Regarding the New Bump Lines

[AngryOwl]

I have literally just made an account to voice my absolute disapproval of the new bump lines that [as] is putting out. In contrast to using a single picture with subtleties or a quaint animation in comparison, they have been using outward and obnoxious animations and terrible edited videos.

I honestly would not have a problem with it if the bumps actually were appealing, but they're not appealing in the least. The worst part is that they do not contain any good music to dawn upon bump viewers. They either recycle past used songs(which will most likely be good) or don't use songs at all. On occasion, they may use some new song, but in most cases it's not comparable to how good their past music choice was.

Am I the only one who has seen the progressive downturn of the bump quality? It is my opinion that this bump series is, by far, the worst. Not even to say that they are simply the worst because they are not as excelling as other series, but they are the worst because they are downright terrible and repulsive.

I can just hope that [as] moves in a different direction. I'm so sick of the trippy-esque animation or theme everyone tries to pull off now. Now it looks like it's been seeping out from Cartoon Network down onto Adult Swim as well.

I would really like to hear the opinion of everyone else as it comes to this subject.

[Dont Haunt Me]

This made my day.

Yes, I too feel the bumps are slightly less entertaining than before, but I have a higher level of tolerance I guess.

I remember bumps like:
http://www.bumpworthy.com/bumps/1826
And:
http://www.bumpworthy.com/bumps/488

Plain text bumps are still the same quality in my opinion, if not better. Text bumps are usually where I find the coolest music.

But as for what you referred to as "Trippy-esque animation", I hear ya. Like http://www.bumpworthy.com/bumps/3570 , never liked those. But I don't see them anymore, so it's not that much of a problem.

Really, the problem for me, is that they don't do the 'miniature' set bumps, where the bump is actually a little miniature scene they make to look real (Which I actually thought they were). Anyway, those used to be awesome. Also anything with AcTN in it, I loved every one of those.

[mongo]

Welcome to the boards! Glad to have discussions like these on board, pretty much what they're here for. Personally I've seen many people upset with the more recent bumps, and I must admit I disagree with a lot of their recent choices, at least when it comes to the visuals. Although I understand change is needed, especially in the TV industry, a lot of the newer bumps seem to have lost the essence and concept of the original ones. While I understand it's all part of a coherent design aesthetic and concept, I personally feel it's detached from the idea of their original work. Different people have different tastes and everyone's welcome to like/dislike anything, but I personally am not too enthused with the newer direction, although that doesn't mean I despise them or anything.

In terms of the music, it's true they seem to be straying away from a lot of the licensed stuff and/or re-using some of it, but this could be related to licensing costs and other issues. I won't say some of the new music is bad/good because of the whole taste thing (I personally don't identify with very avant-garde stuff like Autechre but I know people who do) but I have noticed more repetition. I don't really have much of an issue with it, but it's there. I agree that recently music has been more important in text cards.

In short, I'm concurring here in saying this has been among the least enjoyable series for me, again I don't have a huge issue with it but it's not my line of thinking, and I do think it seems to be a less original/more mainstream style than their previous bumps. Personally stuff like the new BW Drawings and most of the live-action stuff they premiered recently feels tired and boring, compared to the artsy, refined quality of bumps like Dawn is Your Enemy and the (at the time, at least) unusual technique of tilt-shift photographs. Static bumps used to feature some downright stunning photography, which I personally miss most.

I really appreciate you posting this, and I hope that a lot of people contribute here as well! This kind of analytical yet respectful discussion is very fun to participate in.

[Dont Haunt Me]

I just went searching through all the most recent bumps to find one I really like...

There are 258 pages, I'm on page 229, where I found this: http://www.bumpworthy.com/bumps/3340 (Oh look, it's that song again! ) Even then, this bump is a remake from July of last year.

So far, after all that, I can't find ONE single bump that really wows me. I even passed the Christmas ones for crying out loud!

At least those new Owl bumps aren't half bad. 

[AngryOwl]

After reading you're input, I can say that I wholeheartedly agree. All I can do is hope that the bump makers at Adult Swim end this style of bumps.

I did consider licensing being a problem as it comes to music, but it seems like Adult Swim has been becoming even more successful shown by their output and funding of new shows. Perhaps they would like to continue to use already licensed music to save money, which makes sense, but it seems like more effort was put into the past as it came to finding and using new music.

