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http://youtu.be/h72lJE0tzFg

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Kat held an online focus group with some friends after the screening. Unfortunately neither James nor I were able to be present, but here are the results that were yielded.

1. What do you like?
2. What do you dislike?
3. Do you think it's audience appropriate? (5-10 year olds)

'1. The narration and the script here is brilliant, it doesn’t use words that are too complicated for the age group to understand and the rhymes are really suitable. It’s also simple enough for younger audiences to understand, the music is fitting for the simple tone of it
2. Maybe the music could be a little bit quieter during the narration? I couldn’t really hear the part about the crustacean that well on first listening
3. It’s definitely appropriate! It’s simple enough with the visuals for them to understand but it’s not condescendingly simple (if that makes any sense)? Like how it doesn’t come across as being like something for a *really* young audience'

'The music is great but it's a little loud in places so I can't really make out what the narrator is saying? But I did have it on full volume so I don't know if it's that.
I really like the music tho! It's light hearted so the video doesn't feel as heavy as the subject is.'

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I'll definitely take on board the comments about the music drowning out the narration, and make an effort to take more care on the mix in future audiovisual projects.

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Last lesson before the screening on Thursday. Still doing my best to get as much of the  animation done as possible but we're still not quite there yet. I fixed my computer - it turned out that my video drivers were out of date and as such it kept hitting fatal errors. I updated my drivers and now Premiere works a charm. All that remains now is to put everything together.

I'm coming in tomorrow to finish up some Unit 3 work, so I'll bring my laptop in and see if I can finish the animation. Hopefully I can, but it will be a stressful process.

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Evaluation time. Our production phase over (though that's not to say the audiobook is complete), and it's time to start typing up our written evaluation. This is a massive document detailing what we've learned and how we've solved audiovisual problems over the course of the unit.

Today was mostly spent grinding out the evaluation and stressing out over not having completed the animation yet. I'm still having troubles opening the project on my laptop, as it keeps restarting whenever Intry opening it. I'm going to see if I can fix that ASAP.

So yes, today was mostly spent on the evaluation, althouh I did get some time at the end to animate a little bit more, we're still not quite there yet. I wish there was more to report, but today has just consisted of grinding out as much work as possible.

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Today marks the penultimate day of production. We already have most of the assets prepared for the animation, it's just a case of putting all together at the moment. With that being said, we did have a few loose ends to tie up. The morning was spent recording the second half of our narration and character dialogue. Thankfully, we have all of this done now, so we'll be able to string it together in the animation. Rachel Russell decided to join the cast, playing our main character Melba, which was a great help as we hadn't cast anyone to play her yet.

Afterwards, Kat and James were sent off to get us some sound effects. This proved difficult, and they weren't really able to come up with anything usable as they were just sloshing water around a bottle. For this reason I joined the team, and we found a sink near J117. Unfortunately, thhere was no plug, so we had to produce a makeshift plug using a partially filled water bottle. It sounds weird, but in practice it worked a charm, and we were able to get some fantastic sound effects for our eBook.

The rest of the day was spent animating, for me. Or at least, it should have been. My computer crashed consistently for the better part of an hour and a half, which really hindered the amount of time I could spend animating. At the end of the day, our animation is sitting at 58 seconds, and we're about a third of the way through the script. Needless to say, I'm going to need to spend a lot longer animating on study days if we're to have any hope of pumping out this eBook in time.

Finally, James also drew up our the last character we had missing: the crab we needed for the crustacean rhyme.

Everything's available jow, it's just a case of combining it all.

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Today we come into the project from a relatively fresh point. Kat and I have decided to completely rework the script into something more structured and workable. The only real issue this poses is that the narration we recorded last week is now a little redundant, as it no longer fits the script. All other assets we created, however, are still useable for the new script.

For this reason, Kat and I are spending the day recording some of the new narration, as well as recording the soundtrack for the film. James is, yet again, absent, so we will need to really focus on the visual side of things on days when he is present, as we do not yet have final character designs, and as such cannot begin animating.

