Evaluation of Animations

For me, using the software Adobe Animate was an uphill battle to begin with but after getting my bearings with the program I found myself really beginning to enjoy working with it and creating work. As time progressed, the program became tedious however I was building up on my skills, as this is my first time using Adobe Animate I was quite overwhelmed to begin with however on reflection I now believe I have the basic skills to create an animation. Patiences is key with any animation process and Animate is no different due to the frame by frame re drawings needed most of the time. Next time I would really like to take my time developing on my basic knowledge, exploring their capabilities further to create small animations that are effective with a smooth flow from one frame to the next which i believe, i managed to improve on as time went on yet i would like to work on it further.

Next time i would also like to pay more attention to detail when it comes to the creations In my animations as i believe that this builds up characteristics, if the characters nose is one way or its specific colour stands out the animation seems more effective, If I had done this from the beginning I feel that this would have given me the foundations to create animations I would feel proud of as I believe that more care should have also been taking during each animation creation as In comparison to others work, I feel that mine is sloppy and not a good reflection of my capabilities on Animate. Discovering tools such as the bone tool and motion tween tool really helped to develop my understanding and in doing so encouraged my confidence with Animate too, however I still struggled as a beginner with the program. On reflection of my animations if I were to improve I would add more depth to my animations such as background as this can be just as effective when it comes to the impact an animation gives.

Overall, however I am pleased with the outcome of the majority of my work. I felt quite thrown in the deep end towards the start but am now confident with my capabilities as I believe that on reflection to be thrown in the deep in and told to get on with it is the best way to learn Animate.

Enjoy two animations created by me, here;

Critical examination of look book

After the development stage of my look book was over, we went onto taking our photos. For this went around the city of Bath to do so, overall I was really happy with the outcome of my photos as they really suited the ascetic of my look book of its 'urban' theme. Once images were photo shopped with my brand the look book began to take shape, I made the choice for my look book to be A4 sized however portrait instead of landscape as most of the images i was choosing to add into my look book were of a portrait size, for my landscape images I decided to add it by using them for my double paged spread, doing this in Indesign. After seeing finished prototypes from other groups, i was influenced to keep my images on whole page instead of over lapping them, which was popular. I did this because i wanted to keep the images of me wearing the garments the main focus of the product.

Throughout this project my photoshop skills were tested but I really enjoyed the creation process, I learnt how to use Indesign also. Through the photoshop process i learnt how to flip images, manipulate text and use the effect tools to change the colour filters of the text to fit my theme but also adding my images onto the images. When it came to using Indesign I had little to no skill, however I am really happy with my finale product as I was able to fit the images correctly, add a blurb and also a double page spread. If I was to do this project again I would like to incorporate more models into my piece, such as a guy and maybe another girl, I would also like to add more pages to add more images of the models wearing garments but also add captions of the other clothing the models were wearing and where they were from. If I had the budget I would also consider getting some of the clothes printed so that I didn't have to go through the photoshop process again.

Overall, I really enjoyed the making of this project and as there weren't any limitations as to what could be done I enjoyed expressing my individuality.

Production and Post Production and Peer Assessment

Production

When it came to our day of scheduled filming, I was feeling positive about the day ahead. I had made the choice in pre production that I would film In my home and around the area I live in due to my first scene needing a bed, so previous to our filming date of the 27th of January I had borrowed the equipment I needed such as an DLSR camera, Tripod and the Microphone I thought best suited the audio I wanted to capture, in this case I wanted the microphone to pick up the audio of the characters within the film talking so I chose to record using a Rode Microphone. One of the things I enjoyed most about filming during my day off was the fact I was not constricted by time, I could go by my own schedule without the pressure of knowing that our allocated filming time would soon be ending or that others would be needing the equipment, this meant I can re-take scenes as much as I wanted or Re-shoot if I thought something could be improved which took some of the stress out of the production process. However a set back I faced was the 'expectation vs reality' struggle, I set high standards for myself and when I shoot something it doesnt look of an academy award standard (in my mind) I often find myself frustrated, as moving image isn't my strongest of classes I found this happening quite often as due to my own insecurities and self doubt in my work therefore the day became quite repetitive, however we managed to pull through as I was the one who had set herself the task of a challenging scene. During the filming process we also experienced an issue with the amount daylight hours that were stable enough to film during therefore my film suffered slightly for this, parts of the script had to be cut out and some scenes were rushed to shot without the sun beginning to set, this meant that the start of my film started off well but ended poorly due to the panic we had as I wasnt the only one filming that day. 

