It's said that learning too much about a magician's tricks can ruin the illusion,
leaving you so hung up on the details of the performance you can't enjoy the experience,
and it's a sentiment I often see referenced in regards to entertainment in general -
that focusing too much on the techniques that make up the sum of their parts will spoil your
enjoyment of the whole.
But, I've always felt, quite the opposite.
Understanding and learning about the process that goes into these pieces of art and entertainment
usually gives me a newfound appreciation and admiration for the effort and creativity the
people behind them pour into it.
And . . .
I will admit I don't have a clever segway for this, but you read the title, you
know where this is going.
Kristian T. Williams, better known online as KaptainKristian, is a former film student
turned video essayist who details the history, design and impact of various staples of pop
culture, particularly in the realm of animation.
After being disappointed by Dawn of Justice's portrayal of the legendary Man of Steel, Kristian
posted his first video in March 2016 about what he considered to be the best depiction
of the character outside of the comics: the animated Superman series by Fleischer Studios,
and later Famous studios, from the 40s.
In a stroke of luck most could only dream of, the video exploded, doing incredibly well
on reddit's r/videos and subsequently being picked up and shared by sites like Nerdist
and Gizmodo.
Since then, Kristian's not only continued to make videos on a wide variety of topics,
but has also become one of the most beloved and well regarded creators on Youtube, receiving
praise from all over the community and some of the people he's talked about and even
being commissioned by IGN to make a video.
And looking at his work, it's pretty easy to see why.
The writing is tight, concise and detailed, making well argued points without wasting
a single word, which are emphasized by smooth and simple editing that builds vibrant visuals
filled with so much creativity that nearly every frame, can be considered, a painting.
The same can be said of his thumbnails, which are rich with colour and captivating imagery.
He balances every aspect of online video to create detailed visual love letters that easily
stand as works of art in their own right.
Which only makes it fitting that his videos take such a thoughtful look at the artistry
behind every detail of film, animation, music, and more, from a discussion of the political
and social climate that led to the creation of the iconic King of Monsters we now know
as Godzilla, the macabre, technological and psychosexual influence H.R. Giger intertwined
into his design for the Xenomorph in Alien and the way it further entwines itself with
the set design and overall horror of the film, an exploration of the 12 "rules" Disney
animators use to make their work more expressive and lively, how Donald Glover approaches making
art in multiple mediums, and even a video discussing how something as small as the colour
palette of the X-Men's costumes define them visually, personally, and narratively
Kristian: If you look at Cyclops & Wolverine's classic costumes,
Kristian: they have inverted colour schemes to visually represent their opposing roles on the team,
Kristian: and their relationship as foils.
Kristian: It's a subtle and clever way to show their conflicting ideologies.
Kristian: And you get all that from just two colours.
His videos have fascinating insights into the
creative process behind the works they discuss.
Even when he's more critical of something, there's still a strong sense of passion
behind it and an awareness of the time, effort and technique that goes into them, even when
they're not as well executed as they could have been.
It's clear that he's someone who fucking loves this stuff and admires the people who
made it, and is trying to articulate why as clearly as he can.
And, if you haven't already guessed from my vhs-style intro and colourful thumbnails,
they've had quite an influence on me.
Though there have been and are a LOT of channels that influence the way I approach making
stuff, I can safely say that KaptainKristian has had the biggest impact.
His content left an inexperienced me in awe, and made me want to learn more about video-editing
so that I could make stuff just as spectacular as his.
And, though it's certainly taken a while for me to git, somewhat gud, and I still have a lot to learn,
but I've gained a useful set of skills and knowledge and experience I'm not sure I
ever would've gotten without that initial spark of inspiration.
However, in doing so, I've slowly come to realize that Kristian's videos are, nowhere
near as complicated as I'd originally thought.
In fact, it's pretty simple stuff.
His videos rely mostly on motion graphics, text effects and enough masking to make me
wonder what kind of inhuman levels of patience Kristian has to pull it off so well.
For example, his classic frame panel is just a shape layer with a trim path.
The images that pop up in them are edited with some speed graphs and masking, with a
few extra shapes to hide the overlapping layers.
The pictures from the start of his Godzilla video can easily be recreated with the help
of a photo editing software, by separating out all the different elements of the picture,
using a smart filter tool to cover up the background sections, adding a crop, then bringing
them back into the video editor and adding motion effects in the project to create that
smooth slide in, offset a bit for extra little visual flair.
The Game Boy shot in his Pokemon video can be done with lots of shape layers, either
made separately and stuffed into a precomposed layer or done in a single shape layer, and
adjusted so they can elegantly blossom into that iconic image of 90s nostalgia.
And there's still lots I don't specifically know how to do, but I can still make a pretty
good guess about how they're done, either with plugins and effects I don't have or know about
or some 3D or particle effects I'm not very good with.
This isn't meant to undermine KaptainKristian's videos, not at all - they're still incredibly
well made - it just illustrates that they're made with straight-forward editing tricks
that are quite easy, if tedious, to accomplish.
As I realized that, my blind enjoyment of these videos faded, but a deep admiration
for the work and thought that goes into each one, and an intense curiosity about the techniques
used to do so, quickly replaced it.
Just noticing something as small as the extra grain added in his Star Wars video to give
it an old-school film look is fascinating.
Yes, the "magic" died, but something just as great took its place:
an appreciation for the way KaptainKristian bumps the lamp -
to the point of shattering it.
But that attention to detail isn't something he started with, it's something he learned.
His older videos are much rougher than they are now, filled with choppy edits and a plethora
of post recording corrections and clarifications, but it's clear to see how he's improved
over time, experimenting with something new in each one to push his content as far as
he could, a point emphasized by the fact that he categorizes his videos into "phases",
with him now tentatively stepping into his fifth.
Sure, he may have started off with much stronger editing abilities than most, but just like
everyone else, he still had to start, somewhere.
There's a unique joy in unravelling the method behind the madness, the technique behind
the tension, and most importantly, the person/people behind the process that brings the art we love, to life
And, I could ramble on here, but, as expected, I think Kap himself puts it quite succinctly
in his interview with the Verge from August 2016.
And yeah, those are my thoughts.
No, I'm not trying to be youtube-centric, my schedule's just been weird, and after
making 2 20 minute videos one after the other, I really needed to make something short, sweet
and more or less to the point.
And it gave me a chance to fanboy a bit, so, win-win all around.
The next few videos I'm doing are going to be more art form focused - got one about
pixel art planned, then sakuga, then a neat but stupid topic for april fool's, then
a big ass project for the end of april which, I am terrified about, but also excited for.
Anyway, let me know what yous think, if yous agree, disagree, what your favourite medium
of art to enjoy or make is, who your favourite youtube, video, person is, etc,
and thanks for watching!
If yous enjoyed this and wanna see more, than check out my last video, where I review, recommend,
and ramble about my top things of winter 2018.
Or, check out my video on the strained history of Animation on Youtube and the way it's
changed and evolved over the years.
And don't forget to like, comment, share and of course, subscribe, to Come Fly With Me!
Yous can also follow me on Twitter for more updates about this channel and other stuff
and hopefully, I'll see yous later!
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