Starting - Initial Ideas

I’ve talked to the tutor, and now I feel better about the project. I’m still not 100% convinced about my idea but it’s going to be ok with time! So my plan is to do an animated illustration, first I thought as a GIF, of a series of GIFs, but maybe it could be a bit longer, and more narrated? I’d like to focus on the map aspect maybe, to show how many places you can go with the Student Art Pass. The tutor has been leading me a bit more towards film, or at least integrating images from the internet into the animation, but I’m not too sure about that. Because it’s a personal project, I don’t feel like making a film. I really want to do an illustrated video, it really motivates me because it’s also a personal challenge to learn how to do it, and it really will suit my portfolio. So I’m gonna try to think deeper into my idea and try to find a good way to make this work for the brief.

Good Work Session

Today was really great. I met with a couple of friends from the class and we did a study session together. We presented our ideas and project developments to each other, as if we were presenting to a teacher. I was quite unmotivated before the session, because I was really not excited about my idea, and it just didn’t make me want to work on it. But this work session was so helpful, and we each got something helpful out of it! The girls helped me think deeper into my idea, and all shared their thoughts, and suggestions and I ended up coming up with a different idea, letting go of the map idea, and I think now it will be much better and I believe it answers the brief very well. 

So my idea is still to make a illustrated video, a little animation, of a hand scrolling on a phone. Words will pop out of the phone, a bit distorted, until the whole screen is filled with annoying words (deadlines, stress, anxiety, social media…). Then we see a finger swiping on the screen and bringing a plain white screen instead, as if it was shutting everything off. And bringing instead a picture of the Student Art Pass. 

After Effects

So I met with Gen today to ask her about After Effects, and I’m very happy with the session we had! I felt like I couldn’t do my idea before going to see her because it seemed like a lot of work and I have very little experience with the software. But now I know it’s not that hard, just very long. So I’m going to be patient and work hard to make sure I get the result I want!

Going Slow

I feel like the my progress is very slow, it’s not looking as good I want it to look… But I’m not giving up yet, the deadline is still 2 weeks away, so I’m gonna give all my energy and time into this now. I really want it to look good. 

Stop Motion

So I’ve decided the animation is not working out. It would take way too much time to make it look professional, right now I don’t think I have the skills to make it look the way I want to. So after working with some friends, and chatting about my problem, I’ve decided to do a stop motion instead. I printed some little cards the size of a screen, that will come out of the phone and place themselves all around the phone, and faster and faster the whole screen will be filled with the cards, until it gets too busy and the screen swipes back to being blank, then the art pass appears. 

I’ve taken the pictures this afternoon, so I will see how it’s looking like on the laptop!

Disappointed

The pictures are not turning as well as they did on the camera screen… Even with some grading and retouching, it’s far from what I want to use. So I’m using it as a way to visualise my idea, and instead I’m starting to make it on After Effects! This way I know the background won’t change colours because of the light or anything.

Reassured

Today I saw the tutors, and I’ve been reassured that my idea is good, and it just needs a bit more work. So I’m really relieved about that, because all of this changing ideas and everything had started to make me doubt my idea. So I’m glad the concept has been approved, and they liked my first attempt. I’ll keep working on it this whole weekend, and will hopefully get something nice out of it in the end! I’m planning on doing maybe a series of posters (3?) to go along with this video, and maybe another version of the video but portrait, that could be used as an Insta story.

Complete 360

So… Tonight I had a completely new idea. I was trying to figure out what to do with the posters and couldn’t do anything I liked, and as I was experimenting I got an idea. I feel it’s going to be better because everything is more related, and it feels more cohesive. The idea is recharging. I’ll do posters and animations with two different options : a light switch and a battery. It’s like switching off from your work, study… and recharging your batteries with the Student Art Pass.

The end

So this project was pretty much a roller coaster of emotions… I changed ideas, doubted my work, struggled, but in the end, even if I’m not so pleased with the outcome, I’m still grateful for the process. I got to push myself, learn new skills, I learned to be resourceful when things don’t go as planned and to be ok with a last minute change of plans!