A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

This is a great piece of kinetic typography put to a wonderful tune, Fergie’s A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.

It was created by Guillermo Vázquez as a tribute to both the singer and the song (which itself is a homage to the 1920s and its jazz era music).

I think he’s nailed it.

Star Trek Alternate Title Intro

You might say it is the last thing we need – the original title intro to Star Trek is so embedded in the collective subconscious that it makes any attempt to create an alternative redundant. But then you think…  one of the more enjoyable aspects of the TV series was to boldly go (see how I split my infinitive there?) in to alternate realities. With that in mind, then an alternative set of titles if not only desirable but compulsory!

It’s great fun too.  Created by the Quintek Group, their particular mission was to try and capture the essence of what they found most enjoyable from the series for building this faux opening to this classic show.  I love it – and although I would never, ever replace the original, this is certainly what I would expect were I to do some alternate traveling! If you are a fan there are some rather nerdy easter eggs in this - I won't give any away but see how many you get!

Wouldn't It Be Nice - Kinetic Typography

Wouldn’t It Be Nice is one of everyone’s favorite tracks by the Beach Boys and this animation of the song matches its joie de vivre so well, perhaps because it was such a personal project. Joe Humpay (who describes himself as just another film student trying to get by) created it as a Christmas present to his girlfriend, Jess. It is a kinetic typography of one of her favorite groups.

It was his first shot at doing a much more classical song for a type project and his first personal project in a long time. It comes together really well and is one of the better examples (and certainly more colorful) of kinetic typography that I have seen.

It looks like a de facto proposal to us! If so, we hope that Joe lets us know whether Jess said yes!

Stephen Fry on Language

Using the wonderful words of acclaimed writer, actor and all-round know it all (that is meant that in the best of ways) Stephen Fry, Matthew Rogers has created this kinetic typography animation.  

Fry expresses some of his ideas about the English language and the way that it is used today - and these might surprise you. He describes how over time he threw off the mantle of the pedant and followed some of the greats of literature, like Shakespeare and Wilde, in their (more or less, depending on your opinion) subtle approach to English.

This combines two things of which I am rather fond – kinetic typography and listening to Mr Fry wax lyrical about a particular subject. They do seem to go very well together, too!

The 99% Vs The 1% - An Animated Explanation

You may well have been scratching your head recently about the 99% and the 1% - figures that keep being bandied about to describe the gap between the rich and the poor. It can take some explaining, too, even if you know what you are talking about. Probably some of the key words of the Occupy Wall Street movement, not to mention the other Occupy sites that have sprung up around the world, a simple and straightforward explanation would be nice!

Step forward the interactive team at the British newspaper The Guardian. Simon Rogers collated the date and the graphics were built in Illustrator and animated in After Effects. The team behind this explanatory video comprises of Mariana Santos, Jonathan Richards, Michael Robinson and Mark McCormick. Thank you, that’s much clearer now! With statistics like this it is a wonder that there hasn't been more of a revolution than the mostly peaceful protests we have seen so far. You can certainly see why the Occupy protests started, that's for sure.

The Letter - from Billy Elliot The Musical - Kinetic Typography

OK, get your hanky out because you are going to need this before you get to the end of this marvelous piece of kinetic typography by Ted Makarewicz. The song is The Letter from Billy Elliot The Musical and is one of the most moving songs of the last twenty years.

If you do not know the background, Billy’s mum died when he was younger but she left him a letter to be opened when he was eighteen. Billy could not wait till then to open it and has cherished the letter above all other things since then. He shares the contents of the letter with his ballet teacher, Georgia Wilkinson.