Please help me find the animation

August 20, 2011 3:54 PM

I’m looking for an animation that I saw somewhere on the net (probably YT) this year. If I remember correctly, it’s mostly illustrated, black and white, with pictures and words and arrows used to illustrate key concepts as the narration unfolded. The key feature is that it was really well produced, swooping and rotating as the drawing unfurled. The illustration is simple and fun, even though the subject matter is fairly serious — I think it was about politics, something like… I don’t know, Corporate Personhood. Or maybe not. Anyway, I think the animation was done well after the narration, and the two are unaffiliated.

It was kind of like these RSA animations, but with much more dynamic camera work, and I don’t think you could see the illustrator’s hand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

posted by scamper to Media & Arts (20 answers total)

Response by poster: Other examples that aren’t what I’m referring to:

Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY

Visualizing a Plenitude Economy
http://vimeo.com/26573848

Neither of these quite capture the dynamic swooping of the one I saw just a few months back.
posted by scamper at 3:59 PM on August 20, 2011

Was it a part of "The Story of Stuff"? The Story of Citizens United v. FEC (2011).
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:03 PM on August 20, 2011

Could it have been RSA Animate's interpretation of Smile or Die?
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:08 PM on August 20, 2011

Response by poster: I’m a fan of the “The Story of Stuff” stuff, but it’s now that either. And also not the RSA work, which, as I said, isn’t *quite* as dynamic.

One of the key features is that the camera was much more nimble, panning and swooping around. Thanks for the suggestions so far! :)
posted by scamper at 4:17 PM on August 20, 2011

Wait, no, you said it wasn't RSA Animation. The other one that comes to mind is History of the Internet, but I think the narration and the animation were done in tandem.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:18 PM on August 20, 2011

Response by poster: Wow, i hadn’t seen that before, but I’ll definitely watch. It’s not what I remember seeing though. Where the illustrated elements there are neat and iconic, this was farm more in an illustrated style, and tightly packed together, as if slowly filling up a single canvas. Guess it helps to articulate these details!
posted by scamper at 4:26 PM on August 20, 2011

300 Years of FOSSIL FUELS in 300 Seconds ?

Blog post on hand-drawn animation (with lists).
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:27 PM on August 20, 2011

Response by poster: The Fossil Fuels one is very much like the RSA ones, very nicely done. Again, not quite as swoopy with the camera work though, and you can see the hand. (I’m going to watch these because they’re interesting!)
posted by scamper at 4:29 PM on August 20, 2011

Was it this TED talk?
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 5:36 PM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

This makes me think of a Prezi presentation....could it have been done that way?
posted by pantarei70 at 5:36 PM on August 20, 2011

Last fall animators produced a four-minute promotional video for Steven Johnson's book Where Good Ideas Come From that seems to match your description.
posted by cgc373 at 5:50 PM on August 20, 2011

Response by poster: Yeah, again, it is reminiscent of all those — even the Prezi thing is close, camera movement wise — but it was smoother, and, to my recollection, there was no hand. Now I’m scouring the sites I read regularly (like waxy’s links) because I likely saw it linked there. Otherwise, it’s getting to that point where I feel like I’ll either never find it again, or my memory of this thing is horrendously distorted! (But I don’t think it is.)

If I find this thing, I’m definitely posting it here.
posted by scamper at 5:54 PM on August 20, 2011

scamper, please post if any other identifying characteristics come back to you. Now I'm curious.

Without this question, I would have missed Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes, which I came across by accident while Googling for your answer. Fascinating! Thanks!
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:59 PM on August 20, 2011

Another possibility:

The Credit Crunch Explained
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:52 PM on August 20, 2011

Response by poster: Big fan of those, and Hans Rosling is amazing. Honestly, these are all worth watching. Meantime, I keep looking…
posted by scamper at 12:50 AM on August 21, 2011

How about another RSA Animate for Daniel Pink's Drive?
posted by cameradv at 8:24 AM on August 21, 2011

Duh. Or not, as I now see the YouTube you referred to is the same as the one I linked.
posted by cameradv at 8:25 AM on August 21, 2011

Do you remember if the narrator had an accent?
posted by fiercekitten at 11:10 AM on August 21, 2011

Best answer: Okay, persistence paid off. I should have stuck with my Stephen Fry notion, because that was a good lead. Namely:

Animated: Stephen Fry & Ann Widdecombe Debate the Catholic Church
http://www.openculture.com/2011/08/stephen_fry_ann_widdecombe_debate_the_catholic_church.html

Thanks again for all the possible leads. For anyone who hasn’t seen this one yet, please check it out. (I prefer the Fry bits, m’self.)
posted by scamper at 11:21 PM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

Nice to see this resolved. Thanks, scamper.
posted by cgc373 at 12:56 AM on September 3, 2011