Evaluation of FMP

Final Animation

Video

Introduction 

My FMP was an animation on the themes of how personality and identity can be flattened and crushed by monotonous everyday life. It revolves around a man who's dream of living in a peaceful cottage on a hill have been crushed by things such as debt, loans and bills and how he eventually breaks the cycle and does his own thing. I chose the theme as it is very relevant in today's society with issues such as the predicted age to stop working being higher and higher each year and the tough state of the economy leaving people with barely any money to go on a break. I had worked on the project by beginning with tasks like writing out a schedule and planning out story boards.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Here are some strengths and weaknesses I've developed/come across during the animation process.

Strengths-

1. I feel the animation process went smoothly with little to no problems throughout; I practically used the full three weeks dedicated purely to animation and the last two-five days being used to edit sound.
2. Because I was already familiar with Flash there was plenty of room to refine/learn new techniques; for example I refined my knowledge of motion tweens and got familiar with them again.
3. I personally learned to discipline myself in the sense that I've increased my ability to focus on a project for a long period of time. The monotony of animation helped me get into a cycle in which I would be purely focused on the animation process to the extent that I could get a lot done in an hour.
4. I've learned a bit about set design on Flash as before I was mainly using Photoshop to do all my set design. I mainly learned how to break objects apart and  put them into separate layers.

Weaknesses- 

1. Sometimes I could be a bit careless in the sense that I would've exported a "finished" animation only to find that I left out audio/forgotten to put in an animation scene.
2. I had changed idea before production begun, this meant I had to plan out a different timeline with different characters and themes.
3. I finished my animation and sound a bit later then I wanted to; this left me with less time to do things such as make an early start on my evaluation.
4. I was sick on one of my designated animation days so I lost a whole day I could've used to animate. This set me back a bit on the animation process

Main influences

Animation wise I borrowed some of the design from youtube animations such as the animated segments from the video series "Crash course-World History"; below you can see some examples from the "Crash Course" series compared to my work:

As you can see both sets of characters have very simplistic faces with little to no detail apart from eyes. Also you will notice that the way in which the characters move is very reminiscent of the animated T.V. show "South Park".  I used my own personal experiences for the theme of my FMP; mainly my frustration at how boring and repetitive my own life is. When I occasionally watch the news I hear of state pension age rising which means people are retiring when they are older; this got me thinking about how a repetitive lifestyle would get to somebody after ages of being in it. 

Experiments and Exploration 

The very first thing I explored and experimented with is the plot line of my FMP. I first decided to do an animation that revolved around four people in a line and how there careers/roles change throughout history(for example I would have started with hunter gatherer people and moved onto the ancient Greek/Roman period with the characters donning clothing and items relating to the main career paths at the time). I decided I didn't want to do this as I felt there was not much room to be creatively thinking about a plot; this led me to choose the custom story I have now as I could have a bigger control over the premise and the world around the characters. Time constraints did not help either as I felt 2-3 minuets was not enough time to convey all the info in the timeline story.

I also experimented with character designs; below is the concept art for my characters:

As you can see there are a range of designs for the heads, bodies, arms and legs of the characters. You may notice that the characters all happen to wear suits; this was because I had already planned out my story before hand so I knew I wanted my characters to have some form of clothing relating to their profession on them. Of course in the final product it's nothing like that as the characters only seem to wear what piece of clothing I randomly thought of; mainly hats as they are more pronounced and distinguishable then different coloured suits. 

Comparison to Similar pieces of work 

I will be comparing some of my animation to one of the thought bubble videos about the Persians and the Greeks. 

Linked here

Here is part of the first scene:

Straight away you can see that the Crash Course scene on the top is a lot more detailed then my scene at the bottom. You can see that their hills and mountains have shadows and indentations to signify depth whilst my scene only has a hill overlapping the over hill to signify depth.

