LO3 - Evaluation

Weekly blog updates are required, as with every unit. Please remember to
take photos/screenshots as you film/edit. You might find it easier if you note
down a record of what you did each day in a diary form.

Please use the following guidance to help you with each week.

LO1 This learning objective was researching examples of

your specialism in practice
What have you been asked to I have been asked to produce 3 2 minute short films,
do? one animated the second just live action and the
third both forms edited together. The piece will be
graded on the understanding of the context of live
action and animation, e.g. the codes and

conventions and the knowledge of characteristics,

How has researching key
examples of your specialism in
practice developed your
understanding?
(the techniques of animation and styles) and to use
evaluation in support (Comparing two different cases
of combining live action and animation). I have also
been asked to research into this specialism, this
includes primary and secondary research. This is used
to allow me to have a further understanding of the
history and the techniques of what I am doing so then
I can produce a more professional and meaningful
production.
From researching into techniques on how my chosen
specialism live action and animation has been used
throughout history has provided me with a set of rules I
ned to follow in order to make my animation seem
realistic and fit in with the environment and the actors
around it. This is extremely helpful as I am new to
animating and I am left to learn for myself therefor this
is key that I have a full understanding on what is
expected to make a professional and successful
animation piece. I have also compared two different

How has analysing videos helped
you to increase your knowledge
of your specialism?
animation and live action films which both include
different techniques, one (Alice) which used stop
motion animation and the other traditional animation
(Who Framed Roger Rabbit). I found that this helped
as I showed me flaws in each production and how
they overcame them and what I should do so I can
prevent these from happening to me.
By analysing Who Framed Roger Rabbit I have been
able to understand how long it took for the animators
to produce a professional and realistic animation as I
have learnt the rules used in order to create an illusion
that live action and animation are sharing the same
dimentional space. These are:
Eye Line
Physical Interaction
Camera Movement
Shadows
These are important as they all share a role in making
sure that the animated character looks like they are
physically there in the same world as the live action
actor. This has helped me a lot as it has shown me
basic ways I can make my simple animation seem
realistic and professional.
By analysing Alice I have learnt how to overcome
some mistakes that is in that production, an example
of this is the framerate. For example when the mad
hatter is helping his friend he is seen pouring beads
into his chest, this is at a lower frame rate as the wide
shot shows the whole body of the character, however
there is a close up of the hand pouring and this is not
animated making it seem out of place as the frame

Did you encounter any problems
when trying to analyse videos for
your specialism?
What have you done to
overcome these issues?
What will you implement into your
production from the research
undertaken?
High Grade Tips
rate is faster. This is however would apply for my
production as I need to combine some parts of
traditional animation with live action therefor I would
need to have the right framerate.
I did have some problems as I struggled to find a
production that had a combination of live action and
stop motion animation. This is because most live
action and animated films are now 3d CGI or used to
be traditional, therefor it was hard to find a piece. I
however did eventually find Alice; however, it was a
foreign film so it was not very well known.
To overcome this issue I used different methods of
research and looked on YouTube for videos which
was where I found the video.
From researching I have decided to implement
several things. This first is making the animated
character blue, this is because it was the favourite in
my primary research and the connotations of the
colour represented the character that the animation
was going to portray as it is going to be a sidekick.
Another thing Im implementing in my production is
the use of computer animation, this is because after
researching the time it takes to create a piece of
traditional animation I decided to use help from a
software to speed up the animation process giving
me more time to edit the two together.

Look to use these terms in order to improve the analysis of your own work.

Relevant and coherent make sure your research sources are not just the same as the
media product you hope to make and talk about how they inform your planning.
Sustained continue your research throughout the 4 week project and dont just limit
yourself.
Efficient production against timescales how is your planning helping you to meet your
deadline.