On reflection I would also have liked to been more adventurous with my locations used, I would have liked to have spent more time on my Recce really studying possible more locations to make my film more visually pleasing both for inside shots and outside. I believe in doing this it really could have taken this short film to a better level, on top of this for next time I would like to shorten down my film. Whilst writing my treatment and script I began to realise, although my film is a good idea it was a situation of 'biting off more than I could chew' In the sense that the timings and locations used were not suited to the complexity of my film as well as the fact we had to use one another in our films and so the idea of the film was not justified in my opinion. Next time I would also like to add a larger cast to really develop the next film as adding more character adds more depth to a film as well as a thicker plot to develop, this would also mean I could really work on my cinematography, too. I would have the chance to develop on my shot types, shots used and also different levels of audio and sound effects. 

As talked about earlier, I filmed this film outside of college hours, therefore I did not have my production team to help and also give feedback along the way. If I was to create another short film, I would definitely use my team more. I would also use more resources such as our studio as a filming space and use more of the kit the college could offer such as studio lighting as this could help me to develop on from my skills I have currently. I would want my team to help me develop my idea from head onto camera but also encourage them to help me as we all have different strengths and skills from another. 

Post Production

Once I had gathered all of my footage together, It was time to begin the editing process. For this I used Adobe Premier, after editing my footage together I than began to add in touches incorporating my previously learnt skills such as adding audio background noise into some scenes and then using the audio gain setting to turn the volume down allowing for the noises to be heard but not over the sound of the dialogue. I also added in titles at the beginning of the film to add context as well as the title, as I previously spoke about I had to cut the script short. I also added in a black screen cutting into the last scene when our female lead attempts to jump off the wall, in doing so not only could I hide my heinous acting skills (especially when you're attempting to jump off of a small wall and trying not to hurt yourself but also making it look oscar worthy) but also It added an intensity into the film which added to the suspense I was trying to go for. After showing my finale film to my peers, they were very encouraging. They complimented me on my adding of my black screen and use of audio but were also very encouraging as they were sympathetic to the fact they knew that moving image isnt my strongest subject. As for constructive criticism, they had this to say; 'You should add more context, although i understand that shooting was cut short and your script was adapted to this but something else could have been added such as some more shots. Another criticism would be that your shot types were not consistent, some shots were wobbly and amateurish, to over come this you should play back your scenes before moving onto the next to ensure stability.  Finally, you could have used a better variety of locations. For the wall scene you could have found somewhere that really was high enough to jump from.'

Overall, I agree with the feedback given to me and will take this into consideration for next time as most of the points given to me i have touched on in my own evaluation. This project has really stretched my creative skill set but I have enjoyed the challenge alot. It really made me understand just how much work goes into pre and post production, arguably most of the work does. This is finished film f 

annotated script

As you can see, this is my annotated script which was used during the filming process. The script was annotated to ensure it fitted with the direction my film was going with, some parts were cut out of my script as on reflection they didn't fit where as other parts were added to ensure the film was pieced together well. I also added notes onto the script whilst filming for directions such as for certain lines two of the characters were sat down-i added this in to ensure i remembered, i added notes on the back as a note to self for the editing process such as 'add sound effect here' etc as it helped to know where in the film I would be be adding them.

Sleeping animation

This my is finished animation of a ghost sleeping, i animated the moon in the back ground show that it was night time by it sleeping as well as my ghost to show my (although awful at drawing) animation skill. To create this animation I created two layers, one for each piece of animation and then began to draw.

