Reading and Writing:
Chapter 6:
This chapter dives into the quality that sounds adds when applied to a video or animation. One thing that popped out to me right away was the notion of leading your video with sound. Honestly, when I storyboarded the ideas for my video, I knew that music would be in one of them (and ultimately, the one I went with). But, I didn’t go into that process with music in mind. That was the first creative edit I had to make in order to plan the way in which my animation was going to take shape.
I was also really interested in the way the chapter went into diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Honestly, I don’t work with sound at all in most creative endeavors, and never realized how literal and non-literal audio are in categories of their own. I went in just kind of think “sound is sound” and really had to re-frame my thinking when choosing how and when to use these two types of audio and the effects that it will have on the project as I move through it.
The rest of the chapter seemed pretty straightforward to me and covered things like sound effects, music scoring for films/videos and the importance of timing. I’m really glad I did the reading before starting any filming because has shaped my thinking about the applications of these qualities as a part of the planning process. **EDIT** Now that I HAVE finished the video, I am even MORE thankful that I read this first. It would likely be a totally different kind of video if I hadn’t.
Chapter 7:
The one thing I love about this book, is that after reading a chapter like ‘Design Wonderland’, I really feel like I could jump into any type of unexplored creative endeavor with ease. It makes me feel confident, despite having no previous experience creating physical or social laws for a place that doesn’t exist.
But enough about that, I bet you’re wondering why I used an image from Disney’s Beauty & the Beast here for this section. Well, it’s my earliest recollection of catching an issue with continuity, and it made me angry. If the Beast had been cursed for however many years, there is no way that his portrait would look the same then as he did in ‘real life’ when the curse is broken. This chapter touches on the importance of sticking to the rules that you create for yourself because no one wants to be caught out of line in their own made-up world.
I particularly felt more connected to the section about motion graphics and brand identity than other parts of this chapter. It just felt more applicable to the type of work that I do, and the real-world implementation of motion graphics. However, this section was REALLY short when I felt it could have an entire chapter dedicated solely to it, and that was a bummer.
Research to inform:
Audio Example:
I wasn’t expecting this video to be as amazing as it was, but it doesn’t miss a beat. The animation syncs with the music in ways I can’t imagine ever doing. Since my video will contain some combination of movement to music, I wanted to find a good example of this, and I couldn’t find anything better than this video.
This is another one I found and loved for its quirky nature and attention to sound design.
Text Example:
When I think of great text animation in a title sequence, I can’t help but think about the opening to ‘Catch Me if You Can’.
The combination of animation and music works perfectly together and the fluid movement of the text guides the viewer’s eyes across the screen in a very deliberate motion. I feel like I could watch this 100 times and always find something new to appreciate about it.
I love this show and equally love the opening credits. Even though it is short, I feel that the text really reflects the tone and visual movement, and complements it without overdoing it. An example of how sometimes, less is more.
Create:
What a rewarding experience to see the finished product after fighting with all the elements that go together to make a video like this. I learned a number of things:
- Cats make terrible actors, but that anything is possible with treats and toy mice filled with catnip.
- I should have got a more stable tripod to work on, as it was hard to keep the camera steady when facing towards the floor due to its weight.
- I feel like no amount of pre-planning really prepares you for getting in there and getting your hands dirty. I expected everything to go smoothly and to just follow my storyboard to the ‘T’ and well, let’s just say that I was happy we had three weeks to make this.
- Building on that, I was really hard on myself for not being able to get certain elements right the first time. A reminder that in the end, it can always work out.
- One element I could not get to work was some sort of animated text in the beginning and end credits. And since I left that task to the very last part of the process, I didn’t give myself enough time to get it right.
- When you make the choice to start filming a project in the evening, you are limiting yourself and your work hours – ESPECIALLY when you have so many damn windows in the background.
- Also, it was hard to do this in such a common area of the house – try telling a kid that the toys on the rug have to stay RIGHT WHERE THEY ARE for days at a time or insisting that the tripod CAN’T BE MOVED no matter how many times someone almost trips over it. Next time, I’ll use a more dedicated area.
- I didn’t anticipate the amount of work it would take to slice the video in order to speed up or slow down different sections. I took close to 400 photographs for this piece and uploaded them as one continuous video. I should have thought about creating smaller batches and then placing them back to back in order to eliminate all the chopping I had to do.
Overall, this was an amazing project, and something I would consider doing again if I get the opportunity to but will work in some of the unanticipated hangups into my pre-planning next time.