laurenmadisonuca

[laurenmadisonuca]

Final Project Evaluation

Final Evaluation:

This project was an impressive collection of mixed emotions and trial leading to error which then led to more trial and finally what I would consider a triumph. 

The project started with reflection and this was something quite interesting for me as I hadn’t taken the time to look back at what I had created over the past year. Looking at all the ideas and styles I had already experimented with I was blown away any how far I have progressed over the last few terms. Its hard to appreciate how much you’re making and producing whilst you’re doing it but my development in style and confidence over the last year and I think that definitely set a tone for the beginning of this term. I am pleased with the recollection that I did as I feel it allowed me to consider what my most passionate and fun pieces were as I knew it was important to have a strong spinal connection through the project and work on something that I genuinely loved and wanted to explore. I think looking back into my What Remains project really was the main contributor to this and I’m really glad I chose to look at this project. However, I do wonder what would have come from this project if I had explored my previous work in the sense of styles and experimentation with techniques. I feel that I had some varied assortments of styles and I didn’t really look at those too closely. The style of the work really changes the outcome that you are aiming to produce. 

Producing a concept for this project seemed like a simple task at first but soon became apparent as to how difficult it actually is. The most challenging part of this was creating a concept that people understood and could resonate with as I found by my tutorials. My original concept was not passive enough and I wish now I had covered all the individual changes in my work so carefully so that I could see individually how my idea has changed in contrast with the feedback I got. 

The research element of this term really pushed my knowledge of my subject matter and introduced me to artists and topics that I hadn’t previously heard about. My research into artists such as Don McCullin and Alicia Ruis still stand out to me at this later stage in the project. This is because I feel that they are artists that I will be able to continuously refer back to and take inspiration from. This is what the research segment is all about and I feel that the research I did was so well varied that I incorporated so many different variations and factors for the development of my concept. I do wish however that I had visited more exhibitions and completed more contextual research so that I could be more cultured in my approach to this and just get some more personal and mental experiences with this art in these spaces. 

The planning and development of my project derived directly from the research that I completed and this something that I am really happy with. My planning really shows the progression of each of my ideas and how I used my influences to craft my own perspective and approach to the topic and the art that I wanted to complete from this. This then really supported the pieces that came from this. I do however wish I had incorporated more of the research that I did into the planning as it all seemed to come from the same research and people. I feel that bringing ideas from multiple sources may have had a better and more original outcome. I feel that the planning for my activities and the weeks through this project was probably one of my strongest elements due to how well on track I stayed and how chronologically well the project flowed. I do however feel that the days got really brief towards the end because of how repetitive and unknown the days were going to be and I wish I could’ve planned these better to allow for more organisation and possibly more elements towards my project.

My Final pieces are some of the best work I have produced to date. Although there are still things that I feel personally that I could improve on I know that I worked my hardest to get the outcome that I did. The organisation for these shoots and the production of the film is some of the most intense shooting and planning I have ever done and I feel that it really paid off. The only thing that hinders my confidence slightly is the underwhelming reaction I got from my work from other people and that really played around with my pride in the final pieces. However, I decided that this exhibition is for me as much as it is for everyone else and I realised that this work has to have a personal connection to me and it does. It shows the work that I put in to create something that wasn’t overly trusted or supported by some of the people around me. This in itself was so reflective of the concept that I had chosen and I think this really added to the passion and drive behind what I was doing. Evaluating the work and production I was doing along the way really cemented the effort and ethic behind what I was doing and how my peers and I were supporting the theory and idea and hoping for the outcomes to match that. It allowed me to really consider what it was that I needed to do to get to the goal that I wanted so badly.  However I do wish sometimes that I had taken my time with some of the shoots and the editing. This is me second guessing myself and never being good enough for my own judgement. 

Overall this project has been a collection of continuous ups and downs. This project was so uplifting in the sense that I created work that I love and a topic that personally I think is very interesting and engaging, especially to people of a similar age group to mine. However, it was also a battle against my own judgement and self criticism which is something I’ve been battling for a long time and I had a personal breakthrough with this. With some of the lack of support I had with this idea, the only I had was my own confidence in what I was imagining as well as the encouraging words of those who believed in what I was describing even if they didn’t fully understand it as first. This really did help me in the end. 

