Reflection Interactive

Reflection

For Steve’s animation Unit I was asked to create several moving animated images, such as a bouncy ball, a cat and a robin that I called Colin. Overall, I found this project very challenging and stressful.

What I found enjoyable was sketching out Colin on paper as I enjoy drawing by hand. Colin is a type of bird who wants to stand out and be different from the other birds. I decided to do this by not making him fly and instead he wears big boots and wants to walk. I enjoyed creating this character because it was fun. I think that animation gives me the freedom to be creative and surreal.

Although I enjoyed creating this character on paper, once I had to recreate it on Adobe Animate it was not an enjoyable process. I struggled to use the 'bone tool' as this was difficult to use. I didn't completely understand how to use the key frames properly and this is key to bringing the character to life.  As I found this difficult, this part of the process was very frustrating.

I was not pleased with the end result because of the way it moved. For example, the way it looks very stick like and is robotic when it moves. I found when I was using the bone tool I found it hard to articulate the joins and this lead to distortion and looked a bit strange. The one positive is that the final animation looked like the initial hand drawings.

If I would do this again I would need all the help I could get to create something amazing, also I would need a lot more practice and patience. This has confirmed that I am a perfectionist and the final piece of work did not resemble what I had imagined and therefore I was disappointed with the end result.    



Colin Eating

Colin Eating 



This week we were set the task of making our character eat. Colin only eats red food because of his red chest, so I decided he would eat tomatoes. I animated him using the bone tool and I drew him in Adobe Animate using the brush tool. 

Colin Sleeping

Colin Sleeping

This lesson we made our character sleep. I used lots of 'z' to illustrate him sleeping. I made it on Adobe Animate and used bone tool. I closed his eyes by putting circles over his eyes with a black line through it. I like the way it turned out and looks peaceful.

Colin Playing Ball

Colin Playing Ball

Here I created Colin playing with a red ball. I did this by using keyframes, I used 14 key frames in total. I did this on Adobe Animate.

Adobe Animate

Adobe Animate 

I'm finding using this program actually pretty difficult. It's confusing to me because its very similar to Photoshop. We were told to create a cat or dog. Below you can see the cat I drew, I wanted to keep it simple because It will make animating it easier. I found the drawing part quite easy because it was just like using Photoshop, I clicked on the pen tool and free handed the cat. 

Here you can see my finished animated cat gif. I struggled to animate because I wasn't familiar with the software. I planned to animate a cat walking, I used the 'bone tool' to do this by selecting certain pivot points and articulating the motions. I still really struggle using this tool as you can see, he isn't walking he's pushing himself on a skate board. 

Look-book Evaluation

Look-book Evaluation 

I am pleased with the final version of my Look-Book. I actually didn't think it would come together, but in the end it did and it looks really good. We went to two different locations which are Bath and Frome. I am really pleased on the layout of the look book and is very clear to look at. I started sketching ideas in my sketch book about possible logo/brands and what pieces of clothing I'm going to be showcasing. I decided to call my brand 'Inspired'. I created the finished logo on Photoshop. The colour scheme I went for is Red and Gold, this makes it have that unique feel. I edited the final logo onto the photo shoot pictures and it looks very nice and realistic. I added the logo onto a scarf, a t-shirt, and a jumper.

I used a few props in the photo shoot such as, an umbrella, skate board, headphones etc. This made it more casual and also fitted in to everyday life. The look book it self has eight pages. The first page has the full logo, the second page has a quote which links to my brand very well, pages 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are the photo shoot pictures and page eight has the smaller logo, which is a gold star above a red circle.

If I could improve this look book I would of used more people to pose in front of the camera and maybe adding a female. By doing this it gets a wider range of viewers from both men and woman.

Overall I am very happy with the final product and I think It looks visually good.

CV Feedback

CV Feedback

I got feedback from the 'Future Team' (Amy Patterson, employability adviser). She told me the content was very good, but I had to shuffle the layout and to elaborate on my skills. I also has to put where my location is and where I'm currently studying. She told me to add stats and figures about my YouTube channel to make it look more impressive. I've made these changes and now it looks better visually.

Compare and Evaluate | Audio Evaluation

Compare and Evaluate 

For this project I had to somehow improve my previous project which was the 'Pearlman and Carter' trailer . I chose to go down the road of sound because the visual side was really good and didn't need improving. 

So I added a few extra sounds to go over my trailer. I used woodland ambient sounds, car engine sounds, walking sounds and night ambient sounds. All of these sounds I researched to make sure that they were royalty free to avoid copyright. By adding these sounds it makes it more alive even if they are really quiet in the background, it just adds to the atmosphere in its surroundings. For example there's a scene of Pearlman running through the forest, the only sounds you can hear is the running sounds, so I added a woodland sound over the top and it works really well. The woodland sound is a mixture of bird song and wind blowing through the trees. Also another scene when Pearlman and Carter are walking towards the camera, you can't hear any foot steps, I fixed this by adding footsteps sounds and making sure that its in sync. 

