3. Research
My research was arguably one of the most important
pieces of my work in pre-production. I learnt a lot about
animation which previously I knew very little about. I think
my main strength throughout research was the secondary
research I did. Looking at existing products and talking
about their pros and cons really helped me. It gave me a
lot of ideas for what I could to for my piece. I also found
some aspects in designing posters that was considered the
‘norm’ for film posters. This was very useful for me as it
allowed me to make a film poster that was realistic in
comparison to others. As well as this, I used the posters to
make sure mine still had that little bit of difference in
there, something that looks good but something that
other film posters don’t have. This was the same with my
film, when researching short films I wanted to do
something different but still use some normal aspects of
other films of a similar style. I feel like I accomplished this
and created a solid trailer that’s different, but still
successful.
4. Research
A weakness of my research would be some of the primary research I
conducted. I created a survey as well as asked some questions in person to
another student who likes animation, and is very good at creating it
himself. The reason why I think these areas are weaknesses is because
firstly, I don’t know who took the survey. I spread it around the internet for
random people to take, anyone ages 18 and below. The reason why I think
that this is a problem is because people could easily have made fake
answers. I already had to remove a couple of responses due to the nature
of their answers and the fact that it wasn’t taken seriously, so there’s a
chance that other people did the same and I didn’t realise. The in-person
interview was simple and easy, however it just wasn’t much use. The
answers given were useful, but it wasn’t anything I didn’t want to do
already. On the other hand it is good knowing that other people thought
the same as me, which makes me calmer knowing I’m doing the right thing.
To improve next time, I would still do the survey, however I’d only let
people who I know take the survey, that way I can trust them more and be
more confident with the answers given. I would also conduct more in-
person interviews which may give me a wider variety of answers that could
be useful. This could possibly make my final piece more solid and cater to
more people, so it could have ended up being liked by more people.
5. Planning
Planning had many strengths and weaknesses, in my opinion.
My main strengths for planning was definitely the detail I put
into the sections such as fonts and music. Both seem like
smaller areas that would be considered by some to be less
important, however I didn’t think this was the case, and
made sure I put as much detail into it as possible. The font
choice is more important as it seems, as it can make or break
the aesthetic of what I’m making. I’m still very happy with my
choice of font, as it follows the rough, hand drawn style very
well, and it works with everything. The music was also very
important to me. If it doesn’t create the right mood, my
trailer would’ve seemed like it was all over the place, so it
was crucial that I planned my music right. I think that this
went well as I am happy with how my music turned out, and
although it’s not perfect, it pairs with the trailer very nicely. If
I didn’t do these sections as well as I did, it could have
completely ruined my trailer, so it’s important that I got it
right.
6. Planning
My planning did have areas that weren’t as strong as other
areas too. The weaknesses in it aren’t catastrophic, however
they aren’t necessarily as detailed as other areas. My shot list
was the first weakness in planning. It wasn’t nearly as strong
as I would have liked it to be, filling only two slides with 10
different shots numbers. I had trouble writing more as I added
every different shot I was planning on doing, however it just
didn’t seem like enough. It may have negatively impacted my
work as I didn’t end up planning enough. It may have been
due to this that my trailer ended up being shorter than I
originally wanted it to be, only breaking the one minute mark.
Another weakness of my planning was planning what
resources I would need. As shown on the bottom left, the
slide is short and not very descriptive of what I needed.
Luckily, I don’t think this has had a negative impact on my
work, as the items I needed were easily obtainable and there
wasn’t many of them. Next time however, I will still need to
improve this, adding more detail to my list, as I might just
need more items for whatever my next project may be.
7. Time Management
Over the course of this project, my time management has been very on and off.
For the first month, I was on track and completing my work to a decent standard.
However, when production started my time management started to get weaker. I
underestimated the time it took to create everything, thinking I’d be able to do it
much more quickly than I was actually able to. Because of this I had to start
rushing, having only three days to take the photographs needed for my trailer. This
led to me not having as much footage as I would’ve liked to finish with. I was still
able to finish it in time, making it look as good as I could, however I still would
have liked the trailer to last longer than it ended up being. I think with more time
my final piece would have definitely benefitted. I could have used the extra time
to take more photos which in turn would give me a longer piece. It also could have
helped with the quality. By taking more photos for one scene, it would have ended
up smoother than it is now. I am happy with it, however some areas are a little bit
jumpy which could have been improved with more time. For the other areas I
completed before production, extra time may not have been as necessary, but I
certainly would take extra time if I was able to have it, just to make everything that
bit stronger, and solidify a high grade. I think everything can always be improved,
so with more time I could add more to everything.
