YCN; Fedrigoni paper samples.

As part of this brief it stated that you could email Fedrigoni for some paper samples so you were aware of exactly what you were working with. Although the amount they sent us was linear, the fact they had included names and GSM for each colour of the stock could come in handy at a later date. This also showcased the fine quality that the stock has. 

YCN; crit one.

This was the feedback given from our first crit. In this crit we didn't really have anything physical to show as such apart from our blogs and the research we'd began to put together. I found that this crit wasn't very useful in terms of the feedback. This was because it was quite hard to write down feedback people were giving whilst having a discussion about the ideas. It would have probably been more useful for those people to write down the feedback for us. The small amount of feedback we were given however was useful in the sense that we hadn't really considered how we were going to include the actual imaginative colours tool within the exhibition. A point was made that our clients need to be able to interact with it to decide whether or not it would be relevent to their company and their needs. This is something we could definitely go away and think about. 

YCN; First workshop//contract.

This workshop was all about finding a partner to collaborate with throughout the rest of the YCN brief.

Our first task for this workshop was two create two different posters that could consist of type, image or a mixture of the two depending on who we are as designers. On one of these posters we had to write five things that represent us a designer mainly but also a person in general. On the other poster we had to write five things we were looking for in a partner in terms of their skills and mindset. 

I chose to keep my designs quite simple because I felt that the most important part was what the text read as this had to communicate. I made a circle shape in the middle across the two posters because i'm one half of the collaboration seeking my other half to make the partnership whole and balanced. The use of blue was just to give the design a bit of variety but also because this is my favourite colour. I used a sans serif font too because I prefer these fonts overall. 

Once our posters were printed we had to place each on the wall in turn and then find two posters which we felt our own skills worked best with or whether or not we suited the requirements someone was looking for. This was quite difficult initially because other people might have got to the one you had your eye on first so you didn't always get your first choice. I found that I didn't always suit all of the requirements people were looking for but if I ticked enough boxes I would choose them. Once we found one we liked we had to stick reasons why we would be good for this person onto their poster, putting our name on the back. I got a few notes stuck to my posters and spoke to these people about working together but a lot of them seemed to have partners already.

Before writing our contract we each had to fill out the above sheet so we could think about our role within the collaboration. This would also contribute to the contract.

I found a partner in Charlotte Bourke and felt this would be a good person to work with because it was someone new that I hadn't really worked with before. Once we'd got our partners we had to come up with a contract of what each of our responsabilities would be in terms of the collaboration and these were all things that we'd agreed on. If there was ever any doubt within the collaboration we could always refer back to this contract. 

YCN; Brief that doesn't interest me.

As part of the research into the YCN briefs we also had to choose one brief that we didn't like. There were actually a few that I could have chosen for this because they didn't appeal to me. The one I disliked most however was the ESPN brief due to the simple fact it revolved around sport. I don't really have much of an interest in sport so felt that I'd get bored of this brief really easily because it always helps when a subject matter interests you. I also don't really know much about the company and any previous design work they may have so didn't really know what sort of design they would be looking for as most companies like to keep consistent. Another element that put me off is the fact they have so many different logos for various different aspects of the company so it would make it more difficult to design something that suited all these logos. 

YCN; Briefs that interest me.

Over reading week we had to choose at least three briefs from the YCN selection of competition briefs that we felt interested us most. I found this choice quite difficult because there were a lot of good briefs that had subject matter which I was interested in. I wittled it down to those that I felt I would get most out of because i'd never done anything like these before.



The first one I chose was the Fedrigoni brief. This is because with Fedrigoni being a paper company I kenw that the work produced for this would be print based or at least proposal for print depending on the outcomes, and i've always had a passion for print because I prefer to have something physical at the end of a project. I felt i'd be able to get into this project more because of this. Upon reading this brief I didn't come up with any ideas intially and I felt this was a good thing because it meant it could be more of a challenge and I want to really push myself during this project. The fact the brief is so open is a really positive thing because it means you can think big and you don't really have any limits so anything is possible with it. I have a little bit of knowledge of Fedrigoni and the quality of their papers and feel it is something I could really work with. 

