Motion graphics are just that, graphics generated to involve motion. The term motion graphics encompasses a few areas, stop motion animation, computer generated image (CGI) animation, 3D and film. Video compositing is where you layer two or more video clips over each other to make a single image.
Video compositing is very common today in both television and film and it would be very difficult to watch a film or certain television programmes where video compositing isn't in use. In the world of television, perhaps the most common use of video compositing is in weather reports. The weather reporter will stand in front of a blank blue or green screen. A computer then picks up on this specific colour and removes all examples of that colour from the screen making the background disappear. An image of a weather map with animated motion graphics of the predicted weather then replaces it. The end result is an image like this that the viewer can see.
This use of video compositing is great because it enables the viewer to get a detailed illustration of what weather to expect, also visually it looks impressive.
In film, video compositing is used a lot, especially in action/adventure films where a particular scene requires the actor to be in a place that is inaccessible to film or a place/situation to dangerous for the actor. As well as that, video compositing is used in sci-fi films like Star Wars where the film is set in space or Jurassic Park, where dinosaurs are heavily used. Now obviously dinosaurs were extinct 64 million years ago, so the only way to get dinosaurs in your film and make them look realistic and move realistically is by motion graphics and CGI. Film is where video compositing excels, as you can have a human being running away from a T-Rex or a futuristic battle in space, and with modern advancements in this technology, it looks as if there is a gigantic space battle taking place that is being shot or Sam Neill is really running away from a dinosaur on a remote island. The use of motion graphics in film has been a huge success and has enabled film makers to produce films that were not possible even 15 years ago, and make them look incredibly realistic at the same time. However, the negative aspect of the use of motion graphics and compositing video has perhaps made the production of film less adventurous in that instead of having to go to South America of example to film a scene, the production can be filmed in a studio in Los Angeles.
Another use of motion graphics in film and indeed TV productions are production company idents. These can be found at the very start of a film or TV programme showing of one of the companies behind the production. Here is an example of an opening to a film, in this case Sherlock Holmes (2009), with production logos using motion graphics:
Idents can also be found at the start and end of a commercial break where they advertise the channel you are watching, most commonly found on the terrestrial channels and the likes of the Sky channels and FX. Many of these idents can be very advanced such as the Channel 4 idents where the camera is moving, focusing on blocks in the sky that as the camera is moved reveals the Channel 4 logo. FX is another advanced ident as there are several liquid splashes that move across a certain environment, which comes together to form the FX logo.
FX ident: http://www.theidentgallery.com/player.php?id=FX-2011-ID-POOL-1
Channel 4 ident: http://www.theidentgallery.com/player.php?id=C4-2011-ID-BOLT-1
BBC ident: http://www.theidentgallery.com/player.php?id=BBC3-2010-PROMO-FAMGUY-2
Sky ident: http://www.theidentgallery.com/player.php?id=SKYS-2010-ID-1HD-FOOTBALL-2
This use of idents is great because it can give a normal, standard still ident a new life and can make it more interesting and watchable. Also the idents themselves can become as well known as the still logo itself.
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