Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjXHRUlKe_M&feature=related and watch this simple kinetic typography show while you listen to Kenneth Koch read his poem "Social Life, With Friends".
I find this to be a simple yet effective animation that lends nicely to Koch's simple, sparse poem with a big message. First of all I like the tumult effect of typography and I think it works well for this spoken piece. I like the minimalistic stylization of black and white with animated juxtapositions of large to small blocky text and circles. I even like the silly swinging lockets that provide a 1950's impression. These juxtapositions seem to mimic the anecdotes Koch is using to support his case against our ability to have all 3. The single rhyme scheme and animated text backdrop is at once both funny and, well, sadly true. We have talked about how poignancy can be created through applying counter punches in tone or mood or humor and drama. The animated text and the final serious implications of the chosen 2 creates a kind of "hurts so funny" effect.
I know that I would prefer the typography to any attempt at illustrations or images for this particular poem. Sometimes when attempts are made to illustrate poems, I find the pictures distracting or having the potential to move too far from the poem's essence. That said, I think that the number of poems that would work well with kinetic typography might be limited as it has the potential to appear gimmicky.
I would like to see the potential of using kinetic typography to help remedial readers. Remedial readers, in my experience, are getting older and older. I think this might be another way to capture the attention and help guide a struggling reader through a difficult text.
The use of kinetic typography should be used to enhance the poem or story instead of simply being 'eye candy'. The text, motion, music, sounds, readers voice all combine to give us additional perspective but the question is, does it detract from the piece. The Adolf Hitler Speech using Kinetic Typography, I believe enhances the 1939 speech to give us additional perspective.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love the poem. It's very simple and minimalist, but sure conveys a strong, well thought-out message. That said, while I thought the visuals were cute (perhaps stylish is a better word), I didn't feel like the poem gained anything from them. I can see this method being effective in purely visual venues, such as television, but maybe I'm just too literate - or too focused on the words - to get a lot out of the visuals. It still feels like crossing concurrent genres to me.
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