Blog 1

Both Night of the Demons (1988) and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018) successfully communicate tone through Primary motion, secondary motion, and temporal considerations, however achieved in different ways, and each to a different extent. 

“Primary motion refers to the movement of one or more elements over time and across space.” (Krasner 2013 P p.138). In Night of the Demons we see many of the objects (type and graphic elements) follow a similar path, text moving from right to left, halting and then fading whilst graphic elements such as the ghost’s following that of a similar path, or moving from the bottom of the frame and exiting the top. This use of similar technique when applied to the type allows us to focus more on what the type is contributing in way of stylistic approach, it fading to a dark red then completely to black, lending itself to the aesthetics of the genre in which it's trying to convey. ‘Sabrina’ however utilises type quite differently, despite the movement of the type in the opening frame, that it being squashed by a chewing mouth, for the majority of the sequence the type remains static, with the other graphic elements moving around it, it becoming a salient feature in which we are drawn to. 

 The use of camera motion and its timing in both sequences both differ from one another as well and yet share some similar qualities. NOTD uses a panning motion ( majority right to left) to traverse across the graphics, it varies in some areas however remains in pattern with itself, we also see a zoom being utilised which is presented as fading into black and emerging from the centre of a new object, this is where we see some similarity with Sabrina however this is done not entirely with black. In Sabrina we see a much more rapid and diverse range of panning motions between scenes done deliberately, and with the use of a varying but cohesive colour scheme these panning motions in all directions appear seamless, this lending itself to the idea that “some of the most sophisticated animations contain subtle, less predictable changes in the way things move. The result is more gradual, fluid-looking imagery that conveys a more dynamic, realistic persona” (Krasner 2013 p.155)  

 This is further aided with the help of a faster pace, as in NOTD we follow a more linear pacing, starting slower, a slight uptick in timing, and this repeating, whereas the velocity at which Sabrina moves, despite not repetitive, feels much more cohesive, remaining fast yet slightly slowing over the type.  

Where the two converge aesthetically, in which Sabrina has drawn on, is the stylistic approach that lends itself to that of the ‘slasher flick’, the type in that of a classic horror trope and its reclamation of hand-drawn imagery, a nod to the prior aesthetics of 80’s horror films. Both sequences effectively communicate the character of the genre in which they wish to present, classic 80’s horror and a new wave convergence of sci-fi and horror tropes.

References  

 Krasner, JK 2013, Motion Graphic Design : Applied History and Aesthetics, Focal Press, Burlington, Massachusetts . 

Zielinski, KZ 2019, Night of the Demons, Online Video, Art Of The Title, Viewed 17th March 2026 https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/night-of-the-demons/

Hack, RH 2018, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Online Video, Art of the Title, Viewed 17th March 2026 https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/chilling-adventures-of-sabrina/