8. Technical Qualities - Trailer
One of the most important technical qualities of my trailer is how I did lighting. As
well as using a specific camera setting to get the brightest photos, I made sure to be
under all the regular lights on the ceiling. This created enough light for me to make
my trailer to a high quality. This is very different to other stop motion (shown at the
bottom). They usually use micro eclipse lights to be able to target the light wherever
they want, creating shadows where they want shadows. A similarity however, is that
both are all done in stop motion. Wallace and Gromit, for example, is completely
stop motion, and only the title is added in editing. Of course the usual transitions
and sounds are added, however the majority is done using photography and small
movements over time.
9. Technical Qualities - Poster
I like my film poster, I think I did a good job while making it,
however it’s difficult to make a film poster that’s all in black and
white stand out. Comparing these two posters together shows
that colour really does make a poster stand out. I don’t think I
could have really put colour into mine though, if I did it would be
nothing like my actual film and it would be worse to have a
poster that’s nothing like the actual film. The other main
difference is the words. The existing product is much more
minimalistic with its use of words, using only the film title and
the people who made it. Mine has the whole cast at the bottom.
I do like the minimalistic look, hence why I have created a film in
this style, but the billing block gives it a more official look. If it
wasn’t there I wouldn’t have known what to put there instead,
and may have just been empty space. There are also similarities,
it’s clear that I have been inspired by various film posters. For
example, the main character dominates the poster. When
researching posters, this was the most common aspect and one
of the most important areas, so I added it myself.
10. Aesthetic Qualities
My production, by the time I finished it, had both
strengths and weaknesses. Firstly, there were two main
strengths with my aesthetic. The first is the crumpled
paper style that you see at the start and the end. Paired
with the handwriting – style font, I think that this creates a
really nice minimalistic look. It also gives the trailer a
realistic feeling, like it’s actually a kid drawing and using
their imagination.
Another part that I did like is the minimal use of colour.
Although I liked the idea of using only black and white, I
did want a little bit of colour in there just to add to the
look. As shown on the left, I went for darker colours that
are only really in the background. This way, they don’t
stand out from what the viewer should really be focusing
on. I think it was important to get that right mix between
some colour, but staying true to what I wanted, and I feel
like I did achieve that.
11. Aesthetic Qualities
To me, the main weakness was how I used the charcoal. I
am quite inexperienced when it comes to art, and I
hadn’t used charcoal before, but it was different and I
wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before.
In theory, it sounded like it would look very good and
work well, however my execution wasn’t there. Because
of this, my charcoal looks rushed and definitely not what
it could have been. If I was to improve it, I would have to
practice more next time before I do the real thing. I could
also just ask someone else to do it. I control everything
however someone else does that little part as they could
have more experience.
I should have also made the moon and sun smaller as
they dominate the screen more than I wanted them to. I
wanted them to be clear, but I think this is still way too
big.
12. Audience Appeal
During my proposal, I talked about what I thought my target
audience would be. I came to the conclusion that it would be
for females between the ages of 4-10 based in the UK. I think
with what I have done, I would attract this audience as I have
stayed true to my original plan, no violence, a female lead,
and an animated piece. However, my survey suggests it could
attract an older audience. The majority of people who took
my survey during the research phase were between the ages
of 15-18 (according to their responses). From the survey we
found out that around 65% would watch a film like this. From
a survey which was taken by 42 people, that would make the
number of people who would watch it be around 27. 65%
seems like not too much, however it is a high percentage for a
group of people outside my target audience. Looking at the
style of my trailer, perhaps it would remind them of
childhood, thinking back to the drawing and imagination.
There’s a large audience for reminiscing about when they
were young, so perhaps that’s why my film also attracts older
generations.
What were the strengths of your research? How did your research help your product?
What were the weaknesses of your research? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
What were the strengths of your planning? How did your planning help your product?
What were the weaknesses of your planning? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
Did you manage your time well? Did you complete your project on time or would your products have improved with additional time?
What would you have done if you had more time to produce your work?
Compare your work to similar existing products and discuss the similarities and differences
Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page alongside an existing product
Use text boxes and arrows
Does your work look good? Was it creative? What aspects of your game’s visuals do you like? What would you improve? How would you improve it?
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses
Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page and analyse them
Use text boxes and arrows
How have you appealed to your target audience? What specific bits of content would appeal to your target audience.
Refer to your findings from your questionnaire.
Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page and analyse them
Use text boxes and arrows
What changes would you make to your product based upon your peer feedback and why?