The Crash Course video also has a varying art style whist my animation maintains a consistent art style. This can be explained by the fact that I cannot draw and it's only me working on the project whilst the Crash Course crew have a whole production team with different artists. Also I aim to keep my animation simplistic so by conventions of minimalism there wouldn't be any other art styles other then my simplistic art style.

Lastly you can see that the Crash Course video utilises other forms of communication other then just visual. There they are talking about an ideology using a dictionary definition whilst I convey info much more visually and dynamically. This makes sense though as the Crash Course video has someone narrating it to keep the video from being a tedious read; on the other hand I don't have someone narrating so if I used dialogue there would be a risk of it becoming tedious and boring.

Peer Views

When I showed the first version of my animation to my peers most of them enjoyed it but there were some issues brought up; mostly due to some of the scenes being a bit long in length and seeming like they were drawn out. In my latest version of the animation I corrected this by speeding up the FPS(Frames Per Second) and by lengtherning some of the animated sequences(Mainly characters walking). I lengthened the individual frames from 1 space long to 2 frames long; if I didn't lengthing the frames then the walking animation woud've looked like the characters are just sliding along the floor instead of just walking. I also heard that the desk didn't look like a desk at first; you can see in my final animation I've corrected this by making one of the characters move objects such as paper and pens out of the way as he looks for the etchings on the desk.

Some of my peers commented on the fact that some of the sound diddn't sync to the character's movements; this was due to me hurrying the process up so I can get an animation out quicker and not paying attention to the little details. In my latest version I took every criticism into account and acted on them accordingly(by syncing the sound, tweaking the animation etc.).

Key Areas of Development 

The main development was my attitude towards focusing and dicipline when it comes to working on an animation; I would say I developed this when I reliesed the slow pace I was going at during the begining of the animation. I acted on this by coming in early and sometimes spending some time after college to work on my animation. I would also say I managed to refine my Flash skills when it comes to motion tweening; I had trouble with the motion tweening at first but after playing around with it I managed to get used to it. On Adobe Premier I've learned how to get audio to fade out instead of just coming to an abrupt stop suddenly; I learned this through the built in teaching program on Premier.

Ideas And Themes

Ideas For FMP

Ideas

• An animation that relies on simplicity and content. The animation would use stick figures and smooth transitions to keep the viewer entertained. As well as a rich, interesting script.

          Pros: I'm good at animation and have a very specific style in mind for it
          Cons: I may take some time doing the animation as I don't have any programs at home to do it
          on

• A book that follows in the same theme as the animation but would have more content on each page due to the lack of motion.

          Pros: I would enjoy designing the content for each page

          Cons: I'm still not as good as I would want to be on Adobe Publisher so I may not produce the                 

           finished product I want

• A motion comic that will be based on a website and allows the user to scroll sideways through the site to further progress the story.

          Pros: Because this is a combination of the two previous formats; the design of both text and   

          animation would be fun to try out and practise

          Cons: This may require coding which I have not done in a long time so I might not be able to 

          properly get the result I want

• A live action film with actors; it would have a 'Dark Comedy' feel to it. 

          Pros: It would be good experience for me as I'm not that used to directing a live action film
          Cons: I may not be able to get actors for my live action film, I would have to have find an        empty office environment and get proper permission to use it which may be costly and take a lot of time.                 

Mind Map, Questions and Target Notes For FMP

Statement of Intent

Statement of intent

This is a contract that will outline your intent for the FMP project. This will be agreed on your proposal and signed by you and your tutor.