Sketch book drawing

Plan for look book design

After creating my design ideas in another blog post and before shooting for the look book itself, I thought it would be best to plan what I was going to add into my look book by creating an illustrator document that set out a layout of what it would look like and where each of my images would go throughout its eight page spread.  

Pre production

My production is about a young woman, who was once a wildly successful scientist who has accidentally discovered the formula to stop the world shortage of fossil fuel, the government are after her and if is not them that want her dead than it is others looking it take her down. Her whole life has been ripped apart, her loved ones plucked from her one by one. She is lost and confused, struggling to know who to trust. Now she has nothing to live for, if she can pass on her knowledge she will finally be reunited with her loved ones. As I wrote this basic outline of the story, I kept in mind this was to become a film therefore I wanted for my main character to die in the end as I thought that it could be an easy shot to film, I also wanted to add this in the suicide aspect to highlight what both bullying and stress can do to a persons mental health. After planning my film I then studied directional styles that would influence my work for this project, doing this really allowed me to understand why each director was in individual yet so successful, this also really helped with my personal directional style.

For pre production to ensure a smooth transition into the production process I produced everything I needed to for the filming process. After creating my treatment and script I began by performing my recce as I knew once I had my locations down, I could begin to envision other parts of my film such as my story board. I did my recce because I wanted one of the most difficult parts of pre production done which was location scouting, this is most difficult due to other people. For example; use of the filming studio means you're only allocated a certain amount of time to film before others need the space. I also did my recce because I wanted to begin planning my set times, therefore I needed to know how much usable outside lighting I would need for my outside scenes which had already been written into my script, after much deliberation it was decided that my film would be best shot at home due to props and space that I would need. After location scouting was done I then began to move onto storyboard planning, I did this next as story boards are always adjustable but also layout each camera shot you will be preparing to make in the filming process, Although i made a separate camera shot list to ensure I was extra thorough with my planning but this list could always change depending on when it came down to shooting day. After creating my recce and storyboard I moved onto creating a risk assessment as I thought necessary due to the fact I was shooting outside of college therefore less supervision, most prominent issues with shooting in my locations I talked about in my recce but instances that had less chance of happening but could really affect us if they were to happen were talked about in my risk assessment.

Once creating my risk assessment, I created my mood board to start building up the effect and mood my film would have as well as its overall style and theme, in doing this i could really get an understanding of what I wanted my films tone to be.

List of sounds I want to capture for short film (audio list)

For me personally, I believe that sound effects and background noise add depth to a piece of work. Therefore, adding the foliage sound into my own short film seems fitting as I want by finale film to be as authentic as possible.

When performing my Recce, it was obvious that my choice of locations would have some issues when it came to unwanted background noise such as main roads close to location with constant traffic, however on reflection I believe this would have helped with go to with the background of my film. In scenes such as the park scene where most of the dialogue happens, I wanted to capture 'peaceful' audio as the I believe this suited the serenity and tranquility so audio such as birds which can be edited during post production to be placed in the background and the dialogue can be heard as priory. I believe that the sounds from a busy road would have been good to record during the parts my main character is walking from one location to the next, adding in audio like this will help give the audience some context as to where she is, once in the park I was thinking of adding the sound of people talking in the distance to show that the park has other visitors too, in order to do this I will record my own conversation, once in the post production phase I will edit the audio gain to make it really quite, therefore the dialogue from characters is still audible.

Also during the post production phase, I will also add in sound effects. This will be slightly more difficult to record myself so I may use audio provided to me by the internet as for our finale scene I want there to be a high intensity to it and was therefore contemplating adding in a subtle heart beat into the scene, increasing the intensity until the end.