[laurenmadisonuca]

Exhibition Statement (5/5) - Part 2

Process:

I used the online resources that my tutors provided and my project proposal to help me create the exhibition statement to go alongside my work at the exhibition in a few weeks. 

Evaluate:

I am happy with how the exhibition statement turned out but I always have a nagging feeling that people won't understand what I am talking about. But I know that I have to get past that as not everyone will always understand me or my notions and thats okay because not everyone thinks and feels the same way. I need to feel comfortable with the idea that I am confident that it represents my intentions in the best way. 

Plan: 

I now need to write m y week 9 evaluation and do my self assessment

my exhibition statement -

[laurenmadisonuca]

Creating Week 10s Timetable (5/5) - Part 1

Process:

I used my template to create the timetable for the last week of the project and I incorporated all the small things I need to do before the hand in next week.

Evaluate:

This timetable seemed really empty to me at first but I realised that it was because I have completed the main bulk of my work for this project. That was a really good feeling and allowed for me to focus on the small things to really help my hand in go smoothly and without a hitch. This will help reduce my stress and panic levels as hand in days generally get me very anxious and petty so hopefully I can subside some of that this year by being very organised. 

Plan:

I now need to evaluate this week and move onto getting some of the last peer reviews of this project!

[laurenmadisonuca]

Finishing my Critical Review (3/5) - Part 1

Process:

I used the notes that I made on my rough copy and completed the reflection sections quite easily. I then used the sketches that I did earlier to complete the exhibition design section and then added some basic details to the plagiarism form like my name and I will complete the rest of the form by hand. 

Evaluation:

Doing the critical review just made me realise how far this project has come and how grateful I am for the result that I have had. This critical review started off being a bit difficult because I wasn't sure of what the questions were asking me but after going over it with one of my tutors I got the rhythm of it and I feel quite happy with the outcome I've got. I can't say im 100% confident that im hitting the mark with what they are asking me but I know that I am evaluating the project in a way that helps me to reflect on where I have come from and what my outcome is. Hopefully that matches up with what they are asking me. I hope that I can take what I have written here and develop that into an evaluation that I personally want to write to round off my project completely. 

Plan:

I know need to print this and start to evaluate this week and then plan the last week of the project. 

[laurenmadisonuca]

Making Critical Review Notes (30/4) - Part 2

Process:

I decided to print a copy of the critical review so that I could make notes in pencil just too see what my initial ideas are for what to write in these circumstances. 

Evaluation:

I feel like doing this has actually helped me a lot more that I thought it would because its actually made it a lot easier to see if I’m repeating myself and to see what kind of things I am wanting to put in each section. It makes the job a lot less daunting and you aren't forced to write in big bulks of text from the get go and this means that you can pick and choose your words and points more carefully after considering all of the options. This generally makes it more concise and professional sounding as there isn’t as much waffle or filler text going on. I think that this has put me in a better position to get on with writing the actual critical review and filling in the sections for real but I do think that having an example review would really hep me out with the structure of it and knowing how to lay out my paragraphs.

Plan:

I now need to make the changes on my proposal from the first draft and highlight them in red so that the assessor can see the changes I have made in the last few weeks.

My critical review notes - 

[laurenmadisonuca]

Image Sizing Workshop (30/4) - Part 1

Process: 

We sat down with James (technician) who was showing us how to set the resolution and quality for our images and then how to size them so that they were the correct scale for printing. We did this by using his method of changing the colour code to CMYK and that gave us an accurate depiction of how the images will look once printed. We then set the resolution to 300 DPI and resized them. We saved them and sent them to a communal dropbox to be printed. 

Evaluation:

This task wasn't something that I was looking forward to as my previous experiences with having to size and send images was always tedious and repetitive but having James to explain everything and go through it step by step allowed us to become more aware of the process and confident that we were doing ti correctly. It also presented with new methods of doing things and new ways to ensure that the colour comes out as we want it to and as we are seeing it on the screen which is something I have never done before but will definitely use it again. I am glad I got this done and I am excited to see how the images turn out and to mount them ready for the exhibition. 

Problems and Solutions:

One of the images that I wanted to include in my exhibition wasn't the best quality when I sized it up to A2. It looked really grainy and pixelated and I was scared that when it got printed it wouldn’t look as clear as I wanted it to on the wall. 

