Contextual Research

Everyone Else Is Boring from Jordan Galland on Vimeo.

I stumbled across this on one of my quests for contextual research. I really like the playful content, and particularly the collage aesthetic. 

Further Etching Testings

I also really should crack on and do the magical backgrounds test.

tomorrow - dragon frame.

Responsive Board Proposals and Peer Crit

httpshttps://kelvintillinghast.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/untitled.pdf

Here was some quite exciting contextual research I found, this is a previous advertising campaign from interflora. It shows them endorsing a slightly crude sense of humour, so this makes me more confident to go ahead with my concept. They have still kept the apperance of this looking luxe with the high quality of the photos, and the general aesthetic of the graphic design, which is what I aim to do.

Progress Review - Group

I received some helpful feedback that helped to highlight a few things that I had not fully considered, both positives and negatives. Such as that I need to ensure that the flowers are much more central focus of my work. I received some positive feedback about my colour and aesthetic choice though, and how it should suite the branding guidelines, which gives me a little confidence.

Review one:

List strengths and give reasons why you think this is:

1. Plan for Naughty Grandparents is cute and cheeky. On Brand with tone, despite all the constraints.
2. Given this combined with the proposed aesthetic will make a charming contrast, much like when a soft lovely grandma talks about dicks.
3. Colour scheme is fitting to brand, mandatories well considered.

List areas for improvement and give reasons why you think this.

1. Find some famous or talked about adverts in glossy mags, why were they good, did they fit their contexts etc?
2. Need more thumbs, experiment with proposed aesthetics and colour schemes.
3. Maybe make flowers slightly heavier focus? In the foreground perhaps.

List 5 questions that you think need need answering...how will this help?

1. What are the people saying in the advert? Try a few things out?
2. Maybe chisely nib dip pen? Fountain pen?
3. Like daffodils scratchy.
4. What will the characters look like?
5. reflecting audience? Where will they be?

Second review:

List strengths and give reasons why you think this is:

1. Clear idea of style and colour, solid starting point.
2. reference of old campaigns is a nice touch, not only contextual but for tone of voice reference as well, how to maintain their sense of style.
3. Colour is fitting with aesthetic of the brand.

List areas for improvement and give reasons why you think this.

1. Be clear about specific context: Full spread? A4? In the right bottom corner?
2. Clear about contexts gives better interpretation of the idea that you want.

List 5 questions that you think need need answering...how will this help?

1. What exactly is the checklist for? It seems separated from the rest?
2. How will the audience be engaged with the campaign.

Crit - Pre Christmas Moving Images and Printed Pictures Crit.

Some general comments and feedback:

A list of things our group collaboratively decided need to be looked out for and addressed:

PROGRESS REVIEW - Group

Comment on the practical development of work for the moving pictures brief. Is there sufficient evidence of practically investigating selected processes and techniques.

• Clever idea of moving pictures - like the way the ink runs naturally. 
• Maybe make your project proposal more clear.
• Explain the scenes on blog for people who haven't read the book. 
• Think out of your test animation, the one created with a paint brush works a lot better.

Comment on the practical development of work for the printed pictures brief. Is there sufficient evidence of practically investigating selected processes and techniques. 

• Lots of development for printed pictures. 
• Loads of sketchbook testing and trying out a number of processes and creating interesting surface patterns - maybe blog about these. 
• Clearer thumbnails of my final print ideas.
• More contextual research.

Comment on the Clarity with which the development of concepts, ideas and practical solutions has been documented on the studio practice blog.

• Lots of development - but maybe try and make it easier to follow.
• Label both studio brief and module. e.g. OUIL504 Studio Brief Two.

Comment on the extent to which the planning of time and resources has been effectively considered in order to enable the production of the proposed work in the time available. (are the action plans and project management sheets specific with regards to workload, deadlines and timescales?)

• Spent a lot of time developing testing work and technique which is really good! Now need to organise and plan time efficiently and realistically to what you think you can produce for finals.

Suggestions/strengths - Reason/Improvements:

• lots of visual development  - More contextual referencing to inform development of animation.
• Lots of print processes tried - tidy up blogging to make it easier to follow.
• Use of colour and technique works well with concept theme - magical/dark - show a plan of animation 'Planimation'.
• Clever animation ideas - show a plan of your time over christmas and until deadline.

Immediate Action Plan:

• rewrite final proposals
• Blog about interesting surface patterns.
• Explain the scenes and characters that I will be animating.
• Clearer images of my final thumbnails.

Beginning Tests for my Final Etchings

The beginning.

I have now started off my etching towards creating my final set and answer to the brief. Here are some tests, done onto one of the little squares that my Father helped me to make out of an old copper pipe.

I tried a blend of inks on my etching plate and am quite pleased with the results. I think that the burnt umber and the turquoise work quite harmoniously together, and the blue centring around the staff creates a bit of a sense of magic, and power emanating from it - which is exactly the appearance/sense that it gives off in the book. The fourth image is about the only that has this look though, on the others some of them the blue and brown inks have become to blended/mixed together which just gives it an appearance of looking really flat. 

