The final project was one that appealed to me because it was a new program that is good for animation. Whenever I have a chance to learn something new about animation, whether that be a program, technique, artist, etc. I am excited because I want to improve on my own work. This semester was divided up project-wise in a way that I was only able to work on animation at the beginning and the very end of it. I didn't find anything wrong with stepping outside of my medium. I liked working in alternative output even though I was skeptical at first. Expanding on or transcending a comfort zone is important not just as an artist but in all fields in order for improvement. That being said, after the third project of that sort I was ready to get back to working on animation.
The idea initially was to project on the bike hanging in the campus center, so that's where the subject matter came from. The finished product doesn't really deviate from the original idea, which is usually not the case with my work. I usually end up with something that's different than what I had in mind during conception. In this case, I was able to materialize what I saw in my head in the beginning, which I think is a plus for an artist. In some cases it's good to experiment and stray, but I feel most gratification when I can translate my ideas absolutely. The only experimentation that I did was when I got into the software and saw what kind of effects I could use. That made for a pleasant surprise when I saw that I could make smoke easily and wouldn't have to draw it out by hand, which probably saved me a lot of time.
I really liked using After Effects. At first it was a little bit challenging, but I didn't find it to be particularly unintuitive. In fact just the opposite: after working with other Adobe products and Final Cut, I found it was more natural to navigate After Effects. I did have to use Youtube tutorials a couple of times but I was able to find my answers quickly on there. And in terms of actual animation, After Effects is far and away the best program I've used. Effects aside, it's timeline is the best constructed: simpler than Final Cut and it skips over all the tween issues that happen in Flash. And it's logic is more intuitive than other programs. For instance it was able to recognize that a leg is attached to an ankle which is attached to a foot, and those things stay in line even if I want the foot to rotate at a certain point in the motion. I also really like the parent tool, the motion tracker, and the ease with which the nugget tool can manipulate multiple movements at once without over-thinking itself.
The concept of the work is about rhythm, pace, and variety. The rhythm is created by the movements, the music, and the speed of the cuts. The pace is also created by the movements and the music. The variety is in the subject matter- the stark differences of subjects even though they are all in the same discipline- along with the music that accompanies each one.
I'm very happy with how this project came out. It actually exceeded my expectations. The idea of just having a couple of different kinds of bikes on a screen isn't exactly a cause for excitement. But as the more I worked the more it just seemed to come together. I think what made it work so well was 1) the music and 2) the variation in styles. I didn't stick to just one style of drawing, one style of motion, or one format. I ended up using very contrasting ones. It wasn't really something I planned, but it definitely came out well.
