Khampradith - Personal Research Project

Graphic Content: The Future of Festival Visuals

Ravipon Khampradith

Knock2 - murdah (ISOxo Remix) Mock Screen Graphic

Abstract:

The aim of this project was to explore the evolving world of concert/festival visuals and how these graphics are made. Heavily inspired by the motion graphics and rave visuals seen at Excision’s Thunderdome event this past February, my goal was to see how these visuals were made and attempt to create something of similar effect. Using 3D modeling and rigging, I was able to use Blender and Adobe Premiere Pro to create musically synced motion graphics that use effects similar to those seen on the big stages at festivals. The end product was a minute and a half long visualizer to go along with ISOxo’s remix of “murdah” by Knock2 as the syncing track. This project delved into the processes used by professionals in the field and explored how creative the visuals can be to provide audiences with a visual experience to go along with their expected audio experience.

Process:

I utilized Mixamo’s built-in character and rigging features to create 3D assets to be animated in Blender. These animated scenes were then taken into Premiere Pro to get additional effects and color grading. The final composite uses all 3 tools (Mixamo, Blender, and Premiere Pro) to achieve an exciting visualizer for the chosen track.

Literature Review/Research:

• IMMANENT Motion Design Studio

• JonJonMakeMake

• Matt Medwid

• Wolves Visual Agency

Description of Research:

Studied how these artists, studios, and agencies develop their visuals and how they format it for large scale viewing.

Conclusions / Discoveries:

In conclusion, I was able to get a glimpse into the world of professional 3D motion graphics and festival media and had a lot of fun doing so. The process of properly setting up assets, animating, rendering, editing, then rendering again is time consuming and tough at times but very rewarding when the final product is complete.

Goals for Future Research:

• Attain higher quality assets

• More extensive rigging for models

• Gain a better understanding of editing and lighting

• Have one of my visuals on a big screen

Acknowledgements:

• Excision

• Knock2

• ISOxo

• Mixamo

• Blender

• Premiere Pro

Proposal Documentation:

Refined Question: How can I use 3D modeling and/or projection mapping to immerse audiences in a live event (music, sports, education, etc.)?

Research Proposal: My research will result in the creation of a long form or short series of motion graphics catered to another type of media (music, visuals) that help to immerse an audience in the visual/soundscape that they are experiencing. This will ideally help audiences stay engaged in their activity while adding to their experience and memories.

Precedents:

http://www.immanent.tv/about/ & https://www.instagram.com/immanent_vj/  

https://jonjonmakemake.com/ 

https://www.instagram.com/medwid.dxv3/ 

https://www.wolvesvisuals.com/excision-tour-visuals-front  

Action Plan:

• Conduct research on visual producers that have experience doing live events

• Start drafting in 3D software (Blender, Maya, etc.)

• Work on syncing visuals with audio

• Research projection mapping softwares and techniques to properly display the visuals

• Adjust visuals and create final drafts that incorporate projection mapping or audio/video syncing

• Present drafts to sample audience to see what could be improved

• Redraft based on feedback

• Complete final draft