Conclusion - Stop-Motion Animation/Overall
The stop-motion animation project was a challenge for me(and the rest of my group). None of us had any real experience in editing or animation, and I know that personally I'm not very confident with computers, due to my lack of use of any applications other than internet, typing documents, etc.
The process of making the animation required a high level of organisation from all members of the group. We were all designated tasks, I did a bit of set dressing, wardrobe(shared with Viv) and catering for the group(the power of cake cannot be underestimated), knowing that I would be doing more of the editing in the final lesson. I'm very happy with my contributions in terms of dressing the set and our gum character. From seeing the pictures Andrew sent of the set he had built(there were many), I was able to make decisions about which colours to look for to blend with the set. This is evident in the painting on the wall(Cy Twombly, Lepanto), and the duvet for the bed.
One of our only problems when shooting the animation, was creating steam from the "bathroom" of our set. We wanted it to escape under the door whilst Gum was having a shower. We tried using a kettle under/to the side of the set, then we tried baby powder. Both of these efforts failed to create a steam visible on the camera. Luckily, Greg came to check on us just after these failed attempts and suggested we try using bubbles to imitate steam. This ended up being very effective in photos and especially when animated. Other than this(which wasn't a big problem) we didn't have any other issues when filming for the animation.
I knew the editing would be a challenge for me, particularly because of the time constraints(which, for me, unleash a torrent of anxiety). Andrew had some extra lessons with Josh which, when combined with the notes I had taken from Greg's demonstration, allowed us to get started with importing the photos. Beck had already spent lots of time at home getting the images in order, culling the bad ones and adjusting the colour, so that they were ready to import as a group - which saved us heaps of time(Thanks Beck!!).
Initially we imported in the wrong format, which cut off the edges of our frames, which Greg corrected for us. Beck imported all of the sound effects(which she had recorded herself), after which we continued to have minor problems that hindered the animation process. I found the whole process overwhelming at this point, so the group stopped for our afternoon cake break.
After this break we were left with about 90 minutes to complete the animation, but everything began to run more smoothly. We really just tried to get the sound effects in the right places, and in between these points I tried to tighten up the time/movements so it was a little more fluid. In the end I ran out of time to run through again and check the final animation. I created an account on Youtube and uploaded it at the end of the final lesson.
I would have liked the animation to be smoother, and less jumpy - if I'd had more time I would've played around with increasing/decreasing frame lengths a bit more. Greg suggested that it should have had more ambient noise, which I completely agree with - it was just something we overlooked(time constraints/anxiety).
Overall, as a team I think we worked well and that our completed animation reflects the work we put into it. Andrew did a really fantastic job of building the set and Gum, Beck was great with the camera and pre-animation editing and Viv did all the lighting and bit and pieces - but more importantly was encouraging throughout the process. I've learned a bit about the premiere pro program which I'd never used previously, which I'm sure will be useful at some point in the future.
On the whole I found Digital Media a challenge, but I knew beforehand that I didn't have any skills with computer stuff, which allowed me to be lenient with myself, and I think this helped to lessen the anxiety about producing amazing works of animation, etc. It also enabled me to engage fully with learning a little about each program, having no preconceived ideas. Using tumblr hasn't been as difficult as I had originally thought - although I should've had more research throughout.
Thanks to Greg for helping particularly Viv and me throughout Digital Media Fundamentals - You were very patient and understanding, which I appreciate.
