JUSTIFICATION

Graphic design principles share applicability in static print models and motion graphics. Precedence exists for the translation of images from print into motion. Photography was translated into motion by the rapid capture of sequential still images; when played in succession at a rate equal to the capture rate, cinema was born. During the first twenty-five years of cinema, the major conventions for capturing motion were developed: camera angles, shot types, transitions, etc. Graphic designers continue to rely upon set cinema conventions and existing recording technology for the creation of imagery in motion graphics. On the other hand, typography initially translated into motion as static blocks of text. Early cinema utilized typography, in the form of intertitles, to transition between scenes or to convey dialog. Intertitles were filmed from printed cards meant to be read like text in a book, magazine, or newspaper. With the advent of sound film technology in 1929, typography was relegated to the display of secondary information. The distinction still holds three-quarters of a century later in motion graphics: film titles flash names; commercials contain phone numbers and tag lines; and broadcast news reports display headlines. Despite movement away from the early static text, graphic designers continue to accept the secondary role of typography in motion graphics. The ability of typography to communicate is diminished: bits get translated, but not whole texts.

Despite the design similarities between print and motion, graphic designers need a basic mental shift: away from the distillation of time into a space, toward a distillation of space into time (Schmidt 232). The affordances of motion graphics allow an unfolding of typography over timeóa typography distinctly different from print. Transition of typography becomes part of the communication structure, allowing messages to build in complexity over time.

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