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Shop Vac (kinetic typography animation)

jmheather2 HN recommenders · recommended in 2 months, 2011–2023
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music · general · evergreen · 2011–2023 on HN

A kinetic typography animation for Jonathan Coulton's song 'Shop Vac', made by Jarrett Heather with Illustrator, After Effects and other tools over 500-1000 hours.

Praised as a standout example of kinetic typography that holds attention, and known as the earlier work that led to the animator's Weird Al 'Word Crimes' video.

6 comments from Hacker News

@programzeta2011-09 · in “Y Combinator by the Numbers”

I think it's a ripe field for experimentation at this point, as it's a very entertaining way to present information. There is/was a series in Australia called Hungry Beast, which produced "Beast File" segments that used kinetic typography in the same manner as this video: Stuxnet: link Google: link Apple: link There are more of these segments, but a lot of them have to do with Australian politics / corporations. I've watched them all because I adore the style but it might not be for everyone :) In addition, there have been several labours of love which really showcase what's possible when you make a full production out of such a work, such as this amazing piece of kinetic typography / video done to Jonathan Coulton's Shop-Vac: ▶ this video Any potential company would have their work cut out for them to allow user-generated content to even get close to the above segments, but as the current crop of tools are general professional-level tools (Adobe After-Affects / Premiere or related) there's definitely a specialized gap here.

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@biturd2011-06 · in “How to Make Text Look Interesting: Minimalist Web Design”

For me, this Shop•Vac Pardoy Commercial thingy had really great typography. It kepy me interested the entire time. Granted, it had other elements keeping me interested, though I feel it was mainly the interesting use of type. ▶ this video

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@DonHopkins2023-05 · in “Wikipedia users edits over 90k uses of “comprised of””

Speaking of heroes who I could care less about: Jarrett Heather presents: Word Crimes (2014) (jarrettheather.com) Archive: link "Weird Al" Yankovic - Word Crimes: link >The Completed Music Video: In November 2013, "Weird Al" Yankovic asked me to direct an animated video for "Word Crimes", a parody of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" about the supposed abuse of proper language. >The result of 500 hours of work in After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere goes by in 3 minutes, 44 seconds. I hope you find each one of them entertaining. Word Crimes Animatic: link >This storyboard-in-motion took about 100 hours. Al signed off on this design on January 25th, 2014, only 3 weeks after he gave me his homemade "demo" for Word Crimes, which you can hear on the animatic soundtrack. >If you watch very closely, you might notice a gag or two that didn't make it through to final animation or some very subtle changes in the lyrics. HN Discussion: link MrHeather on April 9, 2020 | parent | next [–] When I first met with Al about this project, I was quick to point out that linguists would disagree with about a third of the "advice" he's giving out. His immediate reply was "WELL THEY'RE WRONG"--really loudly in the "Weird Al" character voice. In my mind the joke is that the song's narrator is a know-it-all character that shouldn't be taken entirely seriously. But on the other hand, a lot of educators have contacted me to tell me they use the song as a learning tool. DonHopkins on

@DonHopkins2020-04 · in “Jarrett Heather presents: Word Crimes (2014)”

Jarrett Heather is the artist behind Weird Al's "Word Crimes" video released in 2014 (at 48.4 million views now). Word Crimes: link Weird Al's spot-on parody of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" with T.I. and Pharrell Williams: link Weird Al contacted him after being impressed by "Shop Vac", his previous work with kinetic text (typographic animation), which he made using animation tools like AfterEffects. Shop Vac: ▶ this video This page on Jarrett Heather's web site tells the story and shows the art and technology behind the "Word Crimes" video. He's also published the Animatic storyboard-in-motion that took about 100 hours, to Weird Al's original home-made demo of the song! It's fascinating to compare them, and see how their ideas evolved from storyboard to final video. Jarrett Heather presents: Word Crimes: link >The Completed Music Video: In November 2013, "Weird Al" Yankovic asked me to direct an animated video for "Word Crimes", a parody of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" about the supposed abuse of proper language. >The result of 500 hours of work in After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere goes by in 3 minutes, 44 seconds. I hope you find each one of them entertaining. The Animatic: link >This storyboard-in-motion took about 100 hours. Al signed off on this design on January 25th, 2014, only 3 weeks after he gave me his homemade "demo" for Word Crimes, which you can hear on the animatic soundtrack. >If you watch very closely, you might notice a gag or two tha

@DonHopkins2020-04 · in “Jarrett Heather presents: Word Crimes (2014)”

Jarrett Heather is the artist behind Weird Al's "Word Crimes" video released in 2014 (at 48.4 million views now). Word Crimes: link "Word Crimes" is Weird Al's spot-on parody of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" with T.I. and Pharrell Williams. I think Weird Al's version is better and more educational than the original -- smart and catchy like a modern Schoolhouse Rock. Blurred Lines: link Weird Al contacted Jarrett Heather after being impressed by "Shop Vac", his previous work with kinetic text (typographic animation), which he made using animation tools like AfterEffects. Shop Vac: ▶ this video This page on Jarrett Heather's web site tells the story and shows the art and technology behind the "Word Crimes" video. He's also published the Animatic storyboard-in-motion that took about 100 hours, to Weird Al's original home-made demo of the song! It's fascinating to compare them, and see how their ideas evolved from storyboard to final video. Jarrett Heather presents: Word Crimes: link >The Completed Music Video: In November 2013, "Weird Al" Yankovic asked me to direct an animated video for "Word Crimes", a parody of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" about the supposed abuse of proper language. >The result of 500 hours of work in After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere goes by in 3 minutes, 44 seconds. I hope you find each one of them entertaining. The Animatic: link >This storyboard-in-motion took about 100 hours. Al signed off on this design on January 25th, 2014, onl