Audio List

• Distant back ground noise of a busy road
• 'Park/Garden noise' (Birds and general peacefulness)
• Door slamming shut
• Heart beating sounds to add impact during tense scene (...maybe) 

Character details

Basic information;
Name; Steph Hudd
Age; Early 20's
Childhood background; Happy, easy going, Single mother parent who always said she would change the world one day.
Adulthood background; Began happy, world famous scientist who is on the verge of a breakthrough until she finds the chemical equation which will solve the shortage of fossil fuel, her corrupt government soon discover this and want her dead and buried along with her new found knowledge. As she goes into hiding, agents pluck off the people around her. Killing her mother and then her partner, she is now lost and unsure of who to trust.
Educational background; Always top of the class, travelling around the world to complete the highest education can offer.
How does he/she believe they are perceived by others?-She is a threat, a target to destroy in a path created by her corrupt government.
How self confident is the character?- She has nothing left, therefore there is nothing to live for.
Is your character ruled by emotion or logic?- If there was someone still alive to care for her, she would agree emotion but now it is all logic.

Characters role in the story
-Main character
-Appears in first scene
- Relationship with other characters; both others are strangers to her, people she cannot trust and should not trust, one of them will kill her.

Basic Information;
Name; Charlie Clark
Age; early 20's
Background; unknown and undisclosed, anyone to find this information will be neutralised accordingly.
Education; unknown..
How does he/she believe they are perceived by others?; She is feared, not to be trusted as she can sawy any way for the right price.
How self confident is the character?-Very, what they say goes and she is always correct

Character role in the story;
-Villain or Friend, whos to know?
-Appears in the fourth scene
-Relationship with other characters; One she wants the formula out of by gaining her trust, the other is unknown to her but she assumes is there to also got information out of her.

photoshoot/design

We made the choice to use our local city for our photoshoot background, we knew we wanted urban areas with an industrial aesthetic to place our shoot as that is what I wanted my brands undertone to be like. Whilst scouting for locations we found three which were very much our favourites, they were The Therme spa, an old bricked up door in the city center and an columned sculpture found on the outskirts of the city center which were used during shooting as well as other locations found along the way;

 For the shoot itself I worked with two others, whilst I modeled the plain clothing to the add our own designs onto. Over all I am happy with the outcome of the photos taken as we ensure to take specific images of the garments for photoshop as well as some more photography style shots for the look books visual effect. To distinguish my photos from the others taken I added an effect onto the photos and also edited them slightly, correcting lighting and other factors cameras pick up. Here are some examples of the photos taken before and after editing;

Design ideas for look book

After creating my mood board it was onto the creation of the actual brand, for this I began with a name I had heard during conversation;Icarus. But before I used the name I began to be my research on its origin, In greek mythology Icarus was the son of master craftsman Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth. Daedalus created two pairs of wings for him and his son made out of wax and feathers to escape Crete, Daedalus warned his son before escaping the island to not fly too close to the sun or too close to the sea, follow his direct flight path as doing either will cause the wings to disintegrate. Icarus, too excited with the prospect of flying flew straight up into the sky and too close to the sun which caused the wax to melt on his wings. Icarus flapped his wings continuously before realising his feathers had also disappeared leading him to plummet to his death in the sea. After reading up on the story I liked the idea of using his name in my brand, the name Icarus is bold and has power behind it. 

After deciding the name for my brand, I knew it was important to incorporate some of the meaning behind the brand into my logo and design, during my research about Icarus I began to find alot of art and interpretations of the story and his 'fall from grace', images such as the images you see above this text. As you can see, there is a current theme of wings. Therefore I made the choice to incorporate this into my design. To do this I began by researching different interpretations of what wings are like, finding three designs that had a variety of shape and texture to them, finding three I liked most, seen here; 

After finalising the wing choices I moved onto designing some ideas as to what I would like on my chosen garments of a plain black hoody and white t-shirt, using the images above as inspiration I played around with different uses of the wings, if i wanted one or two wings on my garments etc. These were my finale three designs; 

After creating my finale three designs I moved onto font, as this would play a part in which logo design I chose as which ever font had the best fit and well suited the design would be on my finale pieces. To choose font I used a website called Dafont.com, I sketched out font samples physically before adding them into my designs to get a real look for what my brand could potentially look like;

