I am much happier with my final animation than I was a week ago. I think it looks more professional and interesting, and the movement itself is much better. I have made a few small changes based on feedback and have added a grainy texture over the top to match with the rest of the animation. I think this effect looks really good, it creates an almost hand made effect. With this and the drop shadow affect I think it looks almost like paper cut outs.
My experimentation reel really shows how much has come. I feel I have learnt a great deal both technically (e.g. using after effects) and also working in a team.
Overall I have enjoyed this project, and I feel I have a stronger understanding of how animation is used in the industry. This project had a slow start creatively for me, I found it a struggle to get into the right mind set straight away. Of course I didn’t let this affect my group and I think we worked well when it came to collating ideas and storyboarding. I think we all had our own ideas and influences, but part of working in a team is coming to a compromise we are all happy with. This is why we settled on a motion graphics/ after effects approach as we all felt this was best suited to accommodate our ideas and strengths. Part of this was also so there was a sense of consistency and it felt like one animation.
I think we achieved this aim in some ways but less in others; there was a point in the project when we were all at different stages and I think this came down to lack of communication and leadership. I found myself becoming the organiser which I now realise is a skill I can continue with in other projects. It has made me realise I enjoy taking on a producer role, making sure everyone is communicating and on the same page. As a group I think our area for development would be better time management and to set goals that are clear and often so we stay on target. I also think we could have created a stronger sense of unity with in the animation from the start as it all became a bit of a rush at the end.
I have personally grown a lot as an animator in this unit. I found that I didn’t like the animation I had started, and I felt stuck with it. I made the decision to re do it quite late into the project, but I think this is the best decision I could have made as I feel it is much more professional and expresses what I know I am capable of. I have learnt that pressure and time constraints can be very useful. My area for development would be to settle on an idea I am truly happy with rather than sticking with something because it’s easy, as I understand that in the real world of work changing ideas at the last minute wouldn’t be acceptable.
From feedback and my own personal feeling towards the project I have re done my animation using mostly new assets, and although I know it is last minute I feel much better about it. I think the colours are more consistent, the movement is more lively and exciting, and it gives a clearer message reflecting the audio. Part of my reason for re thinking things is I found my own animation boring, it didn’t have any life to it and wasn’t particularly interesting.
I used feedback I got on it and created a rough story board that uses many elements from my previous animations but I have tried to put a more creative spin on things. I used some of the practical knowledge that Kris in particular helped me with on after effects and spent longer rigging and focusing on the movement, particularly the boy character at the start. Although not perfect I think it has improved from before.
From some peer feedback I will make some few changes, though with the time left I know that there isn’t loads I will be able to achieve. I will add a ‘drop shadow’ to the stars as every other asset has this effect so they look slightly out of place. Make more of the coffee spilling, perhaps have it fall on the desk. The biggest feedback was the end, perhaps it would be better to just have the end card fade up rather than the cape move forward.
I have continued to animate my section of the animation and as a group we have submitted an animating with subtitles for feedback. I wasn’t very happy with this submission as we are still in the same position as last week where some people still only have their hand drawn animatics which really doesn’t express how the animation will look in the end. I am having doubts about my own section as well, I feel like I might start again. We have sent an email to the client with some questions and this will hopefully lead to some feedback that I can use to improve.
Areas for development
Continue to animate, and begin to think about putting things together for hand in.
Using the feedback I have started working more on the animation and I pretty happy with the first section, though I would like to add more movement to the boy character, but I think the transition between the thought bubble and the computer screen is nice. The final section is not yet finished, and I want to work out a more creative design for it that blends well with the rest of the animation. The parody section is also not complete, as I wanted to wait for further feedback before spending ages on them, just to make sure it isn’t insensitive or infringing on any copyright.
Below is a very rough animation test to show how I imagine the movement going at the end.
Also with out up to date work in progress animation we sent an email to the client showing how we have addressed the feedback, and asking a few questions about what we intend to do next:
Dear Marya,
Thank you for your feedback.
Please find an updated work in progress film.
We have addressed some of the feedback, and took on board a few of your ideas such as using an ‘Iplayer’ set up rather than DVD’s. We will also use a laptop rather than a TV screen at the begining to add some consistency and keep it relevant (01.25 – 01.27).
We have made it less literal, and we are still aiming to create more continuity between the sections. The style throughout will be a flat, 2D style of animation using softer, pastel colours.
In the 3rd part of the animation (00.32 – 00.47) a grainy texture has been added, we were wondering what your thoughts on this were? Should this be an effect we continue with?
The ‘parodies’ on the ‘Myplayer’ computer screen are rough drafts (01.25 – 01.27). Is this appropriate? Could we ask for your advice in terms of the sensitivity towards the subject with regards to the parodies?
At the end the intention is that the cape is on a poster and it flys off, though this isn’t quite clear visually yet. As per making the piece loop, at the end (01.28-01.35) the red cape will wipe across the screen and the first frame can be put in behind it for it to start again.
Some of the sections are still at the hand drawn animatic stage, but we have discussed our next steps moving forward. These were made before the feedback was given, so the comments made in the previous email will be taken on board.
This week I made the most progress animation wise, I now have a rough draft that I can build on. I have lots of feedback for this that I will use to improve it, though there are many things I would like to change as I think the animation isn’t as good as I know I can make it. I also looked in Robin Davey, an animator whose style I really like and would like to include more of this kind of style moving forward.
Areas for development
Continue to work on my animation and continue to collaborate with the team to add some consistency. I am finding this a bit of a struggle, as some team members aren’t at the same point yet and it’s difficult to continue while we are all at different points. I am hoping that in the next week we can progress further as a group.
It was suggested to look at Davey’s work in order to help inform my animation. The rounded, bold shapes resonate with the style I am going for and I would really like to push this.
Using my previous storyboards an animatics I have created a first draft of the animation that I will build on. I am happy with the pacing and the assets I have made, though I think they still have a lot of work to go into them. After some feedback from Jon there are some things I will change:
More movement and bounce for the child character at the beginning, push the pose
Make the character smaller so there is more room for the thought bubble
Change the style of the text and it looks a little out of place
Smoother transition between thought bubble and computer, parent the text to the asset so that they change size at the same time
Add some sound effects such as a ‘click’ for the mouse button
Add a loading circle or bar to the ‘My player’ page to make it a bit more interesting
Change the design of the background at the end, do we need the desk? Perhaps the objects could be floating.
This week I created a new animatic based on the feedback and added some new design ideas. I am happier with mu new ideas and feel like I am finally at a point where I can progress past the animation stage. I really like the idea of using a lap top screen, and I feel using a connected colour palette is working well, I am sticking with quite pastel, almost ‘children’s TV’ kind of colours. I think this week has been productive and I feel closer to a finished product.
Areas for development
Next I will using my animatic and begin making assets to use in the final animation. I will also talk to my group and see where everyone else is at. I need to think more about the actual movement from one frame to another, and how as a team we will transition between sections.
Maddy Caulfield Animation 