Motion Graphics and Compositing - Project 2

18/5/2020 - 1/6/2020 (Week 6 - Week 8)
Lee Yu Hui | 0335787
Motion Graphics and Compositing
Project 2

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Instructions 

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Project 2 - Channel Bumper

Week 6

In this weeks class we were briefed on what we need to do for our project 2. In summary, we need to create a 15 seconds channel bumper for a either a existing or a fictional channel. 

When I first heard that we needed to create a channel bumper, I got confused for quite some time about what channel bumper really is, since most of the time we only seen channel bumper in TV shows. Therefore, when I start to generate ideas on what I want to do, I struggle to think of any ideas as I wanted to work on something I like and familiar with. After Mr. Fauzi suggests that we can also create a channel bumper for ourselves, the idea stood out, and that's what I decided to go for.

To start off with the project, I started by sketching it out in Photoshop. As we were required to come out with several sketches, I drew them all in Ps.

Fig 1.0 Work process in Photoshop

Below are the sketches that I made for the project:

Sketch #1

Sketch #2

Sketch #3

After showing Mr. Fauzi my sketches, I got approval from Mr Fauzi to proceed to work on the storyboard for the animation. I ended up going with the first sketch since I think it looks more like a logo and could be a representation of my identity as well. Since we have a restricted time, I wanted to try to make the animation simple yet elegant.

Below is the storyboard that I came up with:

Fig 1.1 Storyboard

Before we start to work on the project, we need to look for references so that we can have a better idea of what we wanted to do, as well as having a guide for us when we look/ create assets for the animation. 

Below is the compilation of my sketches and moodboard:

Week 7

After completing the storyboard, I started to work on the assets and visuals needed for the animation. Since I decided to go for a flat/ illustrative style, I need to spend some time to work on the assets as well.

For the first part of the scene, I decided to illustrate it in Photoshop as it was easier to apply the grain effect that I wanted on the leaves.

Fig 1.2 Illustration in Ps

For the remaining assets, I did them all in Illustrator as I figure the artwork would look clearer in the animation as a rasterized form. 

Fig 1.3 Illustration in Ai

I separate the items (e.g. leaves, character) into different Ai files as I wanted to do individual animation on each assets, and it would be easier and lighter for my computer to handle too. 

Week 8

After I completed the visuals for the animation, I proceed to start animating it in After Effects. 

The whole animation process was quite fun for me as I was able to explore new effects and editing style with the help of YouTube. 

 Fig 1.4 Animation process in After Effects

In the middle of the animation process, I've encountered a small issue where I didn't reach the amount of time needed for the submission. As Mr. Fauzi specifically wanted the animation be 15 secs, I had to think of a way to ensure that the animation does not exceed the timeframe. 

That was a challenge for me as my timing calculation was a bit off from the storyboard, and therefore now I'll have to play around with the keyframes to see what I can do for the animation. Mr. Fauzi suggested that I could make the animation go reversed in the end, and I think that it was a great idea as it'll also provide a closure to the animation as well.   

After the animation was done, we also needed to add in audio into it as well as it could help convey the story more to the animation.

I decided to go for a fun, bright song as I fee like it suits the art style that I'm going for.

Below is my choice for the audio:

After tweaking around with the keyframes, this is my final outcome for project 2:

Final Outcome

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Feedback 

Week 6
Mr. Fauzi approves of my sketches and told me that I could proceed working on the storyboard for the animation. He reminds me that I should take the timing into consideration when creating the storyboard.

Week 7
After showing my illustrations to Mr. Fauzi, he said it looks nice and I could start animating it. 

Week 8
Overall Mr. Fauzi is satisfied with the animation. The only issue was that the timing wasn't sufficient for the animation. He suggested that I could try reversing the video in the end, which would also help in providing closure to the animation as well.


Reflection 

Week 6 
I had fun creating the sketches for the animation as I'm doing a channel bumper for myself. However, because I didn't know what channel bumper is supposed to be like, I've spent a lot of time in the beginning looking for references.

Week 7
I had no issues creating the assets and visuals for the animation as I am familiar with the softwares beforehand. However, I learned that saving individual assets into different files helped increase the performance of my computer, and it inspired me to work in a more fast and efficient way.

Week 8
I'm quite happy with the overall animation for the project as I've spent a great amount of time on this. I've also learned a lot of new organizing and editing styles along the way, which I believe would come in handy for future projects. I've also learned that timing is important during animation as it affects how the flow of the animation.