I'm really pleased with what we've produced today. Kat brought in their microphone, and I brought in my laptop, so we were able to essentially set up a makeshift recording studio in the animation studio. As a result, the files are in fantastic quality, and I look forward to implementing them in the production.

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Today was mostly centred around completing the work laid out on our production schedule. I was to produce backgrounds and record some of the narration, James was to draw up draft character designs, and Kat was to compose the soundtrack.

Unfortunately, we didn't have quite as much time as we would have liked to work on these tasks, as we were limited to two and a half hours instead of the four hours we were expecting, so the schedule had to be revised somewhat. This was due to our needing to complete an editing workshop, led by Dave, involving animating a duck swimming through some reeds. I was already relatively familiar with the concept of keyframing prior to this workshop, so I was able to complete it quite quickly.

Overall I'm quite satisfied with today's output. We got some great audio recorded with the help of Ben and his team (as we had to share equipment). I completed the reef background and also extended it, so that I will be able to make it scroll when animating, as opposed to just having a static, nonmoving image. Kat was also able to get started on composing the soundtrack for the book. It's beginning to come along nicely.

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Today started out with the first of our team meetings. Only James and I were present today, so we did our best to complete it in the absence of Kat. We were required to fill out a meeting minutes sheet where laid out what needed to be done, who would do it, and how it would be done.

Moving on, we began our story map. This was more or less just intended as a precursor for our final script, just to lay out a skeletal structure for us to work from. Each of us had to write our own story map, and subsequently our own script, which we would then combine to form our final script. I managed to get a very basic story map down, but it's functional at least - laying out specific events in the story to write from.

We also made some backgrounds today. I decided to use the same method I used for the previous visual imaging problems, and work from an existing photograph. I downloaded an image of a seabed, and played around with different filters to see what looked best. I found that the most effective means of doing this was to apply the "sponge" filter with a very high stroke size, as it gave the image a very natural "painted" look, without too much effort on my part.

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Today didn't exactly go as planned. The staff had to undergo emergency training in lieu of the upcoming Ofsted assessment. For this reason, we only had an hour in the morning to do our practical. This involved adding texture to the drawings that we produced last week, in order to demonstrate our problem solving ability.

I completed this task by downloading a fishscale texture on google images. Then, I pasted it into a layermask in order to overlay it on top of my original fish drawing.

The final image won't win any awards, but it was a good exercise in problem solving. The texture definitely makes the image look better, so this will be a method I'll be utilising a lot further down the line in this particular production.

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Today we conducted a focus group with Rachel, Maisie and Becky, asking them about their prior experience with kids books in order to get an idea of how we're going to shape our own. We asked them general questions about what sort of books they used to like as a kid etc.,  as well as questions specifically relating to our project like "what is your opinion on an undersea setting" and "what are your opinions on the themes of growing up and fitting in". We gained a lot of valuable information from this, which we promptly wrote down for later use.

One small issue though is that while this provided us with a lot of great qualitative data, we're still lacking in the department of quantitative data and secondary research. For this reason we're going to be creating a mind map over the next week as homework, based on secondary research we're going to conduct on existing kids' books.

We were also faced with a visual imaging problem today. Our task was to draw a character from three different perspectives. This was problematic for me, due to my lack of artistic ability. To combat this, I decided to find images of fish online and trace over them in Photoshop, rather than drawing them from scratch. The results weren't fantastic, but I suppose they fit the criteria.

In conclusion, today's focus group yielded a lot of useful information which we will doubtless be using during the production of our ebook. The solution I found to the imaging problem was useful (though of course it won't be winning any awards), as it allowed me to gain experience with editing existing images for use in the ebook. This is a simple method won't look as bad when done with more care, so I intend to use it during the actual production of the ebook.

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Today wasn't the easiest of days. We were tasked with coming up with the concept for our animated eBook. This was difficult, as Kat wasn't able to come in so it was just James and I. We did at one point set up a video call with Kat, but it still wasn't as easy an experience as it could have been with them there.