The second brief I chose is the feel good drinks company. Although there were particular constraints set in place already for this brief I feel it suits the type of brief because you don't want to stray too far from the original design of the company as people may no longer recognise it. Some of the main reasons I chose this brief was because I have an interest in corporate identity and one of the things this company was looking for was refreshment of their own. I also felt it was an opportunity to experiment with colour because their drinks range consists of a large number of colours so there is plenty of opportunity for experimentation and to create something really visually interesting. One of the good things about this brief is I personally fall into the target audience category so meant I could understand the requirements they are looking for in order to refresh the product. The company gives you a lot to work with so this is really helpful but doesn't limit you in straying away from this a little. 

This is the third and final brief that I chose and again because it's another I could relate to. I hadn't actually heard of the product until it came to selecting these briefs but when I researched into it a little bit I found it to be something i'd consider trying. A lot of the snacks you can get with Graze look really good and they give an insentive when you get your first couple of boxes. Although I don't fall within the target audience there are a lot of exsisiting products that follow the same kind of idea within terms of being environmentally friendly so automatically this creates a lot of research. The fact you can try and test this product gives you greater understanding of what they are looking for. They also give you constraints to work with so it means you focus on the other possibly more important areas. 

Image; Book works.

Breakdown of what i'm going to do for this brief. 

As a starting point for this brief I researched 'blue' characters on the internet, some of which I was already familiar with but just to give me an idea of whether I had missed any or not. I then chose my favourite blue characters and drew them by hand so they could be taken onto the computer to be printed digitally. I tried to go with more familiar characters that people are likely to have heard of. 

I decided that I wanted to produce all my imagery using watercolours because this is something I haven't really done before and I thought it would create a nice effect. I printed all my hand drawings onto card as I felt this would work best with the watercolours. I really like the whole hand rendered look each of these images have because it makes it obvious a lot of time and attention has gone in to creating these. I then decided I could use the fact my images were hand drawn to my advantage and created this pencil line and drawing that could be used in the background to go through the whole of the book. The variety of blues used for each of the characters will make the book visually interesting. 

Intially I was going to have my book as a whole consetina fold out section that could be placed up on the wall. Due to the nature of the stock i'd chosen (watercolour paper) this wasn't going to work because I was going to fold the stock in half so it would have images on either side but if it was folded too much the stock began to crack a bit. I then decided to have two seperate consetinas which could still be seen as a book because they would fold out. I created this little envelope to put them in and protect them using tracing paper so it could hint at the content within. To keep all of this together I then created a belly band and decided to name my book 'the little book of blue' because true to its name the book is little and contains everything blue! 

The final illustrations were taken into illustrator and put in place. They still work well once printed out and there is nothing taken away from this hand rendered look. I intially experimented with a white background but feel having blue on blue still works and makes it look a little less plain. 

Although I didn't sell any of the books, i'm pleased with this project because I enjoyed illustrating it and putting it together. I feel maybe the correct target audience was not found at the book fair. 

Top 10 things; end of module self-evaluation.

