Fmp problem solving and experiment

1. Problem solving
Aasiyah Chopdat

2. Practical and technical problems
issue solution
Some equipment I use may be a hazard to
people around me (for example a glue gun)
Make sure that it is in a visible place and that if it had
wire that no one trips on it.
Run out of storage and battery whilst filming
or taking photos of the process.
Have back up memory cards and batteries. Bring
charger.
I could also use different devices such as my camera
and phone.
Losing photos or videos Before taking breaks make sure to save all the photos
and videos to both my laptop and memory stick
Adobe software may crash and disrupt my
work process.
I could either find something else that need doing or
try and find a different computer to work on.

3. Theoretical problems
issue solution
Some materials I need may be too expensive/ over budget I could either find a way of making what I need without that
thing
Or I could search on the internet for a cheaper product.
Neck ache from looking down to create the props Take breaks and make sure to stretch before and after starting
the projects.
My skin could have a bad reaction to some of the materials
I use.
Wear disposable gloves (plastic)
Materials I need are unavailable to me Look at what I do have and see if I can work with that (instead
of making thing by hand I could use 3D printing or vice versa)
I may not finish my project on time Set my project into different part and then set deadline for
when they need to be done.
Material (like clay) may not work in the way I need it to
(not good quality)
I can either buy a different brand or try and look online for ways
other people have solve the problems i am facing with the
product.
Ill be working indoors with materials that could get messy
(for instance paint clay) this could stain floors and tables
Use cardboard or something underneath to avoid this.

4. EXPERIMENT

5. experiment
• My final project will be to create a mini set design. This means
that I will be making a lot of props to put on the set. So for
problem solving I am going to be making a prop, this will help
me to identify issues I may face whilst making props for my
final project.
• I haven't done much work on prop making so it will help me to
get some experience before hand. This will help me to identify
potential problems I could in production.
• The prop I will be making is a faux cake.

6. Materials
I managed to find all the materials I needed on Amazon.
However not everything could be delivered right away. This is
something to consider when creating my final product.
Some of the items also didn't have a review, so purchasing them
was a risk. Because this was the case I didn't buy things in huge
amount(such as the filler that I bought in smaller sized pots)
The total amount came to £32.09

7. Reference/ mood board

8. process
I started off by using a hot glue gun to glue together the Styrofoam pieces.
Because they were already the shape I needed then to be there was no need to
adjust anything.
After using the hot glue gun I made sure to unplug it and put it in a visible place
(middle of the table) whilst it cooled down
I then went on to mix the wall filler
with some acrylic paint to get the
colour I wanted. I was aiming for a
very light shade of pink, however
since I wasn't doing this in bright
lighting, the colour tuned out a lot
darker then expected

9. process
Putting the filler onto the cake was
harder then expected. At first the filler
wouldn't stick onto the Styrofoam. I
struggled with this for quite some time
until I realised that the more I mixed up
the filler and “warmed it up” the
better it stuck on. However it was still
tricky and as you can see the layer was
bumpy and had a lot of cracks which
was unwanted.
In an attempt to get an even looking
surface and get rid of the cracks I
used water and a paint brush to try
and soften the filler and make it
easier to control.
This worked to an extent, but didn't
give me the full outcome I wanted.
I also had a problem with the colour,
it came out too dark, I only realised
this after getting another persons
perspective
I managed to get rid of the appearance of
cracks along the side of the cake by painting
over the layer of filler once it had
completely dried. Using this method I
managed to kill two birds with one stone.
Now my cake was the colour I originally
wanted and the cracks were less visible.
I am happy with the texture that this
created, it gave the illusion of real icing

