Motion 2013, which wrapped a few days ago in Albuquerque, NM, opened with this intricate and light-hearted sequence by Alberto Scirocco and his team at leftchannel.
In the following interview Scirocco reveals his journey from graffiti artist in Milan to US-based motion designer, and why he feels great motion design and an appreciation of fine art go hand-in-hand.
One of your ancestors worked as an architect with Gian Lorenzo Bernini designing St. Peters Square at the Vatican in 1656.
Scirocco: Yes, one of my great grandfathers, Domenico Fontana, helped raise the obelisk in St. Peters Square. As a kid my great uncle would walk me down this big hallway with pictures of my family’s generations of architects. That love of design drove and supported my own artistic pursuits.
Those artistic pursuits began with graffiti, but you did it in a less “criminal” way.
AS: Yes, as a teenager I was fascinated by graffiti art and the combination of typography, color and design that is found in the best pieces. I loved that this was an extension of illustration and graphic design, and that I was creating actual physical pieces. It was sculptural, more like painting and fine art. But the idea of working really fast at 4 am trying not to get killed or arrested was not very enticing. So I essentially contacted the City Officials in Milan and applied for permits. I said I was interested in painting surfaces or walls, and I was given permission to paint abandoned buildings or ones that would be improved by the artwork.
This exposure culminated with myself and a few others I was working with at the time being asked to stage a live painting as part of Milan’s Triennale, a famous art show held every three years.
That experience led you to pursue motion graphics, which you did after studying fine arts and earning a degree in industrial design. That’s not the traditional education path of today’s motion designers. Do you think they’re missing something artistically focusing solely on computer animation?
AS: I do. I’ve experimented in a lot of different mediums – illustration, sculpture, glass blowing, as well as CGI. I think what sets myself and leftchannel apart is the organic, artistic mindset that we try to bring to our clients’ work. I want viewers to see the artistic hand behind our work. The team we have here all come from different artistic disciplines, and that’s what makes the company special.
In addition to leading leftchannel, you’re also a teacher at Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus, Ohio. What are you seeing from the next generation of designers?
AS: In some ways these mediums, motion design, graphic design, etc., start becoming very self-referential. Some designers look at a project and rather than focus on the specific challenge and solution for it, they start looking at other designers’ work, wanting to do something of that nature. This results in designers with an aesthetic that is very much based on what other designers do, and not necessarily based on client specific solutions and what is practical. I notice this a lot especially in an academic environment where design students are so focused on the work of other designers, which often isn’t appropriate for the client.
Sounds like you’re making a distinction between design as art and design as a means of commerce — an ad or network promo for example.
AS: Exactly. Motion design can be beautiful, and that has great appeal to designers, but those styles are not necessarily suited for communication. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, it’s just something we can stand to be a little more aware of. A lot of times designers get so connected to doing this work that is very abstract and beautiful in artistic ways, that they start devaluing design that is instead very practical, like an ad. Design on a professional level is about balancing art and strategy.
Looking ahead to the next 10 years, what does the future hold for the industry?
AS: It’s exciting to see how the demand for motion graphics has grown, and right now we’re in the middle of a real paradigm shift. There’s a real change in technology happening and you can see how a lot of things have changed in how content is delivered over the past few years.
The idea of television is changing, with companies like Netflix evolving. You see this with the advent of digital and all the new technologies that are fairly experimental and starting to get established, but within a few years will be standard everywhere. I think we’re in a very transitional phase in terms of methods to deliver content to viewers, whether on our computers or mobile and tablet devices, and the design community needs to play a role in that evolution.
From a personal business perspective, it’s the global nature of the business that is both promising and interesting. As more clients look around the world for creative partners, it’s clear our competitors are everywhere – in the U.S. and in Europe, Asia, South America, etc. But that also goes both ways with overseas clients coming to us as well.
It sounds daunting.
AS: It is, but that is what fuels my passion for this business. You hear people say that “everything has been done before” — I don’t think that’s true. The reason why it feels like the options are limited is because you’re just looking at a small palette of solutions. Because of that you begin to see work that fits into common trends, this giving the impression that it’s a limited playground. I think if you look outwards, and seek inspiration in absolute ways, it’s still a wide open field, just like every other form of creative expression. If you come into an assignment with a mindset of endless creative opportunity then you tend to look at the world with a sense of abundance.
Alberto Scirocco is the President/Creative Director of leftchannel, an award-winning motion graphics, and design and animation studio in Columbus, Ohio. More about the company and its work can be found at http://leftchannel.com/