We’ve just updated the “NEWS” section of www.kmotionmedia.com.

The page now features a user-specific customized 3-D world made of cardboard windmills, rolling hills of denim and other stitched-together elements. The 3D scene was made once and then the sun and moon were made to move through the scene as it would during a 24-hour cycle.

Those scenes were then assigned a specific time-of-day, which was then programmed to play based on each web-user’s clock settings.

So, a viewer on the other side of the earth might see a daytime scene, while a nighttime scene will play for a viewer on the opposite side of the earth. Each user will view a customized movie, based on their computer’s time settings.

When a client asks Kmotion Media to create a motion graphics animation we often use a technique called "keyframing". To produce a keyframe animation, the animator creates the movement of an object manually by placing what are called "keys" at key points in the animation. There are times however when other methods of animation are better suited for the task at hand. This may involve "cell animation" where each frame of an animation is meticulously created by hand. Or it may involve creating procedural animations which are driven by mathematical formulas. Stunning visuals can be achieved by combining the use of mathematical formulas with traditional animation. For instance, the animation below is the result of a mathematical formula. These results of which would have been difficult to achieve with traditional key frame animation, however, quickly achieved using procedural animation.

To produce this type of animation the animator provides the initial conditions and runs a simulation to see the result. This type of animation can also be useful for simulating physics, cloth, hair, liquids, and even abstractions as seen in the example above.

For the Memorial Day weekend Family Guy marathon on Cartoon Network, the network created a spot to promote the marathon.  The spot featured an animated background element and a 3D Statue of Liberty, both designed and animated by Kmotion Media Creative Partner Jesse Kujava.  Family Guy, a popular prime time FOX Network cartoon, is now also in syndication on the Cartoon Network. The promo, created to announce the "Family Guy Memorial Day Weekend Marathon", ran during the weeks leading up to Memorial Day. Jesse's animation work has also appeared in broadcast promos for The Ellen DeGeneres Show and American Idol Rewind. In addition to animation, Jesse's creative passions include exploring the design and interactive possibilities of new media (web, desktop, touch screens) as well as film and video art direction and digital effects.