Monday 14 February 2011

OUGD202, Evaluation...

I'm not going to lie when we started the second year back in september I viewed this module with a sence of impending doom.
       I wouldn't say I was the worst person when it comes to technology but i'm certainly not the best. In the past it has taken me longer that the average to grasp such applications as In Design and Illustrator. The biggest surprise of the module is that the same did not occur with after effects. I have found the more I played with the programme the more I enjoyed it the silent movies were a great chance to play with the basic functions of the program changing position, scale etc. One thing I learned from this early experimentation is that the most simple of keyframes can work to great effect depending on how you apply them, what colours you use and how well you prepare files to import. 
         Other things I have learned along the way is that preparation is the key to success not only preparing files to import but labelling layers and
 colour coding etc. Throughout the design process I have only animated using the most basic keyframes, what I have found is that work within the programme is only as good as what you put into it. This being a collection of drawing prepared files and the time and research behind them. After this module I definitely feel more confident I feel I have acquired a selection of skills that I can now use not only in After Effects, but in constructing Pdf files, downloading to Vimeo, selecting music from various sources etc. 
          Overall I am happy with how this module has turned out although there are aspects of the animation I would change if I could go back. One thing I would do differently is work to a piece of music this caused me a great deal of trouble in the end as I had prepared the animation prior to the music. This meant that putting music to was a hell of a lot more difficult, the keyframes did not hit the beat at the right time and even when these were changed the music was lost at other stages as well as leaving the occasional gap. In all I will take this as a learning curve and insure I do not repeat the same mistake in the future. One thing i noticed throughout the studio is how the previous brief OUGD201 had informed this brief when looking at peoples packaging solutions the variety of ideas were much more refined and informed. regarding my own packaging i'm happy with the outcome and feel it is appropriate for the theme. There are things that I would change, thing such as the the layout of the inside sleeve. I also think I could have been more adventurous in the execution, perhaps there could be a little more going on. Most of all when it comes to packaging is the design of the cd cover I wish I had given a lot more time to this and actually prepared it to a disk. Talking of time this is yet another issue I always stumble upon although I have massively improved on the last brief I still wish I could have another week to refine my idea. I have made myself a promise to leave my self a good week at the end of the module.
            Altogether I am very happy with the outcome their are slight issues with the composition but all in all I feel I have put together a well rounded piece of work.

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