Movement – Animation Development

As I had learnt the basic of After Effects during the workshop I decide that this was going to be the best software for me to use during this project as I will be able to develop my skills using my knowledge from the workshop but also further resources. As I was a beginner with this software I found myself struggling to get to grips with the software however, as I progressed in this first development I found myself starting to understand.

I used a variation of orange and black background to simulate the indicator flashing on and off. This I found easy to achieve using solid layers of colour. As I am using type rather than images in the animation, I timed it to the sound of an indicator in the background, until theres a bad screen and a crash sound effect where the indicator stops all of sudden. This creates an impact within the viewer. I used rhetorical questions to make the viewer think about them personally, I also applied a typewriter effect to they type to give the effect that it was being stamped into the screen. I found that this was simple way to create a effect using the type.

At the end of the animation I used a lens flare to create the impression that the indictor was flashing, I found this difficult to begin with as I tried to get it to flash in time with the sound effects, however, I achieved this in the end. I used online resources to help me achieve this and progress in my skills using After Effects.

Group Tutorial Feedback

In the group tutorial I gained feedback on my first animation for the ‘ism’ (movement) project. The feedback was positive but also constructive in how to develop further, and create a stronger outcome.

• Pace – Currently there isn’t any variation in pace throughout the animation, there needs to be a build up in pace to create a stronger impact. Also, the pace is currently to repetitive and predictable to the sound of the indicators, works at the beginning but the pace should build up.
• Pauses – Theres no thinking/processing time at the moment, include more pauses after certain questions to allow the audience to think.
• Frames – The frames could be placed in a slightly different order to create a more engaging animation. By moving certain frames around will draw the viewer in and removing a few frames will allow the message to be clearer to understand. The wording in a few frames should be thought about further, for example using questions throughout outcome rather than switching between question and statement.
• Sound – Certain sound effects go on for too long and others are loud enough think about the composition and where sound will be useful to include.

Using this feedback I will develop the animation further to create an outcome which is strong. I felt that this was a really useful tutorial session as it gave me further guidance on how to create an outcome that worked, as I hadn’t any previous experience working with the software.