OUGD202 - End of module evaluation

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN	LEVEL	05
Module Code	OUGD201
Module Title	DESIGN PRODUCTION - PRINT

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION

NAME

Stephanie Lawson

BLOG. ADDRESS

sl-lawson1013.blogspot.com

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

Throughout this module I have stumbled upon a range of things I lack any skill in, the most obvious being that of After effects; having never used the program I found it pretty difficult to get a grip on and understand. Although we had several workshops teaching us how to use the program, I found it really difficult to understand even the simplest of actions. Over time though I did manage to understand the program, and how best to utilise it, through doing some animation first hand. I think the stepping point was making the silent movie, although frustrating and taking a lot longer than it should have, it gave me a good amount of first hand experience using the program, making me feel more comfortable when it came to approaching making the idents and title sequence. I did very much doubt my skills in After Effects, but now, after finishing the title sequence, idents and silent movies, I can see how much my skills have grown in this short period of time.

Another element I feel has developed is my organisation skills. Although, previous to this module, I felt my organisation skills were good, with the amount of work we've all had on, I've needed to be super organised, setting myself action plans, and doing lists. Not just doing daily 'to do' lists but weekly, in very detailed bullet points just to keep me upto date. It became routine every day to prepare my next few days, I feel its a really good habit to get into and one to carry on throughout university.

I have always had a negative attitude toward digital work of any description, so in approaching this brief I already had taken a disliking to it.  My motivation levels were pretty low to begin with, especially with the difficult I found in using the software. But over time, as my design began to come into shape, I gained a real motivation to produce more and more work, as seeing my work in motion is some what satisfying.

Another skill I feel has developed within this module is the use of colour, in the past i've been very bland in colour palette choice, sticking to browns and desaturated colour, if any. Within this project, working with very colour subject matter, I needed to use the colour appropriate to the fruit in order to make my animations recognisable and life-like. Alongside working with colour, I have used texture, as I found a real liking for it within OUGD201 and realised to would add realistic qualities to my work. I can say I'm now very confident in using colour within my work, and know how to use it appropriately.

2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

I've really had to go outside my comfort zone within this brief, considering the media we have had to work in. I've avoided using hand crafted and rendered pieces due to the technical issues I knew I would have getting them from paper to screen. So I've almost adapted my digital style, to create the aura of a hand crafted piece, through colour, texture and appearance; almost montaging my work digitally. It was said within a feedback session that my title sequence had a hand rendered quality. I'm glad I've managed to transfer my style across from paper to screen (with out physically scanning to do so), its reassured me that I don't lose myself when I work entirely on digital work. Again, thats another approach to design I've improved on. Using digital has never been my strong point, but my knowledge of programs, technically and physically has improved, I can transfer ideas to screen precisely, through storyboarding. That of which has also been a new design method I've used this year. At first I found it a huge bore, and found it quite difficult, but now more than ever I've come to realise how useful they have been in regard to the direction of my work. With a storyboard to hand, it was easy to know what to do on screen, quickly and efficiently, without one I'd struggle. This was all part of the organisation of creating my animation, and became the most useful thing to do and utilise.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

The imagery within my work I feel is one of my strengths, as I spent the majority of my time creating and perfecting these to animate. These were created to add realistic elements, to back up the realism of my 'Top ten title sequence'. This use of realism I feel is another strength within my work. Alongside this is the use of colour, its been utalised well, to make my items of fruit have truth to appearance. Imagery in general I feel is the main strength within this project, in had made up absolutely everything that of all my idents, title sequence and packaging.

*****

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

The main weakness I can identify within my work is my lack of After Effects skills in some areas, I know teh basic skills well but didn't use my initiative to find out what else was out there I could possibly experiment with, ask about or research. I regret doing so as It could have made my work that of a higher quality, and anything I picked up, I could have used in further projects.
With working in After Effects I soon found out the importance of organisation. I had failed to name my projects, files and images accordingly, which made my life a lot harder than it should have been. This effected my work quality hugely, things I wanted to do, I couldn't, because I was unable to find the suitable folder or item to do so. This is certainly something I will do in the future, after learning the hard way.
Audio was also another weakness I found within my work, I had struggled figuring out audio levels, and hadn't taken a step back, watched the entirety of my videos and listened. After having a crit, it was mentioned that my audio levels were all over the place and needed to hold some consistancy. I feel this was down to me not using audio from the beginning, I have come to find design really works best around sound, I will start with it in the future.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

Looking at the pro's and con's within this project has made me realise the things I did wrong, and shouldn't do again, and the things I did right and will continue to do so. Files and organisation being a key thing I didn't do very well, I have come to realise the importance of it and within future projects will make it my priority to be organised from day one.
Not starting earlier on was something I regretted, as it was only towards the end of my project that I realised how little time I had to actually do it, I didn't make it a priority and I should have done.
Something I did right was time keeping (after I eventually made it a priority), I made daily lists of things I needed to do, created weekly action plans, and stood by them, making sure I completed each and every task on time. This really helped me when things got a little stressed and busy, to compact my problems and things I had to do, into an easy readable form.

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

Attendance - 5

Punctuality - 5

Motivation - 4

Commitment - 4

Quantity of work produced - 3

Quality of work produced - 2

Contribution to group - 3