#3 - And the winners are..

This piece, titled Joe Diamond, is not actually a product or service, but a fictional-esque story. Mathias Kohl & Christoph Schulte stated that they wanted to tell the story of a detective and his thought process as he walks through a scene. The demographic for this sort of story would be anyone who is interested in detective stories, investigation, how research is conducted, or even a rabid CSI fan or three. If you’re interested in the pursuit of truth, it is interesting to consider this animation as the thoughts pop out to the detective.

The artists insert animation in the video in order to show what the detective is thinking as he searches for clues. They use a clean, almost clinical approach to their animations – this helps to suggest a research report, such as can be seen in CSI or Bones or other well done investigative shows/movies. Type plays a prominent role, as well as simplified graphics. The motion graphics utilized are reminiscent of an interactive computer program, popping up as they become relevant.

I think the judges voted this piece as a winner because of the clean way in which the animation progresses, combined with how well the ideas are communicated by the piece. The shot choices are also well chosen, keeping the detective in the center of the scene but also allowing the viewer to feel as though they are participating in the research involved while searching for the answer to the puzzle.




Cole Nielsen (et al) created this motion graphic for the opening credits of the 4th Typophile Film Festival and focused on showing the way typography interacts with a man as he goes through his life, from beginning to end.

The demographic for this type of piece would be college aged and beyond who have an active interest in typography and how type is used in motion graphics. Considering that the piece was made for a very focused group (those attending the festival) I think it was very effective. I believe that the effectiveness of the piece is one reason why the group were one of the winners of the competition.

The motion graphic is also very dynamic, changing styles frequently while still maintaining a cohesiveness to the whole story. The viewer follows the “life” from its inception (when letter sperm permeated the letter ovum) all the way until the death. Included are spurts of colour, photography, realistic references, etc. Aside from the beginning, the most memorable part to me was the romantic setting where the artists used hashtags and symbols to signify e-romance (such as ---;--@ for a rose).