Points to Remember and to Take on board:

• Etchings will print backwards, I must bear this in mind when doing the actual etching drawing onto the plate.
• Some of the textural marks didn't come out very successfully, they were just a bit too faint, so I must make sure that they are engraved enough when I make them, and also that if it helps I give it enough time in the acid bath.
• I didn't soak my paper for long enough. Need to remember this for the future, a way to remind myself is to make sure that I have put it in to soak before I start to ink up my plate.
• It would probably pay off to use even better quality paper, like watercolour paper next time.

Consideration of how my etching can exist as a larger print if I use larger paper to print it onto and 'frame it with'. (It's also really quite hard to align it in the centre when just placing it on top!)

Responsive

Project Proposals and Presentation Boards

• The Ability to Listen.
• The last two days on and before the deadline the website WILL and has crashed. I must plan my time accordingly.
• Following the competition organisers, such as DNAD and YCN on social media sites will keep me up to date, and in particular with any technical difficulties that they are having. 
• Remember that I will inevitably have to discover some sort of creative compromise with my ideas and producing them in time and to the brief.

Most importantly:

1. Think before you do.
2. Plan before you act. (so as not to waste precious time etc)
3. Question everything that we have ever been told, as otherwise if we followed all of the rules to every letter, our designs and entries would all be pretty similar, and that is no way to win a competition.

Dragon Frame Animating

First attempt at dragon frame animating:

• A2 is too big, A3 fits well.
• tracing paper is very obvious over the top unless it covers the whole image, but even then it makes my image look more faded.
• To make my animation move around the page will be harder, so more planning is involved with regards to the inclusion of hand drawn frame by frame animation.
• It will be much more simple to work more to roughly an A4 size, as this way I can then go away and add lots of drawn frame by frame animations to my continuous dragon frame file. 

I shall have to gauge my process for the future on the results of how I can improve this test with after effects. This could help to solve a lot of problems, such as hiding the use of tracing paper by editing the levels etc, and perhaps adding some moving or just general background textures.

there was some nice movement going on with the adding of my gestural brush strokes. (Which guttingly didn't all save!!) But either way it makes me happy with the media choice of ink with brush and nib.

How to save an aftereffects file as a quicktime movie

The Results:

I'm not quite sure how, but the end bit of my dragon frame didn't seem to save, so it hasn't got all the additional length and movement of the robe which I quite liked. 

It's adds quite a lot of effect by working with ink from a pot because you see the change in its colour and its texture as it dries on the page, over all it gives off a sense of more movement to my animation.

After Effects Lessons

Magical Reference and Inspiration

Attempt at some Magical Textures

I had a go at being inventive with media and mark making to try to create some magical textures, but they just don't look that inspiring - will leave these one's to development I think.

Peer Review for Moving Image - Feedback

1 - Decision making on text in animation: Exactly what text is required?

Option B - 3-6 10 second stings: Author name, title of text/s, other relevant information: eg publisher.

• More research
• Make a plan
• Bullet point information
• Quotations, identify these if I want to include them when describing my characters in my stings.
• Story board at least roughly my proposals.

2. Typeface of Handwriting? 

If typeface, which one, why chosen? Why is it the most effective choice? If handwriting, why chosen/how will you produce it? If you use handwritten type, it must be clear, high resolution and work with the aesthetic of the image.

Handwritten - play with fine line/inks see which results work best.

3. How will you layout text and consider design? (refer to: use of layout rulers/fades/scale/placement/colour decisions and duration)

• Combine with my drawings
• Black + White.

4. Identify 2 research sources of effective use of type with moving image, which will inform the use of type for your animation: Discuss why these are effective and how you have been informed by them. Write this as a clear, concise blog post with a link or a still frame.

Above is Mr Bingo's animation 'Show Dogs' for a programme about Cruft's. It's not quite the aesthetic I would be going for, this is much to neat and loopy handwriting, it doesn't speak of witches and magic and strangeness. It's a good example of successful handwritten type as a part of animation.

Here is another approach to text in animation which I like, It's too handicraft to suit what I am trying to achieve with my Discworld promotional animations.

 

I would keep my own hand drawn type quite pictorial, perhaps even including little drawings within it, more image as type or type as image.

Reflections

With regards to inclusion of text:

• To unite my stings and keep them in accordance with the brief at the end of my animations I shall have the same item of text appearing which says something to the effect of 'Come and meet these characters in Terry Pratchett's Discworld Series'. This is my way of promoting the series.

Typeface or Handwriting?

• I'm useless at typeface, and having used some of my own handwriting in works before, I think I could make this work best.
• However the nature of my animation is quite scribbly and spontaneous, so perhaps the use of typeface could be a necessary break of clarity at the end?
• Either way I need much more research into, I shall have to get on and experiment.

Lay out of text?

• If I opt for using my own handwritten type then I will edit it in photoshop and include it in my animations in aftereffects, so therefor I shall have quite a lot of digital control/editing options.

Responsive Feedback and initial ideas individual practice.

Peer feed back and Initial ideas and considerations: