Week 13 - Web Authoring Investigation

Since starting the Investigation last week, I am nearing the end of my initial research and during the Holidays I will write up my investigation based on the knowledge I have found. Using a combination of various websites (found using the search term An Introduction To "insert web element here") as well as the books:

Sherry Willard Kinkoph, SWK, (2005), Teach Yourself Visually: HTML, Canada: Wiley Publishing, Inc.

David Karlins, DK, (2003), Build Your Own Website, United States of America: McGraw-Hill/Osbourne

as my main tools. "Teach Yourself Visually" in paticular is hepful as it gives concise, effectiver explantions as well as visual examples, meaning you can really understand the context and use of the paticular function or code.

It is interesting to go to random web pages that i use everyday, and using the "View Source" tool look for examples of the new things I have learnt. Go to any page and you will quickly see Meta Data and CSS links etc.

In the coming weeks, after Christmas i will be able to start using newly found knowledge.

Week 12 - Web Authoring

Our new project revolves around Web Authoring. I have had a little experince in writing HTML from a while back. I have only really dealt with simple HTML and CSS, but admiteddly I have forgtten pretty much everything I learnt.

To restablish old knowledge and learn new skills, we will be undertaking an investigation. We have been given a range of phrases to look into. However, a lot of the explanations and context of each key elemtn of web authoring requires a background knowledge into something else, for instance if you want to understand DHTML, you need to research HTML, Java Script, CSS and COM.

I am really interested in this subject, and finding out how elements tags and codes work to develop whatwe see on screen. While we will be using Adobe Dreamweaver to design our websites, this investigation will hopefully give me the confidence to work well with actual coding again.

Understanding this principle of how a computer actually works is fundamental to all Creative Media we undertake. Every programme we use has been written in a prgogramming langauge which itself is used to translate machine code. An appreciation for the way we can prgoramme our own websites will give us a better relationship with technology as a whole and simple principles can be carried over to other langauges and applications e.g. "Apps" and GUIs (Graphic User Interfaces) etc.

Week 11 - Submission

I have now reached the end of the Animation Project, and am approaching the submission date with only a few elements left to complete and add.

At the time of writing, I still need to summarise my evaluation and complete a breakdown of my audience respopnses. The finished animation is now available to view on YouTube and viewers have the chocie to answer the short Questionnaire in the description. I have used WooFoo, an online Questionnaire/Form creator, where the creator can create questionnaire and then see the individual responses and analytics. Over the weekend I will hopefully be able to collect all this data and responses  into a breakdown using Word and Excel. I will also be able to include extra detail in my evaluation based on the audience responses.

I also need to scan and PDF my mindmaps, astoryboards etc to post on TurnIt in, this shouldn't take long and can be completed over the weekend. Lastly I will need to combine PDF's on using the Acrobat software, making one large PDF to submit.




My Questionnaire can be viewed here: http://bigslim.wufoo.com/forms/the-history-of-animation-questionnaire/

And the report here: http://bigslim.wufoo.com/reports/audience-feedback/

Audio Editing

As well as using Flash, I have used Audacity to make and edit my 2 soundtracks. Firstly I took the song "In Motion" by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the background music. Obviously this song is over 60 seconds long so needed editing down. To do this I used Audacity, and selected a short 5 second clip, which is a breakdown in the song but will act as my finish. You can Cut and Paste Audio selections in Audacity so I cut the selection out, deleted the rest of the song and added Pasted the selection to the end of the animation.

Next, for the Narration, I used a External Microphone to record my Narration. Then When in Audacity, there are a number of changes to be made. Firstly, To shorten the length of the clips, I deleted any downtime and silence in the Audio File by selecting and deleting the relevant sections.

Then, using the Add Label at Selection Tool, the user can create tracks within the recording. Put simply where ever you label the recording, when you export it'll become a Track. I used this tool to split each Track into relevant subject, e,g by the devices it explained. This will make it easier for me to place into flash.

Lastly, you can export the Tracks into MP3s using the Export Multiple option. Here you define a storage area and the Export settings and Audacity makes multiple tracks based on your labels.

I can now import these into my Flash Library, and place them into the Animation, using the time line and key frames to edit things like volume etc.

