parts. The transition is a little jarring- how can you introduce color to prime the viewer for the parts later to come?
I switched the pallete of the dark sequence over to a muted, grey-brown look and turned the harsh whites back down a little. Experimenting with the wave warp + turbulent displace effects gave me a simpler, cuter steam cloud.
I decided to add a simple illustration to the “flexible usage” sequence as a way to introduce the concept of vector art to the viewer’s mind before the climax.