After making the choice that Salkin would be the font I would use, I digitally downloaded the font and began work on my garments, after adding each of my wing designs to the garments via photoshop I made the choice that a single wing looked best on the front of my jumper due to its detailed look however minimalistic in that you can only see one wing, however I end added a wing to the back of the jumper, the left wing seen from the front of the jumper and the right on the back as I thought this was a unique design that still incorporated into my brands ascetic. After reflecting on the design of my hoodie I knew I wanted to add my brands name somewhere but didnt want to take the attention away from the front or back so i came up with the concept of adding in the name 'Icarus' on the sleeve as I took into consideration if someone were to walk down the street using it, the brand association would help.
After being happy with the design of my jumper I moved onto my top, i knew i wanted my jumper and top to have consistency in my design therefore I added the same wing onto my top, After placing the wing where I wanted it, I added in my brand name. Not wanting it to be obnoxious or pompous I added the simple text to the back of the T-shirt as I wanted something on the back however not look the same as my jumper design. Here are my finale designs;      

finished project

Research/ideas for look book

To begin to process of creating our brand we were given the task of creating up a style or vibe that we we wanted for it, in order to do this we firstly wrote a list of works to describe ourselves, I used words such as 'Extroverted' 'Generous' and 'Bubbly' as descriptors for myself before I than began to expand out from those adjectives and critically think. What were other meanings for those words? how could I Incorporate this into my brand? I began by using an online thesaurus to look up alternative words to the descriptors such as another word for friendly is familiar, therefore i added this into my potential brand; I would want the garments i create to have a similar familiarity found in other clothing brands, I would also wanted the brand to have relaxed vibe to it in which every one is welcome. Carrying on from my extension from friendly to familiar, another meaning of the word friendly is approachable, although I want my garments to have a alternative edge to them I want them to be wearable without being considered inappropriate. Another adjective I used for myself was 'careless' and i want to incorporate this into my brand, I want the pieces i design to be easy to style and pull off without pushing the fashion boundaries too far. I will also incorporate this into my brand by allowing the brand I create to have a relaxed attitude in the way it is presented.

I then developed this into what I would like from my brand, the fashion outlets that inspire me are Urban Outfitters and ASOS who both create look books frequently. After studying these creative outlets on other websites and focusing on how they represent the brand and the style they are going for. It is early stages but at this point I would like to create a jumper and top with my brand and logo on it. I also added inspiration for my brands ascetic through my own inspirations when it comes to fashion, alot of it, as already talked about comes from the Urban Outfitters new in page in which has an alternative edge to it;

   












To develop into the creation of my brand further, we created moodboards for everything we liked;

Comparing and contrasting three media job roles.

Studio Technician

A studio technician's day to day activities include working with the studio manger doing duties such as attending pre production meetings and overseeing the cameras. They also manage the kit, ensuring that it is in working order before use and during the animation process, the studio technician will ensure that all captured frames are transferred from camera to software on the computers. A studio technician will also supervise the use of studio space, writing out schedules and sorting out any issues that may occur. From the case study we looked at, our studio technician found his way into his career through university where he studied film production, from there he was approached by Aardman for a run up advertisement. After this he found himself working on the front desk before a job came up for studio technician, the rest was history. 

One pro of working as a studio technician is the focused environment you would be working in, the animation process is lengthy therefore all of those working there will always be ready to work and happy to do so. However a con of working as a studio technician is the maintenance of kit, if there is a fault you will be approached therefore a lot of high stress will be involved, yet on the flip side of this you have the ability to play with a lot of kit which may interesting to some. Another pro is being given the opportunity to work on many different projects, no two projects will be the same and using the different kit will also allow your educate you further. Recommended skills or attributes that must be encouraged for the job of studio technician include a positive attitude and patiences as a job like this is very tedious, this is another con.   

