The Design Processes

So the lecture on the 27th gave us an understanding of the four design processes you go through when working on a project. These are Discovering, Developing, Defining and Delivering!
Following, you can see where and how each of these were used within the one shot short project:

DISCOVER
We all sat down at the beginning of the task and brainstormed all of our initial ideas and insights. Alongside this, we looked at some of the work made from students the previous year, as well as articles and other movies we could find on the internet.
Not so much a factor within this project, but also one to consider is the users...as you will need to identify and understand the needs and capabilities of the users.

DEVELOP
The next stage was to begin pick and choosing the best ideas from 'Discover.' Selecting specific ideas, we bought them together and formed plot concepts and small 'prototype movies'...Im our case, a small test to see whether a first person as oppsoed to a third person viewpoint would work.

DEFINE
Actually testing the theories and concepts that we came up with is part of defining the design. As this was a one shot film, there was initially a lot of planning as to how the camera will move throughout the film. Actually REFINING the idea and camera flow happens here, as well as any further additions or improvements.
User testing and feedback is also part of the stage. Product design and website design are great examples of where this is needed.

DELIVER
Delivering the design is the final stage, and one where you can look back at your original assesment criteria to see if it has been a success. Evaluations may include how 'Effective' the movie is at portraying its message and the 'Impact' it creates!

One Shot Short Edit

Right, so we uploaded our one shot short today after some preliminary edit work!
A short made to market the iphone...its over the 1minute minimum at 2minutes, with the camera remaining on the tripod at all times (a restriction given to us by the teaching staff).

The movie can be seen on youtube:

AppleEdit

Photoshop Art (Sketch Test)

Okay so i was casually spying on some of the other blogs from the people in my year. I came across the following video by Andrew Georgiades - Check out his blog here.

The Duty: Modern Warfare Short 2 By ONE

I really liked the sketchy style of the characters within the short...So...i thought i would give it a shot myself:




Im very pleased with the results! Working straight from a printed photograph, I used my wacom tablet to add the lines and colour.



I really like the sketchy effect, will definately give this method a second try with a new object / theme!

Adobe Premiere

Okay, so today was the last day of the one shot module for design practice 1.
After we had shot the movie last week, all that was left was to edit the piece. As there were various limitations to the actual shoot, we were also limited to the type of editing that we were allowed to do. The main focus within my group was to add in a new soundtrack and perhaps a voice over.
We also wanted to try and add some graphics onto a white surface.

We are working with Adobe Premiere from the creative suite to edit the movie.

X06: The Future of Storytelling Panel

Last night i watched The Future of Storytelling video on the Team Xbox Website:




X06: The Future of Storytelling Panel

Personally i found the conference to be very informative as it raised some exciting ideas about the use of cut scenes and story incorporation within current and upcoming games.
The aim is to create a story that can actively engage the player rather than the usual pre-recorded, long, laborious, complicated cut scenes! This could be achieved through the players choices during game play rather than a set narrative.

As games are also now being designed to be 'beaten', and completed, there was discussion about two modes of gameplay; Pure gameplay for the 'pro gamers', and a more story based mode for enthusiasts.

Wireframing Your Website!

So I'm interested in website design! I Was recently forwarded to:

35 Excellent Wireframing Resources

As i had never even heard of wireframing before, there were some very interesting articles ...check it out:


"Wireframing is one of the most valuable parts of any web design project. It can save a designer tons of time by hashing out the details of a site’s architecture, functionality, and content prior to actually starting a visual design. But if done inefficiently, it can end up costing more time and can even create bigger headaches for both the client and the designer."

Wacom Bamboo!!

Wow!, so I just bought the Wacom Bamboo for a discounted price at PC World!
I think this is, and will remain for quite some time, one of the best purchases i have EVER made!
Being able to sketch directly onto the screen, rather than uploading / scanning pencil edited 'doodles' is a BLESSING!
My illustrations have just been blown WIDE OPEN from this tablet its unbelievable!

So yeah, I'm pretty pleased! =)
The image featured is from a deviant art gallery by Shirotsuki - a person i have long admired for thier digital painting technique! Watch out, ive got a tablet now as well! =)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Design Competitions

Alright! It was suggested that we went away and did a little research on the competitions available to designers.
I found a website; Computer Arts, that outlines the 10 Best Design Competitions:

Although these are good, there are not a lot that are specific for students....so ill have another look at some point.

Stop Motion Bunny Test 1

Okay, so asides from the library talk this morning and getting together with my group regarding the one shot film task...ive been at home for most of the day.

Thought i would give the whiteboard stop animation method a go (with my brand new mini whiteboard) and see what happened!!...

So everyone, meet Test Bunny 1:



"So i was pretty pleased with the results, UNTIL....i realised that the image was mirrored and the LETTERS DIDN'T COME OUT RIGHT...

AND that the program i was using had limitations on the fastest FRAME RATE!!!"

BUT i guess that's EXACTLY what a test run is for.
Hence also why it is unfinished.

Movie took me a couple of hours, but ive learnt a lot...so stay tuned for more from Test Bunny!!!

ONE Shot (Short) Film!

Design Practice 1 : One Shot (Chris Cooke) Group 1

Overview and Aims:
The module provides an introduction to multimedia design practice. It does so through requiring you to explore formal compositional issues through experimentation and revision.
The module enables you to experiment with a range of media and communication and structural devices. It requires that you develop solutions for design problems through negotiating technical, aesthetic and conceptual concerns.

So this was the first lecture of many on Design Practice 1.
This one shot short was found on youtube, a 3:47 fight scene:

Tony Jaa One Shot

Alongside shorts, entire movies have been made from only one shot - Russian Ark.

EDIT: Just found the One Shot Film Festival <- CHECK IT OUT!

Stop Motion ANIMATION!

Okay, so this was an exercise that was part of the Multimedia induction week.
It gave most of us the opportunity to meet the new people that we would be studying with, as well as (for me a least) try out a new discipline.

Hence; the STOP MOTION blog write up:

So we all began by watching the following clip:

Minilogue/hitchhikers choice - short version (Longer on DVD)

This was the basis of what we were going to aim to create during the following 3 hour session, and also potentially in your own time.

The Task: Move the box from one side of the house to the other:


Step 1) We Brainstormed!!!!
This was such an exciting time, as we all came together and shared ideas and thoughts on how we thought the box could, run, walk, fly, mutate and morph over to the other side.

Step 2) We Doodled!!!

Step 3) We took a photograph after every change to the drawing.

Step 4) 120 photgraphs, 2 pens, and 5 exhausted group members later we made our movie!!!::::


EDIT: I have since bought my own whiteboard to test out the method myself! Fingers crossed for my own test movie - COMING SOON!

EDIT: Here is the collection of animations made by my year:

Blender!

Okay, lets get this ball rolling!
First post, of the first ever blog...so one of the lecturers mentioned Blender during the intro talk.
I thought i would check out some of its potential:


















I think this is awesome!!!