The Most Influential Motion Graphics of Our Time

[Guest bennett]

While the "Reels" section is a compendium of the most impressive motion design studios/artists, I was wondering what specific pieces you guys consider to have had the most impact on you as a designer. I thought that it might help to have a definitive list of must-sees from Saul Bass' "Vertigo" title sequence to GMunk's "The FINN Movie".

 

If you had to point to a SINGLE piece that inspired you and significantly changed the way you thought about motion graphics what would it be and why? (If possible, provide the most direct link to the piece.)

 

For me, it would have to be Digital Kitchen's intro sequence to HBO's "Six Feet Under". I still can't get over how precise the typography, the moving image, the graphics and the audio work together to embody the brand of the show. It is unique, classy, elegant, and exciting all at once.

 

http://www.d-kitchen.com/work/quicktime/32...40/sixf_320.mov

[Guest rizon]

i totally agree

 

another trailer of sfu > http://www.d-kitchen.com/work/quicktime/32...dvd_320_qt.html

 

i looove first shot![/url]

[Guest SteveCo]

Many amazing things have inspired me over the short time that motion graphics have peeked my interest. If I had to pick a defining moment I might say that seeing Anamorph by the WDDG for the first time left me in awe. I was pumped at what could be done, and what people were doing.

 

Check it here: http://www.wddg.com/anamorph/40mb.html

[Guest André Leroux]

There are many to choose from, & some will be left out.

Sukkoch, Yuco and Kyle Cooper have all been inspirational.

The one single piece would be PSYOP's Bombay. Its just the way it was all put together that makes it so great.

 

http://www.psyop.tv/

 

André

[Guest bennett]

Psyop's "Drift" for Bombay Sapphire: http://www.psyop.tv/bombay/bombay_01.mpg

[Guest fredcamino]

My choice for my single most inspirational piece of mograph would have to be Shynola's "Go With The Flow" promo for Queens of the Stone Age. It's just so damn cool, so overtly dirty, glaringly subtle, sexy as all hell, and beautiful. It fits the band, the song, everything, perfectly. I looooooove it.

 

check it out: http://www.thedirectorsbureau.com/vault/sh...theflow_400.mov

[Guest firemind]

Anamorph was the first thing motion graphics related I saw and it kicked my ass like no tomorrow. The biggest impression after that I guess was mk12's Man of Action which just floored me. That and Shynola's vid for Quannum's I changed my Mind, which reinforced the idea that 3D didn't have to be all about smooth characters but could be used graphically.

[Guest bennett]

MK12 "Man of Action": http://media.mk12.com/quicktime/moa_small.mov

Shynola "Quannum - I Changed My Mind": http://www.thedirectorsbureau.com/vault/sh...dmymind_400.mov

 

Of course. Since firemind runs this joint, he can have as many favorites as he wants.

[Guest fredcamino]

"Man of Action" certainly is one of the most awesome things ever in the history of the universe.

[Guest parallax]

I def. agree with the "Six feet under" title sequence. Its amazing, one of my all-time favourites.

 

I think "man of action" certainly qualifies, and "Catch me if you can" is also up there IMO.

[Guest TrentDiggity]

Man of action is great cause every time you watch it you catch something new in either the visuals or the dialogue.

[Guest markinchina]

I have watched PSYOP many many times, especially two clips inspired me:

http://www.psyop.tv/brazil/brazil_01.mpg

http://www.psyop.tv/lugz/lugz_01.mpg

& motion theory's nike_uptown_digital:

http://www.motiontheory.com/media/nike_upt...own_digital.mov

[Guest soulmobile]

Firtst mographs I saw in my life are P A B L O F E R R O ' S.

Check out his stuff from the 60s and 70s... superanalogic, most of his stuff remains sooo fresh nowadays.

 

Seems they restyled the official site, but damn!, they still didn't fix the problems on a lot of the .movs.

 

Anyway he's the man behind Dr Strangelove, Bullit, The Thomas Crown Affair and many others.

 

check it: www.pabloferro.com

[Guest govinda]

Pablo's still going. A friend of mine hired him in the 90s for grotesque amounts of money for a movie logo.

 

If you look closely at the 'Strangelove' titles, there's a typo, 'Base on a Novel by Terry Southern.' Pablo had a Havana moment there.

[Guest mr.Squiggle]

I cant choose one. Heres three for different reasons.

Seven - more interesting narrative in 2 minutes than a couple of hours for the rest of the film. (somewhere on www.imaginaryforces.com )

The caligraphy & framing windows in Peter Greenaways Prosperos Books - the first time I had seen such graphic devices effectively used as part of the storytelling within a film.

Theres a bit in the in the attiks film "negative forces" with many small windows like comic book panels in motion. It made me think a lot about controling eye movement around the screen. The simple but perfectly timed stuff seems to have more lasting impression on me than very complex busy animations.

[Guest states]

erm... how about the idents for OneDotZero 3,4 & 5 by statedesign?

[Guest SermonOfMockery]

before i really knew what "motion graphics" meant i thought the titles in se7en were really neat, but i would have to say justin harder's older demo reel "let's make some shape" really kicked my ass... also a lot of the older weworkforthem/mike young stuff.

[SteveCo 0]

bumpin to the oldies...

[_gl 0]

Holy dead threads Batman...no wonder the dK links didn't work.

 

-gl

[jablinko 0]

michel gondry!

 

fight club mo tracked catalog stuff

 

danny younts stuff

 

nice to see a callout to peter greenaway (thr guy's a genius, and belly of a architect is one my formative flicks)

 

dk for sure, before blogs became the thing, back in earlier days of less mograph saturation, dk was one of my go to's for inspiritation

 

as far as overall influential, how about

 

definitely eyeball nyc's hugely influental cmt ID's for the written on organic thing, and 2002 comedy central rebrand

 

motion theory's ocean of motion tracked work

 

i give up and defer to a better cleric of the trade as to who made what style when before it went and got flogged by later adopters

[boy.finley 0]

MK12 blew my mind with 4D Sweater Porn & Ultra Love Ninja back in the day.

 

Also Studo AKA's Pica Tower shortfilms. Pretty sure IDN was still handing out CDROMs when I first saw them.