I had to think about how loud these sounds were going to be, the audio levels are very important because I wanted it to sound professional. Like I've said already all the sounds I've added are very muted because they are background ambient sounds. Overall I really like the finished result and it enhances the overall feel of the atmosphere.

Final Design/logo/brand Ideas

Final Design/logo/brand Ideas

Before designing these in Photoshop I sketched out them in my sketch book (you can see them on my previous blog). I created them in Photoshop using text and shape tools. I went for a basic bold design to stand out and to get peoples attention. Also I chose a red and gold colour scheme because of the way the colours create a unique complementary feel. Also the gold gives it that classy feel.

Logo Ideas

Logo Ideas

Reece Shots for Look book

Reece Shots for Look book  

Fashion and Me | Publishing

Fashion and Me

I like to wear smart and fashionable clothing inspired by my hero's, such as The Doctor, Sherlock and Newt Scamander. I didn't use to care about fashion until a few years back, but over the last couple of years this has changed. I do care about what I look like and how others see me. I like to wear fitted clothing and usually I like to layer thin clothing. I prefer to wear winter clothing as I like to be covered up. I also like to collect and dress up in cosplay, but thats another story...

Some of the brands I like to wear are Dr Martens, Jaeger, All Saints, Nike and Primark. 

When I'm looking to buy things I take into consideration are quality, price and what I need it for. 

I like big bold logos which stand out and are unique to look at, this is what I plan to do for my own brand logo.  

 

Post-Production

Post-Production

I found this project tough at the beginning because I didn't know what Cold Fusion was, so I did some research.  I decided to shoot the film in Frome because I had locations in mind. The script and story came together quite quickly and I knew the editing wouldn't be to much of a problem, so

 I started to enjoy the whole experience. 

I really liked the opening panning shot because it sets the atmosphere and tone of the film, the length of the pan builds anticipation. The clock in the background I added to create time passing, it also makes the room feel deathly quite. Another favourite of mine would be where we get the wide shots half way through with the 'bass boom' sound effects, this really does create a sense of urgency. Also I like it when we go into first person as were looking through the camera lens looking for the sniper.  

I don't like the lighting in act one because its to dark and grainy for my liking. Also I had a hair cut in-between act 1 and 2. Originally I was going to wear a long coat in act 2 and 3 but I forgot to bring it, as I left it at home. I didn't like the part where a laser gets pointed at Anthony's chest because it didn't turn out as well as I would of liked, the laser didn't show up in bright daylight and the laser effect I found online wasn't vibrant enough. 

If I was going to do this again I would film it in Bath so I can make better use of lesson time, and also there are more people around to help with the equipment. I would cast someone else as the main character as I can do more camera/ editing work instead. I booked the equipment out from Bath College for a limited time only, if I was filming local I wouldn't be so restricted with the time. If I had more time I would of asked my peers to assess and critic my work in order to help both production and post-production write up. Also I should of added some close ups at the end of the film to show emotion of shock when Anthony finds out who the mystery person is. The audio doesn't suit its environment because we re-recored the audio inside to avoid wind sounds and building work (drilling sounds). It would of sounded better if we re-recorded the dialogue outside in a quiet atmosphere.

Production

Production

Colin Playing

Colin Playing

I was given a task to animate my character Colin playing.  Earlier in the project I animated a ball bouncing, I decided to use the techniques I learnt there. I started of with Colin and drew a red ball with the shape tool. I made it bounce over blue water by using key frame animation. I used 25 frames to make this.

Pre-Production

Pre-Production

We were given a brief for a project called 'Cold Fusion'. This contained a scenario and clear requirements/targets that I had to meet by February half term. 

I didn't understand the project at first, the scenario I was given was about a subject that I was unfamiliar with (Cold Fusion). I researched Cold Fusion using Wikipedia so I could create characters and a relevant storyline. I then sketched out some ideas on paper and created a mind map. This helped me get a greater understanding about how I should approach the task.

My next task was to start drafting a script and a rough story line with clear acts 1, 2, and 3. I also developed the main characters and started to imagine them, for example creating a back story. I came up with a plot which involved two main characters and a twist that happens right at the end. There is little dialogue and it isn't until act 3 where the two characters meet, so I created the tone and atmosphere of the film by being creative with camera angels, lighting and audio. 

I plan to shoot the first scene in a homely environment so I will do this back in Frome where I live. There is also a park near by which is perfect for the final scene (act 3), because of this it made sense that I will be one of the main characters and also my support staff because we have three days a week with each other. See recce images below...      

Pre-Production Audio

I looked into different sound effects to create more tension like, music, a ticking clock, boom sounds and a heart beat. I searched for royalty free sounds to avoid breaching copyright laws, which narrowed down the amount of options I had.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXGoTKr0828

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAhVrCdZNfI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCXjEz40r7I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLU7zVfY5jA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAbJVDkpFf8

Storyboard/Shot List

  Storyboard

Shot list

Mid shots - Anthony pacing anxiously in the house.

Close ups - Anthony on the phone, shows confusion and emotion.

Wide shots - Introducing the park (the setting). 

Over the shoulder - Anthony and Craig talking to each other.

Storyboard Sketches

Storyboard Sketches