Evaluation final major project

1. evaluation
Aasiyah chopdat

2. Why I decided to make this product
When thinking about what I wanted to do at first I was quite stuck as I am interested in a lot of different things,
so I could’t decide on what to do. So in the end I asked for my form tutors help and we decided on creating a
stage design.
The concept for my final product was to make some props that would be used in a short stop motion video
based on legend of Zelda: breath of the wild game. I decided to base it off a task in the game where the player
goes around looking for korok seeds (that they can use to expand their inventory space).
The reason I decide to make props for my FMP are for 2 main reasons. Firstly because of covid, I needed to
make something I could do at home or at college, and since I don’t have software I would need to make a video
or print project, making something physical was a good way to go. The second reason is because I want to
become a prop maker. I also could’t make a whole set design since I didn't have enough time left time for
production.
I was quite nervous to make something like this since its quite different from all of the other project I have
done so far which have mostly been done digitally.

3. Proposal
When making my proposal I still wasn't sure on what exactly I was going to make. Because of this didn't add that
much detail in my project concept or schedule. I just knew that I would be making some ort of prop design.
I ended up completing my proposal whilst in the middle of working on my contextual research. This was because
I was really unsure about what I was going to make.
From my weekly diary I can see that I really struggled finding things to put in my bibliography. This was because I
did want to only put websites, but because we weren't a college I wasn't able to go to the library to see what
book they had, this made it a lot harder to find book as online you have to pay for them.
In the end I found some books online and read the reviews to get a good idea on what it was like and if it had
information in it that I needed. I also put things like documentaries and master classes. this was to make sure I
had a range of different resources and that I wasn't just depending on websites.
The schedule I made in the proposal I didn't end up following, this was because I became really behind on my
work during quarantine and struggled to finish things.

4. Contextual research
In contextual research I focused on gathering background information on
people that inspire me and that. I wrote about their lives, morals and
works and how that'll all could influence my work. This helped me to be
more confident going into this project and gave me some inspiration for
what I could have potentially done for my final project
I think this research lacked in looking into the audiences reaction to the
practitioner and their works. I did touch on the audience. A few times but I feel
as though I could have further analyzed it. I also struggled when it came to
finding a third practitioner.
In my weekly diary there are some weeks that are missing since I was really
struggling to get the work I needed to do done(so I didn't write anything for
those weeks). At this point we were still in lockdown I really struggled to get
this work done. Being constantly at home and not at college/in a working
environment really effected my motivation to do the work. This meant that I
became pretty behind with work.

5. Research
When I got to doing my research we were all back in college. I was able to
get my work done a faster then at home and to a better standard. However I
was still behind schedule.
My research looking into my target audience went really well, I managed to
gather a good amount of information that really helped me to get a better
idea of what my target audience looked like. One thing that really helped me
was looking at the successful existing products and the reviews under them.
By analyzing this I could identify what exactly my target audience likes and
dislikes, and eventually started to see similarities such as how much they
appreciate attention to detail.
Whilst the target audience research went well, my research into existing
products could have been better. I think my analysis was not that well
written and there was a lot more I could have added such as their
effectiveness on the audience or the materials.
I also added in production research whilst in I was in production as there
were some thigs that I needed to research such as what types of clays and
paints I could use.

6. research
Looking back at my weekly diary there were a couple thing that I struggled with:
Struggled to find existing product to analyses since I still was unsure on what I was going to be making. This meant I was
unsure as to what would be useful product to look into.
I avoided working on my audience research which lead me to be behind on my work. I avoided it because I didn't know
what to do for my audience research at the time. I thought that in order to get my audience research done I had to do a
questionnaire, which I couldn't really do because I still wasn't sure on what I was planning to make.
I started my audience research when I was back in college. At first I looked into the audience for stop motion films.
However I struggled to find a good amount of evidence and information. And when I did find some there wasn't much I
could add to it.
Because I didn't have much time left, as well as doing my research I was still trying to finalize mon my final idea. So when
I decided to make my FMP based of the Zelda games I quickly restarted my audience research and looked into the Zelda
audience.
This worked out a lot better as I knew what to look for and what information I wanted/needed to find out. The work I
was doing at this point was way better quality then what I had done whilst in quarantine. I worked faster and more
productively.

7. Problem solving
I identified potential problems I could face whilst in production (both practical and theoretical) and a way to counter
them in problem solving.
I also did an experiment to test if I would face any of these potential problem or new problems. For my experiment I
made a prop model of a cake. I did this since I already had all the materials I needed for the project and I wasn't sure
on what exactly I was going to make yet.
The benefits of doing this experiments were that I was able to see note on the problems I faced and how I could
improve on this in production.
A negative is that in the end I didn't use any of the materials I used in experiments. However this wasn't too much of I
problem since I still got experience at prop making and that itself gave me more confidence going into making my
props .I think had I spend more time on really thinking bout what I was going to do for my FMP I could have done an
experiment that was more related to what I was going to make.

