OUGD202 Evaluation

This module has been the trickiest so far on the course, in terms of having to learn 2 new pieces of software that

were something you cant just jump on and expect results. Since I had never used After Effects before,

I had to try to conevert myself to the structure of working within my worst enemy, time. In the early stages of storyboarding, with no real idea of how long ten seconds actually is, the limitations to that time, and what can/could be achieved within that short space, I was overly ambitious and ended up confusing myself with what I was going to do.

Instead, storyboarding became an easy way to show the start and end of what I wanted to see, not making things majorly complicated for myself, and simplifying all my ideas, which came to a great benefit to me since my initial idea was based around very complex and technical animations. If I had paid attention to the limitations within my first drafts of the idents(storyboards) and what can and cannot be done in After Effects, I think my animations would of come out more polished, and crisper. On the other hand, I think I did display a certain amount of techinical competence with the software, considering that it was something I greatly struggled with, making use of things from the camera, lighting, transformation and stroke effects, but not to overkill the final result.

Then there was the case of DVD studio pro, which was - again - another piece of software just introduced to us on this module. With a few stop starts and confusion, I soon got to grips with it, along with an easy to follow schematic (despite the scrappy drafts) that allowed me to complete the DVD stage in more or less an afternoon. Digital media is something best left alone as I have learned from this module, as it can be decieving, and unreliable. On top of that it requires a level of visualisation and techinical competence that I simply do not have. This is reflected by the uninspiring DVD interaction, since I knew that DVD studio would be something best tempermental with things like loss of files, links etc, I decided to keep it simple, and easy to produce, as to not cripple myself before hand in, and lose a massive portion of time before submission, which could of happened quite easily.

To be honest though I am reasonably happy with the turnout, despite working with the animations for so long, I began doubting them and if they were doing what they were meant to be doing, especially considering that I had to drop the last ident I did since I knew it was not working at all, and relying on working from a storyboard ythat was mean to be backup work and post-developmental.

The research process was something that helped to give me a clearer idea of what I wanted from the animations, since it was very hard for me to get any clear concepts that could be applied in After Effects, and I'm still getting used to the analogue/digital switchover way of recording and documenting, but blogging has now been embedded into my way of recording this past module since alot of the time is spent in front of a screen. Even though I was still leaving myself notes to put this that and the other to better support my work, I know that somewhere, I would of missed out something that would be vital to this project, despite trying to be as thourough as possible on the blog.

My main weakness with this project was not just my lack of know-how in the technical aspects of this project, but my animations lacking the professional look for application to the watershed, this aside, I was very happy with the final design for my packaging, as it tied up the loose ends of the project, keeping the visuals all neat and uniform with each other, which was something I wanted to do from the start, even if I was not completly satisfied with the final outcome, I know I did a good job of making the DVD something to be proud of.

Things I will do differently:

Blogger - 

I think that with the emphasis on blogging for this module was effected by me not being able to take myself away from working on the animations, which led me to alot of late night blogposts, left as drafts with little or no writing on them, and not taking time to make them something that would of given me more marks and helped me alot more.

 Research - 

I found a limited amount of research that was the foundations for something that I started straight away, which dinted the final outcome, as if I spent more time looking into what I could of done in after effects I could of produced something much more professional.

Evaluation - 

This was considered in the blogging part of the evaluation. I have not taken enough time to look at what I was doing, and try to amend it, which was another thing that will lose me marks, since there was emphasis on self-reflection.

Motivation - 

Towards the end of this module, I was starting to get frustrated, and this was havign a major effect on my work towards the end, seeing it as a finish line in a race, not taking the time to ensure all ends were met to a high standard, I need to maintain focus on the objectives and not lose interest.

Neglect - 

I was much sloppier in my punctuality for this module and tended to overwork myself, without giving myself a balance, and ended up really messing up my body pattern, which invariably had a negative impact on my work. I intend to better myself for the next module.

Attendance3

Punctuality 3

Motivation 3

Commitment 4

Quantity of work produced 4

Quality of work produced 2

Contribution to the group 4


Classic example, this was a draft that didnt post on saturday.