1. What skills have you developed throughout this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? 

Throughout this module I have developed a range of skills, each of which have been very useful to the overall outcome of my work. One of the first skills I learnt was storyboarding, this was a necessary part of design development because it meant I could experiment with ideas on paper before putting them into a digital format. Producing a range of storyboards before choosing an idea was a useful part of both briefs within this module because I got some of the 'worse' ideas out first and then came up with the better ones. I think this storyboarding skill was applied better in the Silent movie brief as I created numerous storyboards so that I had a lot of ideas before I decided to make a decision. There seemed to be a lot more effort put into storyboarding for this brief as at the time it felt necessary to really push this skill so I understood it properly. Although I created storyboards for all of my final sequences within the top ten brief I feel as though this skill wasn't applied as effectively because the quantity of storyboards was a lot smaller than with the silent movie brief. I feel that this occurred because I felt as though I had understood the skill from the previous brief so didn't really push it in the second brief. The storyboards I did create, I just settled for straight away without pushing ideas to their full potential and exploring a range. Although the fact I didn't use storyboards to their full potential within the top ten brief is a negative thing, I think the ones I did produce are detailed in colour and annotation to communicate my ideas clearly. From this storyboarding skill I also learnt how to use a paper timeline and learnt to understand where you plot things within this and how much it can benefit you when it comes to putting your ideas into after effects. One of the main things I took away from learning this skill was that as long as the storyboard made sense to you, it didn't matter so much if it didn't make sense to anyone else because I'm the person that needs to be able to understand it to take it to the next stage of the development process. This skill was applied on a linear level within the silent movie brief because I plotted a few basic storyboards onto timelines to begin to understand how many frames I would need for each of my sequences. I however, feel as though I have let myself down with the skill within both the silent movie brief and the top ten brief because it has only been applied in one brief and only once. I put this down to general time management because once I had created storyboards I took them straight into after effects because I felt it was important to start creating my sequences as soon as possible as I knew this was quite time consuming in itself. I did find it quite difficult to get my head around this skill when I thought about it in terms of the top ten brief because its quite hard to guess where things are going to occur within the timeline until you start moving images around in after effects, especially when they move in time to music. The main skill I have learnt through this module is how to use the after effects software because I had no experience with this at all. This skill was obviously a huge part of the module because it was where the final sequences were to be produced. I think these software skills have been applied effectively because I have produced suitable final outcomes that I am pleased with and they show a range of skills i've learnt within the software itself in terms of movement and keyframing. I feel I have applied movement skills within after effects in the simplest possible way but think that this is what makes my sequences suitably effective because overcomplicating something can make it quite hard to interpret. My final sequences definitely show a level of understanding of the software and I think as a first attempt they look informed. The organisation of folders is also another skill i've picked up that links to after effects. This is because for the sequences to work everything has to be held within the same folder so it was quite important to be organised otherwise the sequence files would come up with errors and a lot of time would be wasted hunting for the relevent files. Time management was a huge part of this module so I feel that this has developed in the sense that I had to be aware of how long these sequences would take to produce and be constantly making sure I left myself enough time to contend with any errors, this also involved prioritising my work. These are the main skills I feel I have developed throughout this module. 

2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? 

One of the methods that I have developed throughout this module is that due to the nature of the module everything has to be produced in a particular order because one thing informs another, so this could be categorised as organisation. There wouldn't really be development as such if it wasn't for this approach. A massive part of the design production was creating storyboards because the ideas had to be down on paper before I went into after effects to begin producing them. This method informed my design development process because I could exeperiment with the ideas I had in my head and get a better feel for how they may look and I could also eliminate any of the 'uneffective' ideas. It also meant that once I had produced these storyboards I could move on to the next stage which was actually making them digital. The storyboards make up quite a big section of design development because they indicate where ideas began and where they are going to so in a sense represent a thought process. 

I hand drew outlines for all of my artwork before I decided this would save time when it came to developing the artwork further if these outlines were already there. This was a major part of development because without these outlines I wouldn't be able to move forward within the design process. I took these outlines into photoshop to make my imagery digital, although this was a skill I had already, by using this format for my artwork I learnt a new skill within after effects in terms of importing the work in sequences and the formats I needed to use. This has informed my design development because it meant that my ideas started coming to life and was the start of the comic book asthetic I wanted to use for all of my sequences. It also meant by using this method I could then quite easily take this artwork forward into my sequences. 

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? 

