Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Exploring Animation Reflection

Conlin Archer
Animation Final Reflection
            Throughout the year of e-Communication, I have gained a thorough insight on the structure of Animation. I learned many, many things starting from day one. First of all, I learned a large amount of technical skills inside of After Effects and Maya. In After Effects, I first learned the basic tools, and the timeline. From then on, I found myself becoming much, much better and more comfortable with the program. I became much more comfortable when we started the explosion project. That project gave me an insight on many different tools in After Effects, including the mask tool. In Maya, I feel that I have grown artistically and creatively in the program. I feel that I am able to create a model of a variety of different objects. I learned how to model, and make something move (animate) inside of the program. My favorite project was the green screen, and I gained a great understanding on how green screens work. In After Effects, I learned how to use the different tools, such as key light, to work the green screen correctly, and produce a solid final product. Not only did I learn technical skills, but I also learned and improved in collaboration, project management, and communication.
            I learned all of the technical skills from our teacher. He gave a great presentation every project on how to do things correctly, and showed any special ways do things or shortcuts. If there was confusion among the class, he would re-teach the content and clarify if needed. If there were a couple people needing help, he would help them individually. I also received help from peers occasionally, and sometimes helped them. It’s all part of collaboration and communication.
            This is all important for my future, and the future of my classmates. I have learned skills in this class that I would not receive anywhere else. I will gather the skills I learned from this class, and take them into the future, on my journey. Each of the five guarantees are important in their own way, and I feel that I have improved myself upon them.
             I feel that I am very strong upon the projects that don’t require a bunch of creativity. I follow straightforward directions fairly well in my opinion. I feel that I am slightly weak in creativity. Even though I a bit weak in creativity, I still have improved in that category. I am much better at coming up with ideas to work with than I was in the fall. As I mentioned earlier, I am going to take the skills that I learned and bring them into my future. I have learned some valuable lessons that I will not forget.
            The only thing that I would change would probably be to ask fro a bit more help, especially when I needed it. The outcomes of my projects would most likely be much better, and would be more experienced from the help. Everything else went pretty smoothly in my opinion, and I am glad for that.

            In conclusion, I have had a great time in Exploring Animation. We did many exciting projects that I had a blast with. I have learned a large variety of skills, and I have improved myself in the meantime. Overall, this class has been very beneficial, and I think that e-Communication is a great program for many people.

Sunday, May 15, 2016

SM2 Professional Article Review

http://www.animationarena.com/principles-of-animation.html


This article describes the author's usage and importance of 28 principles used within animation. The author argues that these principles make so many things possible, and that all animators should understand them. I think the article's argument is mostly valid, and the principles are very important for animators. The author explains his argument thoroughly, but lacks examples and explanation upon the principles. The author concludes that some principles are more important than others, but many principles are necessary for certain pieces of work. The argument supports the main claim with little detail, and I feel there should be more evidence to the main claim. The evidence is fairly short, with a little more detail needed. I just feel like the article needs more explanation of the principles. Overall, the article was well-written, but a little short on explanation.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

SM2 Technical Tutorial

How To Make Simple Credits in Adobe After Effects


1. Open After Effects and create a new composition.

This composition can be any length, so whatever amount of time fits your project, type within the composition Duration.

2. Activate Title/Action Safe, Guides and Rulers for support.

 

3. Then, pull out guides to align the text the way you want.

4. Add a null object to attach everything to.

5. Add a text layer and place it upon your guides. Then parent it to the null.

















6. Duplicate the text needed, place it where you want, and add as many titles as needed.

7. Insert anything else you want to put in the credits, and attach to null. (pictures, etc.)


8. Add a position keyframe to the position you want the credits to start.

9. Add a position keyframe where you want the credits to end.


10. Make sure all is good and render out credits.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Animation Article Review

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/04/movies/special-effects-
are-revolutionizing-film.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
This article was meant to address that special effects change and add significance to current and future film. The author is arguing that filmmakers are recreating stories from books into movies with glorious effects. He supports this with many examples of futuristic films with special effects. The author has very many examples to show how many films use special effects, but does not give plenty of commentary to explain the examples. The author does a good job of supporting the main point. The evidence is fairly convincing in my opinion, and attracts me toward the article. This relates to my work because learning to use certain effects can dramatically change a project. Overall, I think that this is an accurate article.

Video Final Reflection

Semester Reflection

Description

Over this semester, many things happened. The complexity of this class versus the small section of video we learned in e9 was much wider. Within this semester, we learned everything from how to J&L edit to how to work together as a team in order to succeed. Also, there were a few major and a few minor projects assigned throughout the semester. First, we were assigned to complete a couple projects that brought everyone back into the video mood. This contained basic knowledge of video production, such as how to work the fancy equipment and tripod, how to edit videos correctly, and more basic video production processes. After that, we were assigned to create a story on somebody's hobby. This was a fairly large step in explore A/V because it was the first story that we interviewed someone. Then came the blood drive, where we interviewed people on the spot, and captured live B-Roll. For the final project, two teams were assigned among the class. This project was special because everybody had to manage their time correctly and be responsible. Also, this project used all of the skills we have learned over the course of this class.

