Project 3 Reflection

At first, I had a lot of trouble thinking of something that I wanted to do for this project. I changed my mind a few different times. I am pretty happy with the concept that I stuck with. I enjoy the content that I chose but it took me awhile to get to that point. I would have liked to have integrated the type and image a bit more. I wasn't happy with some of the photographs so I felt like I wanted to keep them from becoming the main focus of the piece because of that. I like that I chose to keep a lot of white space in the design because I thought it conveyed the idea of fresh, healthy eating but I did find it hard to create interesting compositions that included type and image. Originally I planned on using sound effects that I recorded that coordinated with parts of the images but they ended up sounding terrible. The sound quality wasn't the best because they were done on my phone. I chose to use background music instead because I liked the idea of there being sound the entire time while the viewer read the text. I am not sure how well it ended up all going together though. Timing seems to take me forever and I still think there are a few adjustments that need to be made but overall I think the type and image work well together and that the viewer is able to follow the story.

Project 3: Experience

Project 3: EXPERIENCE

I attempted to upload the video directly onto my blog but the quality was terrible do here is the link to Vimeo. I still think there are a few timing issues I need to work out but here is the end result of Project 3. 

Storyboard Critiques

I was assigned to crit Katherine and Jenna's storyboards and they both have to approve comments on their wordpress so I am putting my comments on here in case they forget to do so and we need to pull them up in class!

Katherine's storyboard:
Good job being clear in your notes about transitions and timing! They were easy to follow and understand.

For the most part, you do a good job mixing up text and image so that its not becoming too literal! There were a few instances where I saw it happening though... In the 4th frame maybe you don't even need to say 'nails. yuck' and in stead just say 'yuck' since the image of the nails is saying the same thing. This way the viewer can make the connection on their own. I'm thrown off a bit in the 8th frame where you are showing feet and saying 'alright, we're movin' to the driveway' I am wondering if it is even necessary?

In most cases, when you are making a big jump from image to image it is working well to create unexpected moments but maybe consider cutting some of the images that don't seem to be doing that. For example.. in the frame with the nail polish remover and the text that says 'hello' I get a little confused.. why not get ride of that image (since you've already shown the nail polish remover in the images before) and put the hello with the image of you waving your hand?

I enjoy the design overall! I like the use of circles and how you play with their scale and placement. maybe think about trying some different typefaces or incorporating some color in areas where you want to create emphasis. maybe red type to relate to the red nail polish?

Jenna's storyboard:
Your notes are definitely clear!

There are a few cases when the story is becoming a bit literal either with the text or the sound.. consider changing the dialogue so that the text isn't necessarily explaining what is happening in the photo. What happens if instead of the sound of the light bulb going on with the image of the light bulb you pair it with the sound of a vacuum as a way of suggesting that your idea involves cleaning it up in some way. That might create a unexpected moment when the spiral of m&ms appears instead of them being vacuumed up.

Also, the first few frames are doing the same thing. maybe think of a way that you can break these images up. I really enjoy the part where you introduce the cat.. makes for a great surprise twist to the story!

As for design.. think about integrating the type into the images more and try out different typefaces/colors. The type seems to be a afterthought and instead, should be designed further. try cropping images in different ways to create interesting compositions to work with!

Updated Storyboard

with some adjustments needed I'm sure.. here is my most recent and somewhat final storyboard. I wasn't sure what to do with images towards the end. I was losing inspiration so I'll take any suggestions or ideas to help spice it up!

Experience: storyboard continuted.

I made tons of additions/changes to my storyboard and its nearly complete. I'm not sure if I am going in the right direction but I am liking the way it is looking so far. I won't be in class today so feel free to comment because I'll need all the feedback I can get!

*Make note that the boundary boxes are missing so its a little bit hard to tell where where the edges of the frames are. Some images are cropped by the edges but you can't tell in this rough storyboard.

