1. PROJECT OUTCOMES
My project, I believe, met the basic objectives of the brief. I produced a clip with visual cues, interest, and development, despite the fact that my technical proficiency could be strengthened and further explored. Despite some early glitches, my primary movement in the clip – the different geometric shapes were coherent and smooth in their movements. I wish I had spent more time exploring the piece’s temporal movement – the clip’s pace is reasonably constant, and therefore lacks a build to a climax. I’d also like to see more camera movement, as I believe the piece is fairly static in nature, with the emphasis on the object’s movement rather than the secondary camera motion.
2. LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES/ANALYSIS
AMBROSE, G, & HARRIS, P 2009, DESIGN THINKING, AVA PUBLISHING, CRANS-PRES-CELIGNY, CHE. AVAILABLE FROM: PROQUEST EBOOK CENTRAL.
To better describe my learning opportunities and project review, I’ve chosen to refer back to Design Thinking’s “7 stages of thinking” (G Ambrose, P Harris 2009). I’ve been attempting to focus on my learning in this blog, so I’m hoping that by using this template, I’ll be able to better reflect on my process and results.
I’ve included the basic task description because it’s the brief and project outcome, so it’s part of the learning and development process.
Fulfilling the brief meant playing with the programme at the start of the project – as the examples given to draw from, the modernist abstract Avant-Garde works were experiments themselves. The similarities between their experiments with the limits of filmography, as well as their and my skill sets, are obvious.
Research: In the case of this project, my research consisted primarily of following the set After Effects (AE) tutorials and playing with the software, as I had no prior experience with animation. The modernist abstract avant-garde works used as examples were studies in and of themselves. There appears to be a connection between modernist artists’ experiments (within the confines of filmography, as well as their own personal skill sets) and my own experimental approaches and testing of my own abilities and limits.
Ideation: The project’s ideation grew out of the experiments, which for me started with playing with various shapes and moving them around the composition using the shape method. As previously mentioned, the patterns created by these movements reminded me of mechanical factory behaviour, and I carried that inspiration through to the final product.
Prototyping: The various prototypes for this project consisted of experimenting with movement speed and direction, colours, and shapes. Many errors and forms were present in the first iteration of the animation, which I eventually removed from the final version. There were some styles and effects I wanted to try in my animation at this stage, but I realised that doing so would result in a work that didn’t fit the brief – I was attempting to make the animation too literal, and ruining the abstraction of shape.
Selection: The selecting phase of this project involved refining the temporal aspects and colour palette, along with confirming prior animation choices.
Learning: The main reason for revisiting the “7 stages of thinking” phase in this blog post was that after making this clip, there was no magical “I learned” moment. I was constantly studying and improving my animation skills, as well as the processes and style of this animation – creating this clip was part of my learning process. One of the last stages of my project was to obtain feedback and advice from peers and family, which resulted in improvements.
CRITICAL MOMENTS / DESIGN DECISIONS
- For me, a turning point was when I started experimenting on my own, away from the Linkedin Learning and Adobe tutorials, and delved into experimenting with my own creation’s layers. Despite my familiarity with many other Adobe products, I found After Effects to be a little intimidating. I know it appears to be an easy task, but getting started was one of the most difficult parts – I suppose that is to be expected. Beyond that, I am thankful for the opportunity to go through the AE tutorials, which provided me with the simple tools to keep my layers in decent order during the production of the clip, as I was able to tweak certain layers individually. Without this, I would not have been able to tweak certain layers individually.
- As I previously said, I experimented with different aspects of the software for each animation element of the clip. The shapes were easy to create, but getting them to travel at a consistent pace in their different directions took some time and patience. The animation of different geometric forms reflecting mechanical motions was my final design decision. I had to go back through the tutorials to do this, but I liked the impact the Swissted – Vintage rock posters reimagined in motion graphics had, and decided to recreate something similar. Anything that falls into that category. My biggest challenge was experimenting with the temporal dimensions of my animation and contemplating how they could impact the final result. This, I believe, was my most significant learning experience and most successful use of the timeline inside the clip.
screenshots of the final progression
Despite the fact that I’ve stated my limitations as a result of my lack of familiarity with the software, I feel compelled to counter that with my understanding of the task’s constraints. My lack of familiarity with the software enabled me to approach the assignment with no preconceived notions, resulting in the clip’s organic growth. The constraint of only creating in timeline honed my basic skills in Adobe After Effects and minimised my anxiety about the various ‘options’ available to me. When I’m designing, I find that putting creative constraints (or rules/limits) in place allows me to concentrate more intently on one or two elements, allowing them to evolve further.
“Practical concerns help limit the horizon of possibility, which for me stretches as far as the mind can conceive, forward and backward in time. So once I’ve messed around with seeking limitations, I see what I have left.”
3. Future
I believe that from here, I would like to expand my knowledge and abilities, as well as delve deeper into the AE application. I’ve had a lot of fun working on this assessment, and I’ve felt a feeling of joy every time a sequence worked. In this project, I concentrated mainly on positional and path trimming transformations, but I’d love to try a second animation with some of the more advanced tools including repeaters, as well as work with the animation and effects settings.
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