Reaction

Some issues that came across were not having enough time, having miscommunication with the partner or group, and having issues with the technology. Although time was sometimes an issue, you could easily come in before or after school to finish any project needed. Miscommunication was only an issue among certain people, and certain circumstances. Technological issues occasionally came across, and those are sometimes hard to fix. Mostly everyone experience some diet of technology trouble, but help was given to each individual. Each problem I experienced caused me to react in different fashions. Sometimes I got angry, but soon attempted to resolve the problem.

Evaluation & Analysis

The elements that worked in some situations were the collaboration of some groups and the communication between groups. When it came to help, most problems were solved by fellow peers, This is a vital element in eComm, because everyone needs to be on the same page. One element that didn't work as well was the amount of focus during class time. Not having a teacher in the room really sets some people off task in a hurry. Some students decided to not work very much at all with their class time, and this set them off to a bad grade.

Learning

There were a vast amount of concepts, technical skills, and soft skills that we learned. A few examples include how to J & L edit, how to set up the camera correctly, and how to do many other things. Learning how to setup very expensive cameras was quite difficult for me and I need to make sure that remember how to do this for second semester. You need to adjust the iris, focus, and zoom all depending on the situation. Also, when using Final Cut Pro, you need to J & L edit so that your interview does not look lengthy and boring. You also need to adjust the audio between 6 and 12 so that your video is not too loud or quiet. Not only did I learn concepts and technical skills, I have also found that I have learned how to communicate and collaborate much better than before. In addition to that, I have come to believe that my time management and project management have improved as well.

Action

I plan to take all the skills I have learned into next semester and into life. Some of the skills  I have learned from explore A/V are very useful within an everyday life. The communication and collaboration can help me in various ways within life. Although I have learned many useful things in this class, I can improve on my skills that I have right now. For example, I need to be able to hold the camera more steadily. I need to stand in a certain stance that Mrs. Morris showed. This stance is a bit awkward but allows very stead shots. Also, I need to work on creating a great angle or viewpoint on a story. For the audience of the video to enjoy what they are watching, there needs to be a good angle on the story. (Beginning, Middle, End) Overall, this semester has thought me many, many things and I want to continue the learnings.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Technial Tutorial (Animation)

How to Use Boolean Difference in Maya


1. Make your first shape






2. Scale it to a reasonable size






3. Align/Move the object to a position that you feel you can work with






4. Create a second shape (preferably a cylinder) and scale to to be slightly smaller than your first object.




5. Move the shape into the shape how you want it. (There are many ways to do this)








6. Select the first object you selected, then the second object. Both objects must be selected.







7.  Select Mesh>Booleans>Difference. Be careful not to select Union or Intersection because those are different tools.







8. Easy as that! You should have a shape with a gap inside of it. Feel free to add more shapes to make the shape more complex and unique.
























Monday, November 30, 2015

Blood Drive Reviews

Evan
- Well put together voiceovers
- A tad louder interview noise is needed

Nick
- Used Rule of Thirds correctly
- Missing voiceovers

Allison
- Great angle on the entire interview
- The B-Roll was a bit shaky

Courtney
- Good overall B-Roll
- Iris needs adjustment

Demma
- Used the Rule of Thirds correctly
- It's present tense rather than past tense

Rosy
- Well put together interview frames
- Short sound bytes

Emily
- Non-Shaky B-Roll
- Long Soundbytes

Conlin
- High Quality shots (well-focused, iris)
- Shaky B-Roll, Boring Voiceovers

Cyle
- Well-worded Voiceovers
- Not well-framed interviews

Jake
- Great Interviews overall
- Voiceovers need work

Delaney
- N/A

Amy
- Well-planned angle
- Low volume soundbytes

Abbey
- Great Shot Selections
- Negative sounding angle

Chelsea
- Well designed frame for interview
- Minor softness in voice

Alyssa
- Great Voiceovers
- Some shots out of position a tad

Kierstyn
- Good interviews
- Low volume Soundbytes

Rylee
- Well rounded camera work
- No J&L edits

Catherine
- Well worded V.O.'s
- Out of frame interviews

Alex
- Good iris levels
- Boring Voiceovers

Mitch
- Great interviewees
- Voiceovers don't transition well

Nicole
- Non-Shaky B-Roll
- Some soundbytes were cut off

Drew
- Good interviews
- Interview lacking angle

Overall, this was a great project to hep improve my skills in video production. My interviewing skills and camera work is much better than before. I will work on many things to improve the work that was completed. For example, I will attempt to hold the camera better while filming B-Roll in order the capture stable footage. Also, I need to improve the way I create a story with each project. A larger angle and more clear angle is needed to succeed within this concept.