1. What skills have you developed throughout this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
Throughout this module I have developed a range of skills, each of which have been very useful to the overall outcome of my work. One of the first skills I learnt was storyboarding, this was a necessary part of design development because it meant I could experiment with ideas on paper before putting them into a digital format. Producing a range of storyboards before choosing an idea was a useful part of both briefs within this module because I got some of the 'worse' ideas out first and then came up with the better ones. I think this storyboarding skill was applied better in the Silent movie brief as I created numerous storyboards so that I had a lot of ideas before I decided to make a decision. There seemed to be a lot more effort put into storyboarding for this brief as at the time it felt necessary to really push this skill so I understood it properly. Although I created storyboards for all of my final sequences within the top ten brief I feel as though this skill wasn't applied as effectively because the quantity of storyboards was a lot smaller than with the silent movie brief. I feel that this occurred because I felt as though I had understood the skill from the previous brief so didn't really push it in the second brief. The storyboards I did create, I just settled for straight away without pushing ideas to their full potential and exploring a range. Although the fact I didn't use storyboards to their full potential within the top ten brief is a negative thing, I think the ones I did produce are detailed in colour and annotation to communicate my ideas clearly. From this storyboarding skill I also learnt how to use a paper timeline and learnt to understand where you plot things within this and how much it can benefit you when it comes to putting your ideas into after effects. One of the main things I took away from learning this skill was that as long as the storyboard made sense to you, it didn't matter so much if it didn't make sense to anyone else because I'm the person that needs to be able to understand it to take it to the next stage of the development process. This skill was applied on a linear level within the silent movie brief because I plotted a few basic storyboards onto timelines to begin to understand how many frames I would need for each of my sequences. I however, feel as though I have let myself down with the skill within both the silent movie brief and the top ten brief because it has only been applied in one brief and only once. I put this down to general time management because once I had created storyboards I took them straight into after effects because I felt it was important to start creating my sequences as soon as possible as I knew this was quite time consuming in itself. I did find it quite difficult to get my head around this skill when I thought about it in terms of the top ten brief because its quite hard to guess where things are going to occur within the timeline until you start moving images around in after effects, especially when they move in time to music. The main skill I have learnt through this module is how to use the after effects software because I had no experience with this at all. This skill was obviously a huge part of the module because it was where the final sequences were to be produced. I think these software skills have been applied effectively because I have produced suitable final outcomes that I am pleased with and they show a range of skills i've learnt within the software itself in terms of movement and keyframing. I feel I have applied movement skills within after effects in the simplest possible way but think that this is what makes my sequences suitably effective because overcomplicating something can make it quite hard to interpret. My final sequences definitely show a level of understanding of the software and I think as a first attempt they look informed. The organisation of folders is also another skill i've picked up that links to after effects. This is because for the sequences to work everything has to be held within the same folder so it was quite important to be organised otherwise the sequence files would come up with errors and a lot of time would be wasted hunting for the relevent files. Time management was a huge part of this module so I feel that this has developed in the sense that I had to be aware of how long these sequences would take to produce and be constantly making sure I left myself enough time to contend with any errors, this also involved prioritising my work. These are the main skills I feel I have developed throughout this module.
2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
One of the methods that I have developed throughout this module is that due to the nature of the module everything has to be produced in a particular order because one thing informs another, so this could be categorised as organisation. There wouldn't really be development as such if it wasn't for this approach. A massive part of the design production was creating storyboards because the ideas had to be down on paper before I went into after effects to begin producing them. This method informed my design development process because I could exeperiment with the ideas I had in my head and get a better feel for how they may look and I could also eliminate any of the 'uneffective' ideas. It also meant that once I had produced these storyboards I could move on to the next stage which was actually making them digital. The storyboards make up quite a big section of design development because they indicate where ideas began and where they are going to so in a sense represent a thought process.
