Serious Play
For our Motion Design 2 class, Huitzilli Oronia and I collaborated on a motion project to showcase the Ray and Charles Eames' LAR chair to be featured in the Denver Art Museum (DAM) exhibition "Serious Play."
The piece was not featured at the DAM but was in the sister exhibition "Midcentury Musings" at the Next Stage Gallery in the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
The Process
The Brief:
To create an engaging motion experience of 30-45 seconds about the Ray and Charles Eames’ Lounge Armchair Rod (LAR) chair that can be used as a promotion and educational tool for the Denver Art Museum.
The Concept:
The chairs were made using the latest machines, such as hydraulic press molds from shipbuilding. The basic technology involved shaping the fiberglass material with metal molds using a hydraulic press. The armchair was the first one-piece a plastic chair whose surface was left uncovered and not upholstered. The glistening smooth surface evoked a new idea of childlike simplicity. As the light rolls across the shell body of the LAR, the unique angles and contours are revealed. The minimal body is beautifully contrasted by the complex geometric appearance of the cat’s cradle legs. The thin rods are deceiving as the viewer attempts to understand where the path of the legs starts and finishes. Exaggerated camera angles show off these complex curves and paths. The color of the piece will mimic the childlike simplicity of the LAR ’s material and form. The texture of the fiberglass will be implemented in order to create depth and entice the viewer’s senses. Additionally, Slow zooming will be used to build anticipation for the final reveal. The video will use the environment to set the mood and exaggerated shadows/highlights will bring visual attention to the form of the beautiful LAR.
My roles:
To create the LAR Chair Model
End LAR Chair scene with pencil drafting
Style frame creation
Pre-production Moodboard
Collaborate with Huitzilli to edit together a smooth and cohesive end video.
Collaborate on a poster to exhibit the LAR chair
Collaboration:
To strive for as few mistakes or inconsistencies as possible Huitzilli and I were in constant contact and often worked on our respective pieces of the project while we were in the same room together. As we got closer to the end when our scenes needed to be combined one of us would take home the full After Effects project to combine and would email or text when we needed help. When we were not able to offer each other in-person support we traded design questions, solutions, and project files over email and Google Drive.