Idea(s) for media product	An animation revolving around identity/personality can be altered by forces(government, peers, media etc.) A motion comic that would be available on a webpage
Reasons for choice (where the ideas came from - creative techniques etc.)	I’ve always been keen on doing animation in Flash I have good experience working on Flash since I was younger and in some lessons on the course The identity idea came from when I was doing a mind map around aspects of Identity, fantasy and environment My idea came from the combination of identity and environment
Planning and time scale (this could be a link to another doc)	https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GW8MIXt6vosqfnpKU0tuwRf9JRyENXHRDSYTiximF8Y/edit#gid=0
Audience targeted - with reasons	My animation will try to be entertaining to everyone as this will be a documentary style of animation The subject matter is relevant to almost everyone so my target audience will be a wide range of people There is a bit of history in the animation so people who enjoy history might like those segments
Proposed pre-production materials	Storyboard templates Pencils and Pens A notebook to write things I may need to remember Access to the internet so I can blog my experience History books and websites to help write a script
Skills needed - or to be developed (software, lighting, sound etc)	I plan to develop some new skills from Flash and Photoshop For example I plan to learn typography on Flash On Photoshop I plan to develop already existing skills, for example colour layers
Equipment required (Mac, camera, etc.)	A Mac Flash Photoshop Access to the internet Books about certain aspects of history(Dictatorships, environment etc.)
Additional resources (special paper, pens, URL etc.)	http://people.howstuffworks.com/dictator1.htm Drawing Tablet
Method for recording of developments (screenshots, sketchbook, vlogs etc.)	Screenshots On screen recording software Blogger
Assessing of success (questionnaires, focus groups, crit. etc.)	Look at youtube comments to see if anyone liked the style of certain videos  Look to see reviews of films with simplistic animation design

Learner print name	Learner signature
Tutor print name	Tutor signature

Reflective Blog Posts

Wednesday 15th April 2015

Today I mainly used primary research to get a bit of inspiration for my videos. I watched a number of animated documentaries that fit the simplistic art style that I want to use. The videos taught me that I should not just have a simplistic art scheme but I should also add clothes to the characters to give the video an immersion factor. I also talked with my tutor about my animation; I now have a basic framework and plot to work with when storyboarding. I've learned that I should properly map out my animation before starting it.

Monday 20th April

Today I decided to completely change the genre and the plot of my animation. This was because I had realised I may  not be able to convey the information I had wanted to in only 3 minutes or less. I came up with the timeframe of 3 minutes or less due to the painstaking process of animation and the timeframe of only a couple of weeks or more. Instead of the documentary I've decided to do a short story of a man getting frustrated with day to day life as he feels restrained. Lastly I feel as though I may have to be restrained creatively if I do a documentary; with a free flowing story I can be as creative with the plot as I like. Here is my initial idea plan from my research blog:

Tuesday 21st April

Today I have added to my schedule and my story board. I have filled in the past points of my schedule(the research, and idea phase of my project). I learnt how the schedule is formatted so now it is easier for me to fill in for future events in my schedule. I've started my story board and it is coming along nicely as I'm drawing down excactly what I've envisioned. I learnt about the five shots(over the shoulder, extreme close up, close up etc.) and about the "Vox pop" rules which include having to ask a member of the public's name so you can add it in during post production and trying not to film the top's of their head's.  

How will you link this to identity?

My animation will be linking to identity due to it being about suppresion of identity and desires by forces outside of his control. These forces are mainly man-made; debts, loans and bills. 

Wednesday 22nd April

Today I have managed to finish my storyboards. I feel I have correctly drawn and noted everything that I had envisioned in my head. I could've added colour but I did not have any colour pencils with me; I did note where there needs to be colour. The storyboards took me two days which is only a day longer then I expected so it's not a big deal.

Here is my concept art for my character. I've segmented the body parts to focus on them individually; in my final design I will be incorparating different parts of each body part.

 This is the initial base for my character; as you can see it's pretty simplistic/basic. I will be changing the shape and angles of the shapes to fit the limbs of the character as time goes on.

Now I have edited the body; as you can see there are more indentations on the body itself to fit the shapes/limbs of the character 

Here we can see a range of emotions for the main character. I have added glasses so that people can differentiate between all the characters on screen. I've added colours to each emotion due to the fact that because this is an animation I can over exaggerate the features as much as I want. 

