Motion Graphics vs VFX – What’s The Difference?

Has this ever happened to you? You head out to eat at a restaurant. It’s your first time there, and you’re excited at the prospect of some great food. Taking a seat, you eagerly go through the menu only to be hit with a wave of confusion as you feel completely lost looking through the menu items. With all these strange names and unfamiliar terms, where do you even start?

Exotic dishes, much like the technical terms in video production, can be daunting to address and even more daunting to understand. In fear of committing a social faux pas and speaking out to clarify, these doubts can end up preventing us from communicating our wants and leave us feeling alienated.

Key decision makers, especially those signing off on video projects, need to be in the know. Sure, glossaries might help explain what a particular item is but nothing beats the candour and passion of a subject matter expert, breaking it down for you.

Well, that’s where we come in! Here at Superminted, we’re committed to supporting brands on their journey of growth and evolution – that includes educating brand managers, marketing managers, and branding enthusiasts everywhere to understand the nuance behind video production.

So if you are still puzzled over the intricacies of video production and post-production effects, we got you covered. Sit back and relax, as we geek out and break down the different types of post-production effects!

What Are Motion Graphics?

Motion graphics, or mograph for short, is the combination of text and design elements set to motion. It refers to shorter pieces of animation that seek to entertain, or impart information in an easily understandable manner.

Mograph exists in various forms, and can range from logos, texts, shapes, or even as part of user interfaces. You might have unknowingly seen a mograph in day-to-day life too! For example, lower third graphics in news broadcasts, stingers in TV show openings, and even as part of digital menus.

Mograph serves to inform the viewer and add context to events, and is a vital part of many social media videos as well as brand-related videos.

How Do They Differ From Visual Effects?

Unlike mograph, visual effects (VFX) is a term used to describe imagery created, manipulated, or enhanced for film and video. The goal of VFX is to modify a particular scene by optimising its existing imagery, while mograph is generally used as an additional layer that exists outside the scene as an add-on.

VFX as a post-production feature can be a little technical, but here are the most common uses for VFX in brand management:

Compositing

Compositing is a technique that combines multiple images to achieve one particular unified look. This is most often used to replace backgrounds in green screens, or even replace screens and fill it with another image while avoiding visual static.

Source: giphy.com

Computer Generated Imagery (CGI)

It refers to 3D renders created digitally. We do this to achieve effects that might be impossible or very tough to reproduce in real-life. Imagine trying to catch a frame-by-frame shot of a butterfly in motion – it’s usually simpler to just recreate that image digitally.

Rotoscoping

Rotoscoping is the post-production technique of tracing over live-action footage, frame by frame, in order to create polished sequences. Despite being extremely time-consuming work, rotoscoping can be used to make up for on-set issues that only become apparent in post-production. It can be used to correct issues such as poor greenscreen lighting and help fix visual mistakes.

Source: productioncrate.com

Ultimately, it can be seen as a surgical function that parses through video, frame by frame, tracing over poor sequences to achieve the intended look and feel.

“How Would You Like It Done?”

Great! Now we know about the dishes on the menu and what their core ingredients are, but what about how they’re cooked? Much like ordering your steak medium-rare (well-done is cool too, if you’re into that), a little knowledge about what goes into the preparation of your video is sure to enhance its outcome.

Keyframing

In any project that involves animation, keyframing will comprise the main bulk of the process. In oversimplified terms, keyframing refers to the process of indicating the start and end of any particular animation before filling out transitions through the use of complex editing algorithms and techniques.

It’s important to know what needs to be keyframed because that will eventually dictate what you can animate or move in the post-production process. Highlight the crucial parts that you will want enhanced through VFX techniques and leave our experts to map out the keyframes for you!

Rigging

Rigging refers to the pinpoint process of setting up assets, and preparing them for further animation. Think of it as creating a skeleton for an object, in order for it to be animated realistically. Rigging functions as a prelude to keyframing and exists to help imbue physical properties to a particular visual element (momentum, weight, and interia) in order to achieve a level of realism.

What Makes A Video Look Good

Regardless of whether you’re looking to utilise mograph or VFX as part of your creative repertoire, the key is to ensure each animation feels satisfying, looks interesting, and is expressive. This is best achieved through appropriate use of the aforementioned tools and applying the appropriate physical principles to imbue your project with the punch you need.

Remember that just because a project is complex and expensive doesn’t mean that it’ll have the impact you want to achieve.

Holla’ At Us

We’re your friendly brand management experts! From creative conceptualisation to filming and post-production, we’re here as your full-service team to make things easy. So reach out to us, and see how we can take your brand to the next level!

Daryl is a Copy Editor at Superminted, fueled by a love for bringing emotionally engaging stories to life. With  carefully selected words and a smart turn of phrase, he is devoted to helping brands shape their unique voice.

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