My ability to produced hand rendered work before anything digital has been a strength throughout this module because I have a lot of physical work to support the digital design decisions I have made and the decisions I have made throughout each brief are clear to see through this. To capitalise on this I will keep up the same standard within future briefs and consider producing even more hand rendered work before making a decision so i've explored every possible outcome. This is of course if it suits the brief. Time management has been a strength throughout this project because I had to constantly make sure I was on top of my sequences as they took quite a lot of time to produce, especially if there was any errors. I had also produced my final sequences just under a week before the deadline so this gave me plenty of time to deal with any issues that arose. I can capitalise on this by making sure that i'm really organised with any other future briefs so that if there is changes that I need to make, I dont feel rushed to make them. I feel that I have become more confident with decisions because i've used a lot of colour within the top ten brief and usually I keep colour within my designs to a minimum so this was in a sense a form of risk taking for me because it may not have worked. To capitalise on this I can continue to make sure that I take risks within my work because I won't know how effective something can be until I actually try it and if this doesn't work then at least this can be added as part of the development process. The main strength I have got from this module is an understanding of how the software works and an ability to pick up new techniques within the after effects software quite quickly. This is shown through how my final sequences operate and the techniques I have used. I have also experimented with this software and this can be seen within development although experimentation is quite linear. To capitalise on this I can consider using the software in other briefs when given the opportunity so that I can extend the skills I have already learnt and come up with more complex outcomes in future. I could also consider going back to after effects in my own time so I don't begin to forget any of the skills I have learnt if I don't use the software for a long period of time. My ability to produce simplistic yet sophisticated packaging seems to be a strength within this module because although the idea was one of the last things I considered, i'm really pleased with the outcome. In future I could capitalise on this by making my ideas for print quite simplistic and then working up from this instead of trying to work with something complex straight away because the more simplistic idea could inform a complicated idea. The time spent on the storyboards I created is a strength because they are clear and communicate my ideas well, this however also falls into the weakness category for other reasons too. 

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in future? 

Storyboards have been a real weakness within the top ten brief because I haven't really experiemented much with ideas and I have chosen to produce the first ideas I came up with digitally in after effects. Although I don't feel this has let my final outcomes down as such, it has a massive impact on the development process because there isn't as much physical development as there could have been. Linking to this I haven't really used timelines within either of the briefs and this could be seen as a weakness because it might mean people think I don't understand this technique when there is no evidence of it, although I do. I don't feel as though this has hindered my work in any way really because I feel that you can never truely understand how something is going to move until you have it in front of you on after effects because the software does the moving for you and can be more precise than a hand rendered version. In future these are both things that I need to prioritise and make time for if I decide to produce work for another brief on after effects. 

5. Identify five things you will do differently next time and what you expect to gain from doing these? 

1. Visit the library more often for research material.

Although the internet is a great source, not everything you always find on there is 'true' so by using books you can tell that the sources are reliable. The library may also have something very relevent to what I am researching so I should make more time for it. 

2. Blog as I go. 

By doing this I won't have a build up of blog posts to annotate at the end of a module because i've got too into a habit of posting images and not actually annotating them until a later date. This is likely to cause less stress too and i'll be more organised so can be sure I won't have missed anything. 

3. Try and be more motivated from the begining of the module.

A lot of decisions for this module came quite close to the end so then it felt like more of a rush to get things done. Although this is not completely in my control, I could try and push myself to make decisions at an earlier stage. By doing this my outcomes could be more informed and the resultions may be a lot more rounded. The level of work could also be higher. 

4. Stay at uni more 'after hours' and come in on weekends more. 

There tend to be less distractions at this time of the day or on a weekend and no temptation to do something different than my work because I don't have the options like I would at home. Although I get quite a lot of work done from home I feel that if i'm in the uni environment this would encourage me to work at a faster rate and would maximise my time more effectively. 

5. Manage my time. 

Although I have positive time management skills already I feel that there is still potential for improvement because I don't always prioritise in the correct order. Sometimes I do the things I enjoy most instead of the things that are needed sooner for things like crits. If I prioritise more effectively then this could also lead to better orginisation of all the briefs I have going on for different modules. 

6. How would you grade yourself in the following areas: 

Attendence 5

Punctuality 5  

Motivation 3

Commitment 4

Quantity of work produced 3

Quality of work produced 3

Contribution to the group 4

(1 being poor and 5 being excellent)

Top 10 things; test crit.

