The annual TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) conference is a place where Big Thinkers gather annually to inspire and be inspired. I find many of the talks relevant to how we think about motion graphic design.
One of the boundaries we must design within are the legal restrictions on the content we might want to use. I’ve written a bit about this previously in blogs on the Public Domain and music licensing. Although I personally believe very strongly in the preservation of the rights of content creators – after all, it’s how people like you and me make money –
Larry Lessig makes an impassioned presentation on how he wishes copyright law would make room for “(re)creation” using previously-created, potentially copyrighted content – think mash-ups (and make sure you watch the three examples that start just past the 8 minute mark; each one is more humorous than the previous one*). If creativity is too restricted, he fears we may become a “Read Only” culture where we only consume, not create.
Click above to watch Larry Lessig’s presentation; click here to see the high-res MP4 version. It will be time well-spent.
(*After watching these examples, I feel compelled to mention how useful it is to master “time remapping” in programs like After Effects. Click here to download a PDF of a tutorial we wrote for Artbeats on the subject; click here to read one Mark Christiansen wrote. Time remapping is also covered in Chapter 27 of our book Creating Motion Graphics, and Lesson 7 of our book After Effects Apprentice.) Also read this article on Artbeat.com on how to smooth out the differences between frames after you’ve changed a clip’s speed.