Current movies and series, especially those with a somewhat more futuristic setting and where technology plays an important role, have been copying one of the most characteristic elements of video games: the HUD, graphics that not only serve to set but also to help and give useful information to the user. And today they have become a source of inspiration for interface designers.
HUD and other graphics, why they matter
At present, the use of touch interfaces and, shortly, a greater deployment in the use of augmented reality applications, any graphic element that is shown on the screen will have a greater relevance. Because you have to look for simplicity, ease of use and the real utility of anything that is put on the screen. For this reason, cinema and television may be the best source of inspiration right now.
The term HUD (Head-Up Display) refers in the software world to all those elements that are always visible showing useful information to the user. For example, in the world of video games, HUDs are all those graphics that you can see on the screen. Like the status bars of our characters and where the health level is shown, the remaining ammunition or even the small map sections with which it is easier to orient yourself and know where to go to complete the mission.
Well, those graphic elements where they have evolved the most have been in film and television, although we cannot forget advertising either. In this type of content, it has been seen that they provide more and more value. On the one hand, they allowed greater spectacularity, which favored drawing the user’s attention. On the other, they not only gave a greater atmosphere, they also counted more clearly or added extra information to the content that was being told.
For example, in series like Sherlock, the BBC version starring Benedict Cumberbatch, these elements were used in a very correct way. Also in other more recent ones like Control Z through those application interfaces and online services to show what certain people who appear in the image are doing without saying it.
And for all this, in Hudsandguis they have been compiling a series of images and video fragments of movies, series, video games and advertisements where these interfaces help to tell the stories. A very striking work that designers of interfaces and user experiences may be very interested in.
Some examples, the movie Ghost in the Shell. There everything is mixed, from images made entirely in 3D with others where elements are integrated into the real capture to achieve that striking and futuristic atmosphere of the film.
Others are the graphics you can see in movies like Spider-Man: For From Home. Surely you remember the holograms with which Peter Parker configures his new suit. Or everything that Mystery sees when he uses the armband – with which the drones – or inside his own helmet. A helmet that is superimposed as you can imagine.
Marvel movies are one of the ones that most use this type of element. Especially if Tony Stark and all his technology are involved in some way, but where you can most enjoy all this is in video games. As we said, there it is something more common and it is much more useful. We could name hundreds of games like Halo Wars 2, The Division, Cyberpunk 2077, Call of Duty, and many more.
Inspiration for YouTubers
If you dedicate yourself to creating content, all this is also very interesting. Because when you make videos for platforms like YouTube, things like that can make a difference and help retain your audience more. In addition to giving value in the face of global production and telling everything more clearly and in depth without overwhelming those who just want something easy to digest.
The only thing is that all this requires the knowledge and use of specialized applications such as Photoshop, After Effects, Motion 5 or similar to generate the elements, animate them and then introduce them into your video editor. Of course there are also many websites with templates and elements already generated to just drag on the timeline.
In one way or another, this topic goes a long way and can be a real obsession if you like design, the multimedia world, video games and creating content. So, we are not responsible for the time you can spend taking a look at websites like this with its multiple captures and videos.
