EVALUATION

EVALUATION

The overall purpose of the module was essentially to understand the 12 principles of animation and apply them to my own practical work. Within the different tasks which were set, there was also emphasis on learning to use these principles with a number of materials. For example, plasticine could be used for stop-motion animations or simple pen on paper could be used in the line tester. In relation to this, inductions into programmes like photoshop and Premiere aided in making these animations more smooth and professional. The styles of animation (for example traditional animation or stop-motion) also come into the module and using a range was also important for the module.

Within my set of practical work, one which stood out to me was the 2D stop motion I did of a sea monster and a character. For the first half I used pen and paper on the line tester and proceeded to use plasticine for the second half. The film stood out to me because it applied many of the principles of animation and it made me recognise how things like anticipation can transmit the story I’m trying to tell effectively to an audience.

AREAS OF SUCCESS:

·       Use of lots of materials

·       Many methods of animation used

·       I acted on the mistakes I made in previous tasks

·       Good sketchbook ideas

·       12 principles are evident in work

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT:

·       Photoshop skills could be improved

·       I could consider sketchbook drawings within the context of animation

·       Think about timing and pauses within my films

Within my practical tasks for the module, I incorporated the 12 principles of animation into them and each task was able to inform the next to make it better. However, when animating, my tutors told me of the importance of communicating my ideas to an audience so they see my work in the way I intend. For example, in the timing exercise where I animated a rocking chair, I was unable to make my character move in symbiosis with the chair to make it look realistic. However in future tasks like my stop-motion with plasticine, I was able to make the boat rocking move in accordance with my character’s movement. I have also learned how important small movements are when incorporating principles like anticipation because in this film, making my character blink a few times effectively built some suspense and made the finished project more effective.

Within the pre-production element of my work such as storyboarding, I have realised how important sequential thinking is in keeping my projects organised and making sure they look like the animation I intended to make. By mapping out storyboards and angles I was immediately more able to translate my ideas into animation far more effectively. For later storyboards, I was also told to incorporate things like movement of characters and camera movement. Therefore, for future projects, I realise the importance of communicating to an audience which are heavily aided through the 12 principles of animation.

ANIMATED PSA's

ANIMATED PSA's

When watching animated public service announcements, I realised the applications of animation when informing the public of potential dangers. In the one about wearing sun protection, the animators depicted the sun as a giant monster which could send out beams of light to people who would proceed to get burns or grow enormous tumours. As public service announcements are essentially warnings about certain things, animation allows for them to be dramatised so certain aspects can be exaggerated to make this warning more poignant. Furthermore, as apposed to PSA's using actors, the animated aspect also can show these dangers in a public friendly way because it doesn't feature real people.

ANIMATED DOCUMENTARIES

ANIMATED DOCUMENTARIES

Through watching Documentaries of animators around the world, I have come to realise the power of it in informing audiences of real events in a debatably more effective way. For example, the documentary I found illustrating the war in New Zealand could convey the events which would not have had cameras to document them. In a way, the film demonstrates what happened in an accurate way because it is based off the journal entries of soldiers in the war. I found this interesting because the medium of animation enabled the documentary to be told in a way which could tell the story of what happened in a way which spoken word and images can't do.

SECONDARY ACTION

Creating an animation with multiple moving parts presented me with some challenges. To animate this underwater scene, I had to consider the movement of water when my character jumps in and then the interaction between him and the fish I designed. drawing up a storyboard assisted me with this because I knew the angles and movements I intended for my characters to make. A challenge with this film was, as I animated with photoshop, each frame had to be drawn individually, making the end result play very fast. I overcame this by taking the file into Premiere and adjusting the speed of each scene to slow it down, add pauses and make it look more natural. An element I could have improved on was to add more dramatic arcs and squash and stretch the fish character to make it look more animated and give it more characteristics.

PICTURE COMMENTARY

PICTURE COMMENTARY

Within this picture, I see an element of nostalgia which exists within contemporary creatives. I personally find that making physical stop motion puppets rather than digitally rendered ones has a charm, especially when they are done using the facilities available now. For example, the armature in this photograph has clearly had silicone or a similar material moulded onto it and painted, making it an effective and realistic puppet for stop motion. The character's clothes and props were also clearly hand crafted and the end result is impressive.

Further use of this sense of nostalgia especially within film can be seen with Directors like Wes Anderson, whose stop motion films make the audience embrace the medium rather than make these animations look as realistic as possible. Therefore, despite the rapidly growing facilities in computer animation, people still look back at the old ways of doing things because they have a very distinctive aesthetic which some would prefer to modern methods.

ANTICIPATION/FOLLOW THROUGH

ANTICIPATION/FOLLOW THROUGH

Making a story which started with one medium and finished with a different one aided in me becoming more accomplished in anticipation and follow through as principles of animation. The first video applies anticipation through the wave pushing the character's boat, which I think worked well. I also applied it subtly through him blinking, looking around, and then looking down before the camera zooms out revealing the monster. This could have been improved on because the pauses where I have the character looking around look ever so slightly jolted.

The second video applies the principle of follow through with various aspects of the animation, such as the boat sinking, the characters hat floating and the movement of the creature. Using 2D stop motion animation worked well for this one and I found it easier to visualise what was going to happen with this medium.

ANIMATED ADVERTISMENTS

The applications for animation in the advertising industry are endless. What I found striking about these ads was how each company utilises different methods of animation to make it their own. For example, the PES adverts use stop motion to create coordinated and complex animation. The sound effects they use are very distinctive and striking. This has made me realise that sound is just as important as the visual element of animation because it gives extra emphasis on what the viewer is watching. It is also interesting to see mediums like traditional animation and stop motion being used in modern television like the John Lewis and Sainsbury's Christmas adverts.