Evaluation by Always Will

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN

LEVEL

Module Code

OUGD202

Module Title

DESIGN PRODUCTION - DIGITAL

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION NAME

William Cotterill

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? Throughout this module I have learnt the basics of animating type and image within Adobe After Effects, before starting this module I didn’t have a clue about the software we were going to be using. I’ve learnt skills about how to hand draw timelines, understanding key frames and the stages throughout creating a piece of moving design. The 4th dimension of time is something I had never considered when thinking about video or motion, but throughout this module I’ve started to grasp how to work with time and motion. Within after effects I’ve effectively applied skills taught by Lorraine and Mike flower, relating to layer masks, working with camera’s and lights, and animating type. I think I have effectively applied the skills taught in After Effects sessions throughout my work. Without knowing the basics I would have been lost at where to start.

2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? I have produced timelines and drawings to work from on screen, experimented with media and developed illustrations that have all played a big part within my work. I used quink inks and water to produced a series of brushes and vector shapes to work with within After effects. Experimenting with media and illustrations away from working digitally helped me to grasp the visual approach I was aiming to achieve

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? There isn’t a great deal of strengths within my work. I guess one of these would be using layer masks, I found this was one aspect of After affects I really latched onto and got used to using. When working with my scanned ink layers I thought this process was really effective, therefore experimenting with masks pushing them to their full potential was something I think I did well in.

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

Weaknesses within my work are easy to pick out. For starters, I think the overall final idea produced lacked content due to me worrying about other aspects of my work. I focused far too much on the visual look of my videos rather than the information they we’re meant to be communicating. Next time I need to focus on tying my research and my production together In a much more structured fashion. Over complicating my idea, and producing unrealistic action plans meant I didn’t focus on the bigger picture, being the timescale I had to work with. I over estimated what I could produce in the time given and started to get drawn away from the brief when I started to plan out ways of presenting my ideas. The main aspect of my video compositions started to become more about image than type, I think whipping this out of my intentions from the begging would have given me a clearer focus on what I actually wanted to achieve. Another weakness was my general enthusiasm towards working In After effects, I understand it’s uses and capabilities but I found the software was far too fiddly for my liking in comparison to Illustrator and Photoshop. Near the end of the module I took over a week off due to being ill, this really set me back in terms of work load as I found myself rushing towards getting work in, even though I got a week extension. 5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these? Next time, I definitely feel I need to work on my time management and prioritising work loads. Other briefs for Image and enterprise consumed a lot of time I could have been spending working on this module, however I could have managed these more effectively. I found that Talking to Lorraine was my best bet at gaining solid structured one to one feedback on my work, Next module I think it would be advisable for me to arrange some feedback at least once or twice a week with a tutor to keep in line with the work we have to do. Time plans and work schedules could help to structure the way I want to work, at the current stage I’m at, I find I’m rushing to get work in for the deadlines. Next time I would also complete more timelines, Throughout silent movie I constantly drew up my ideas, however working on a larger timescale of 60 seconds I found that my ideas changed so much drawing them down on paper became something I would do as I went along. Having a starting point and structured plan of my video’s would have definitely helped me to produce a final outcome with a lot more impact.

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’) 5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor 1 1 1

Attendance Punctuality 4 Motivation 3 Commitment 4 Quantity of work produced 4 Quality of work produced 1 Contribution to the group The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.