We did manage to get some stuff done, though. By the end of the day we had a rough idea of what themes/subject matter our book is going to tackle. We decided we wanted to cover themes of growing up and fitting in, as we felt these are topics that would resonate with the age range we were given. We also drew up a mindmap outlining all of this.

Finally, we were also asked to complete a project proposal. Eventually we deemed that our project was too early in development for us to write a full proposal, so we left it for homework. We'll continue to brainstorm over the christmas break and see if we can come up with something concrete for when we return.

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1) Parsley The Lion
Parsley the Lion (and subsequently The Herb Garden) uses an array of distinct ditties designed to identify each character. These are played immediately after the spoken introduction, and are designed around the character they're tied to. For example, Parsley is a timid, kind lion, and this is reflected in the lyrics:

"I'm a very friendly lion called Parsley"

"But please don't shout or speak to me too harshly, because I'm not particularly brave"

This is paired with cute animation and a simple, pleasant melody. It's short, basic, endearing, and it gives the viewer an idea of the characteristics of Parsley right off the bat.

Another example is Dill the dog, who has a rapid, repetitive theme, reflecting his excitable personality. This repetition is also reflected in the lyrics:

"I'm Dill the Dog, I'm a dog called Dill."

All of this acts as a means of characterising the herb in question in a short space of time.

2) Fingerbobs

Fingerbobs does something similar to Parsley The Lion, only in the case of Fingerbobs, they have full theme songs, rather than short little ditties. Again, each theme gives a rundown of the traits of the character. To give an example, Flash the tortoise has a very slow song, and the lyrics reference this as well:

"As long as I get there, why worry? What's the hurry?"

3) Teletubbies

Jumping forward a few decades, Teletubbies still employs many of the design tools previously described. The theme song exists solely to introduce the characters, primarily consisting of their names being repeated over and over again, to a repetitive, catchy theme. It's all very clean and innocent, reflecting the content of the show itself.

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LO: Be able to evaluate solutions to an audio/visual based problem in creative media production
Understand and analyse the structure and content of an evaluation

Task: Begin writing evaluation

Extention: Analyse evaluationwriting against the PEE method & GC

Personal target:
Complete 1st draft of evaluation.
Edit more of the video.

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Analysing the Analyses of Chris Stuckmann 

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Analysing the Analyses of Chris Stuckmann 

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There's a big difference in presentation between Chris Stuckmann's reviews and analytical videos. This is due to a distinct difference in intended audience and outcome.

Chris speaks with much more depth in his Drive analysis than his Whiplash review. This is because the video is targeted towards people who have already seen the film, and are looking for an explanation of the hidden meanings that they might not have picked up on. The video is presented in a rather formal, in-depth manner, with a clearly scripted narration and supporting images/clips.

The review on the other hand consists of a much more casual presentation. Instead of a disembodied narration over images and clips from the film in question, we see Chris talking to camera. The review videos are also a lot shorter, and more general - he gives a quick overview of the plot (whilst being careful to avoid spoilers), and then gives his thoughts on the film. This is because the review videos are targeted towards a much more general audience. The question the audience for the review video is asking is "is this movie worth watching?", rather than "what more can I learn about this movie that I've already seen?"

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LO: Be able to evaluate solution to an audio/visual based problem in creative media production,

Understand and analyse the structure and content of an evaluation.

Task: Begin writing evaluation
Extention task: Analyse evaluation weiting against the PEE method & GC
Identify your own peesonal target for the session and review at the end.

Personal target:
Work on staying focused on the evaluation. Complete as much as possible.

Post-class comment:
Today was productive. Ended up writing 560 words of evaluation, confident that I will be able to complete the unit at this point. Had a few issues with focus but in the end it worked out.

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I will be using my study days to continue editing the eBook. Hopefully having it ready for the screening on Thursday next week.

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To identify team responsibilities required to solve a visual/audio based problems
To apply practical skills, understanding and methods to solve a visual/audio based problem.

Personal target:
Catch up with the work required to the best of my ability. Recover from not being able to come in the week before.

