Evaluation - Module 2

1. your ability to select develop and evaluate a range of appropriate source material gathered through a breadth of appropriate research methods.

I feel i began the module too broad, starting with superheroes as a whole so the first few weeks of the project is quite weak. Once we had our initial crit with each other i decided to narrow my idea down to just one superhero. I began by researching across the net and asking people what their most memorable quotes were from superhero films. This was how i chose Batman there seemed to be more opportunity and information available for me and to make the best of my idents. The next stage i took was to watch the films and note down times where there was good audio or image. I struggled to find a way to cut audio from the films and couldn't really find the one's i wanted online. I lack in computer skills, so this module has brought to light two new programs for me which i found extremely useful in the making of my idents, these were audio hijack and VLC. Other sources of research have been through popular imagery and batman fan websites. I feel i have used quite a variety of research, i would have liked to have found more external video clips or idents on Batman as secondary source research but i found this area quite hard and it is a weak spot in the module research. However i do feel i gathered a lot of research from the films themselves once i began the Batman process. I did intend to collect research from at least 2 other films, which you will see commented on my Design Context blog, but i ran out of time completely to keep research whilst trying to make. 

2. the level of investigation and experimentation into appropriate production media processes and technologies. 

i feel i did quiet a lot of secondary research into other idents i like, i did find some superhero idents but not many. I would have like to find more related to Batman to get a feel for what other channels or professional industries supplied for the films. Now looking back i think it would have been beneficial for me to investigate stop frame animation using film clips, once i had decided this is what i wanted to use for my idents.

I feel i began experimenting quiet weak, i initially only made a few test idents that dont use stop frame and i feel it i had persisted then the use of type would have worked really well and i would have felt the final idents were more my own work. I could have possibly spent more time on testing different screen grabs, but they themselves took quite a while to produce as i had to screen grab at least 100 images for it to run smoothly never mind have enough for the 10 seconds. I do feel i investigated into the Film 4 ending well, with story boarding shown on my DVD and various tests shown on my blog. I think teh end result works really well as i got quite a lot of feedback from other people on this.

3. the breadth and quality of practical skills, ideas and design development. 

After finishing my idents i am not convinced i have pushed myself to my limits to expand my skills in after effects however i know if i had gone onto use after effects and not screen grabs i would have run myself into the ground and never finished the module! I have never made a stop frame animation before and think i have developed a skill and understanding to do this in the future using other methods and hopefully my own work. I cant say i haven't developed any skills in after effects because i have i animated the Film 4 sequence and some of the finals and tests have effects on them such as spotlighting and fadeouts. I feel the design development of storyboards and screen grabs is a strong area and hopfully backs up the tests and finals i have produced.

4. the documentation, organisation and presentation of your work for this module. 

I feel my work is well organized and labeled, i have commented and evaluated almost everything posted to my blog. I think i have followed this through well on my DVD i have seen some peoples DVD menus and find them quite confusing to follow. 

I have documents my process from story boarding to tests to finals in order running through my blog which makes it less confusing. The DVD background process could probably be ordered and presented in a better way but time has not been in my favour sometimes and i forget it is an assessed area.

5. the success of your final products in relation to the briefs.

I do feel i have created some good final idents, i do now looking back feel as though i have cheated a little by using stop frame but as mentioned earlier i did this for a reason. As a set they all seem to work really well, but when i look at them individually some one of them 'rooftop' i feel stands out as the weakest, but for some reason i had lots of problems with this. I lost my original final and all the links so i had to resort to using an earlier test and now it for some reason as a flashing message on it every now and then. Aside from that i am happy with what i have produced especially the DVD packaging :)