Today I learned how to put an image onto Flash without a white block around it; for example:

The JPEG image(Bottom) has a white block around it which can be annoying when there is a different colour on the background. The top image is a PNG file and as you can see there is not a white block around it. 

Tuesday 5th May 2015

These were my targets from the week previous. I've completed the first target as I've managed to complete two whole scenes; the second target has not been met yet due to the animation process taking longer then expected.  I expect to meet the second target by the end or middle of this week. 

Wednesday 6th May 2015

I have now completed half of my animation; I'm in the process of compiling all the clips and exporting them to see what they look like as a developed animation. I have not come across many problems yet due to my familiarity with Flash; but I'm still not done with the process of completing my animation so there may be problems ahead. 

I did have one problem with 'Premier Pro' and that was that the video clips lagging when I've tried to play things back. The problem was actual due to the clips being around 20-30 seconds each which was too short for the preview loader to load. This is not really a problem though as I can export the clips and see what they look like on a different program.

Wednesday 13th May

 I have now finished the animation. I am currently exporting the test films to see what it looks like and if there are any mistakes I made whilst animating. If there are I may have to go back into sFlash and edit them again.

After re-watching the film I decided to trim the lengths of a number of clips as I feel they drag on. If I left them in it would be awkward just waiting for the next scene to begin.  

Here is the set I was designing today. As you can see the scene would trail upward from the desk to the window to which you would see the main character walking into the distance. As you can see the cracks in the wall and the plug sockets are all detail I've added to detail around the main character.  You can see on his desk that he's tallied of the days that have passed. I thought it would be better to have a scrolling shot upward instead of just cutting to the window; I thought this because all my transitions have been cuts and there have barely been any other types of shots.

I've recieved some criticism about the amount of empty space on the wall as the camera panned upwards. To rectify this I deleted some of the empty space:

As you can see I've cut a significant Portion of the blank white space.

Feedback From This Scene:

Rob:

-It was good

-Could delete some of the blank white space to make it shorter 

Ben:

-Liked the scrolling and could understand what was happening 

-Make the desk look more like a desk

As you can see I've edited the set to make it fit the criticisms. I will also have to edit the Flash document itself with the newly edited set. 

I will also add papers on the desk which will be slid aside to show the "Days gone by" etchings. Also the two co-workers will actually look down with their eyes.

Tuesday 19th May 2015

Today I'm going to make a few improvements to my animation and then I'll start on my sound.

I've added a scene of the man looking down at the desk to make the scene transition clearer.

I've added in the paper.

I've added detail to the paper.

I've now added more paper as well as a few accessories to make it look like a desk. 

I've now added a motion tween.

I've now added arms with motion tweens.

I've added in an explosian scene to make the animation a little more dynamic and entertaining.

Research on Animated Product

Research-Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8lBQsO-XWQ

This video about Somalia's first gynecologist captures the simplictic style I want to capture in my animation. As you can see there is a dynamic colour scheme on a flat background.  It also has simplistic designs for it's characters but still manages to look detailed in it's own way. I also admire the fluent movement of the characters on screen as it gives the animation a smoother feel to it.

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

This animated documentary "Poor Us" also has a simplistic design scheme. This video captures what I want the characters to look like in my video. As you can see there are no details on the clothing(apart from the clothes that effect the outline; the tattered dress in the bottom picture) but this would allow me to focus more on the actions and expressions rather then spend forever designing each outfit for every character on screen.

The series "Crash Course:World History" often has little animated segments with simplisticly drawn characters. I want to base some of the scenes of my animation on these segments because I find they are full of depth and they have a lot of action going on in them.

