Principles Evaluation 2015

Principles Evaluation 2015

Introduction

This document is an evaluation of the first term being a part of the Animation course at Manchester Metropolitan University. This will reflect my progress through the first term and how I have developed and applied what I have learnt to my work. Over the past term we have been introduced to the animation principles and our task was to apply what we have learnt across the range of animation mediums including: 3D, Computer, Stop motion and 2D animation.

3D Animation

This was the first week of the rotation when we first introduced to Maya 2016. I had never used any kind of 3D software before; I had no previous knowledge of the software or techniques beforehand. Over the three week period we created: a bouncing ball, a bat striking a ball and a man walking. Here are some images and videos of the work I created:

Link to 3D Workshops Collection Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kim034L4vZE

I feel that I have learnt a lot from the 3D workshops and was a very useful introduction to Maya. I feel that the software was very complicated and difficult to use and will have to visit this area again in the future to make my work even better and future work effective.

Computer Animation

This was the second week and we continued to use Maya 2016, however we were using it in a different way as well as further developing our understanding of the tools and techniques. We focussed on modelling and texturing which involved us creating: a figure, a house and a castle scene. Here are some screenshots of my work:

 

Link to Computer Animation Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ke1qWYRQPo

The computer animation workshops were very similar to the 3D workshops with using the same software; Maya. Therefore I feel the same way that I will have to revisit this area again to develop my knowledge and understanding of Maya to make my work effective.

Stop Motion Animation

Within the third week were introduced to stop motion animation. I have had some unprofessional experience with stop motion i.e. making toys move as a child; I do have some basic knowledge of stop motion but we were being taught the professional standard.

Link to Stop Motion Collection Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPS6_7ayIcA

I have mixed feelings about the stop motion workshops. This is because the work was very challenging in producing effective work i.e. having smooth animation. However I feel very proud of the puppet videos including the ‘Box lifting’ video where I wanted to exaggerate and stage the puppet so it looked ridiculous and comedic and I feel I have accomplished this. However I feel there is still room for improvement with the smoothing of the animation to make it even more effective.

2D Animation

The final week we were introduced to 2D animation. This is the field I am most comfortable in as I have had the most experience within it compared to the other animation mediums. We were using the animation software: Toon Boom where we learnt many different tools and techniques on how to use Toon Boom.

Link to 2D Animation Workshops Collection video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGcW-Xf1aeI

I feel the 2D animation was the area where I felt most comfortable because I have had the most experience within this medium. Not using the exact software; Toon Boom but using 2D methods of animation. I have really enjoyed using Toon boom and feel it is an effective piece of software to produce 2D animations and intend on using this software in the future. I feel I have produced my best work within this area over this term as was the last workshop; therefore I applied the most knowledge from what I had learnt over the past term including the animation principles. Despite this I would still improve the volume of the characters because I enjoy squashing and stretching characters; however I must control the volume of the characters/ objects otherwise it appears to grow and shrink.

Showreel

Within this assignment we have to produce a showreel showcasing all of the work we have produced within the first term being a part of the Animation course. This also has to demonstrate our understanding of the animation principles through all of the mediums we have learnt over the past term. This includes: 3D, Computer, Stop Motion and 2D animation respectively.

I started with initial research by watching other people's showreels online to observe and note any consistencies I noticed. I found that all of the ones I liked had: up-beat music, an opening and closing title slide and interesting content which wasn't repeated. I found that the reels without this content weren't professional or interesting to watch. Therefore watching a range of showreels I felt that I gained a plan of what I was going to create and goals to achieve.

Production

Firstly I gathered all of the work I had produced over the past term to ensure they are all presentable. There was some work I had to improve to a presentable standard; such as the 3D and Computer animation work because the test renders weren't rendered at HD and the videos weren't clear.

After I had gathered the work; I compiled them together into premiere where I then planned the order that they will be shown. I wanted to show diversity and didn’t want to repeat my work; therefore I plan for the showreel to show sections of my work which will all be mixed in a random order; that work is not 'clumped' together. An example of this could be: not having all of my stop motion work being together; therefore I broke the sections down and put my 2D and 3D work in between to make the show reel diverse.

I had to consider both the diversity and order my work would be shown because I had to showcase the development of my work to show that I have improved over the past term. However I had to make sure that the work was not 'clumped' but was diverse and interesting.

Next I had to obtain music for the showreel. From the showreel's I had seen, the music has to be interesting and 'happy' but not complex or too interesting to take anything away from what was being shown. This is because the music is used to enhance the video and not to distract from it. Therefore I would have to carefully choose my music; I had a style of music in mind because I find my work to be comedic and diverse. Therefore i wanted music to match this, I thought that music with an up-beat tone and happy mood would be effective. Therefore I did some further research finding appropriate music for my showreel; I found a wide range of music I could use but I could only choose one.

These songs were found on: http://www.audionetwork.com - which is an archive of music and songs for uses such as this. This website is also helpful because I can purchase tracks for personal use; therefore I am not at risk of copyright infringement. This is a serious risk because these showreel must be professional and can be viewed by professionals within the industry.

Therefore I decided to buy the rights to this song: 'Going For A Song' for personal use; therefore I am not at risk of copyright infringement. I added this to premiere as well as the work I have produced over the first term. I created captions for each section of the video which provides a brief description of what the video is as well as creating improved title and credit cards. This is because the other title cards i created where not as eye catching; therefore i added colour and used an interesting font. I chose the colour green and the font: 'Dimbo' from Da Font. This is because I like this style; in addition I ensure that the font was available to use and it is free to use. In addition I felt the style was appropriate for my style of work; stylised and silly as I like my work to be comedic and extreme; as shown in my 2D work.

I then created an animated signature because it is unique to my work and I felt it made the showreel more interesting. This was followed by another credit slide which gave credit to the music used within the showreel.

Here is a link to my showreel:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvooy5hpdko

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/148737855

Conclusion

I feel that I have definitely improved in my animation skills and have developed an understanding of the animation principles. In addition I believe that this is demonstrated through my work as I have applied these principles to my work over the past term; despite this there are improvements I would make to my work. I will do this by continuing to learn how to use Maya to develop a further understanding of 3D animation. This is because I feel that this is the medium that I had the least understanding; furthermore I will need to learn how to use this software because most industry professionals use Maya. Moreover I will continue to develop my understanding in the other mediums too because there is still more to learn and make my work even better. I will mainly focus in the 2D animation field however because I feel most comfortable and I enjoy this medium the most. I will continue to develop my knowledge and skills through practice and research on animation and apply this to my future work.