This was a final crit to test our dvds and make sure everything was working as it should. I had noticed that on testing my dvd it was skipping a bit whilst it was in the disc drive but we were told this was a general thing that happened because of the connection between the dvd and the mac and to solve this, files could be copied over on to the desktop and they would play all the way through properly. This crit was quite useful in the sense that it gave us an idea of the sort of feedback we may get back after the module submission because people are likely to pick up on the same things, as though it was too late to make any major changes at this stage. Some of the comments given on my feedback were 'void' in a sense because at the time the internet was down so some of the things that were commented on were actually visable on my blog. The fact we were with friends for this crit was a bit of bonus really because I know they would give me completely honest constructive feedback where as sometimes people may hold off a bit so that they don't offend you in any way. The mix of positive comments and improvements to be made on my feedback was much welcomed because as with most things there is always room for improvement and its good to hear someone elses take on the work you have produced. This crit was successful because there were no issues to be found with my dvd and everything worked as it should. 

Top 10 things; DVD packaging.

I wanted to keep the DVD packaging for my submission quite simplistic because this is one characteristic that everything else I have produced for both briefs has. I decided that because my chosen topic for the top 10 brief was superheroes I would create a superhero logo for myself and turn this into some form of packaging. This meant that it would be unique to me and has more consideration than just using an exsisting superhero logo. I wanted to use the font I had used throughout all of my sequences so that my packaging and sequences could be linked together as they are part of the same brief so this was a good starting point for my packaging. I experimented a little bit with colour, the main one being blue as this is my favourite one, but couldn't find a combination that I liked more than simple black and blue. The black adds a nice touch because it makes the design look bold and stand out. The reason I have also included stars on the logo is because I have a star tattoo so this is and the blue added together make the packaging unique to me, the stars are also a nice touch because otherwise the design looked quite plain. I've kept my packaging minimalist because I felt there was no need to have too much to it with its use just being to hold my DVD. I feel the packaging has been executed well because the dvd fits perfectly into the slot i've made for it. I also added a little cape to the design just to make it a little more superhero-esk and think this is quite a quirky feature. The logo/dvd holder part was printed on photo paper because this makes it bold, stand out and gives it quite a high quality finish. I decided to print the cape on normal paper so that I could scrunch it up and give it this textured look which adds a nice finish to the overall packaging design. Overall although my packaging is quite an obvious reponse given my brief subject, I feel that simple is sometimes most effective because it communicates with no confusion. 

Top 10 things; FINAL SEQUENCES & POST PRODUCTION STORYBOARDS.

Final batman sequence: This is one of my favourite final sequences. I think the fact that you can make a connection between batman and the sequence straight away without even seeing this character works really well because it means that my idea is communicating from beginning to end. Two main factors that help make this connection is the soundtrack I have used because this is a well known batman soundtrack and also the colour scheme. This sequence is also successful because there is constantly something happening within it which is more likely to keep the audience interested. Initially when I was experimenting with the text for this, I wanted it to fade out completely near the end of the sequence but I actually think the fact the sequence ends with a variation of transparencies on screen works really well because they complement each other. I also feel that because it stays on the screen but ever so lightly it means that the audience won't miss the relevent information and it may hopefully stick in their mind. The fact the image of batman comes in quite quickly is another good feature because its as though he is responding to the light 'call' at great speed and saving the day as fast as possible. 

Final Catwoman sequence: With this sequence I had to think more creatively about the concept because catwoman doesn't have a specific trait as such like superman flys etc. I decided that working with the fact she is a 'cat' would make for quite a good sequence because the movement could represent that of a cat which then means I'd need to locate a specific type of music to compliment this movement. So one decision informs the other and together the two could work really well. A trait for superheroes is the fact they are very careful about coming on to a scene so the fact the E4 logo 'checks' the frame before it enters links well with this idea. The scratches that come across the logo are another good trait that a cat has and make this superhero seem like a threat. The one thing that overall makes this sequence so successful is the soundtrack because its one in which I imagine something to be creeping about in the shadows like superheroes often do and it has a quite a creepy element to it so creates suspense. This sequence is quite slow but this pace fits really well with the soundtrack I have chosen.

