Architectural Animation, Visual Language

In the design of architectural animation, how to model the structure successfully in the two-dimension heavily relies on the application of static and dynamic visual contents. Referring to the process of using language, the paper uses the tokenlization process of architectural animation to deeply understand the codes and the rules, and thus making a more deeply understanding of visual phenomenon. Based on many case analysises, the paper makes the transmission from the theory to the practice.The visual elements regarding as typical visual symbols have characteristics such as typical structural characteristics, system characteristics and symbol strings. It comprises a large amount of dynamic visual symbols; and statics visual symbols can be gained via separating visual symbols into a series of successive frames. Generally, the process of architectural animation includes cognizing, communicating and recording, contributing to characteristics of architectural animation such as one-way propagation, visional cognition, synthetic content and continuity construction.In the statics pictures, the architectural image which is repeatble and abstract is a major research subject of static visual language of architectural animation. A large amount of complex and ambiguous codes (i.e., similar codes, indication codes and symbol codes) are generated through the processes of abstraction, determination and selectivity. Specifically, the three levels of similar codes contain three parts. The first level is displayed in many aspects; The second level included two parts; and the third level (architectural image) of similar codes is comprised of the second level and then ultimately shown to audeinces by different shots and angles.The factors driving to move are the major research subjects of dynamic visual language of architectural animation, which is expressive and continuous. Based on the theory of the movement of architectural image driven by time-and space factors, the dynamic visual codes are divided into time codes and space codes via the tokenization process. Generally speaking, the passive movement of architectural image can be orientated by space coordinates systems; and addressing the need of better describing such above movenment, it is critical to add time factors. The rules of forming the dynamic visual symbols are the rules of camera movement and montage. That is, the five types of camera movements contribute to different shots, angles and dimensional levels; the montage expresses deeply connotation via significant lens linkages.The cultural connotation of visual language of architectural animation is an external expression of architectural culture in a perceived physical form. Specifically, it consists of substance layer, mental layer and both of them. In addtion, aesthetic connotation of the visual language of architectural animation, rooted in architectural beauty, sums up the regular patterns of formal beauty through analyzing the regular pattern (e.g., harmony and symmetry, change and unity, and rhythm and cadence).Based on the analysis of architectural animation, the paper analyzes three cases about the architectural animations for marketing, tendering and publicizing, combining designs and practices.In sum, visual language of architectural animation, theoretically summarized from the micro-to macro phenomenon, comprises many aspects of visual objects. The excellent architectural images are always modeled by the successful application of the visual language. Therefore, it follows that to some extent, researches on architectural animation at semiotic level, cutural connotations and aesthetic connotations have research values and practical guiding significance.