Coming Up With Plots

Idea 1

• Babies in a line slowly growing, changing body shape and obtaining different objects relating to their roles
• Prehistoric people(Hunter, gatherer, fisherman, cave painter)
• Ancient Greeks in a line adopting different roles(scholar, soldier, sculptor, politician)
• Medieval people in a line(soldier, farmer, royal, scientist)
• People in the 1950s in a line(greaser, mafia member, actor/actress, worker) 
• The last row of people freeze and start 
• A row of four people typing away at their computers; the figure on the far right turns to look out of a window 
• He sees hills, covered in flowers and sunshine.
• He looks down at his key bored with a sad expression on his face;
• His computer screen the phrase "Dream big. Do bigger" flashes on his screen
• He gets a happy expression and throws his monitor on the floor  and leaves the room to go to the sunny scene

Idea 2

• A person is standing against a blank background 
• The camera cuts to behind the figure 
• He see's a lush countryside 
• His eye's start to shine as if they are filled with anticipation 
• Before he even takes his first step a crowd appears from the left
• The crowd consists of a leader figure behind a podium; near his front are a bunch of formal looking figures in suits and ties
• Suddenly from his right appear people holding up pieces of papers with words such as debt, foreclosure and loan
• All the pieces of papers fall on top of the figure and he is seemingly gone
• The pieces of papers split apart revealing the figure with a sad expression on his face
• Next we only see half of the figures body(his upper torso, arms and face are the only things shown) 
• Behind him are a number of backgrounds representing stages of his life
• First he's in bed then he's on a bus, then he's at the office,then on the bus again before he's back in his bed
• The backgrounds skip get progressively faster
• The figure's mood also gets progressively more aggressive before he has angry eyes 
• He finally snaps and the background is his office, seemingly shouting 
• Every other figure in the office stops their actions and stares at the main figure
• He gets up slowly, and walks out the room 
• One of the other figures in the scene walks up to the monitor to view what it says
• The camera cuts to the face the monitor screen; the phrase "Dream big. Do bigger" blinks on the screen
• The camera pans up to view a window; the main character walks into the scene with his arms out wide seemingly embracing the scene.
• Cut to credits

Reception from the Class

Some questions are basically the same so I will only have one answer for both.

Question
How will you link this to Identity?
Answer
This will link to identity because it is about the suppression of personal desires that make an identity unique as most people desire different things in their life.  The main character wants peace and to wander into the lush landscape; he can't do this due to being suffocated by routine, debts, bills and loans.

Question
What if you make the animation longer?
Answer
I plan for the animation to be at least 1-3 minutes; I doubt it will run over that time as animation is time consuming and hours of work may only result in a couple of seconds of animation. If it does run over that mark then I won't shorten it as I want to keep all of the content in there.

Question
What software are you going to use?
Answer
I'm going to use Flash a my main animation program; this is because I have used Flash for animation ever since I started to animate short videos. It is also incredibly user friendly and sometimes provides it's own tutorials. I will use Photoshop to design sets and characters for my film; Photoshop much like Flash has it's own tutorials and is incredibly user friendly.

Statement of Intent - Identity and Programming

Statement of Intent

For my final major project I plan on doing something I enjoy making and I feel satisfied with at the end of the project; for this reason I am going to be doing an animation. I got the Idea for the concept when I was working on my mind map; this got me thinking about how people can change/be changed. Below is an extract of said mind map. My animation will explore the history of personal Identity and how Identity has been/could be altered in specific ways to suit specific means.

I will use Adobe Flash to animate a two-five minute long stylistic piece in the style of a simplistic PSA. I will use blank stick figures as the main characters in the animation due to them being easy to animate and practically understood universally. Here are the style of figure I will use:

As you can see they are simplistically designed which will allow for a greater number of them to be on screen and animated. I will explore the history of how outright personality programing; for example dictatorships and social/peer pressure and much more subtle attempts to adjust a personality for example subliminal advertising and social suggestions. I will

I plan to make the tone of the animation light and dark hearted at the same time. This is mainly due to some of the subject matter that may come up in the animation(especially to do with dictatorships).