29/02/2024 - 13/03/2024 / Week 4 - Week 6
Joey Lok Wai San / 0350857
Information Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Project 2: Animated Infographic
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vsT3i_BBJM3lcoV3hFITLJNwFaFSBLsx/preview
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uAzNNkAmSi-72VvpFz3Q2_c_EaPRVZvT/preview
PROJECT 2: Animated Infographic
This project is a continuation of Project 1: Instructable Infographic.
We are required to use the assets from Project 1 Instructable Infographic poster to create a 60-second recipe motion graphic. Once again, capture the aesthetics and narrative of the poster with movements, SFX, and music.
Requirements:
- Duration: max 60 seconds infographic video
- Video resolution: 720p (1280 x 720 pixels)
- Format: H26/mp4 published on YouTube
Instructable Infographic Poster
Fig. 1.1 Project 1 - Final Instructable Infographic, Week 4 (29/02/2024)
Visual References
Mr. Shamsul showed us some of our senior's work as an example of Project 2.
Fig. 1.2 Project 2 Example by Jocelin Agustia, Week 4 (29/02/2024)
Fig. 1.3 Project 2 Example by Chan Meiling, Week 4 (29/02/2024)
Storyboard
During our tutorial and practical classes, we started planning our animated infographic by sketching out our storyboard. I wanted to keep my animation as simple as possible because of (a) the time limitations and (b) I'm not the best at animating slay. I also think since it's an "infographic" everything should be as easy to understand as possible.
Instructable Infographic Poster
Fig. 1.1 Project 1 - Final Instructable Infographic, Week 4 (29/02/2024)
Mr. Shamsul showed us some of our senior's work as an example of Project 2.
Fig. 1.2 Project 2 Example by Jocelin Agustia, Week 4 (29/02/2024)
Fig. 1.3 Project 2 Example by Chan Meiling, Week 4 (29/02/2024)
During our tutorial and practical classes, we started planning our animated infographic by sketching out our storyboard. I wanted to keep my animation as simple as possible because of (a) the time limitations and (b) I'm not the best at animating slay. I also think since it's an "infographic" everything should be as easy to understand as possible.
Initial Storyboard
This is the initial/ unfinished storyboard I came up with in class. It is a very basic sketch to get an idea of how I wanted the animation to look.
Fig. 2.1 Initial Storyboard, Week 4 (29/02/2024)
When sketching out the storyboard, I took the time to experiment with different layouts on how to present my recipe steps. I found that putting the text on top of the illustration rather than at the bottom works better as it is easier to read the instructions. Furthermore, I made sure the step's number had a background to draw more attention to it.
Fig. 2.2 'Recipe Steps' Layout Experimentation, Week 4 (29/02/2024)
After experimenting with different layouts, I developed a final version of the storyboard to visualize how I wanted my animation to look.
I planned the opening scene to incorporate the title and the iconic black cat from the original Pasta Grannies video. Each step of the recipe will have its own shot. The credits will appear in the closing scene. All while making sure to keep the animation interesting and also easily understandable.
Fig. 2.3 Final Storyboard, Week 4 (01/03/2024)
Since this is a continuation of Project 1, I already had most, if not all, of the assets needed for the video. When making the poster, I made sure to create as many assets as necessary to clearly demonstrate the recipe steps.
Fig. 3.1 Assets from Project 1, Week 4 (01/03/2024)
In addition to using the assets from Project 1, I created a few more illustrations, such as the backgrounds, for the infographic video.
My first attempt at designing the background was inspired by the pink and light brown infographic poster. There was barely any contrast between the background and the illustrations, which made it harder to see the content.
Fig. 3.2 Initial Infographic Video Background, Week 4 (02/03/2024)
I then decided to use the background of the dark brown infographic poster. Just like Mr. Shamsul said in Project 1's feedback, a darker background makes the elements pop more (and I can definitely understand why he preferred how the dark brown second poster looked now). I combined the main colours from both final infographic posters.
