Month: January 2025

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Project 1

Week 2: From Storyboards to Pre-Production

This is where the fun begins!

In the experimental unit, three storyboards were completed, each exploring unique narratives. After careful consideration, one storyboard was selected for pre-visualization. This final choice represented a concept that had been nurtured for some time, making its transition into pre-production an exciting milestone. The opportunity to see an idea that had existed only in fragments come to life on paper was deeply fulfilling, highlighting the creative possibilities of this process.

Dan Harmons story circle which allowed for a mind map and story structure

The shift to pre-production brought its own challenges, as it required translating ideas into practical, visual sequences. This stage highlighted the need for further refinement and a deeper understanding of pre-visualization techniques, such as framing, pacing, and continuity. While this process is still new and will require significant learning and iteration, it offers an invaluable opportunity for growth.

This is a screenshot of notes outlining improvements that can be made

The coming weeks will focus on rectifying narrative gaps, particularly by ensuring that the beginning of the story is as compelling and well-defined as the middle and end. Focusing on the idea of “Show don’t Tell” whilst introducing the main character compellingly. This approach aims to strengthen the storytelling foundation, ultimately resulting in a more polished and cohesive final product.

Categories
Project 1

Week 1: Storytelling through Storyboarding

The experimental unit’s started with initial goal was to create three distinct storyboards, each of which explored a different narrative, character, and environment. Dan Harmon’s Story Circle methodology was used to help structure the sequences successfully. This method helps to break down each story into clear and purposeful sections, providing a consistent flow from the original setup to the resolution.

Dan Harmon’s Story Circle is a storytelling framework designed to structure narratives around character transformation and universal storytelling principles. It consists of eight steps, forming a circular path that characters follow through a journey of growth and change

Using the Story Circle allowed for the development of engaging arcs that emphasized character growth and meaningful stakes within the narratives. Each storyboard represented a unique concept with distinct world-building and characters, showcasing diverse settings and themes. These initial ideas remain in the rough draft stage but serve as a foundation for further refinement and exploration in future weeks.

An example of one of the stories and it’s thought-out world-building

While I thoroughly enjoyed fleshing out the ideas for my storyboards, particularly developing the worlds and characters, I found myself struggling with translating these concepts into visual sequences.

Sketching the storyboard was especially challenging when it came to determining effective camera angles to convey the mood and pacing of each scene. Balancing dynamic compositions with narrative clarity proved to be a complex task, as I aimed to ensure each frame not only communicated the story but also captured the emotional essence of the moment.

Despite these difficulties, the process highlighted the importance of visual storytelling and provided valuable insight into areas where I can improve.

Categories
1.2 Animation, Narrative Structures & Film Language

Visual Presentation

Categories
1.2 Animation, Narrative Structures & Film Language

Week 10: Editing

Editing my video presentation was enjoyable and demanding, especially when choosing footage that matched my narrative. Each clip had to be consistent with the themes of race and ethnicity in animation, which required carefully selecting instances that illustrated crucial aspects without dominating the presentation.

Finding essential visual content proved to be a significant challenge, especially for the portions exploring unpleasant or problematic representations in animation. Many earlier animations featuring obviously objectionable imagery are either extensively banned online or impossible to find because of their contentious nature. While this is acceptable, it hampered my attempts to physically demonstrate how damaging preconceptions were once maintained. Instead, I used scholarly references, essays, and still photographs to discuss these situations in depth.

Another problem was achieving a balance of critical and engaging content. Including modern examples of realistic depiction helps to balance the more difficult portions of the historical perspective, resulting in a well-rounded story. In editing.

This event highlighted the relevance of ethical considerations in content selection. While showing troubling material might be useful for analysis, I made sure it was done purposefully, respectfully, and within a critical perspective. Finally, the editing process took time and imagination to create a presentation that was both educational and memorable.

Categories
1.2 Animation, Narrative Structures & Film Language

Week 9: Presentation and Editing

When creating a video presentation, scripting and voiceover are critical components for providing a clear and understand for the paper. The process begins with a focused script outlining the main ideas intended to communicate. The script for the presentation highlighted brevity and structure, ensuring that the message was brief while still conveying the essence of my critical report. Writing in a conversational tone helped make the presentation more approachable while maintaining its academic integrity.

A significant problem I encountered was balancing detail with time limits. Five minutes isn’t much time, so prioritising important information while keeping a logical flow requires careful editing. The script was written to follow the presentation’s visual framework, ensuring that the voiceover complemented rather than overwhelmed the on-screen visuals.

Voiceover recording presented its own challenges. Articulating difficult thoughts in a natural tone required skill, and timing was essential to avoid seeming rushed or monotonous. After a few takes, I discovered that rehearsing each piece aloud improved delivery by aligning how I spoke with the presentation.

Finally, well-structured writing and a professional voiceover improved the presentation. It serves as a reminder that great video storytelling is based not only on graphics but also on how ideas are expressed through voice.