LO2 For this learning objective you worked on planning

and production
What did you learn from your
planning?
How will this be useful as your
production process continues?
From planning my live action and animation short I
have learnt to create a backup plan for my actors
and my equipment, this is so that I can film my
production without wasting time as I can continue
filming instantly even if something goes wrong. This is
good as it allows me to give myself more time to
animate the characters therefor making my
animation more professional and realistic as it would
follow the codes and conventions of an animation.
Another thing that I learnt from my planning is how to
adapt my script to a change of plan. This is because
during shooting I realised my film would have been
too long and would not meet the requirements
needed. To avoid this I decided to cut the 2nd act, this
included a scene of the man grown up with the ball
neglected on the side of the room, this might have
been more effective then my ending I wrote for my
short, this is because it would have shown a loss of
connection through the man and the ball. However I
decided to change the script to the ball being
pushed into a pin and then popping, this completely
changed the tone of the short as it went from an
emotional piece to a comedy. I thought this was a
better ending for my production as it followed the
codes and conventions of the target audience from
most animated films. This is because cartoons are
mostly based for young people and children as they
consists of bright colours and unusual characters.
(script before changes)
This will help me as I have a full understanding of the
animation process. This was very important as I had to
learn the process myself as my tutors didnt know how
to animate. By learning the rules involved in creating
realistic and professional animation I could apply this
to my production so then it would look professional.
I also used my primary research to help me design my
animated character. From feedback I decided to
make the character blue, this is because it was the

What genres/formats have you
chosen and why?
How much work did you
complete outside of the lessons?
favourite colour picked by the target audience and
had the connotations of trust and companionship
which fitted the character perfectly. I also used my
target audience research to develop a face for my
character. I decided to make the eyes large as it
made the ball more innocent and venerable. This
made the ball show more emotion as it was able to
make more dramatized facial expressions.
I have chosen to make my production a comedy this
is because of the target audience. Animation is
normally targeted at young children this is because of
the way they are drawn and design to appeal to
children. With this in mind I decided to make my
production more light hearted with a joke at the end.
I completed a large majority outside lesson, this is
because the animation process was long and
needed a lot of time and effort as I had to draw out
every frame. I also needed to track the faces on the
ball, this needed a special software called adobe
after effects.
I also filmed the live action part of the film at my
home, this is because it fitted the genre and the
storyline making it more believable and realistic. I also
chose a home as the setting as it makes the audience
feel relaxed as it is a familiar space which many
people can relate to and therefor allows them to

What issues did you encounter
whilst planning and how did you
overcome them?
How did you find the filming and
editing process?
Did you encounter any problems
during filming/editing? How did
you overcome them?
focus on the narrative instead of the scenery around
them.
I also edited the film at home, this is because I had
the software and I already had all my clips colour
graded and imported onto my computer at home. I
couldnt import my edited sequence from home to
the computers at college this is because It was a
more modern version therefor the large proportion
had to be edited at home.
Whilst planning I finished writing my script however
half way through I decided to change the storyline,
this meant that I had to change the script to fit the
new story. I decided to change the narrative
because it didnt fit genre I wanted to create as
originally I was going to make a drama however after
evaluating my target research responses I decided to
change it to a comedy.
I found the editing process enjoyable as I enjoyed
finding the right music and visuals to complement
each other and therefor creative an interesting
narrative. The editing of the live action was easier
than the combination of live action and animation,
this is because I didnt have to include tracking and
use external softwares to make sure the animated
character looked in place.
The animation part was not as enjoyable as I needed
to draw out several frames on Photoshop to create a
fire effect of the ball exiting the box. This looked
effective however very time was consuming therefor
leaving me with less time to animated facial
expressions and the ball moving around.
I found that the tracking tool on adobe after effects
was not working on some of the clips, this is because
of the shape of the animated character. As the
character was circular the tracking software couldnt
track the movement very easily therefor I had to track
 it by eye on premier pro, this made some the of shots
look armature and not professional.

Another problem I came across was importing gifs

onto premier pro. I created loops on photoshop of the
eyes blinking and mouth moving, when importing, the
framerate changed therefor cutting out some of the
gifs frames. To overcome this I decided to import the
gifs as individual frames to then I can animate on
premier pro instead.

How do you feel your product
compares to existing professional
products?
I feel that overall my product is professional as I used
creative cinematography and animation techniques
that are used in professional shoots. I also think the
design of the characters are professional as they were
made in professional standard softwares and I used
professional tracking software.

I think some of the tracking however I did by eye

What area are you looking to
improve on in your next
production?
High Grade Tips
made the production seem less professional as it was
not as consistent as the tracking done by after effects.
In my next production I am looking to improve my
production planning and my time management, this
is because I didnt meet the deadline therefor I
couldnt receive feedback therefor I could not work
on improving my production before I complete it. I
wanted to improve my production planning as I feel
that I could have spent more time improving and
refining my facts.

Look to use these terms in order to improve the analysis of your own work.

Considered and capable demonstration of processes detailed documentation of your

production process such as still images, and annotated screenshots of your specific
production and editing process including what and why and not just how.