In conclusion, I believe that this job role is suited to someone who either has the skill set to work from the bottom up or has enough qualifications and experience to know what they are doing straight away. I do not believe that although our case study did, that university is necessary for this job title but just a passion for learning. This role does not suit me as cameras and equipment are not where my interests lie, the job also seems too tedious and patience testing for me. 

Publicist

A publicist's job duties include working with distributors and producers to help create a unique selling point for films (if that is the type of route chosen to take) if not working in film, publicists generate detailed publicity campaigns which are pitched the media and then to the public and in other cases publicists can be hired by celebrities which convey to the media certain information such as plans, promos and career moves, all in all a publicist's main role is to create or protect the image of brands or public figures. A publicist will also be the first to speak to a media outlets, they have the power to create a buzz about situation or calm a situation down, confirming or denying speculation and sometimes organising events such as galas or premiers.

 Day-day a publicist will be answering emails, phone calls and meeting with potential client to discuss plans or in some cases damage control after scandals as well as dealing with public relations in contrast to a studio technician that does alot of constant physical work. It was recommended that those who want to develop a career as a publicist should have a degree first in a subject like journalism however I believe as the job is about having good relationships with brands and businesses therefore it would be best to work your way up through experience and strong relationships in contrast to working as a studio technician as going to university could help you build upon skill sets. But being a publicist is similar in that once you're in the workplace, this is where your skills will being to really develop, being literate is important therefore a degree in journalism or similar would be helpful.

In conclusion I believe that is a career path I truly see myself doing, its high energy environment is something I am looking for in a potential career, however it is an extremely competitive job to get into due to its perks such as the pay and the potential on working in or with people of a high profile. In contrast to a studio technician, being a publicist is about long hours instead of a 9/5 job and would also involve needing the live close to a city office which can be very expensive. Being a publicist you must be very flexible and spontaneous and so this would be a difficult job to maintain as I get older which contrasts studio technicians who work in typical officer hours. However I must consider the 'high risk high reward factor.'

Journalist

A journalist is a creator of readable content whether that be for magazine, news paper or online publications. Journalism is creative content based on what the reader wants or what a publication requests you to write about in some cases, if you're lucky enough you can be a freelance journalist in which you have the freedom to write about whatever you feel like in hopes that someone will find it interesting or funny enough to publish it. Due to the sensitive matters that journalists often find themselves working on, news related or other, they are expected to do alot of research about the matter before writing a story as a newspaper or other can't publish a written piece of work that isn't factual, it is considered ethically wrong (although someone needs to remind The Sun and Daily Mail of this!). In this sense Journalism is quite similar to being a publicist as they must be knowledgeable about what they're talking about and up to date on all of their facts, unlike a studio technician who must only be knowledgeable in their skill set. 

Journalists are considered 'the middle man' between what people want to read about and their audiences, they have a responsibility to report to the public factual information and must be knowledgeable about a chosen subject as well as this journalists have a duty to express their own opinions in their pieces. Once finding their key writing passion if that be gossip or politics they are expected to continue to write what they know, however journalists have been known in later career to branch out into other subjects, Personally, I believe that as journalism is such a competitive career, many publications want journalists to prove themselves worthy to then take on larger, more important pieces of work. I believe that this is very similar to that of publishing and studio technician as proving your dedication to a job can prove trust. 

Alot of the time Journalists also are expected to be uncovering stories to be the first to report on, this is where alot of money is made as news papers want stories that will sell. This means that journalists must know certain contacts that can provide information accurately, if that be for just a small quote to confirm the story or confirmation from a party involved. Every little helps, much like working as a publicist as contacts are very much needed, in all aspects of the job.

 In Conclusion, Journalism and publicity work are both very similar. It is a job i would really like to one day be doing as writing is what i enjoy and do not see myself tiring from. As for qualifications for the job, as it is such a competitive business, higher education is recommended. It is becoming increasingly difficult to break through the gap as a journalist therefore a degree in English or similar is recommended and also writing your own material to create a portfolio however none of these draw backs put me off of the job of journalism, like most journalists I would like to eventually transition into editorial work if i was to choose this path. 

    

infographic