Test Sounds

I created a few test sound journey to see which one worked best, the food journey worked well as all the sounds were very clear and it was easy to tell what was going on. However i felt it was slightly boring and had no meaning behind it. The earthquake sound journey worked the best, there was a lot of sounds in the mix to create a loud but clear journey. It worked well going from quiet to loud and back to quiet at the end to show the destruction was over. I decided not to add the voices of people screaming and crying as it was too cliche and would of been hard to make the screams and crys sound genuine. For the final sound journey i will record many more sounds and get a range of different materials which will create more of a diverse range in the mix and create a more interesting piece. 

Sound Design Ideas

Theses are a few sound journey ideas i came up with: Idea 1- Nature changing to the City. To start the sound journey it would be calm and peaceful with the sound of birds, bushes rustling and gentle wind. In the middle it would explore some of the latest inventions including computers, mobile, cars, games and electricity. The end would be the busy city, car noises, talking, crowds and construction sounds. Idea 2 - Food Journey. Making a meal including sounds such as chopping, cracking eggs, opening packets, gathering utensils, bubbling, sizzling, timer, cooker, frying, spreading then finally eating with family and background noise such as the tv. Idea 3 - Car Journey including sounds such as engine, banging of the doors, seatbelt, traffic lights, talking, rattling keys, car wash, weather rain on the window, radio and filling up petrol. Idea 4 - Earthquake. It would start quietly with the sound of gentle wind, as the sound journey goes on it will get louder with the sound of things falling over, crashes, banging, shaking, and then back to calm after once the earthquake is over. This is the idea we chose, i think it is the best idea as it tells a story and many sounds are included. I looked at videos on youtube of earthquakes and researched sounds and the volume of the disaster to gather ideas for my own sound journey.

Sketch Book-Animation

These are a few pages from my sketch book. I have researched how to draw various things during the animation project. I have also noted down a few films i watched during animation to give me ideas and inspiration for the project. I found learning how to draw a cup falling and bouncing along the floor in a cartoon way the most interesting and i learnt tips which i can use amongst other things. I also enjoyed drawing someone walking and bending the body to show them walking from side to side. 

Initial Storyboard-Animation

This is my initial storyboard, I wanted to base my animation around a childs story, as i could make it colourful and playful for younger children. The story is based on a giraffe that takes a young girl at night and they go travelling around the world. They get home just as the sun is rising and the little girls parents see them, however after their daughter persuades them they let her keep the giraffe. I think this story is quite successful however I will need to work on the problem more, as it is created and immediately resolved. Some of my group liked the story, however others didnt want to create a childs animation and thought it needed a bigger problem .I really enjoyed drawing the storyboard as i had a clear image of what i wanted the animation to look like, which made it easier for me to create and the outcome has worked very well. 

Final Animation Storyboard

This is my final animation storyboard. I enjoyed creating storyboards and working on them until the story was finalised. I learnt a lot about how to create an interesting story and the necessary themes that should run throughout. For example the beginning should be introducing the characters and creating a problem, the middle is the struggle and obstacles and the end is the resolution. This is quite a rough storyboard, used to layout the 6 scenes of the short story. I have learnt that final storyboards should involve every detail and you should stick to it when creating the animation. 

Animation

For our group animation we decided to create it using paper and cardboard cut-outs. We based our animation around a boy whose father had died and he believed he went up to the stars. He sees a shooting star and decides to follow it thinking it may be his father, he follows the star through the woods and sees it fall into a lake. When he looks into the lake he sees his fathers reflection and tries to grab the star out of the lake but cannot reach it. I think the story is quite good however I feel the animation isnt as good. This was my first time doing animation and i think i have learnt a lot, how to create an animation but also about story and how to draw up a storyboard. If i was to do the animation again i would maybe try and use different materials and add more music and sound effects. I would also maybe change the colour of the animation to black and white to show that the story is sad and upsetting to the viewer.