OUGD202 Evaluation

Throughout this module I have been challenged daily and constantly faced problems and issues for which I had no choice other than to overcome. Having never worked with any form of moving image software before, I would say that I have come on leaps and bounds within my own frame of reference. It is however when I begin to compare myself to fellow classmates and their level of competency that I feel left behind. I am more than confident with my application of basic skills within my work, yet do become aware that I have not fully comprehended the After Effects software to the optimum level. It is not just software skills that I have picked up on in this module, my time management skills have also greatly improved. Simple things such as writing down targets for the day helped me to stay on schedule, and ensuring that my videos were completed at least three days before hand in, so I had time to concentrate on the packaging, helped give a more rounded finish to my work.

An area of design practice that I have developed within this module would have to be the development of ideas, through storyboarding and asset creating. Rather than jumping head first into design work, something I have done on pretty much every other brief, I had to take a step back and really consider what I wanted to do before I could do it. Due to my insecurities with the software I wanted to guarantee that I had credible and visually appealing assets, therefore when it came to putting them in a moving image environment, the quality of work would not be below par. However this created more problems than it solved. Due to me working on still image, I had no clue how to animate the assets when it became necessary.

One key factor that I have strengthened within this brief would, without a doubt, be my level of dedication. I have always felt dedicated and considered the amount of time and effort put into previous briefs was appropriate. However after this module I now realise that punctuality and attendance are vital. I have spent countless hours sat in front of a computer screen, not moving until I was absolutely satisfied with what was in front of me. At times it has been draining and I would be lying if I said giving up didn’t cross my mind. But it was with great determination that I carried on and overcame obstacle after obstacle.

It has been a hard module to process as I have had to altar my own personal standards. Usually within my work I would never consider settling, it has never been an option before. However when faced with a subject matter that was totally alien, I had to be patient and understanding with myself, or else I would have become incredibly frustrated with the slow speed at which I have learnt the skills required.

This module has helped confirm in my mind that I am better suited to working for design for print. This hasn’t been a useful thing to learn, it has meant that I have struggled immensely in parts and been close to breaking point in others. However it seems as though it has been a lesson worth learning the hard way, at the very least so that in the future I know to stay away from moving image. I hope the time that I have put into syncing up audio and making sure the assets flow from one to another is visible. I also hope that my lack of After Effects capability has not hindered my final pieces and that the time that has been spent on creating them has not been wasted.

OUGD202 Title Sequence

Above is my final video for my finished title sequence. It is exactly fifty seconds in length and has fully functioning audio and video. I would like to say that I am overjoyed at my final resolution, but that would be a bit of an exaggeration. I am pleased with what I have created, but do feel as though my lack of understanding and ability in moving image has hindered my efforts. I am confident in the assets created, and am glad that I managed to move them around the screen eventually. After experimenting with several approaches as to how to transition from one visual to the next; using a countdown, panning both vertically and horizontally, I was glad that I came up with a visually satisfying outcome. I'm not blind, I fully understand it could be a lot better, and if someone with knowledge of the programme had a go they could create something amazing. However I am aware that it is the best I could have ever possibly created in this time period, and for that, I am quietly proud. Maybe I shouldn't be so close minded, and should continue to experiment and expand on moving image for future projects, but for the time being I think it's best if I stay away.

OUGD202 Ident 04

Above is my fourth created ident; this one intended to advertise the time in Forrest's life when he was in the Vietnam war. For this I chose Creedence Clearwater Revival's seminal classic 'Fortunate Son'. I think the choice of music is perfect as it is a protest song created at the time of the war, but also features in a memorable scene in the film. I made the background green due to obvious reasons, connotations with camouflage and fatigues. And I added a vectorised helmet to reinforce the visuals that bit more.  

OUGD202 Ident 03

Above here is my third ident, this one intended to visualise the time in Forrests life when he decided to go for a little run. I chose to use Fleetwood Mac's 'Go Your Own Way', this time because it is used as background music in the film in a scene when Forrest is running up a mountain. It also has lyrics that fit very well within what Forrest was intending to do at this point in the film. I chose the colour blue for the background to symbolise the clear blue skies Forrest witnesses during his cross country run, something which is referenced later on whilst talking to Jenny on her deathbed. It was inspired by the following quote: 'Sometimes it would stop raining long enough for the stars to come out... and then it was nice. It was like just before the sun goes to bed down on the bayou. There was always a million sparkles on the water... like that mountain lake. It was so clear, Jenny, it looked like there were two skies one on top of the other.' This happens to be my personal favourite quote from the entire film, so it was important for me to get it in there.

OUGD202 Ident 02

This is my second ident, created to match the period in the film when Forrest is learning and mastering ping pong. As you can see the formula is exactly the same as the first one, with slight differences such as, different audio, different text and a different back ground colour. I chose this particular audio because of its appearance in the film. There were three possible Door's songs to use with the other two options being 'people are strange' and 'hello, I love you', however I chose this one because I consider it to be the best known, and also it has the strongest drum beat, so syncing up action to audio was easier. I chose the colour red for the background as Forrest's skills in ping pong lead him to visit 'the land of China', a whimsical reference in the film which in turn results in Forrest's interaction with John Lennon and him indadvertedly penning the lyrics to 'Imagine'. 

OUGD202 Ident 01

This is my first creation for my four idents, and this one deals with Forrest's time playing college football. As you can see the basic principle is that a suitcase falls from the sky and bounces off screen an onto another. It lands in the bottom left corner of the screen, whilst all the relevant information fades in at the appropriate points. I chose to use Wilson Pickett's 'Land of 1000 Dances' as audio predominantly because I was originally intending to use 'Sweet Home Alabama', but since I decided to use this in the main title sequence I had to find something else. I settled on this because of the strong drum beat, but also the energy which is present in the song. I also reasoned that this song would have been prevelant at the time when Forrest was playing college football; sometime in the mid 1960's. 

Chocolate Box

Below is a flip book of my development process for my chocolate box packaging. It shows early brainstorms and possible other directions before I ultimately decided to settle on a confectionary box. It then goes on to show how I created the dimensions within illustrator. I simply created solid blocks of colours and used the rulers tool to get them to the right sizes. I made sure the colours used for each component of the net were different, that way ensuring that I could design onto these nets with no confusion. Then it goes on to show a few design ideas and experimentation before settling on the final visuals, found on the last page of the document. Other processes dealt with include small prototypes and how well they functioned, some with more success than others.

Below is a final PDF document showing my chocolate box net. The size of the paper would be A2 to ensure that the box is the right size to house a DVD.

Below here are my two most successful designs for my DVD itself. I used this document in the print room to cut out perfect circles around the designs using the sticker cutter. Ideally the design itself would be printed directly onto the DVD, however this was not an option at this particular point in time.

Below are images of my final package in its fully assembled state. I had a few problems with dimensions and getting the chocolate layer to fit snugly in the bottom part of the package, but after a few alterations I managed it. I think the ribbon wrapped around the box is a nice touch and really brings it together. I hope that the effort I have put into creating the packaging is appreciated and shows my strengths in design for print, rather than highlighting my weaknesses in design for screen.

Idents

Below are screen caps from my final ident idea. They deal with the position of my additional asset, which happens to be different for each 10 second clip; a shoe for running, a helmet for vietnam, a football for his college phase and a ping pong bat and ball for, well, the time he played ping pong. After looking at the possible position options below I think the most successful is when the asset is placed above the banner and to the right. So that is where I will place it.

Nearly There...

After quite a lengthy chat with Lorraine this afternoon I have decided that my previous videos were far too static and instead I needed much more movement. So I got back on after effects and created the following sequence. I do think the transitions between scenes are much better and the whole video has a much more vibrant feel. The video below is a rough version of what my final piece will look like. Things still left to do include syncing the music with the movements, adding a background texture, an actual title frame, trying to incorporate other vector images and possibly the leader stills right at the beginning. The first thing I did do was visualise the movement with a piece of paper and a pen. Below are the scans for what I was intending to do.

Below here is a rough first attempt at the movement I mapped out above. As you can see there are some differences as some things were impossible to create, but I think I may have cracked it and am somewhat nearly there...

Below are possible options for my background colour. It might not be too clear due to the small size of the images below but there is also a texture, it is in front of the colour, but behind all of my assets, therefore creating an aesthetic that is slightly more interesting. It would be nice to perhaps fade from one colour to the other, I might try to see if that is possible and creates something visually attractive.

50 Seconds

The video below is the full length of my title sequence. Obviously there are assets missing, but the basic idea is visible. A countdown using an old film leader, with my line drawings and my created text.

Below is a snippet of the video above but more detailed. This shows how I also want to incorporate my other vectorised assets. The movement is still quite rough but I do feel that I have finally found an approach that works and, when edited perfectly, will flow well. 

Leader Stills

Movement

Stills Finalised

Below is a PDF of my absolute final ten line drawings. Below that is a PDF of my final line drawings with the colour incorporated also. These are the images that I will be using in my final title sequence, combined with my self designed typeface.

Vectors

The following is a design that I hope I can incorporate into my video. It took my a while to get the 50 states in the right colours and stripes, but I do think that it now resembles my typeface and therefore has an instant recognisability. It could be used in a lower opacity in the background or perhaps as part of the logo design at the end.

Ident Storyboards

Below are some storyboards for my ident development. They also follow a basic formula; suitcase bounces on screen and type gradually appears. Ideally the different pieces of type would appear in time to the beat of the song.

Ident Development

Asset Layers

Here are screen captures showing the four individual pieces of type for my four idents. I have taken each individual component of each letter and placed it on its own layer, that way allowing easier editing and more versatility.

Experiments

Transition Objects

Edited Audio