Promoting Good Animation: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

John Martinez
Sep 4, 2018 · 3 min read

I chose this trailer to the upcoming, animated Spider-Man film as an example of good animation because of its creative, comic book style, its interesting story, and its well timed use of music and sound.

Examples of the comic-like style

One aspect of the trailer that really draws me in as a viewer is the style of animation that mimics a comic book . With its use of bright and saturated colors, as well as the stylistic onomatopoeias, such as “BOOM” and “SCREECH,” the style of animation evokes interest as the movie combines aspects of comic books, which are still pictures, into an animated motion picture.

People bing blown backwards from an explosion

Other factors that contribute to the visually interesting comic style include the use of texture and the way motion is shown. By using layers and colors to show the people being thrown back, the animation takes on qualities that make it seem almost drawn.

Motion and texture

The story, and the way it is paced, is another factor that makes this good animation. The trailer starts of with an introduction to the characters and setting and leads to the conflict, while simultaneously injecting well-timed comedy. Even though this is only a trailer, the pacing definitely makes me want to watch the movie to see what happens.

Finally, the use of sound and music increases the intensity and also helps direct the flow of the trailer.

Free falling

In the picture depicted above, music plays a large role in increasing the pace and intensity of the trailer. As the visuals slow down, the music peaks, building up anticipation for what follows.

An exaggerated movement backwards

In summary, this trailer’s use of a creative animation style and eye capturing color, as well as an interesting story and captivating sound design, makes the trailer not just a preview of the movie, but almost like a piece of art on its own that invites the viewer to watch it multiple times in order to get an even greater appreciation of its beautiful style.

BetweenTheFrames

Animated analysis from UMBC's Intro to Animation class

John Martinez

Written by

BetweenTheFrames

Animated analysis from UMBC's Intro to Animation class

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade