Illuminated text: a student exemplar

Watch it ‘full screen’.  

It’s a story.  It’s a movie.  It’s a revery.

Inspired by Jenny Lee’s rendering of the Hemingway story Cat in the Rain, Nicole Scott, a participant in the Three Rivers Writing Project Writers Camp, created this wonderful animated text called Toothpick Ocean, based on a story she composed.  The approach of having type move and animate is sometimes called kinetic type and is often used in the advertising, film and video industries — think of the movement of type in opening and closing credits in films.  In this case, however, the animator both composed the story and animated the text. 

This student model could easily become a mentor text for other media makers. There are many effects to study here: color choices, movement choices, sound/visual combinations. But there is also the story itself and the question of how the design choices enhance (or don’t) the mood and stance of the story.  

What do you think?  Please join the discussion.

Note: Original version also had soundtrack; soundtrack removed by YouTube.