10. Since I had trouble with the filler used for covering the cake, I decided to try out a different brand
for piping the icing. Although there was a risk of it being the same ,this ended up being a good
choice ,the new brand was a lot less crumbly and softer than the first brand I used.
With this filler I didn't mix in any paint as I wanted to have white icing. However I did contemplate
whether or not it would be beneficial to add slight colour to make it look more read (such as a small
amount of yellow). I decided against the idea since I could always paint over it and add details later
on if needed.
To decorate the cake I used a piping bag and filler as well as
nozzles to get different shapes and designs and make it as
realistic as possible. I used disposable piping bag so that it
wouldn't be a problem if the filler ruined it.
at times as the filler would not come out of the piping bag. I'm
still not sure as to the exact cause for this but my guess was
air-holes inside the bag. And so I used a chopstick to try and
get rid of them. Eventually this worked.
when I finished, I studied the cake and found that there were
some uneven parts. In an attempt to practice detail I carefully
got rid of those parts whilst they weren't set and waited for
the rest to dry before finishing it.

13. How will this help my final project?
Making this prop has made me aware of problems that can happen in production.
In production I will be doing a lot of practical work to make my set. I haven't had much experience in prop making yet, so
doing this has help me to feel more comfortable making props and designing .
There are other ways of making props that include using programs such as adobe and 3d printing or Photoshop,
however I already have pervious experience in this and so I decided that I would use problem solving as a way to try out
something I haven't done before.
One of the main take always I have gained from this experience is to have a check list. Through the process I did things
step by step, this made working on my project easier to do and handle. It also helped me to keep my focused on one
thing at a time. By doing this it helped me to make sure each step was done to the best of my ability.
I also made sure to look back at inspiration and ideas/ references I had gathered in a mood board I created. This helped
me when I struggled with picking colours and designing. If I didn't have a mood bard I think I would have found it harder
to create the look I wanted. Making a mood board and gathering reference material will be a helpful and important
thing to do to when it comes to making my final product.

14. Problem solving
Here is an outline of the problem solving that I did in experiment. Through the process I had noted
down some of the problem I came a cross and how I went about solving.
Storage – since my project needed time to set, I needed to make sure that I placed it somewhere it
wouldn't be touched or fall over. So I decided to put it on a shelf in the kitchen(this shelf isn't used
often so it was safe)
Backing up work- when taking photos of the progress I made sure to save them to my laptop as soon
as possible to avoid loosing any pictures. I also made sure to regularly save my PowerPoint to both my
laptop and memory stick
Location – I worked indoors for this project (at home because of Covid 19). I had to be cautious of my
work space and try to not leave stains on surfaces from the paint and filler. A good way of doing this
was by making my own base using spare cardboard so that all the paint and filler went on the
cardboard instead of staining the table.
Finance – I paid for the materials I needed for the project. The total came to £32.09. Because of
Covid it was better not to go out to get things.

15. Problem solving
•Health & Safety – since I was working with new materials such as filler I had to make sure to read the
packaging for any warning that I should be aware of. I also used tools such as a hot glue gun that could
have caused a burn to someone's skin if not used properly. To avoid this as soon as I was finished with
it I un-plugged it so that it could cool down.
I also found that whilst working on my faux cake my neck started to hurt from looking down to pipe
the cake. This was solved by making sure to take breaks every 30 minuets or so to stop and stretch.
Because I will be working on a mini set this will mean I will be spending a lot of time looking down and
focusing on making small props and such, so its important for me to remember to take breaks.

16. Problem Solving
• Finding materials- I was able to find all the material I needed online on Amazon. However there was a huge
risk in finding materials this way. Some of the items had no review on them meaning that I had to take a
chance. When it came to the filler I had to buy a second brand since the first one I had bought wasn't
effective.
• Asking for others opinions –I asked some people to take a look at the progress and to share their thoughts. By
doing this I was able to notice mistakes and improvements. For instance I only realised that the colour of the
icing was too dark after getting someone else's perspective, and corrected this by painting over it. Asking for
an outside view will really come in handy when making my final product
• Learning to use materials -I used online resources to lean how to make a faux cakes using a mix of video
tutorials and websites to help me make the final product. This is good practice for when I make my final
product, when I have a problem I'm struggling to solve (to do with materials) I can look online for some
helpful information.