Motion graphics are graphics that use video footage or animated technology to create something that looks like motion, they also usually use audio. There are many types of different motion graphics and they are used all over the media all for different things. Compositing video is a big part of motion graphics, compositing video is when there are several different video clips layered on to each other to create one single video or graphic.

Interactive Menus

An interactive menu is usually seen on a web browser or a dvd menu. It’s fairly obvious what it is – a menu you can interact with, on the dvd menu, you can choose from several options such as play or scene selection most commonly. The example of an interactive menu I chose is the menu for “Iron Man” which I chose because I really like the film and thought the menu obviously had some thought put into it. We see Iron Man operating controls and it makes it look like the Iron Man is choosing the options we choose which make it feel more interactive. It is mainly an animated motion graphic because Iron Man himself is animated and the majority of the things on the graphic are animated. Other visual effects used include a constant flickering which creates the effect of it being seen through the vision Iron Man sees it through which is like a computer, this makes it feel slightly more interactive. Movement is used because Iron Man is constantly moving around in the graphic and also there are scenes from the film moving around in the background, the clips from the film are seen moving around, they are key clips which make the film look exciting, they are there to give you a quick glimpse of the film before you watch it. These effects are probably seen on a lot of different interactive menus because they are distinctive features which help you recognize which type of motion graphic it is. Advanced techniques used include blurring because where the screenshots from the film move around they become quite blurred, also Iron Man himself has been sharpened because he is the main focus of the graphic. Rotation is used often because Iron Man rotates around the graphic as well as the screenshots of the film which rotate around the screen. These are also some of the standard advanced techniques you would see used on an interactive menu and you’ll find most of them include these techniques, they will help you recognize what type of graphic it is.

The video format for this interactive menu is PAL which is the standard definition image for the UK and Europe. PAL delivers a frame rate of 25 fps in 625 lines compared to NTSC (standard video format for USA) delivers 30 fps frame rate in 525 lines. The main difference between PAL and NTSC is that NTSC technically has a slightly smoother picture than PAL, also NTSC receivers have a tint control to perform colour correction manually, if this is not adjusted correctly, the colours may be faulty, however for PAL, it automatically cancels hue errors by phase reversal, so a tint control isn’t required, these are only very minor differences however. Pro’s of PAL format - greater number of scan lines which means more picture detail, also the higher gamma ratio means that the gamma value for PAL/625 is set at 2.8 as opposed to the lower 2.2 figure of NTSC/525. This permits a higher level of contrast than on NTSC/525 signals. The cons include - more flicker which is caused by the lower

frame rate. Also lower signal to noise ratio - The higher bandwidth requirements cause PAL/625 equipment to have slightly worse signal to noise performance than it's equivalent NTSC/525 version.

The screen ratio of the interactive menu I chose is 4:3 which means every 4 units wide is 3 units high. Pros of 4:3 screen ratio include – anything that doesn’t involve video or games works well in 4:3, such as working with text. Cons include – it isn’t great for watching videos or playing games because it’s all squashed into one space. The resolution of the graphic is standard definition (640x480) which basically means how much detail there is in the picture, standard definition means there is less detail in the picture. Pro’s of standard definition include – smaller file size, doesn’t cost anything extra. Con’s of standard definition – picture not as good as it could be, not as much detail. The frame rate of the interactive menu is 25 fps which we know because it’s standard for something in PAL format. 25 fps pros – used for pretty much everything, very common. 25 fps cons – picture isn’t as smooth as it can be with higher frame rates. The compression used for the interactive is MP4, which is used to store digital video and digital audio streams, especially those defined by MPEG, but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and still images. MP4 pro’s - good image quality at low data rates, MP4 cons - Standard is still being designed.

Ident

Ident means station identification. In the UK they are used between programmes to identify what channel they are and sometimes briefly some up what they include on the channel, always using the channel’s logo. They are often just brief clips of something which may be a theme in one of their programmes such as for BBC, one of the idents is of people playing football, representing Match of the Day. There is almost always a voiceover of an announcer telling us what the next programme will be and what the actual channel is. An example of an ident is a BBC ident from 2002 where we see three boys on skateboards manoeuvring through a construction site. This can briefly sum up BBC and the kind of programmes they show even though it may not represent a specific one. The only technique really used is movement, which is to be expected in any motion graphic, the movement is of course the movement of the boys on the skateboards, at first we can only briefly see what’s going on but more of it is revealed as the boys skate further on. The only advanced technique used is rotation, which also is expected on pretty much any motion graphic, the camera rotates around the image throughout the graphic so we can see more of what’s going on in the picture.

The video format used for the ident I choose is PAL which I know because it is a BBC ident which is obviously from the UK, I have already described the PAL video format and some pro’s and con’s. The screen ratio of the ident is 4:3 which I have already described as well as some pro’s and con’s. The only difference between the ident and interactive menu is the compression, the compression for the interactive menu is MP4 whereas for the ident it is Xvid. Xvid uses ASP features such as b-frames, global and quarter pixel motion

compensation, lumi masking, trellis quantization, and H.263, MPEG and custom quantization matrices. MP4 has a lower bit rate than Xvid but MP4 can be played in most media players whereas Xvid cannot. I think MP4 is of more use than Xvid because it has become very common and can be used for most graphics. Pro’s of Xvid – Great quality with sharp detail, support in consumer electronics devices and good encoding speed. Con’s of Xvid – Still under development, not as common as DivX.

