Photomedia- Week 2

During this week, I have been creating my final piece for this project, which is a time-lapse animation that films me painting my pre-drawn images with water colour; after my practical last week I have found that the process of drawing takes too long and it makes the animation longer in its length, which discourages the viewer from following the film, so I have decided to record the process of adding colour to my animation.

My tutor introduced me to a software called 'Dragon frame', which allowed me to capture images of my animation every twenty seconds, which makes the process seem shorter as you play them back in a sequence, and I am pleased that the sequence connects each image seem connected, as if movement is taking place without any time being taken out in between each image. As I played back the animation half way through, I had thought about slowing down the sequence, however, I realise that that would destroy the illusion of movement, so I have repeated some of the frames so the viewer is able to take in the final scenes properly, and this increases the length of the film, so it meets the minimum requirement of thirty seconds in length. I have also used Cut Pro software in order to edit the sounds of the animation and to make sure it is linked with the video. I haven't managed to create my own music using soundation.com because I didn't have time, and I needed to make sure that my animation was finished first so I could work out when the tone of the music is supposed to change.

I found this project difficult because I was given half the time to produce my work, which disables me from producing as much work as I would have liked to produce, and I have less time to feel engaged with the work I am doing. I have however, found this animation as a whole different and refreshing because I was given the chance to develop new skills in audio and video software as well as being able to use the darkroom, which will demonstrate in my portfolio my range of knowledge and my diverse use of materials.

In order to improve, I would put background music into my animation and manage the timings of the film more effectively. One area of success that I am pleased with is my range of research and how I have connected them in order to act as inspiration for my project. I am also pleased with how I have developed my storyboard because I have taken on my tutor's advise and made the narrative more obvious to the viewer so I don't need the narrate the animation for the viewer. I think this is effective because graphic designers don't explain stories through sound, they communicate through imagery and text, which is what I have done; I have relied on Meg Cabot's quote to sum up the story as a whole, which also allows the viewer to interpret other things into the story.

This is the link to my final animation :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138570842@N06/31641437945/in/dateposted-public/

Photomedia- week 1

This week, I have started a new taster project in Photo media, which is one and a half weeks long. We were given a random word each. My word was Geography, which I think is very broad because it is the study of the earth and I can base my work on anything as long as it is related to the events and the objects that are associated with the earth. It was difficult for me to choose a topic from the word I was given due to the wide selection of categories I am able to choose from. After watching Madam Tutli-Putli, I became inspired with the idea of traveling and the transformation that a person goes through when they confront their own demons and step outside their comfort zone. I looked onto Pinterest for more inspiration and I came across this inspiring quote from an author called Meg Cabot: ' Courage is not the absence of fear but the judgement that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all. For now you are traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be'. I intend to create a story line based on this quote, which also relates to Madam Tutli-Putli's experience as she transforms from timid into a strong woman. I wanted to base my story on an individual that has been put into a certain situation with no alternative but to step out of their comfort zone and transform themselves for the better good. I have come up with two storyboards, one talks about being courageous and preparing yourself for a university interview. The other storyboard is about a girl that is very shy and scared to talk to others, however, one afternoon she sat with a computer and a boy approaches her and asks for her number. I decided to base my work on the second storyboard because it is my own story of how I stepped outside my comfort zone and it was a large help towards my self-esteem and I feel a lot more comfortable with talking to people. I think this story is inspiring and I feel more connected with it. I have also researched the animation, 'flawed', which shows someone drawing the scenes as they narrate the story, which I wanted to use for my animation; I think moving image would be an excellent addition to my portfolio. Additionally, I have been through a dark room induction, which involved creating Photograms. I used light sensitive emulsion and exposed it for 8 seconds, which enabled me to capture detailed silhouettes. The first few times left me with a blank piece of paper because I left the red light on, which protects it from being exposed. I enjoyed this practical because I was able to learn the process of developing images, which will become useful in my graphic design course I am  planning to do as a degree. And I have found out from my tutor that this method can be used to create designs for prints. However, I decided not to use this method for my final piece because I had already explored the print making processes and I wanted to explore something new in order to produce a stronger portfolio and demonstrate that I have been exploring a range of different processes. Another practical involved recording sounds and editing them on 'FinalCut Pro' software, which time-lapses each sound in order to create something abstract. I liked experimenting with this process and that was when I became interested in using moving image and sound within my final piece; it is more exciting and I want to be able to communicate a message through this method.

I have experimented with Andrea Dorfman's use of fast paced animation by videoing myself drawing one of the scenes and increasing the speed of the video through video edting software. I don't think I will be able to hand draw all the scenes on live video because there are 20 scenes and I need to be able to fit everything in as a 30 second animation. I think I should take a photo of my scenes and set it as a slideshow because the animation would be shorter and it would be easier for the viewer to navigate themselves through the story and get a general idea of what messages are behind the animation. I will still use Dorfman's use of water colour because it dries quickly and it is easier to manipulate within a short space of time.I have also recorded Rory Marsh's voice, which is the quote from Meg Cabot; I want to show the viewer that the quote and the story are both connected in some way. And I also want to show the universities that I am able to interpret my own images using a selected piece of literature.

Next, I am going to paint all the scenes, edit them onto Photoshop and combine them with the sounds I am creating. I intend to set some background music with my animation in order to set the scene, so I will explore soundation.com and see whether I could come up with suitable background music. But first, I will need to work out how long each scene is going to be in order to let the music flow with the scenes and make the viewer change their emotion throughout the animation.