Theo Alexopoulos: Preparedness Now
ShakeOut sets up this project better than I ever could:
Up-and-coming film director, motion graphics designer and Art Center College of Design alumnus, Theo Alexopoulos, takes you on a visceral journey through the USGS ShakeOut Earthquake Scenario. The film was created by the USGS Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project in cooperation with the Designmatters program at Art Center to depict the physical, social, and economic consequences of the most comprehensive earthquake scenario ever created.
The film gives the viewers a sense of what will be happening and inspires them to prepare and mitigate for a faster recovery. The premise underlying the film is that design is a powerful catalyst that can bridge the divide between scientific understanding about damaging quakes, and the ability of the public to feel empowered and to change their behavior in terms of preparedness.
I bolded that last bit for emphasis. I couldn’t agree more with that idea. Congrats to ShakeOut and Theo for creating such a compelling visual essay on a subject that could potentially effect the entire world (thanks to the staggering economic costs cited in the film).
High res QuickTimes are available on the ShakeOut project page.
Big thanks to Fred for posting this on Mograph and sharing it with us.
Tuesday, November 11th 2008 at 5:30 pm |
awesome video! his name is theo not alex though…
Tuesday, November 11th 2008 at 5:35 pm |
Oops. Sorry for the brain fart. Corrected!
Tuesday, November 11th 2008 at 6:48 pm |
sick video. seems like theo is really “shaking up” the motion graphics scene!
Wednesday, November 12th 2008 at 2:54 am |
That was a scary thing to watch… Scary yet quite informative.
Wednesday, November 12th 2008 at 8:40 am |
Great stuff. Was the polemic largely inspired by Thomas Homer-Dixon, specifically his book, “The Upside of Down”?
Wednesday, November 12th 2008 at 12:21 pm |
Visuals were informative and provoking. Technique, overused. Soundmix, awful. For a documentary style piece, the narrative sound mix is crucial. Music was overpowering to a point where I just stopped the playback. I was getting nothing out of it without the dialog.
Thursday, November 13th 2008 at 5:31 pm |
damn, you’re hard to please…. i doubt most people in so-cal would share your over-critical analysis.
as a public service announcement it gets a lot of important information across in a very effective way. (which i’m sure was the brief?)
great piece! congratulations to theo.
Wednesday, November 12th 2008 at 7:53 pm |
cool video, awesome graphics and music
Wednesday, November 12th 2008 at 8:17 pm |
great. now im really freaked out.
Sunday, November 16th 2008 at 7:32 pm |
I agree about the music. It was way too overpowering and I couldn’t concentrate on the VO. Liked the visuals, but again was distracted by the music.