I hand drew outlines for all of my artwork before I decided this would save time when it came to developing the artwork further if these outlines were already there. This was a major part of development because without these outlines I wouldn't be able to move forward within the design process. I took these outlines into photoshop to make my imagery digital, although this was a skill I had already, by using this format for my artwork I learnt a new skill within after effects in terms of importing the work in sequences and the formats I needed to use. This has informed my design development because it meant that my ideas started coming to life and was the start of the comic book asthetic I wanted to use for all of my sequences. It also meant by using this method I could then quite easily take this artwork forward into my sequences.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
My ability to produced hand rendered work before anything digital has been a strength throughout this module because I have a lot of physical work to support the digital design decisions I have made and the decisions I have made throughout each brief are clear to see through this. To capitalise on this I will keep up the same standard within future briefs and consider producing even more hand rendered work before making a decision so i've explored every possible outcome. This is of course if it suits the brief. Time management has been a strength throughout this project because I had to constantly make sure I was on top of my sequences as they took quite a lot of time to produce, especially if there was any errors. I had also produced my final sequences just under a week before the deadline so this gave me plenty of time to deal with any issues that arose. I can capitalise on this by making sure that i'm really organised with any other future briefs so that if there is changes that I need to make, I dont feel rushed to make them. I feel that I have become more confident with decisions because i've used a lot of colour within the top ten brief and usually I keep colour within my designs to a minimum so this was in a sense a form of risk taking for me because it may not have worked. To capitalise on this I can continue to make sure that I take risks within my work because I won't know how effective something can be until I actually try it and if this doesn't work then at least this can be added as part of the development process. The main strength I have got from this module is an understanding of how the software works and an ability to pick up new techniques within the after effects software quite quickly. This is shown through how my final sequences operate and the techniques I have used. I have also experimented with this software and this can be seen within development although experimentation is quite linear. To capitalise on this I can consider using the software in other briefs when given the opportunity so that I can extend the skills I have already learnt and come up with more complex outcomes in future. I could also consider going back to after effects in my own time so I don't begin to forget any of the skills I have learnt if I don't use the software for a long period of time. My ability to produce simplistic yet sophisticated packaging seems to be a strength within this module because although the idea was one of the last things I considered, i'm really pleased with the outcome. In future I could capitalise on this by making my ideas for print quite simplistic and then working up from this instead of trying to work with something complex straight away because the more simplistic idea could inform a complicated idea. The time spent on the storyboards I created is a strength because they are clear and communicate my ideas well, this however also falls into the weakness category for other reasons too.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in future?
Storyboards have been a real weakness within the top ten brief because I haven't really experiemented much with ideas and I have chosen to produce the first ideas I came up with digitally in after effects. Although I don't feel this has let my final outcomes down as such, it has a massive impact on the development process because there isn't as much physical development as there could have been. Linking to this I haven't really used timelines within either of the briefs and this could be seen as a weakness because it might mean people think I don't understand this technique when there is no evidence of it, although I do. I don't feel as though this has hindered my work in any way really because I feel that you can never truely understand how something is going to move until you have it in front of you on after effects because the software does the moving for you and can be more precise than a hand rendered version. In future these are both things that I need to prioritise and make time for if I decide to produce work for another brief on after effects.
5. Identify five things you will do differently next time and what you expect to gain from doing these?
1. Visit the library more often for research material.
Although the internet is a great source, not everything you always find on there is 'true' so by using books you can tell that the sources are reliable. The library may also have something very relevent to what I am researching so I should make more time for it.
2. Blog as I go.
By doing this I won't have a build up of blog posts to annotate at the end of a module because i've got too into a habit of posting images and not actually annotating them until a later date. This is likely to cause less stress too and i'll be more organised so can be sure I won't have missed anything.
3. Try and be more motivated from the begining of the module.
A lot of decisions for this module came quite close to the end so then it felt like more of a rush to get things done. Although this is not completely in my control, I could try and push myself to make decisions at an earlier stage. By doing this my outcomes could be more informed and the resultions may be a lot more rounded. The level of work could also be higher.
4. Stay at uni more 'after hours' and come in on weekends more.
There tend to be less distractions at this time of the day or on a weekend and no temptation to do something different than my work because I don't have the options like I would at home. Although I get quite a lot of work done from home I feel that if i'm in the uni environment this would encourage me to work at a faster rate and would maximise my time more effectively.
5. Manage my time.
Although I have positive time management skills already I feel that there is still potential for improvement because I don't always prioritise in the correct order. Sometimes I do the things I enjoy most instead of the things that are needed sooner for things like crits. If I prioritise more effectively then this could also lead to better orginisation of all the briefs I have going on for different modules.
6. How would you grade yourself in the following areas:
Attendence 5
Punctuality 5
Motivation 3
Commitment 4
Quantity of work produced 3
Quality of work produced 3
Contribution to the group 4
(1 being poor and 5 being excellent)
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