Animation - Evaluation

 At the start you said what success would look like to you – were you successful?

I think my animation went successful in the sense that I enjoyed making it. I enjoyed using the app Stop Motion because it was easy and straight forward to use. I also liked creating the characters, props and set for it as it made me get creative. However, I do feel as though my animation could've been slightly better in the sense that the camera shouldn't of moved at all between each take as it is very noticeable. 

What was the hardest part? 

The hardest part of this project was taking the photos for the Claymation. This was difficult to do because I had to use my phone to take the photos as I was at home so I didn't have tripod or stand for my phone to keep still. This meant I had to improvise and create my own stand which was to lean my phone against a tissue box. This did work but when I had to go and move the plasticine between each take it was hard not to nudge the 'stand' as I had to have it close to the set for the best framing. This effected my animation because you can see the camera slightly moving every so often which makes it less professional. 

What was the most enjoyable part?

When making my animation, the part I enjoyed doing the most was creating the characters, props and set. With the characters I made them out of plasticine so that it relates to Claymation. I had a variety of different colours of plasticine to choose from but I wanted to keep the outfits simple as the animation isn't about what they look like; I wanted to focus on the action more. I enjoyed moulding the plasticine together and detailing the face as it was relaxing and fun to do whilst seeing the characters come together which let me see how my animation is going to look like. The props I had to make were: A table, a plate, a burger and vomit. I made the burger out of plasticine because it was the most practical material to make it out of as I could make it however I wanted it to look like. For example I added tomato, lettuce and sesame seeds to make it more detailed. The table and plate is made out of cardboard as they had to be sturdy for the burger to balance on. Then with the vomit, I realised I didn't have any green plasticine at home to make it so I had to improvise and get some green card and rip it up very small to fit in the set. I enjoyed making all these props because they got me thinking on the spot and how to make them detailed. I also liked how much they add to the animation because without them the animation would be hard to understand. 

How did you improve your animation skills?

I improved my animation skills by researching different styles. By doing this is made me learn all the different types of animation styles that I didn't even knew existed. I leant the names of them and how they are done. When I researched a few animations I created my own in different styles to see which ones I enjoy doing before making my final animation. Claymation was by far my favourite because I found it most fun. I practiced Claymation a few times which really helped me improve my skills on it  as I feel more confident to do it now as I know what I'm doing.

What changes to your workflow could you make in future projects to improve your outcome?

To improve the outcome of any future projects, I would change my workflow by before I start the work for the day, I write down what I want to achieve and how. I think this will improve my workflow because it will put me in the right mindset as I'll know what I'm doing before starting it. I think it will also make me feel more motivated to begin the work which will result in having higher quality work as I feel like putting 100% effort in it throughout. This means I wouldn't let myself get distracted by family, friends messaging me for example, as my mind will be fully focused on the work so all my time will be me working on it.

How could you improve your presentation skills (get feedback if you haven’t yet)?

When it came to presenting my ideas for my animation, I wasn't 100% confident in what I was saying. This made me come across as though I wasn't motivated or ambitious  about the animation project which would make people think I wasn't going to put much effort in even though I did. To improve my presentation, I would talk about it more confidently as with as much detail as I can so that I feel confident in what I'm doing and happy with my ideas. 

You did lots of work before beginning your animation, included in this was lots of research, trying out animation techniques etc. Which research was the most useful (explain)?

Before starting my animation, I researched many different styles of animations and trying some of them out too see if I enjoyed making them. The research I found most useful was researching five different animation styles and answering/stating the following points:

• the title
• the style
• whether its narrative or abstract
• what happens
• why was it interesting
• what ideas can I take from it

By doing this research it helped me gather knowledge on different animation styles which helped me pick Claymation for my animation. While answering the last question 'What ideas can I take from it?' it made me come up with many ideas of how I should make my animation with the style, script, length etc. 

Who would you say is the target audience for your animation(consider: age range, gender, interests)?

My target audience fort this project is for people that enjoy comedy as the genre of my animation is comedy. I interpreted comedy in my animation by having the main character eating something they are allergic to in a restaurant and they throw it all up then the waitress checks up on him. The type of people that would find this funny are those that are between the ages of 12-20. I think people between these ages would find it most funny because they are old enough not to be grossed out about it and also are young enough to have an immature humour. Any gender would want to watch it. My target audience is for people that may suffer with food allergies as they can relate to the main character.  

How successful were you at evidencing your progression and work as you went along?

For evidencing my progression and work as I went along, I explained what I was doing every time I worked on this project, while also putting the date at the top and then I would also say what went well and wrong and how I fixed it or how I am going to. I would then take photo's of my work e.g. the characters, so I have a visual representation of what I've done so it is clear to understand. 

How would you manage your time differently next time?

I would manage my time differently next time by using more of my spare time to work on the project. For my animation I did work on it during lesson time and one free lesson per week but I feel as though if I used an extra hour or two in my spare time to work on it, then I would've had a time to practice my animation more and fix any mistakes that happened. This would've resulted my animation to be more polished. So next time I work on a project, I will spend more time on it with the hopes that it will be at a very high standard.