Evalution

My final outcome is a video, which advertises a documentary season that would be broadcast on BB3.  An additional piece is a zoetrope I made, which was supposed to feature in the short film I made, which was not originally planned as a final outcome piece on my project proposal.

I have used my sketch book to experiment and document my progression and ideas. My blog was used to reflect and review my progress and allowed me to highlight areas for improvement, this helped me as I was able to take time out from experimenting and look at my work from a different perspective, and make any changes that would benefit my outcome. I found group reviews helpful as I got a look into what other people thought about my work at each stage, and how they thought I could improve it; sometimes even pointing out things I may not have noticed.

All my targets were met from weeks 1-4 which included gallery visits, researching other artists, initial ideas and development, experimentation and drawing up initial story boards. After this I spent my time experimenting and producing each element for my final piece, which took longer than anticipated, but I was still able to finish the project on time.

One development that really helped me achieve my outcome was my technical skills using Adobe Premier, I used this project as an opportunity to practise and expand my skills. As a result I was not limited to using Photoshop and iMovie for editing animations/video clips.

Over the duration of the FMP I received loads of advice and feedback about my work. At the beginning of the project I had to pitch my project concept to a group, who would then feedback to me. I found that my peers liked my project idea and thought it was an interesting concept to work with, which meant it was something I could pursue without making too many changes. Group reviews in the final weeks of the project really helped my work, as I was beginning to make my final outcome and gave me a chance to use the feedback from others and apply it to my outcome. As well as this I got advice as to how I could make improvements on my blog, by not only stating what I did each day, but also critiquing my work and thinking about what I could change and do better.

Something I will take away from this project is my approach to time management, although I was able to keep to schedule for the first few weeks of the project, I think I underestimated the time it would take to produce each element of my final outcome, and then to piece it together. I personally think my outcome could’ve been a lot stronger if I had factored this in and given my self more time to develop and produce the different elements for the outcome. I think I also need be more specific with the artists and inspirations I look at, I tend to be quite broad and look at many artist/works at the same time, but being more specific and looking at least one artist in depth may help me to consider a wider range of art styles, that could have been considered in my final outcome and improved the visual aesthetic.

I used this project as an opportunity to prepare me for next year, where I should be studying Motion Graphics. Initially I was planning to use Adobe After effects to produce my animation, however as I have only a very basic knowledge of how it works I thought using stop motion as a technique would be a better option, as trying to teach myself to use After effects would have been very time consuming. I did try to improve on my stop motion animation skills, by hand and digitally drawing a walk cycle so I was able to grasp the basics on movement. As much as I enjoy the illustrative/animated side of Motion Graphics, my main focal point for next year and the near future is more based towards creative directing, I wanted my outcome to have a narrative throughout, so I needed a good concept to work with that. I plan to work on my own personal art style and continue developing my technical skills over the next few months, so that when I start Motion Graphics next year I’ll be in better place than I am now, and be able to be able to produce stronger outcomes with a good visual aesthetic and a strong concept and narrative behind it.

Over all I was able to produce the type/style of outcome I intended to initially, however I can’t say I’m completely satisfied with it, as I had to cut out some sections due to time restrictions. This resulted in a narrative and visual that looks rushed and doesn’t show my true intentions, but I will take these experiences away with me and factor them in with my next project to ensure I produce the highest quality outcome possible.