Final spiderman sequence: There was an obvious movement I wanted to potray within this sequence based on the fact spiderman gets around via a web that he swings from. The fact he randomly swings in from one side of the frame works really well because this is a specific trait spiderman has in which he appears from no where to make his 'victims' jump. I intially experimented with making the logo swing in from the left hand side but if i'd have stuck with this idea the sequence would have been quite boring because it would have consisted of this one main swinging element. The logo scales up at a good time because its fitting with the timing of the soundtrack so it makes it seem like the change in soundtrack is an indication that something else is about to happen and then the programme information coming in after this also has a similar impact. The swinging technique within this sequence didn't really take too long to get to some stage that I was satisfied with because it was a recent technique i'd just learnt in one of the software workshops and I was really pleased I was getting to put it into practice straight away because it meant I was more likely to remember it for future reference. 

Final superman sequence: This is my favourite sequence out of all the ones I have created because although the ideas seemed quite obvious, I had quite a lot of fun creating it because I experimented more so with this sequence than any other. This was because it was one of the first sequences I created so I was still getting to grips with how the software worked in terms of making my artwork move. Although the actual motion path of the artwork is quite simplistic the two elements that make this whole sequence are the E4 logo and the soundtrack I have used. The logo is a significant part of this sequence because its a huge indicator of the superhero featured within the ident and the contrast between the background and this logo makes the sequence seem all the more interesting. I intially used a different soudtrack but after advice from a crit to use music with 'trumpets' included i'm really glad I decided to change this. The soundtrack included within this sequence has a much higher impact and gives superman this big enterance he is well known for. The soundtrack is also within keeping of the timing of the sequence quite conveniently without me having to change any of the keyframes placed for the previous soundtrack. 

Final 60 second sequence: Although I think my title sequence is really simple I think this is what makes it effective because it shows that I have understood elements that I have learnt within workshops and makes for easy watching overall. One of the first things I did when I started creating this sequence was listen to my soundtrack through to the end of the one minute, adding in tags along my timeline to show where there was a specific beat within the track. By doing this it would give me an idea of where I should introduce my imagery so that it fit with the timing of the soundtrack when both are played through together. I decided to use just the silohettes and logos of the superheroes throughout this sequence because I felt they held enough information on their own and introducing any form of information via text would detur from the impact they could have meaning they wouldn't fullfill their potential. Using a different colour background for each transition that linked to the superhero was another element that would make the sequence particular interesting because it meant that each transition would be unique and keep the audience interested. Having the backgrounds move from left to right links to the idea that when you read and comic book you read from left to right and this is successful because the whole sequence is based upon a comic book asthetic. Although the ending of the sequence seems quite plain, I feel this is something that kept the sequence within reach of its target audience because if it played around with it too much or made it too fancy in terms of a variation of fonts this is something that could have began to make it look more childlike. The font itself reminds me a comic book asthetic because its exaggerated and reflects a certain style but having it as just plain black text adds a level of sophistication overall.


I feel the comic book asthetic I have given to all of my sequences doesn't draw them away from their target audience because superheroes originally came from comic books and cartoons so this idea is just taking it back to where it began. These sorts of programmes are usually quite light hearted so this also made it seem appropriate as well as the type of channel i'd chosen. The fact my sequences are quite casual works well because it fits the asthetic of the E4 television channel.

I decided to create post production storyboards for all of my sequences because I felt this could maybe help me understand what has actually gone into each sequence. I took 15 screenshots for all of my idents as I felt this was a significant amount to understand the movement happening with the sequences from start to finish. Due to the fact the title sequence was longer, I couldn't really estimate how many screenshots I would need for this so instead I decided to take one where I thought there was a signifcant change within the sequence. Creating these storyboards has been quite interesting because I could put them alongside the pre production storyboards I created and look at how closely I have matched some of the movement I had within my intial ideas. It will also show me what changes have occured since I created these original storyboards. They have also made me realise that my final title sequence isn't quite as simplistic as I thought because when things are slowed down you actually realise that there is a lot more happening than you intially thought and a lot more techniques happening at the same time than you give yourself credit for. 

Top 10 things; IDENT FOUR.