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Peer assessment
Production meeting
Complete team targets
Screenshot/photograph
Focus group questions prepared
Hold focus group
Write up focus group notes

Personal Target:
Manage time efficiently, distribute work evenly. Get as much done as possible to ensure a final product at the end.

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Same as last time.

Personal target:
Crack on with the visual side of things, bring James up to date.

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Be able to use an integrated approach to an audo/visual-based problem in creative media production

To identify team responsibilities required to solve a visual/audio based problem
To apply practical skills, understanding and methods to solve a visual/audio based problem

Personal target:
Manage without my other teammates. Juggle the work effectively.

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To identify team responsibilities required to solve a visual-based problem

To apply practical skills, understanding and methods to solve a visual-based problem.

Personal target:

To revise the production schedule to better include James, and to work efficiently and meet deadlines.

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Be able to use an integrated approach to an audio/visual based problem in creative media production.

To identify team responsibilities required to solve a visual/audio based problem

To apply practical skills, understanding and methods to solve a visual/audio based problem

Personal target:

Get better at meeting deadlines

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Lauren Child’s Artwork

By Thom And Kat

Lauren Child’s backgrounds are generally very simple, usually only featuring two or three different colours or patterns. She uses a lot of simple, block colours, making it pleasing to the eye. The backgrounds are also relevant to the target audience, sporting an “arts and crafts” aesthetic, through the use of fabric-like textures.

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Be able to use an integrated approach to an audio/visual-based problem in creative media production

Demonstrate the ability to plan, organise, and present ideas for children's' E-book

To apply practical skills, understanding and methods to solve a visual-based problem

Identify your own personal target:

To get through the day without my script, which I didn't manage to do over the weekend.

English: Writing a final draft of a script which is appropriate for target audience

Maths: working out timings for tasks minutes of meetings, sound effects and animations.

Homework: reflect on the learning process in audio developmental diary on pad let

Visual proposal: storyboard structure

Deadline 28/01/16.

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To identify key features required to structure a children's book narrative

To develop team work and planning skills to preproduction activities to achieve near professional standsrds

To explore and develop handmade illustration techniques.

Personal target: improve on artistic ability and writing scripts.

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The final scene of Whiplash serves to clearly define a conflict between the two main characters. Most noticably, this is expressed through the visceral, vivid imagery, but it is also reflected in how the soundtrack is used and manipulated.

For example, we'd be able to understand the beginning of the scene with the imagery cut out entirely. Very quickly, the viewer (or indeed listener, in this case) would catch on to the drummer not having any charts to read from, simply due to how "off" and chaotic the drumming is, in contrast to the coordination of the other instruments in the band.

Once the song is over, the drummer is humilated, and a haunting silence sets in as he's left on the stage. Refraining from adding a soundtrack in this moment means that the audience can focus entirely on the performance of the actors, allowing the emotion of the moment to be taken in much more readily.

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Be able to analyse an audience problem in creative media production

Understand the use of music within various media forms

Identify key elements and their purpose within musical scores that reflect character that reflect character/mood

Solve problems with audio and assess solve issues

Individual target:

To further familiarise myself with music production software and play around with composition by the end of the day.

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1) To reflect on the contents of a broef amd apply project proposal

Tasks:

Mindmap an illustrated response to a brief

Write a project proposal in response toa brief considering both the audio and visual aspects

Identify your own personal target for the session and review at the end

Homework:

Reflect on the learning process in a visual development diary

Personal Targets:

I'd like to work on my abikity to churn out creative ideas with more efficiency today, as coming up with them tends to be a lengthy process for me.

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1) To understand how to analyse a brief

2) To develop your ability to problem solve using photoshop

Individual targets:

Mind Map responses to a brief

Write a Project Proposal in response to a brief

Photoshop experiments problem solving

Entry log

Personal target:

To understand the brief in its entirety and to upload my podcast to Padlet

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1) Understand the contents of Units 5 and 6

-Identify the purpose and contents of a brief

2) Be able to analyse an audio-based problem on creative media production

-Solve problems with audio and assess methods to resolve issues

3) Identify your own personal target and review at the end

Homework

Reflect on the learning process in audio development diary on Padlet