#evaluation posts

Management of the project

Management of the project

After ending a long period modified planning folder, it has gone one week, I feel I am a little behind in the schedule. This week, I was struggling with my main character modelling. If I am able to follow my original plan, I had completed three character models. There were some unexpected software crashes. Besides, I found I spent more time finish everything than I thoughts. Also, I am keeping learning new skills in terms of MAYA. Many influences impact my project. Fortunately, I finally finished the first character model. 

9th July 2020

For major project submission, the forefront is the most difficult type of blog post to me. Tutor Alex provided sources and gave us a seminar session about possible topics and responsibilities as an animator and contributor to culture. Owing to animators deliver ideology, content, and concept within stories.  We as animators are supposed to have awareness about what we are doing for. There are controversial issues in the animation developing history. I acknowledge we cannot always stay neutral no matter that we do it conscious or unconscious because of considering in different aspects.

The most common biases are starting from stereotypes. This is owing to a shallow understanding.

It’s interesting to note that sometimes the definition of racist might be different. Skin colour is a sensitive issue. Take Disney animated feature film The Princess and the Frog for example, When some people criticize..., ...

However, some deep skin people are not offended by it. They even are proud of black characters within a popular film, although the character design doesn't fit the story well. An appealing character’s personality is supposed to one of the crucial reasons for attracting audiences. Therefore, animators and designers have to take this into consideration while making creative progress.

Note for seminar and sources

Reference

Screen Rant (2017). 10 Painfully Racist Moments In Disney Movies They Want You To Forget. [Online Video]. September 18th. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENDnqHjBalM&list=PL1dXnB-0gA86URjQ-OVtgapKPdV. [Accessed: 7th July 2020]

Al Jazeera English (2017). Edward Said - Framed: The Politics of Stereotypes in News. [Online Video]. March 2rd. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QYrAqrpshw. [Accessed: 7th July 2020] 

Samantha Mohammed (2016). Disney Sexism and Gender Roles. [Online Video]. September 28th. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh-xk0TFNM4. [Accessed: 7th July 2020] 

MAIER, K. (2019). Notes from an Angry Queer: Compulsive Heteronormativity in How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019). [Online]. Available from: https://www.fantasy-animation.org/current-posts/2019/3/7/notes-from-an-angry-queer-compulsive-heteronormativity-in-how-to-train-your-dragon-the-hidden-world-2019. [Accessed: 7th July 2020]

Christian G (2014). Slavoj Žižek on "They Live" (The Pervert's Guide to Ideology). [Online Video]. August 4th. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVwKjGbz60k. [Accessed: 7th July 2020]

Lindsay Ellis (2017). The Male Gaze vs. The Men: Feminist Theory Part 2 | The Whole Plate: Episode 6. [Online Video]. September 6th. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNkTeHpHj_I. [Accessed: 7th July 2020]

Al Jazeera English (2017). Noam Chomsky - The 5 Filters of the Mass Media Machine. [Online Video]. March 2nd. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34LGPIXvU5M. [Accessed: 7th July 2020]

Al Jazeera English (2017). Roland Barthes - How to Read the Signs in the News. [Online Video]. March 2rd. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeF6O6E9RQ8. [Accessed: 7th July 2020]

Al Jazeera English (2017). Stuart Hall - Race, Gender, Class in the Media. [Online Video]. March 2rd. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWP_N_FoW-I. [Accessed: 7th July 2020]

Management of the project

In a couple of weeks, the artefact section is not actually proceed.

Forefront posts are a complex and difficult mission to me. According to the guide of submission, there are at least 10 forefront posts I have to achieve. I am going to make a clear structure of forefront topics before I start writing something. After Ian gave us a session about the forefront, I realize the definition of forefront becomes exact and rigorous. Forefront posts should be new, significant, and continuous.  None of these key elements are dispensable. That means forefronts are trending and they can be seen in the future industry.

The rough forefront topics list:

1. Work from home: to illustrate creation activity which happens on social media such as project #FlattenTheCurve. Also, to analyse and discuss the lockdown impacts and decisions on the current industry, for example, remote working.

2. Advertising strategy development: to describe changes in the media landscape and impacts regarding animation promotion. Interacting with audiences is the apparent evolution of the relationship between products and audiences. Take #Scoobdance on Tik Tok as an example, presenting one of the animated film online promotion methods.

3. Animation peripheral products: to illustrate the Influence of animation (fake character Twitter accounts + Fan Art) 

4. Combination of 2D and 3D: one of the approaches is to apply both techniques in 2D animation so that it allows the improvement of quality and saves production and time. Another approach simulates styles and principles to blur 2D and 3D animation features and to break the existing impression. Regarding technique, 2D Cel shading in CGI is the most popular tool for motion graphic artists.

5. Possible alternative equipment for animators: there is a debate about producing professional artefacts on the iPad. IPad has launched two apps for the production of animation and illustration as follows: Procreate and Looom. Also, iPad continuously develops and updates on new functions to make up the disadvantages from the previous version. I will make an analysis of the limitations and benefits of finish professional artefacts on the iPad. Besides, I believe it can be a useful practice tool for artists.

6. Developing tools for 2D animators or 3D beginners: there are some tricky methods to achieve 2D or 3D animation. Although those methods are out of the most popular workflow, the benefit is no modelling requirements in CGI production for 2D artists. Through these methods, they can still produce 3D animation or 2D animation which is similar to 3D.

(1) Plug-in called PSD to 3D PSD to 3D is a tool that creates 3D scenes out of Photoshop artwork. Some 2D animators would like to create and simulate a 2D animation, but it looks like 3D. That means the movements, angles and space relationships follow CGI features.

(2) Plug-ins called DuIK and Element 3D For some 2D animators, it is hard to learn 3D software. There are two famous plug-ins called DuIK and Element 3D. Both plug-ins allow creating a 3D environment and importing a 3D model into After Effects and rigging model inside.

7. Evolving 2D animation tools:

Adobe Animate: mostly, it creates vector animation and it targets a different group of clients because of this specific style.

Toon Boom Harmony

Management of the project

If I check the Gantt Chart from 13th May, I think the progress is behind the schedule. I didn't have much production progress for the final major project. When I did the planning folder for FMP, I didn’t estimate the possibility of the failure for sign-off so that there is no space on schedule to make up planning folder mistakes. Moreover, I have applied a SAC form to defer a bit of assignment that had to be submitted in semester B. Although I arrange a time for finishing delayed assignments and two flexible periods through the production, those influences still reflect on the Gantt Chart.

The unexpected event makes time pressing and the task heavy. I make changes to improve and make up the losing part of the Gantt Chart.

The new plan I decrease the time in sculpturing and texturing models and change the order of modelling characters in order to get into animate earlier. I arrange the finish the little boy and insect model and rigging at the end of June, then starts animating in July.