Fig. 3.3 Final Infographic Video Background, Week 4 (02/03/2024)
I created 18 scenes for my recipe video. In the scenes, I used the same colour as my final infographic posters to maintain the art style.
Fig. 4.1 All Scenes - PDF, Week 5 (03/03/2024)
Adobe Illustrator to After Effects
Before I started animating, I did some organizing and layering in Adobe Illustrator. To animate objects in After Effects, each element must be separated into individual layers.
For example, in this scene, the number is on one layer, the text on another layer, and the bowl, the egg yolk, the cream, the sugar, etc. are all on their own separate layers. I did this for all the steps.
Fig. 4.2 Each Element Separate Layers, Week 5 (04/03/2024)
After organizing each step into a separate layer, I had to further separate each asset into its own layer. I found this tutorial that quickly separates each element in a layer into its own layer, which saved me so much time.
Fig. 4.3 How to Prepare and Import an Illustrator File into After Effects, Week 5 (04/03/2024)
To separate the Illustrator file layers and prepare it for After Effects, click the circle on the side to select the entire layer > right-click the hamburger menu on the top right > select 'Release to Layers (Sequence)" > hold the Shift key to select all the layers > drag them out into empty area > delete the empty layer.
Fig. 4.4 Separating Layers Following Tutorial, Week 5 (04/03/2024)
Animation - After Effects
I animated the elements with simple movements using opacity, scale, position and rotation. I'm not very familiar with this software, I've literally only used it once or twice. For more advanced animations, I depended on online tutorials to learn.
Opening Scene
Fig. 5.2 Typewriter Effect, Week 5 (05/03/2024)
Fig. 5.3 Typewriter Effect for Title and Subtitle, Week 5 (05/03/2024)
I wanted the background colour to change for the transition scene. My inspiration came from a pull-down projector screen; when the screen is pulled down, the content changes as if teaching a class. I decide to use the black cat for this scenario, to keep the elements and personality of the poster design in the animation.
Fig. 5.4 Black Cat Asset from Project 1, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
Fig. 5.5 Background Colour Transition, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
'Ingredient' Scene
For the ingredients title scene, I placed a rectangular shape that was the same colour as the background on top of the illustration/ text. Afterwards, I moved the shape by adjusting its position to reveal the text.
Fig. 5.6 Ingredient Title Scene Transition, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
Fig. 5.7 Ingredients and Text Animation, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
'Recipe Steps' Scene
I'm not going to show the animation for every step/ scene in the recipe because I'd be writing this blog forever if I did. These are a few notable animations throughout the video.
For step 1, I animate the coffee kettle to simulate pouring coffee into a cup. I did this by rotating the object while simultaneously moving the position of the kettle. In addition to this, I drew some steam to imitate the hot coffee cooling down. I reduced the steam to have no opacity then gradually increased the layer from 0 to 100.
Fig. 6.1 Kettle Pour Animation, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
Fig. 6.2 How to Create Liquid Animation in After Effects, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
Fig. 6.3 Coffee Pour Animation, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
Fig. 6.4 Coffee Pour Timeline, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
Fig. 6.5 Egg Cracking Animation, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
Fig. 6.6 Egg Cracking Timeline, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
Fig. 6.7 Salt Shaking Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Fig. 6.8 Whisk Stirring Animation - Before, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Fig. 6.9 Whisk Stirring Animation - After, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
The animation of the two bowls' ingredients mixing together is created by adjusting the opacity of both bowls at the right moments. I moved the two separate bowls to meet in the centre, then reduced both bowls' opacity to 0 while at the same time increasing the opacity of the bowl that holds the final product.
Fig. 6.10 Combining Bowls Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
I applied the same technique to create the illusion that a spoon is spreading cream on an empty tray. Firstly I placed a small amount of cream on the spoon. I made the cream's opacity 0 to simulate it spreading out on the tray as the spoon moves across the empty tray. Next, I stacked an empty tray and a tray filled with cream on top of one another. As the spoon moved, I gradually reduced the opacity of the empty tray and increased the opacity of the tray with cream. All this creates the image that the cream is being spread while the tray is being filled up.
Fig. 6.11 Empty Tray - Spreading Cream Layer Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Fig. 6.12 Tray with Cream - Spreading Cream Layer Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Fig. 6.13 Adding Ladyfinger Biscuits Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Fig. 6.14 Spreading Coffee Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Fig. 6.15 Sprinkling Cocoa Powder Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Closing Scene
The closing scene displays the final tiramisu outcome alongside the credit scenes. I made the tiramisu illustration as large as possible, followed by a cat appearing to say the words "Buon Appetito!". Finally, I moved the illustration of the tiramisu downwards to make room for the credit sequence.
Fig. 6.16 Tiramisu Outcome, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Fig. 6.17 Credit Sequence, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Before I started animating, I did some organizing and layering in Adobe Illustrator. To animate objects in After Effects, each element must be separated into individual layers.
For example, in this scene, the number is on one layer, the text on another layer, and the bowl, the egg yolk, the cream, the sugar, etc. are all on their own separate layers. I did this for all the steps.
Fig. 4.2 Each Element Separate Layers, Week 5 (04/03/2024)
After organizing each step into a separate layer, I had to further separate each asset into its own layer. I found this tutorial that quickly separates each element in a layer into its own layer, which saved me so much time.
Fig. 4.3 How to Prepare and Import an Illustrator File into After Effects, Week 5 (04/03/2024)
To separate the Illustrator file layers and prepare it for After Effects, click the circle on the side to select the entire layer > right-click the hamburger menu on the top right > select 'Release to Layers (Sequence)" > hold the Shift key to select all the layers > drag them out into empty area > delete the empty layer.
Fig. 4.4 Separating Layers Following Tutorial, Week 5 (04/03/2024)
I made each scene on separate storyboards which led to a massive problem. Apparently, only one artboard will be recognized by After Effects, so layers that aren't on that artboard won't show up. Thankfully I found this lifesaver on YouTube who demonstrated how to import multiple storyboards into one AE file.
Fig. 4.4 Multiple Illustrator Artboards to After Effects, Week 5 (05/03/2024)
To import multiple Illustrator artboards into After Effect, create a new folder to store your artboards > click "Save As" > click "Save each artboard as a separate file" > drag and drop into After Effects (sometimes you can't import all the files so you have to drag and drop).
Fig. 4.4 Multiple Illustrator Artboards to After Effects, Week 5 (05/03/2024)
To import multiple Illustrator artboards into After Effect, create a new folder to store your artboards > click "Save As" > click "Save each artboard as a separate file" > drag and drop into After Effects (sometimes you can't import all the files so you have to drag and drop).
Fig. 4.5 Saving Multiple Illustrator Artboards as Separate Artboards, Week 5 (05/03/2024)
Fig. 4.6 Importing Illustrator Artboards into After Effects (drag and drop), Week 5 (05/03/2024)
Fig. 4.6 Importing Illustrator Artboards into After Effects (drag and drop), Week 5 (05/03/2024)
Overall the main process I went through to get everything in Adobe Illustrator to After Effects is one storyboard > one scene > one main layer > separate layers for each object > export each artboard separately.
Animation - After Effects
I animated the elements with simple movements using opacity, scale, position and rotation. I'm not very familiar with this software, I've literally only used it once or twice. For more advanced animations, I depended on online tutorials to learn.
Opening Scene
I began by animating the title slide. The initial idea was to display the subtitle and title without animation, but I realized how boring that would be. I applied a typewriter effect to the text by following this tutorial.
Fig. 5.1 Typewriter Effect | After Effects Tutorial, Week 5 (05/03/2024)
Under Effects and Presets, search for "Typewriter" and drag the effect onto your desired text layer. With the layer selected, hit "U" to show your keyframes. Position the keyframes wherever you want on the timeline. Drag the keyframes closer together to make the animation faster, and drag the keyframes farther apart to make the animation slower.
