Ich Bin Ein Berliner
An animation of John F Kennedy's famous speech
An animation of John F Kennedy's famous speech
As part of the class Typography Studio II at SCAD, we were given the assignment to create an animated narrative, that was based on a song lyric, a poem or a speech. The animation had to be created in Flash, using typography as the main vehicle to communicate the message. The use of photography, video or sound was not allowed. Only type and vector imagery were allowed to be used.
I chose to animate an excerpt from John F Kennedy's famous Berlin speech, where he showed his support to the people of West Berlin and West Germany against the threats from the Soviet Republic. His speech is still an often quoted memory of German history and a milestone in American-German relations. As a German studying in the states, I wanted to relate this work to this important connection between both countries.
The concrete-like texture references the Berlin Wall, while the use of blue and red is intended to refer to the color of the American flag. The typeface used is Helvetica New, in the styles Black and Black Condensed. The clean sans-serif is intended to ensure good readability on screen and as part of the animations. The heavy weight and the use of all caps, along with the abrupt stops of the movement is meant to emphasize the boldness of his statements.
The animation was done in Flash and shows the final excerpt from John F Kennedy's speech held in Berlin on June 26, 1963
John F Kennedy's speech included some timeless statement about freedom in general: "When one man is enslaved, all are not free"
Showing a map of the divided Berlin with the text saying "AS 1" was an important reminder of its unity today.
The way the massive FRONT LINES almost crush the smaller type is meant to show how the people suffered from the conflict between the two super powers.
The pictograms of the people were used because they are as universal and timeless as the statements made in the speech.