I cannot find a reason, however, for this style of bumps to be in place of the old style as it comes to restrictions. The bump producers or otherwise at Adult Swim probably felt that they wanted to change the style in order to change the 'mood' or atmosphere that watching Adult Swim sets. Other reasons might have been simply focused around change. I've seen some examples of television in which simple change was set into place in hopes of positive outcome.

The actual reason for change aside, the best thing we could do is actually make comments on the [as] boards concerning these problems directly. Through usage of the boards, we might be able to produce some answers for reasons for the style and possible insight to change it back again.

[Dont Haunt Me]

The actual reason for change aside, the best thing we could do is actually make comments on the [as] boards concerning these problems directly. Through usage of the boards, we might be able to produce some answers for reasons for the style and possible insight to change it back again.

Like... complain? Not me, never! Though being new there, I wouldn't exactly care for reputation. Still, I'm not fond of crowded forum sites. I like to keep track of all the members and get to know 'em all. (Not personally, just through creeping threads) With a large forum like the Adult Swim Boards, I simply couldn't count 'em all. Even then, I'm assuming it's just a line of bad luck in that they think they're doing the bumps the way people like them, when really they're not, so I'm not sure even THEY could answer our questions, unless they have someone who actively works on bumps for Adult Swim over there. Maybe they just stopped caring...

I actually just saw a bump today that wasn't too bad. It was an airplane with [adult swim] on it. Not bad music either, though it seemed like it lasted too long. Then, when I thought there was hope, I just saw another one of those ones that says something like "TV, money and fuuuuun. Adult Swiiiiiim!" (But not that one) And those usually suck, this one was no exception.

Little off topic, but does anyone here like Mongo Wrestling Alliance? I don't, I think it's stupid. Just thought maybe if shows like that get more popular, they think they should follow the same style and put it into bumps.

I remember bumps when The Boondocks Season 3 was around, which were good. Not to mention I love The Boondocks, so maybe once Season 4 comes around (Assuming it does, I mean it only makes sense) they'll get back on the right track.

[mongo]

Even though they do take input from the fans and everything, creative direction is usually decided outside of the forums. They have a bump crew, and personally I just think it's a phase. They constantly change, if only because they're trying to not become stale (like every corporation does). There have been many outlets for similar style of comedy that seem to be popular right now, so my guess is that bumps have only taken from this movement.

I wasn't a fan of MWA much, but shows usually have very little to do with bumps. In my opinion, there have been shows that are way worse than that but haven't affected bumps in any way. Programming and bumps are handled by separate teams, and the division is quite apparent.

Also, about The Boondocks, it's not confirmed yet but consensus seems to point to Season 3 being the last season. The show isn't renewed yet (very bad sign) and there doesn't seem to be much moving forward, plus it seems Aaron (McGruder, creator) wants to leave it at that. Again, nothing's confirmed, but outlook isn't wonderful.

[Dont Haunt Me]

Also, about The Boondocks, it's not confirmed yet but consensus seems to point to Season 3 being the last season. The show isn't renewed yet (very bad sign) and there doesn't seem to be much moving forward, plus it seems Aaron (McGruder, creator) wants to leave it at that. Again, nothing's confirmed, but outlook isn't wonderful.

Damn. 

Well, there goes my night.

[crab]

Very very good points in this thread.  I also agree about the bumps being in a slump right now.  This site wouldn't exist if not for the awesome bump lineup around 2004-2005.  If I were a newbie to Adult Swim today and saw the current lineup of bumps, I certainly wouldn't feel that same sense of intrigue and joy that I felt back then.

They have a bump crew, and personally I just think it's a phase.

Yeah, I believe this is very true.  The bump crew has probably shifted staff members a bit over the years, and the creative direction of the new staff is different than before.  Hopefully it is a phase that will end soon 


I blame the hipsters. 

[mongo]

Man, I agree with you. I'm a lot busier now, which definitely takes a huge toll, but I have lost at least a bit of interest recently. I'm in the same spot, if I hadn't started caring back then and getting into the habit and really appreciating the stuff, I wouldn't care at all right now. And yeah, I blame the hipsters too I mean, the current style seems to reflect them a lot.

[Jeff]

Interesting, mongo -- I was reading down the thread and planning my response until I got to the part where you said (unless I misunderstood) that you see a noticeable division between programming direction and and bump direction.  I'd love to hear you comment more on that.

The gist of the reply that I was preparing in my head was that I see bumps following programming.  In my opinion, the overall shift in [as] programming has gone toward the "stupid-funny" shows.  I see bumps going in that direction too (consider the lady speaking in profile, Flip's tip's, old lady in front of the computer screen).  I do not personally like the stupid-funny shift of the past 2-3 years (story-driven anime fan here), so I'm not a fan of the latest bumps either.

Additionally, I don't want to say the latest bumps seem less artistic, but maybe less planned.  We may be giving the current bump creators too much credit in thinking there is some sort of plan or direction involved -- perhaps they're just throwing things together.  I've learned that whenever you think "there have to be some smart people behind decisions" that may not always be the case.

My last point to add to the discussion -- bumps of yesteryear really seemed to have a flow or follow a coherent plan or theme.  You had your // location series, tilt-shift series, transportation series, scrolling bumps representing certain shows, unusual settings (shoot the freak, etc.) and they always, at least to me, had similar or complimentary music.  Unless you consider again the Flip's tip's or lady in profile series, I don't see alot of "gelling" in today's bumps.  That may not be a requirement for good bumps, but I think it helps.

[mongo]

Really nice point brought there, Jeff. When you put it that way I do understand what you are going for; the division I saw was in the content of the actual episodes and shows vs. the bumps themselves, but I hadn't thought about humor styles. I don't think it's entirely intentional but I do see a correlation and it makes sense. I'm not entirely sure if the bumps right now are less planned, I think it's a stylistic shift, at least to an extent. I remember reading somewhere that they've never had much time to work on them, it just seems more apparent now (maybe a personnel shift, but I don't have any data on that so I'll assume it isn't so).

Regarding the plan/theme comment: That was definitely certain on the action show series, but I don't think it was entirely there in comedy bumps. The series you've mentioned (which I personally think are among the best series) are all action bump series, while the comedy bumps were a bit more "out there". Sure, there are a few series like the PSAs (which got old pretty quick) but most of the comedy stuff seemed disconnected (or maybe I haven't seen the connection yet). As someone who loves good photography, I hold the older bumps in real high regard because of the excellent photography used in them. I think the shift from photography to video and/or digital art has impacted in a way, but it's maybe a consequence of the shift rather than a cause for it.

[Jeff]

I follow you.  Truthfully I may have been a little harsh on the criticism of planning/production on the latest bumps -- it's tough when we hold the older ones in such high regard, though that could be a rose-colored glasses effect because there were probably a few stinkers back then too.

You're actually very right, and I thought about that, that I'm mainly considering a particular subset (action block bumps), since that's what I've traditionally watched.  That might be skewing my perception to some degree.  There's definitely still a different feel (which I don't think anyone has disagreed with) in the more "zany" if you will bumps being favored even in action blocks.

It's wild when you step back and think that little 5-15 second intros and outros to and from our favorite shows can spark a discussion like this.

[mongo]

Pretty wild indeed! I'm stunned when I think how much time I've spent/currently spend on bumps, and how much I actually respect the older ones. I agree with the different feel thing too, I mean, they might've been disconnected but I do prefer the older comedy bumps. After watching them a ton of times I'm kinda okay with Flip's Tips, but I'd much rather watch the Keeping it Real or WS Public Access bumps. I mean, those were disconnected but I liked them a lot more than these newer ones. After you mentioned the appearance of less planning, I think the irregular and frankly disparate bump lengths would support that. Back then, you knew you were either getting 5, 10 or 15 seconds on a bump, and I think that rigidity led to better bumps (that is just wild speculation though). Nowadays there are 7 and 13 second bumps, which are really unusual and frankly inconvenient lenghts to measure a broadcast in, and I can't help but relate them to the irregular content of the bumps.

[Dont Haunt Me]

Why spend the time filming and editing a bump with real people when you could just take a picture of something [AS] related and add some suitable music? I imagine it takes a lot less time.

*sigh* I'm sure better bumps will come around sooner or later. 

Until that day, we have all those great ones here, at least.