Jurjen Versteeg, otherwise known as Synple is a Dutch designer whose work focuses on motion graphic desing, animation, and visual effects for commercialism and media use. His work takes real-life footage and mixes it with visual effects and animations using after effects. He work also delves into title effects and all-animation videos.
Yet what I find most interesting about him is that the concepts that he portrays in his work deals with a type of magical realism. Most of Versteeg's works take real-life people place them in environments dramatized by color, visual effects of actions and emotion, and elements of music. His story lines and the length of his videos are all relatively short and sweet. Yet all of the effects he uses combined make his videos visually appealing and very elaborate. In essence, Versteeg takes simple sequences and relatable characters and enhances them for commercialized purposes, which is exactly what commercialism entails. It is the enhancement of an image or product to entice the eyes and desires of the consumer. Versteeg accomplishes just that.
Versteeg's work relates to my work in that I too want to create a project that delves into the effects of commercialism and "glamour art". Just like Versteeg, I am trying to create a seemingly simplistic sequence of images and words that work cohesively and effectively in marketing a fashion product or style. I feel that Versteeg's communication of color and enhancement of realism is very important because it provides and inspires me with a theme of magical realism to use as the basis of my work. After all, fashion and glamour tends to portray over-exaggerated and expressive ideas and ideals but in a visually appealing and artistic way.
Versteeg's work, although appealing and simple, don't really express a range in subject matter. I like that his videos are short and the colors, effects, and music are on point, yet I find his work on title sequences, particularly uninteresting. Specifically his Fashion Ahoy wasn't as interesting. However, the concept was very specific--to strictly advertise famous fashion icons such as Chanel, Gaultier, and Galliano and their works for an upcoming fashion show. His title work was colorful and visually appealing but I think it lacked content and content meaning works of the designers or images related to fashion. Perhaps, his concept was to make the names of the designers "fashionable" but I think he could have gone further in communicating a fashionable and glamourized appeal.
http://www.synple.nl/work/motion/into_the_wild
http://vimeo.com/13153961
http://vimeo.com/26278283