Experience: Beginning Storyboard

A rough start to what will eventually be my storyboard..

Experience: Photos & Type

I have finally decided on a idea that I am happy with. I have changed my 'experience' a few different times but I plan on sticking with this one! For my new idea.. I am doing the experience of making a salad. I am going to pair it with content taken from Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. The experience paired with blurbs from his book will (hopefully) create commentary about the importance of eating healthy! 

Content:
On any given day, one out of four Americans opts for a fast-food restaurant, without giving its speed or its thriftiness a second thought. Fast food is so ubiquitous. It now seems as American, and harmless, as apple pie. The industry's drive for consolidation and speed has radially transformed America's diet, landscape, economy, and workplace. Often in destructive ways. 

The value meals, two-for-one deals, and free refills on soda give a distorted sense of how much fast food actually cots. The real price never appears on the menu. 

Ask yourself, is the true cost of having it 'your way' really worth it?


Here are the new contact sheets/type storyboards:

 

 

ANIMATED DICTIONAY

Here is my final flash piece for the word stretch!

FINAL FLASH VIDEO

REFLECTION:
It was extremely helpful to have such a detailed storyboard to work from. The last time I did this project, I feel like my storyboard wasn't as detailed and it made it difficult to create transitions that made sense. I feel like this time around, my video flowed more because of the time I spent outside of flash. At first, I had trouble coming up with interesting transitions because I find it hard to visualize things in motion. I think next time I will try to push myself more and move away from such horizontal/vertical movement and compositions. I was happy with the timing.. I spent a lot of time working on it making sure everything stayed on screen long enough to read. The last time I did this project I struggled with timing so I am happy with how it turned out. I think it is really important to go into flash knowing what I wanted to do so I want to make sure I have a good plan of action for the next project as well because it made it a lot easier to work through!

Also, here is my updated storyboard: 

Project 3 Exerience Ideas

Here are a few ideas I have been thinking about for possible 'experiences' to begin photographing..

Walking on campus or grand river.
Cooking
Organizing: closet/drawers/ desk etc.
Hand Gestures (shaking, waving, high-fiving, thumbs up, typing, texting, etc.)
Reading (magazines, books, internet, news papers)
Baking a cake/decorating
Birthday: opening presents, reading cards, blowing out candles)
Exercising

I'm having trouble deciding...

I came across this catalog on the AIGA Design Archive.
Design Archive Example

The piece was designed by Matthew Rezac fir Blu Dot’s annual sales catalogue which is the company's primary marketing piece each year. I really enjoy the minimal approach and the way the type is being cropped.

FLASH DEMO

Flash Demo

Here is the link to the Quicktime of the Flash Demo we did in class!

Finalized Storyboard

Illustrator is still giving me trouble when I try to export a jpeg so here is low res file of my updated storyboard. Sorry it may be a bit difficult to make out. Something is weird with my file..

Updated Storyboard

After getting some input from classmates, I made some changes to my storyboard and finished it. I had to take a screen shot of it because Illustrator on my computer was quitting every time I attempted to save the file as a jpeg. I will replace the image with one that is of a higher quality once I get to class and can use the Kresge computers!

Animated Dictionary- Beginning Storyboards

Here are the early stages of my storyboard for the Animated Dictionary project. I still have a ways to go but I think its a good start!

Beginning Storyboards

Here are 3 rough sketches of storyboards/possible ideas for the Animated Dictionary project. (key word: rough)

Type In Motion Example

I think this clip is a great example for this project especially. It is utilizing a lot of different types of movement that I may want to incorporate into my final piece. Text is shown scrolling across the screen either vertically or horizontally and different speeds throughout the piece. There are times when text is being rotated or flipped. They have also made use of the ability to zoom in and out and make certain letter forms larger or smaller. They tend to use this as a way to transition throughout frames. Individual letters are animated at times and other times the entire word is doing something interesting. I really enjoyed watching this and seeing all endless possibilities for animated typography!