Fig. 5.1 Typewriter Effect | After Effects Tutorial, Week 5 (05/03/2024)
Under Effects and Presets, search for "Typewriter" and drag the effect onto your desired text layer. With the layer selected, hit "U" to show your keyframes. Position the keyframes wherever you want on the timeline. Drag the keyframes closer together to make the animation faster, and drag the keyframes farther apart to make the animation slower.
Fig. 5.2 Typewriter Effect, Week 5 (05/03/2024)
Fig. 5.3 Typewriter Effect for Title and Subtitle, Week 5 (05/03/2024)
I wanted the background colour to change for the transition scene. My inspiration came from a pull-down projector screen; when the screen is pulled down, the content changes as if teaching a class. I decide to use the black cat for this scenario, to keep the elements and personality of the poster design in the animation.
Fig. 5.4 Black Cat Asset from Project 1, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
To achieve this transition, I used the 'position' tool for the cat and the brown background. Then, I timed it so that both layers were in sync and fell down together.
Fig. 5.5 Background Colour Transition, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
For the ingredients title scene, I placed a rectangular shape that was the same colour as the background on top of the illustration/ text. Afterwards, I moved the shape by adjusting its position to reveal the text.
Fig. 5.6 Ingredient Title Scene Transition, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
Revealing the ingredients one by one is a bit of a hassle. I set the opacity of each ingredient and its text to 0 and increased it to 100 when I wanted it to appear so that they would animatedly show up one after the other.
Fig. 5.7 Ingredients and Text Animation, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
'Recipe Steps' Scene
I'm not going to show the animation for every step/ scene in the recipe because I'd be writing this blog forever if I did. These are a few notable animations throughout the video.
For step 1, I animate the coffee kettle to simulate pouring coffee into a cup. I did this by rotating the object while simultaneously moving the position of the kettle. In addition to this, I drew some steam to imitate the hot coffee cooling down. I reduced the steam to have no opacity then gradually increased the layer from 0 to 100.
Fig. 6.1 Kettle Pour Animation, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
I also animated liquid to pour the coffee from the kettle into the cup. At the start, I used a shape to make the coffee pour effect but that didn't work. I searched for a tutorial on how to animate a liquid in After Effects and found the following tutorial.
Fig. 6.2 How to Create Liquid Animation in After Effects, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
From the tutorial, I make stroke shape > set stroke width and colour > under strokes go to taper value > rounded value > add a trim path > add a keyframe at the start and end of trim path > add a keyframe on stroke width > add a keyframe on path property.
Fig. 6.3 Coffee Pour Animation, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
Fig. 6.4 Coffee Pour Timeline, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
To create the egg-cracking effect, I begin by animating a whole egg in a separate layer. When the egg drops down to the bowl, I reduce the opacity to 0 then, in the next frame, I increase the opacity of the cracked egg layers to 100. Finally, the content of the egg (egg white and egg yolk) increases in opacity as it falls down into the bowl.
Fig. 6.5 Egg Cracking Animation, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
Fig. 6.6 Egg Cracking Timeline, Week 5 (06/03/2024)
In order to make the salt bottle shake out salt, I first animated the salt bottle shaking back and forth by moving its position. When the salt bottle moves backwards, I increase the salt layer quickly from 0 to 100. I did this animation of this twice to match the instruction of having a pinch of salt.
Fig. 6.7 Salt Shaking Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
In the scene where the electric whisk mixes the ingredients in a bowl, I created two bowls: one with the raw ingredients unmixed and one with the ingredients mixed. I stack the unmixed ingredients bowl directly on top of the mixed ingredients bowl.
When the mixer moves around the bowl, I slowly reduce the opacity of the unmixed ingredients bowl to zero which reveals the ingredients all mixed in another bowl. This creates the illusion that the whisk is combining the sugar, egg yolk and mascarpone to make a cream base.
When the mixer moves around the bowl, I slowly reduce the opacity of the unmixed ingredients bowl to zero which reveals the ingredients all mixed in another bowl. This creates the illusion that the whisk is combining the sugar, egg yolk and mascarpone to make a cream base.
Fig. 6.8 Whisk Stirring Animation - Before, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Fig. 6.9 Whisk Stirring Animation - After, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
The animation of the two bowls' ingredients mixing together is created by adjusting the opacity of both bowls at the right moments. I moved the two separate bowls to meet in the centre, then reduced both bowls' opacity to 0 while at the same time increasing the opacity of the bowl that holds the final product.
Fig. 6.10 Combining Bowls Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Fig. 6.11 Empty Tray - Spreading Cream Layer Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Fig. 6.12 Tray with Cream - Spreading Cream Layer Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
To animate the ladyfinger biscuits showing up one at a time, each biscuit is separated into its own individual layer. To make one biscuit show up, I set the opacity to zero, moved forward two frames, and set the opacity to 100. I applied the same method for each biscuit layer, one after another, to get the desired effect.
Fig. 6.13 Adding Ladyfinger Biscuits Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Similarly to the step of spreading the cream on a tray, for this step, I gradually darkened the ladyfinger biscuits' colour to a darker brown as I moved the spoon filled with coffee. This gives the visual that the ladyfinger biscuits are getting soaked in coffee.
Fig. 6.14 Spreading Coffee Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
I use the same technique in the last step of the recipe to give the impression that cocoa powder is shaking out of the container. By changing the container's position and the opacity of the cocoa powder falling at the right moments, I created the illusion that the powder was being sprinkled over the tiramisu.
Fig. 6.15 Sprinkling Cocoa Powder Animation, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Closing Scene
The closing scene displays the final tiramisu outcome alongside the credit scenes. I made the tiramisu illustration as large as possible, followed by a cat appearing to say the words "Buon Appetito!". Finally, I moved the illustration of the tiramisu downwards to make room for the credit sequence.
Fig. 6.16 Tiramisu Outcome, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
Fig. 6.17 Credit Sequence, Week 5 (07/03/2024)
After Effects to Premiere Pro
I animated each scene in separate compositions and then combined them all into one composition in After Effects. This way, any changes made in its own composition will straight away be implemented into the main composition.
Fig. 7.1 After Effects Timeline - All Composition Scenes, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
After Feedback - Week 5
After receiving feedback from Mr. Shamsul, I made the necessary changes he suggested such as:
- Slow down some of the steps as they were too fast for viewers to see and process
Fig. 7.1 After Effects Timeline - All Composition Scenes, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
After Feedback - Week 5
After receiving feedback from Mr. Shamsul, I made the necessary changes he suggested such as:
- Slow down some of the steps as they were too fast for viewers to see and process
- It is fine to exceed the 1-minute time limit, especially since my recipe had a lot of steps
I added a longer pause between the end of the scene's animation and the start of a new scene. I also added in a fade-in and fade-out transition to all scenes by adjusting the opacity from 100 to 0.
Fig. 7.2 Refining Animation - adding pauses and transitions between scenes, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
Fig. 7.3 Refined After Effects Timeline, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
Animated Video Progress - Without Audio
This is the progress of the animated video without audio in After Effects. As seen in the animation progress before feedback, the video was very fast-paced to fit in the 1-minute restriction. This didn't give enough time for the steps to be processed by the viewer.
Fig. 7.4 Animation Progress - Before Feedback, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
After receiving feedback from Mr. Shamsul and making the necessary changes, the animation is more evenly paced with enough pauses between each step and animation. It's a slight adjustment but the pauses and transitions between scenes make it much better.
I added a longer pause between the end of the scene's animation and the start of a new scene. I also added in a fade-in and fade-out transition to all scenes by adjusting the opacity from 100 to 0.
