New Interactive Typographic Animation Series “The Futura Gold”

Long-time readers of The FontFeed will remember Chris Gavin’s innovative 2009 short film TXT ISLAND. An epic tale of misadventure depicted in plastic lettering, TXT ISLAND went on to appear at over 30 international animation and film festivals (including Stuttgart and Annecy), gained finalist status (for Best Short Film) at the 2010 British Animation Awards, and was a finalist for Best Animation at the 2009 Soho Shorts festival too. Chris Gavin has now taken his text animation concept a step further with his new work The Futura Gold.

Although the inventive animation is reminiscent of TXT ISLAND, Chris has developed a new Adobe Flash/After Effects workflow. This gives him increased control over the animation and allows him to create more ambitious scenarios. As the title suggests, the new film is entirely composed using the character set of the Futura typeface – mostly the Medium weight but with a few elements of lighter Futura in there as well. Chris is also experimenting with the format of his storytelling. The Futura Gold gives us the first 2-minute episode of an ongoing web series. The concept is fully interactive: Chris offers viewers the opportunity to contribute their storyline ideas as the series develops.

Tags: Chris Gavin, Futura, motion graphics, The Futura Gold, TXT ISLAND, typographic animation, video