Squash and Stretch: each polygon does not squash and stretch on its own, but the whole network does at the beginning when it expands a tiny bit, recompresses, and then explodes (for the first time)

Anticipation: this also occurs during the action described for Squash and Stretch, as we can anticipate the network exploding much more after its first small expansion outwards

Staging: for this type of scene, it made the most sense to have the camera centered on the MASH network

Follow Through: after each quick movement, the MASH network continues to move in the same way but at a slower rate

Slow In and Slow Out: between movements, the MASH network slows down to make the physics more believable and add drama

Arcs: this one is a bit obvious, as most of the network's movement is in arcs, and the camera's revolution is (by definition) in an arc

Timing: this principle is what I feel is the most successful aspect of this animation. All the network's movements are timed along with changes in the music, making the visual and auditory components of the scene feel like they were made for one another (...and in fact, they were)

Solid Drawing: because the polygons are always moving through space, it's easy to feel the 3-dimensionality of the animation. Additionally, the various scales of the polygons helps reinforce this feeling

Close-up shot of the icosahedrons

My little universe was made using an 8k photo of the milky way on a cylinder. Click the image above to navigate to its source site.