Fig. 7.2 Refining Animation - adding pauses and transitions between scenes, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
Fig. 7.3 Refined After Effects Timeline, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
Animated Video Progress - Without Audio
This is the progress of the animated video without audio in After Effects. As seen in the animation progress before feedback, the video was very fast-paced to fit in the 1-minute restriction. This didn't give enough time for the steps to be processed by the viewer.
Fig. 7.4 Animation Progress - Before Feedback, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
Fig. 7.5 Animation Progress - After Feedback, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
Editing and Sound Effects - Premiere Pro
Once all the animations were completed and compiled in After Effects, I imported the clips into Premiere Pro to edit and put in sound effects. For the background music and sound effects, I made a spreadsheet to keep track of all the audio and then inserted them according to the visuals.
I searched for sound effects that sounded similar to what I had in mind. For sound effects that I couldn't find, I tried to find a similar sound and used Premiere Pro to modify the audio. I gathered all my sound effects from these websites:
I searched for sound effects that sounded similar to what I had in mind. For sound effects that I couldn't find, I tried to find a similar sound and used Premiere Pro to modify the audio. I gathered all my sound effects from these websites:
Fig. 8.1 Sound Effects & Audio Spreadsheet, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
I used lofi aesthetic background music for my video to portray the cosy, warm atmosphere in the original Pasta Grannies video. I used non-copyright music from "massobeats" - jasmine tea (lofi aesthetic music).
In order to achieve a smooth transition from start to end of the background music, I reduced the level of the original audio and included audio effects like "constant gain" and "constant power".
Fig. 8.2 Background Music Fade-In, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
In order to achieve a smooth transition from start to end of the background music, I reduced the level of the original audio and included audio effects like "constant gain" and "constant power".
Fig. 8.2 Background Music Fade-In, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
Fig. 8.3 Background Music Fade-Out, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
Certain sound effects, such as the egg yolks falling and the ladyfinger biscuits appearing one at a time, need to be repeated one after another. In order to accomplish this, I cut the audio and then repeated and synchronised it with the object's appearance. The pitch and volume of some audio were adjusted to make it fit in better with the rest of the video.
Fig. 8.4 Repetitive Sound Effects, Week 5 (08/03/2024)
This is the entire timeline in Premiere Pro including the animation, background music, and sound effects.
Fig. 8.5 Premiere Pro Timeline - All Sound Effects, Week 5 (09/03/2024)
Fig. 9.1 Final Animated Infographic, Week 6 (11/03/2024)
FEEDBACK
WEEK 5
General Feedback
General Feedback
Keep the video simple and clear. Give a pause between steps for the viewers to see.
Specific Feedback
Everything looks good. Add a one-second pause after some of the step's animation as the scene changes too fast.
REFLECTION
Experience
My experience with this project was quite alright. I didn't have any major problems throughout the project, and even if I did I managed to solve them on my own. The hardest part was separating all the assets into separate layers in Illustrator and importing those layers into After Effects. I couldn't import all the Illustrator artboards to After Effects but a little searching helped solve the issue. Although this isn't my first time using After Effects, it was still quite a new software to use and the first time I've done anything major on it. I watched a ton of tutorials to assist me in animating the video.
Observation
I've noticed that focusing on one step of the process at a time has made me better at managing this project. There were so many more things to do in this project than Project 1; it's like juggling illustrating, animating, video editing, and adding sound effects. By going through the project one at a time, I can keep track of what I'm doing and it actually makes me feel more in control of my time and less overwhelmed with all the work to do. It's better than looking at the project as a whole and freaking out in an instant.
Findings
Throughout the duration of this project, I've discovered that animation is very time-consuming and requires a lot of attention to detail. It's essential to start with a storyboard so that you have a blueprint for the direction of the video. Following this, I had to create additional necessary assets, import those assets and animate each object action by action. This project requires a lot of different application software to be used together and I found it interesting how you can so easily use them with each other. This painstaking process really emphasises the importance of patience in animation, every stage from beginning to end plays its role in creating the final outcome.
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