COVID-19 motion graphics

https://youtu.be/PU3y7uUQcEU

Preface

(This is a solo project.) I like to edit videos as a hobby, but I usually only work with footage. However, I would like to branch out further and learn new related skills, so for this hackathon I decided to challenge myself by creating motion graphics. A major reason why this project was born was my need to experiment in an unfamiliar media.

Inspiration

All three categories in this hackathon appealed to me, but in the end I chose to make something for the pandemic category. There were many social issues I could have talked about, but I wasn't sure how to visualize and represent those ideas. An educational COVID-19 video, however, would be a concise presentation with orderly facts.

Importance

2020 has been shaped by the pandemic. To stay safe, people need to be informed about the dangers this virus has. In addition, it's imperative that everyone understands why social distancing and masks work against the coronavirus so that these safety measures can be practiced. The benefit my project has is very straightforward: online media can reach a wider audience because a link can simply be shared to anyone who is looking to learn. Regarding accessibility, videos are prevalent in social media and widely available as media to consume.

Process

I started out with some typography to introduce the video, but then switched my attention to the graphics I would want for each scene. I created these images first, then paired them with their text and put together a rough animation path for each scene. Once animation was finished, I would go in and fine tune details like font and color. Finally, I created transitions in between each scene instead of leaving hard cuts.

Challenges and accomplishments

Besides the standard research needed to provide information about COVID-19, I also had to figure out how I could visually convey the facts I presented. Every graphic I made needed to complement its sentences. While some topics were straightforward, such as visualizing two people far apart for social distancing, others were more abstract, like comparing worldwide coronavirus cases with each other. It was definitely a very creative process for me, and was comparable to storyboarding with how I planned out each scene I wanted to animate.

Technically, I had to teach myself a lot of new concepts and software functions in order to create the effects I used in my video. The most difficult part of my video was trying to create a 3D parallax effect with different sized circles. Working in 3D space is much harder for me than working in 2D, and that scene was the only 3D animation I made, along with being the scene I spent the most time on. The 3D positioning also demanded that I learn how camera positioning and points of interest work. Easier 2D effects I taught myself involved masking, plugins, and shape layers.

I had more scenes planned for my video, but the amount I was able to complete within the timeframe still stands on its own as a finished product instead of obviously lacking more content. I'm proud I was able to complete something like this in such a short time, and I feel like this video will be useful for me, outside this hackathon's context, in a potential motion reel or portfolio.

Acknowledgements

Statistics and information cited are from the WHO and CDC. Program used is After Effects CS6. Music is "Embrace" by Sappheiros; all other video assets were created by me.

Built With

• aftereffects