On reflection, I could have used a more reliable and quality audio capture device, the quality wasn't terrible but it could have sounded better. I am also having initial issues  with

Week 9 - Producing the Animation Part 2

With all my images prepared and completed my opening sequence, my Animation has really taken shape. As the core of the Animation is relatively simple in terms of technique, I have mastered one effect and then repeated throughout the animation. This means I have just hit 44 seconds of Animation, mainly made up of Shape tweens.

I put effort into making the "Speed Ball" tween. For the sections when the inkblot moves across the page, instead of just being a moving ball, it streamlines itself during movement, as if being acted on by air resistance. This gives makes it streak across the page, hopefully rounding off the idea that the balls of ink are animated.

I have also have made an attempt at using Motion Guides. So far this has been difficult, and I'm finding it difficult to move the balls across screen let alone, add in a "Speed Ball" shape tween. I will have to think about this more and do more work before Friday, where I hope to finish.

Week 8 - Producing the Animation Part 1

With the pre-Production work completer, and various tests undertaken, I have started animating the Project. I have followed my storyboard, with so far the only changes made slightly altering the amount of frames per storyboard panel to allow for my own editing preferences. The animation is quite fluid, with my aim main is to use and perfect the Shape Tween. This is the tween that morphs one shape into the other. I have so far done both simple morphs, such as an inkblot to elipse shape. I have done the double break apart's of text, to go from an elipse to text and the most complicated effect, multi layer, simultaneous morphs, all using the same shape tween method.

The process, while enjoyable is alot more time consuming than I thought, especially when coming to multiple morphs at the same time. I also need to consider producing the rest of my Vectorized and recoloured images. Only vectorized images created in a programme like Adobe Illustrator can Shape Tween, but as the computers in E21 don't have this software they will need to be prepared outside of class.

Week 7 - Pre Production Feedback

31st October
During the Half Term Break I got started with my Pre-Production work for my Animation. Firstly, looking at 3 examples of Educational Animations aimed at a teenage audience, looking for codes and conventions and inspiration, I found 3 solid examples. I noticed many common elements, from narration, use of colour (mainly black and white), a lesser importance on character the older the audience gets etc. This helped me round off my idea and understand more about the existing market.

I also did a detailed storyboard. This was a motion by motion breakdown from section to section, building on my draft with elements such as Motion Paths, Shape Tweens, Frames per Second etc. I also updated the Skills Audit of Flash ready for the 31st. On the 31st, my work was viewed and feedback given.

There were improvements to be made, with further detail needed on timing, transitions, tweens and colours. The skills audit was up to date but some instructions needed to be moved to different columns in the table

Lastly I spent my class time testing Shape Tweens. I learnt how to Shape Tween shapes made in Flash, Graphic Symbols and Text, using the 'Break Apart' option and then applying a usual Shape Tween. I still need to use Adobe Illustrator to make more complicated images ready for Shape Tweening.

4th NovemberI spent this lesson testing the Shape Tween. This tween allows to morph one object into another. Simply put, In your first key frame you have a shape and in the final key frame you have deleted the original shape and replaced it with a much different shape. The tween creates the inbetween frames, and a smooth transition from one shape to the other is complete.

Week 5

Monday:
With the basics of Flash now learnt, we are now left to begin production on our project's. As always the first step is creating a production schedule. We have been left with more freedom with this this year and this was the first time I had made a schedule completely from scratch. Using the Task Sheets provided, I included all Pre-Production Tasks, leaving myself a generous amount of time to complete the large task of producing the Finished Product.

We were also given the opportunity to review our first task sheet, creating an Improvement Plan. While my work seemed to be good, I had issues with my summary and referencing. I have now learnt about In-Text Referencing, where you either directly quote or put the books content into your own words, and then directly site the source at that point. I will include this in my reworked example. Also my summary needed a greater amount of comparison between new and old, for instance drawing likeness between Flash and a Zoetrope, showing how Flash utilises tried and tested theories in Animation.

With the Production Schedule complete, I will be beginning new Research and Development tasks in our next lesson on Friday and reviewing my first task in the weeks to come.

Friday:This lesson has been spent begging the research section of my Pre-Production phase. Now I have learnt about my topic, I need to look at similar and existing products. Examples of Educational Animations aimed at teenagers have been hard to find. Most examples are aimed at children, only covering the brief facts and presenting the information in a more childish way.

I also encountered many Interactive animation Hybrids. Ofcourse these have intresting elements but aren't appropriate.  It takes some looking to find Animations that would appeal, through more mature content, less cartoon character based, more fact based elements of the target, teen market. I will be writing up my findings at home focusing on colour, soundtracks, characters, pacing, text etc.