(Uploaded straight to blogger because I ran out of upload on Vimeo) 

This was the final sequence I created for my four idents so again as mentioned previously, because my sequences are quite simplsitic I didn't really face any problems as i'd got to grips with the techniques. I thought about trying a mask technique that would reveal the scratches I have used within this sequence but having them appear as catwoman moves up the screen works just as well because i've got the positioning and timing correct. I thought this was a nice feature because catwoman doesn't really do anything as exciting as superheroes such as superman who flies. The idea that the E4 logo creeps in and then goes back off again links in well with the chosen soundtrack because its as though it is creeping around and checking before it enters a scene. This also fits well with the idea that cats creep around so taking on the characteristics of the superhero. The text coming on in the top right hand corner is another successful part of the sequence because everything seems quite close together until this comes in so it balances the frame out well. The fact it comes on as the soundtrack gets a little louder is also pretty good timing. 

Image; 2D to 3D to 2D

Breakdown of what i'm going to do for this brief. 

For this brief we had to choose one object and then one 'doing' word and then draw an image based on these two words. We were given a short space of time in which to create this drawing so it was quite sketchy. My words made 'exploding watch'. I then had to make this drawing 3D and whilst doing this had to think about the context you would see this image in. 

I decided I wanted to hand craft my image as this is something I really enjoy doing. I printed digital images out and then cut round them until I had all the elements that could be seen in my drawing. I came up with the idea that my exploding watch could be watched on a youtube video and so found an explosion on youtube that I could then stick all my imagery on to. The element that makes my idea 3D is the fact I have stuck imagery on to my computer screen so they stand off this. Although it is unrealistic the concept seems to work and could be developed further. 

Top 10 things; IDENT THREE.

(These sequences were uploaded straight to blogger because I had ran out of upload on Vimeo) 

This was the second to last sequence I created so by this time my after effects skills were getting better and I had fewer issues hense there not really being too much development for this idea as I was going straight from my storyboards. I wanted to create the idea that the E4 logo acted as a searchlight for batman and then he all of a sudden appears. I used the opacity tool on the logo so that it looked more like a light in the sky as you could see the background through it like you would with a light. The timing of the keyframes seems pretty in sync with that of the soundtrack I have chosen for this sequence. Although the text and batman coming on at the same time actually works, I didn't have much choice in this because the searchlight idea took up quite a lot of the sequence but I really wanted this to work. 

This is how the sequence would look if the opacity went completely to zero at the end as another option. One thing I noticed about this sequence is that the beginning and end of the sequence has a soundtrack which comes on quite suddenly. 

To improve this I added a fade in and fade out keyframe to the soundtrack. 

This sequence includes the fade in and fade out of the soundtrack. 

Top 10 things; final crit.

Due to this being the final crit and almost a week before the deadline any feedback would be good feedback but there wasn't nescessarily time to make drastic changes to the work i'd already produced. There was a lot of small changes advised that I had time to work into what i'd already done and some of these consisted of annotating storyboards, choosing seperate soundtracks for each of the idents (maybe to suit the superhero), using an uppercase font for higher impact and use easy ease on certain parts of the sequences. Although all these things are quite minor really I feel as though by doing them it could make a big difference to my work and if I feel as though they aren't working it can just be added to my development. One of the comments that stood out within this crit was the fact I could have thought about my ideas more conceptually, although it's really too late at this stage to change my sequences as much as that, this would have been quite a nice idea to work with. It will stick with me because it means I should sometimes think a bit more outside of the box and I will take this into account when doing the next brief. 

As part of this crit we had to write down three questions that we wanted to ask because you don't always have your questions answered within feedback. 

Does the style suit a comic book theme? 

Is the soundtrack appropriate? 

Does the use of JUST imagery work? 

All my questions were answered and the first and last question were both 'YES' but with the soundtrack I was advised to search for more and have inividual soundtracks for the sequences which is a good point to make because its a way of defining the personality of each of the superheroes as they won't all have the same asthetic. 

It was again another crit with a whole new set of people so I could further be sure that my ideas were communicating exactly how I wanted them to without me explaining anything. This was another crit where I wrote myself an action plan of what I had to do within the final week of the project to fullfill the brief to my best potential given the time we had left.