Sting

A sting is basically a motion graphic used on television sometimes used to advertise something but it isn’t actually remotely like an advert, just a motion graphic which represents something. An example of a sting is the ITV Sport World Cup Sting which was used during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It is basically a gold liquid forming a ball on top of the cup (which is the Earth) and then the cup basically forming and coming into focus, it is all in bright gold colours to make it look more valuable and prestigious (which it is) and it’s also done to keep your attention, it is not clear straight away what the sting is for so it keeps the audience watching. Visual effects are used to make it look like a small and gold version of the planet Earth is forming on top of the cup, it starts off as a liquid and forms into the Earth, sharpening at the same time. Also visual effects are used to make the cup look brighter and shinier. Movement is used because the cup itself moves and there are two rings around the cup which move and rotate around it. Blurring is used when the planet is forming from a liquid, initially it is blurred as is the majority of the actual cup, sharpening is then used as it becomes more clear what the cup is. Also the sharpening adds to the effect of making the cup look shiny/prestigious. Obviously rotation is used because the actual cup rotates as well as the two rings around the cup.

The video format for the sting is HD (High Definition) which is a format of substantially higher quality than standard definition. It is much more common to be used in video and motion graphics now than standard definition because the quality is just so much better. Pro’s of HD – High quality picture, clear picture, not hazy or snowy, no degradation. Con’s of HD – Large file size, expensive, some HDTV’s experience a burning of the screen if the same image is left on for too long. The screen ratio used for the sting is 16:9 which means every 16 units wide is 9 units high. This has become the most common screen ratio for television and is used for HD and widescreen. Pro’s include – Can see the full image of a landscape shot in films, whereas in 4:3 you can’t see everything that goes on. Con’s include – watching an older video on a 16:9 TV could result in the picture being stretched because it isn’t meant to be played on such a wide TV. The resolution for the sting is 1280 x 720 which is standard for HD. This means it is in widescreen and you can see the full picture for anything that requires wider TV. Pro’s include – being able to see the entire of an image if it’s so wide that it requires a wider TV. Con’s include – if it’s an enclosed image then it will be slightly stretched in that resolution. The frame rate for the sting is 25 fps, I have already explained 25 fps and it’s pros and cons. The compression for a sting is H.264 which is also known as

MPEG4 AVC, it is one of the most used formats for video recording compression, and distribution of high definition video. The final drafting work on the first version of the standard was completed in May 2003. The pro’s of H.264 include - Delivers incredible video quality at data rates one-fourth to one-half the size of previous video formatsH.264, offers dramatically lower bit rates and better picture quality than MPEG-2, MPEG-4 or H.263+It is 2X times more efficient than MPEG-4. Con’s include – Requires longer encoding time, it is not constricted and low-bandwidth friendly, more Hardware overhead is also one of the limiting factor and the licensing agreements are complicated.

Title/Credit Sequence

A title/credit sequence is a sequence at the start or the end of a film or TV program, a title sequence usually shows us the title of the film and some of the actors in it where a credit sequence is much longer and shows us more or less everyone who was involved with the film/program.

An example of a credit sequence I chose is the one at the end of Sherlock Holmes. It is a very iconic one because of the style it is done which is basically showing us a scene from the film which then freezes and then effects are used to make it look old fashioned and like it’s been drawn on parchment, credits then appear. It’s very iconic because the film is set a long time and is an old fashioned themed film. Techniques used include visual effects which make the images transform from a normal image to an old fashioned looking image very quickly, to do this the colours change to mainly brown and make the image look like it’s been drawn on parchment. The only movement in the sequence is the movement of the characters in the clips that are shown. Blurring is used on the clip before the effects kick in just to help introduce it before it freezes, and then once the clip has been made to look old fashioned it is sharpened so we can clearly see the image and we recognize the clip from the film.

The video format used for this credit sequence is HD which I explained because it was used for the sting, basically the quality is it at its best when the video format is HD. The screen ratio is 16:9 which again I already explained for the sting graphic, it’s slightly different for a credit sequence because it is used in a film which is seen on cinema screens so sometimes the screen ratio is larger because the screen is so much larger. The resolution is 1280 x 720 which again I have already explained, the standard resolution for HD video, likewise to the screen ratio though, this will be used on cinema screens and if that’s the case the resolution will be much bigger because more space needs to be covered. The frame rate is 30 fps which gives a much smoother frame rate than motion graphics that use a lower frame rate which has to be done for a movie so that the quality is at its best, it is also the most commonly used frame rate in the USA. Pro’s include – More focus on environment, con’s – less smooth character animations. Compression used is MP4 which I’ve already explained because it was used in the other graphics I described.