Class evaluation

1. Why did you take this class?
 I took this class because I wanted to get into animation or game design and it seemed to be a great idea.

2.  In general what did you like most about this class?
I liked being around people with similar interests as me, who ended up becoming good friends of mine.

3. In general what did you like least about this class?
 I didn't care for the deskwork type things we do: blogs, critiques, storyboards (though helpful, I hate them so much), etc.

4. What was your most favorite project?
 Well this year I liked the video poem, because I enjoyed choosing a song/poem that I enjoyed and turned it into something new. Also, it actually looked half decent for something I did and that's just grand.

5. What was your least favorite project?
I suppose it would be the documentary. I didn't exactly love it, and perhaps its because my partner wanted to take full control over it, even though it wasn't an idea we even agreed on. But, I went with it so I suppose its partially my fault.

6. Discuss the overall effectiveness of the instructor.
Ms. Licata is a great teacher, she was definitely well versed in the software we used and could usually figure out any problems we were having. She was there very often and kept us in line. She was fair and just, not too strict, not too lenient.

7. What are the most valuable things you learned in the class?
I learned to take criticism and give it. I used to be upset if people told me negative things about my work, but now I know that those things are details that I can change to make my work better.

8.  Do you feel that this class will help you achieve your future academic or career goals? 
I believe this class helped me and will help me, it has taught me many new skills and lessons that I can use later in life.

9. How could the class be improved?
Well, the class could really use a private sound booth. The vast majority of our projects involve a need to record audio, whether it be for voices or sounds, for both animations and videos. There really isn't a place in the school that is absolutely silent to record anything.

10. Additional comments
This class has been the best thing that has happened to me in my 13 years as a student. I've learned so much, and not just things for films, but life skills and lessons as well. This class even taught me how to write a résumé, something that my home school did not. I've definitely grown being around other people with similar goals and interests as mine. Its been a blessing being here and I greatly appreciated of it. Thank you so much.

Weekly comments due 5/17/15

1. I don't think I learned everything this week, it's just been working nonstop, and then a test.

2. I'd like to learn what to do with my final project. I have all the filming done but I don't think it's actually interesting enough alone. There does seem to be any place to add any random effects either.

3. Not happy with my project... I guess I'm done with it, but I wish I could make it look better.

4. I like having a bunch of work days to get work done, I just wish I knew what to do with this time. Heck I've even started this blog assignment early.

Okay, so its reached the point of no ideas for links anymore... Umm... Here's a bunch of ducks. Should keep anyone entertained for like ten minutes.

http://ducksarethebest.com

Response to Animation demo reel article

Starting a career in animation can be rather difficult. Your demo reel and portfolio are what employers will be looking at to see if you are good enough to hire. Usually they have many different portfolios and material to review so they will not have much time to look at yours. This is why you should make a great first impression of your skills. Only put in your best work, because you want them to see the greatest things you've done. Don't pick something just because you liked it, but because it was very well done. Keep your demo reel short and sweet, one minute or a max of two minutes long should do. Your portfolio should also include work other than animation like drawings, storyboards, and a short film. This way you'll appear to be more well-rounded and could get you work in other areas of production as well.

Well, we learned most of this last year, but I guess it's a good refresher. It's an understatement to say it's important to leave a good impression on a future employer no matter the field or profession. It's vital to getting any job. I'm glad I now have more experience with video and can put my projects into my portfolio. It should be obvious that we all would put our best work out to be seen and not our... well, less than stellar projects. I know that animation isn't exactly in my future, mainly because I'm a poor artist, but video is something that I would like to acquire a career in, especially editing. I'm not sure if I need a demo reel for video, that'd be nice to know.

weekly comments due 5/2/15

1. I don't remember actually learning anything... I suppose I learned some cool things to do in Premiere when revising my poem.

2. I'd like to learn whatever I can in regards to hands on camera work. I love new tips and tricks to do on, like, no budget.

3. I am frustrated with my school and such, but I can't currently think of anything I'm this class that bothered me... Except my Director paper grade... That hurt me.

4. I like my poem revision, and when I showed it to others, they seemed to like it too.

So, since one article said something along the lines of "There's no quality animations on the internet nowadays", allow me to introduce Bravest Warriors. I love this series.
http://bravestwarriors.cartoonhangover.com

response to 3d printing animation article

LAIKA, the company who made Coraline and The Boxtrolls, know that stop motion animation is a precision job. Accidentally moving a character can mean having to restart from the beginning. LAIKA had 3D printed various puppets for Coraline, and for ParaNorman they had used color 3D printing for complex hues and textures. The puppets had tiny metal skeletons which allowed ease of movement for them, the puppets had to get custom miniature outfits for their films, and the puppets allowed for more than a million different facial expressions.

I can respect stop motion animation, especially since it is risky. One bad movement and you have to do a whole project over. I loved the film The Nightmare Before Christmas and I could never make one of those films, they are very time consuming and it is rather difficult. I think it's pretty cool that they were able to 3d print those puppets, I didn't even know that 3d printing was common when Coraline was being made. Making tiny clothes for those puppets had to have been a nightmare, and a weird thing to ask someone else to do.

response to disposable animation article

Nowadays, animation can be seen everywhere from TV shows, to movies, to web series. It is becoming increasingly difficult to make good animations that will last long. When you have all these sources of animation a lot of it becomes considered disposable, or just made to please the audience for a bit and then forgotten. The works of Walt Disney or Hannah-Barbara are still remembered to this day, they have had a long lasting appeal and are considered timeless. Most works of today are not seen as high enough quality to reach the same level as the timeless cartoons of the past, and may not be remembered in the future.

There's a lot of bias going on here... For one, animators nowadays are not all lazy, they take time in their projects (mostly) to produce quality animations for the audience to enjoy. The article makes it sound like on the internet there are no quality web series that people put all their time and heart into to make something that will be remembered in the annals of animation. Independent animators DO put in a lot of effort, the problem mainly is that they don't have the money and experienced workers that companies like Disney have. And whose to say that current internet animations won't be remembered in the future? There are some web series like Bravest Warriors that have a large fan base, especially fans of Adventure Time.

weekly comments due 4/19

1. I learned that recording audio outside is super cool if you can get the ambient noise done right, plus fresh air is nice.

2. I'd like to learn how to film a dark scene without it looking super grainy and gross, but not lit up either. I can't seem to get it right.

3. I was frustrated for a bit with my poem, ran into some problems and had to record audio a couple of times, and reshoot video a couple of times. Plus rain got in my way of filming outside, but I dealt with it. Also I hate NT high school. For many reasons.

4. I liked that I DID finish and hand in my poem with no time to spare... The grade probably won't be great though... 3 days late, no prep work...eww. But it beats a zero so there's that side.

Weird link issue, I'll fix it in class tomorrow.