Sadhouse Vol. 3 Reveal Teaser Motion Graphic

programs used:

adobe after effects, adobe illustrator

project type:

entrepreneurial

year completed:

2023

This project was my first time using After Effects. It wasn’t a cakewalk either. I knew I wanted to do something special for the teaser for the upcoming installation in my ongoing international collaboration artbook series. The series had grown and had grossed over $14K, and I wanted to up the production value of the assets involved. Every artbook in the series has a theme, and this time the theme is “Spooky Scary”. All of the artists involved have styles that relate to a horror aesthetic; because of this, I wanted the teaser motion graphic to effectively communicate the theme’s aesthetic.

I never had a chance to study motion graphics in my time at university so the project took A LOT of learning. The initial and perhaps greatest challenge was the fact that I knew I didn’t want the text to just pan or wipe, I wanted to the text to ominously etch into view. Then there was the fact that I wanted to add some grain, noise, shake, and flicker to reference the effects of film without being over-the-top or too corny. I also wanted to ensure all of the assets had an appropriate glow that mirrored vintage analog techniques including the faint ghosting that happens when the light plays with other panels. It was particularly tough to find resolution with the overlayed red text. I wanted it to distinguish itself, while still appearing to be an aspect of light instead of a flat effect-laden layer of text.

Ensuring the Sadhouse labyrinth motif etched itself without disaster took a great deal of trial and error, but I was hyped when I finally found what I felt was a sweet-spot.