Piet: Facilitating Color Authoring for Motion Graphics Video

Title of the Paper

Piet: Facilitating Color Authoring for Motion Graphics Video

Paper Information

• Domain: Development of motion graphics design tools and interaction design
• Keywords: Motion graphics, color editing, interactive palette, creative design, group color adjustment, visual continuity, post-production, color representation view

Research Background and Problem Statement

• Identified Problems or Challenges:
  • In the production of motion graphics videos (MG videos), existing tools fail to provide real-time color previews, making it difficult for designers to quickly adjust color themes.
  • Current tools do not support simultaneous adjustments to multiple elements, requiring designers to modify each element individually, which is inefficient.
  • Traditional tools require designers to edit from the element level, whereas designers prefer workflows that start from a global theme and refine progressively.
• Importance of the Problem:
  • Motion graphics videos are widely used in fields such as education and marketing, where color not only impacts emotional expression and visual effects but also serves as a marker for transitions in storytelling.
  • The temporal dimension of dynamic videos adds complexity to color design, but existing tools primarily focus on static design, failing to meet the needs of dynamic video production.
• Research Motivation and Related Work:
  • While there are many color editing tools available for static design, most of them are not suitable for MG videos with temporal and dynamic properties.
  • Existing studies have explored animation production and visual storytelling to some extent, but specific research on color design for dynamic videos remains limited.
  • This study conducted formative research to identify the limitations of current color design tools and pinpoint design opportunities for MG video color editing tools.

Solution

• Proposed Method or Solution:
  • Designed and developed a motion graphics video color editing tool—Piet, which provides an integrated workflow, multi-level color adjustment capabilities, and features supporting progressive editing.
  • Introduced a dynamic mosaic-based video color representation method, showcasing color distribution at three levels: global video, scene, and element.
  • Incorporated group color adjustment functionality, enabling consistent modifications to multiple colors and their related elements simultaneously.
• Innovative Features:
  • Integrated color editing with video playback functionality to provide immediate contextual feedback, reducing cognitive load during color adjustments.
  • Visualized color distribution on a dynamic timeline, allowing designers to quickly access both global and local color information.
  • Supported multi-level views and hierarchical progressive color editing workflows, aligning with designers’ habits of creating from theme to detail.
• Implementation Steps and Key Technologies:
  • The system imports SVG video files in Lottie format and extracts color attributes, area, and transparency information for each frame.
  • Utilized K-means clustering to extract theme colors from the video and visualized scene and element color distribution using dynamic mosaic diagrams.
  • Provided interactive panels such as scene palettes, element lists, and theme color views, enabling real-time modifications through synchronized interactions.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Results:
  • Designed and implemented the Piet system, supporting instant color previews, group adjustments, and multi-level dynamic video color editing.
  • Conducted experiments with 13 motion graphics design experts, validating Piet’s improvements in color design efficiency and user experience.
• Advantages Compared to Existing Solutions:
  • Significantly reduced tool-switching and repetitive operations required for color modifications.
  • The group color adjustment functionality addressed the gap in existing tools for global color consistency editing in videos.
  • Enhanced intuitiveness and immersion in design through progressive editing and real-time feedback.
• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  • System usability (SUS) scores indicated that participants generally found Piet “easy to use” and appreciated its innovative features.
  • Usage pattern analysis showed that Piet’s multi-level view design aligned with participants’ workflows from global themes to detailed adjustments.
  • Expert feedback highlighted that the group adjustment feature facilitated theme exploration and style unification.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  • Currently, the system only supports SVG elements in videos, with limited coverage for mixed-format videos (e.g., raster images or GIFs).
  • The color sorting algorithm in the scene palette for color distribution visualization could be further optimized to enhance consistency.
  • The flexibility of palette design and support for more user customizations warrant further exploration.
  • Plans to integrate Piet into existing animation production tools (e.g., Adobe After Effects) to optimize the complete workflow.