8. planning
When I started planning I had come up with some options/ideas on what I could make, so I had to decide on a final idea. I
needed to consider the amount of time I had left to make my product, because I was so behind on my work before it meant
that I had less time o get production done. which is why I decided that I would only make the props and not the whole set.
In my research I had gone over some point that set designers needed to look at in order to get a goof understanding on the
set they need to make. I went over some of these point in planning (the context and story of the set) which really helped me
to get a clearer understanding of what I was going to make
I really focused on setting out exactly what I was going to do. This included naming out specific props and materials I would
need to use. Finances was also I thing I needed to consider since I would need to buy some of the materials
I made mood board that would help me through making the
props which included reference photos. This proved useful in
production when I needed to look at a reference.
I also did sketches of the props that I was making, this helped me
to get a better idea of the props and see what details I needed to
include.
When working on planning I only had a few days since I was
already behind really behind on my work. This meant I needed to
work fast so that I could have enough time for production.

9. production
Production took around a week to complete. Sculpting my props went really well. Because the stature was the
biggest prop I was making I needed to use different techniques. This included using foil as a base to build around.
This helped me to get the structure right and I didn't have to use as much clay (making the prop lighter)
Something that I really struggled with was the painting. When it came to mixing up the colors I really struggle to
get the exact tones I wanted. I especially struggled with this when it came to the statue since it was mostly
different sides of grey and beige. In the end I found that painting a thin layer of white over top of it gave it the
effect that I wanted(look more stone like).
When sealing my painted clay props with a glazing medium some of the paint came off. This was due to the sealer
being really sticky and the paint sticking to other things. I solved this by being really careful with where the sealer
went and only doing one side at a time .

10. My product
Although I didn't make s much as I wanted to for my final product, I'm glad that
I at least made something, because at one point I didn't know if I would even
have a final product at all.
The products I have made are up to a good standard over all. I'm not super
impressed but at the same time I think it could have been a lot worse.
The prop that came out the best was the Korok. It has a lot of detail on both the
body and the mask. The paint came out really well and over all it was pretty
accurate to game.
The statue however I think came out the worst. I spent a lot of time trying to get
the details right. From the structure to the painting, everything is a little off in
my opinion. I think because I gave myself such a short time to finish it I wasn't
able to fully step back and see how I could make it better/ more accurate.
The main reason why I had so little time to make my final product was because I
was behind on work/ schedule. As I had mentioned previously, during covid I
had a really hard time getting my work done. I think had we been in college
from the start I would have ended up with a better final product.

11. Comparing my product to existing products.
One key compression of these two product is the movement. In my product the
props feel quite still, where as source B looks like its about to move somewhere.
By designing something like this it makes the product feel more alive and makes
it more immersive.
The details on both product are good. Especially on the korok, I paid attention to
fine details with both the painting and the structure. On the statue i did add
details such as shadows to add definition, however I think it could have done
with more work.
the finish on my product is very glossy (because of the sealer I used. I was fine
with this as in the game when it rains this is what they look like. The finish on
source B is a lot less glossy and more on he matte side. This give it a realer look
and works better when taking pictures or using it in a video as it doesn't reflect
the light back.
Source B
Source A

12. Comparing my product to existing products.
When comparing my product to the original design (in the game) I can see a lot of areas where I succeeded, as well
as areas where I could have improved.
I think the most accurate prop I have made is the korok. Both the shape and paint job came out just the way i
intended it to. the proportions were also spot on
When it come to the statue I see a lot of areas of improvement. one of them being shape of the statue which in
looking t it now isn't at the right angle, if I could change it now I would have structure it to face down a little more.
The paint could have done with more work, in production getting the right colour for the statue was something i
really struggled with.

13. conclusion
Overall I don’t feel as though I did the best I could have done in my FMP, had I been on track with my work I would have
had more time to make a full set (for a stop motion). It may have been better to pick a project that I was more familiar
with such as print or film, this way I may have come out with a better quality product . However I wanted to do something
different and test my skills. I don’t think this was a good option for my FMP in the end.
On the plus side I glad that I went out of my comfort zone and did something really different. In any creative projects there
are always going to be times when your project doesn't turn out the way you wanted and fails, but that doesn't mean it all
goes to wasn't. from this project I have gained some experience and insights on what It takes to plan out and make part of
a set design.
Looking back at my weekly diary I think its easy main reasons for why I became so behind on my work. I really don’t enjoy
the writing parts of the projects, however when at college I find its easier to get done and I work a lot faster. Because I was
at home I really struggled to get the motivation to get the writing done. Because I kept avoiding it it became harder to
start.
the project over all felt like a mess to me since we had no idea of what was happening with covid, I took a toll over my
metal health. Because it wasn't face to face learning I really struggled to understand what exactly we were doing and what
I needed to do. When we came back to college I saw a clear difference in the work I produced, I was able to get it done to
a better standard and faster.
I think had I been in a better frame of mind could have done better.