Week 3 & 4 - Learning Flash

We have now learnt some basic elements of operating Flash, getting some hands on time with the software. By going through sets of instructions and taking notes from demo's, we have made a range of animations, using varying techniques.

Firstly, the Rolling Ball. But before we could start this, we needed to learn the workspace. We learnt about similarities between the Adobe Flash tools and the Adobe Photoshop tools as well as the difference between the Scene and the Symbol creator.

Starting by creating a New Symbol, we created a ball, which when returning to the scene appears in our Library. Any symbols or elements we make or import can be inserted into to the scene from here. Next we had to set Key frames (start and end points for the motion), highlight the required frames and apply Motion tweening (the automatic process of the computer adding in the frames between key frames, so you don't have to) as well as rotation rules (how many times and in which direction the ball will rotate).

This creates the rolling ball. I felt this went well and with free time, I practised this exercise about 4 times. We then applied a shadow, which meant including new symbols, applying their own tweening rules between key frames. With this mastered, I added more shadowed balls, to practice higher complexity animations, using Layers and Group Folders to keep things separate and organised.

Slightly harder was creating the Bouncing Ball. This involved the concept of motion guides. Flash makes the user create any motion rules on a separate, special layer, with the option to link the element and the motion guide later. Using the Pen tool, a curved motion path can be drawn (converting points to make them realistically bend). Key frames are then applied, and in frame one, the element is coupled with the start of the motion guide and the last frame, the element is moved to the end of the motion guide.

Like before a tweening rule must be applied, but this time selecting to option to make it link to the path. now when played, the element sticks to the motion path you have set.

To add a level of realism, Easing is used to either make an element gradually speed up or slow down. Splitting the sequence in 2 with a 3 keyframe, a speed up rule is applied to the first half, while a slow down rule is applied to the second. This gives the impression that the ball gathers with pace on the descent, and on it's ascent, gravity slows it back to a holt.

Lastly, we imported external images into Flash. Using Timeline Effects you can control how these images work. I tested Transform and Transition rules, making images spin, fade out and in etc. This can be used to create a sort of slideshow feel.

With a few more elements to learn we are nearly ready to apply our own creativity to Flash.

Week 2 - Initial Ideas

After researching the history of Animation, we were given the task of showcasing this information as a 60 second animated film as the final task. This brings up a lot of issues in itself such as needing to be both creative with presentation but keeping all of the crucial facts. It also comes down to practical aspects, as we have very little knowledge of Flash, we can't really tell what will and will not be possible or practical.

With this in mind I focused on making brief outlines of ideas instead of going into too much detail. When it comes to production it gives me breathing room to further develop or change my plan, while still sticking to my initial justification.

The Target Audience for this project is Secondary School children. This mean it must appeal to their creative likes and dislikes, but you must also take into consideration things like the assumption that a younger audience will not want to read paragraphs of information, but prefer them in short bursts. With this in mind I plan to be concise with my information and limit it to a few sentences per device. Also wanting to appeal to a younger audience, I used music as a starting point for ideas. I have chosen the track "In Motion" from the Social Network soundtrack as my song. It is pacey and electronic, and has suggestions of forward movement.

With this in mind I still needed a way of presenting everything. I thought for a long time about relevant imagery and transitions, wanting to show movement and creativity, whilst making something exciting  and appealing enough for a younger audience. I decided on an initial concept, whereby an ink splat falls onto a page and suddenly comes alive, shaping and morphing into images and text. When the information on screen has been up long enough ,the images and text will morph back into a single ink blob and roll further to the right where it will then turn back into images text, now for the next device on the timeline.

My worry is that this concept will really stretch my novice Flash abilities. With this in mind, as I am still at the Initial Idea Stage, I can wait until I have more hands on time with Flash. When I have judged the possibility of my idea, looking at different techniques I can decide from there which direction to point the idea in.

Week One - The History of Animation

To fully understand Flash animation, it is important to understand the history of the technique, from the idea of "persistence of vision" and the devices and inventors that exploited this theory to create moving images, from still images.

Using a range of sources from Books to the Internet I have learned about the history of animation. Although I have always had an intrest in the technique and have often made 3D animations, it has been intresting to understand the history and development. If anything, the 2D animation history is the basis of moving image and film in general, as the devices used to create these images were what would be used to create film capture.