Solution 1:

The first solution was to size it to a smaller measurement. The alternative size would have been A3 and it wouldn’t have matched the rest of the exhibition. The  quality would have been better as the details wouldn’t have been so blurred and stretched over the larger space. 

Final Solution: 

I decided that the best thing to do would probably just be to choose a different image for the exhibit. It was a shame because I really liked how the image worked with the other photos that I had chosen and it incorporated the other shoot into the final exhibition. However I would rather choose a different image than put a lower quality image in the final exhibit. Luckily it wasn't my favourite image so I didn't feel so bad about letting in go. 

Plan:

I now need to start my critical review to sum up my project. 

Changing the profile of our images -

Changing the size and the resolution - 

[laurenmadisonuca]

Sourcing my Exhibition Materials (29/4) - Part 2

Process:

I took some time to make a cohesive list of all the individual elements I would need to help create my exhibition idea. I then split this list into the materials that I would need to provide and the materials that the uni would provide for me. I then took this further and split the list that I would need to provide into materials I already had and things I needed to go out and get. 

Evaluation:

Laying things out this clearly and cohesively has made it a lot easier to for me to process only the things that I need to get and this makes it more likely that I can ensure that I stick to budget and also have everything that I need and is required to pull off the design that I wanted. 

Plan:

I now just need to size all of my images and get them sent off for the exhibitions  and have them mounted by the time we hand in. 

My lists for my materials -

[laurenmadisonuca]

Final Exhibition Sketches (29/4) - Part 1

Process:

I used one of the last pages in my journal to create a sketch of the final exhibition idea that I want to go with. I feel good about this idea and I used the space to really explain where things are going and the hanging techniques as well as the sourcing of the elements and the details. 

Evaluation:

Doing this sketch and design has given me a good idea for how I am going to create this final effect for my exhibition and has given me a lot more confidence in displaying my work this way. Its let me really consider how I am going to get this work hung up and properly displayed to help me bring this idea to light and I think this does a lot on the motivation side of things as it seems to be a recurring theme that I have more ambition and motivation to do things if I know exactly how I am planning to do it and have a sure set way of doing it that is achievable. I really want to break out of that but im sure it will come with time and taking things slowly. 

Plan:

I now need to take these sketches and start actual collecting the materials needed for this exhibition to be made. I need to source all of the wallpapering and the mounting boards.

My final exhibition sketches - 

[laurenmadisonuca]

Easter Week Evaluation

Evaluate:

This week has actually been really progressive for me even though it seemed slow and quit a basic paced week and there were only very simple activities. This does mean that I had a lot of time to focus on my editing and that actually allowed me to get my film done and have the peer feedback before the week back which gives me more time to soother activities when I get back to college. Getting the film finished has taken a lot of weight off my shoulders as that was the main thing that I needed to do to get closer to finishing and now I just have smaller evaluating and finishing tasks that I need to do which are finished off by the critical review and the exhibition designs. 

I feel really good about the position I am in now as I can really take my time and develop and round off the project in an effective and thoughtful way that will really do justice to the effort I have put in before now. Going into the last couple of weeks of this project I have a much clearer head about everything thats going on and everything that I still need to do. This is a big contrast from the other week when I had no idea and felt a bit lost with the amounts that I had left. Now I can see everything in an organised and time effective way and hopefully have this finished for the deadline on the 10th of May!

I hope to get some of my exhibition stuff completely sorted in the next working week such as the image sizing and getting my prints sent off so that I can have them for my work exhibition set up in the week following the hand in. I am very excited to see everything I have worked for come together in the next couple weeks and become a cohesive project. 

[laurenmadisonuca]

My Final Film (20/4) - Part 4

Evaluate:

I had quite a few moments where I wasn't so sure about how the film was coming along and what I was doing with the visuals. I think my confidence and esteem really let me down for a while in this project as I know that if I had more faith in myself I would’ve been a little bit more ambitious with the editing in this and maybe would’ve tried some different and more complex approaches to this style of work.

However my confidence did come back slightly at the end when I got the feedback from my peers and the positives were really nice and they made me a feel a little better about the contextual and conceptual elements of this film and how it conveys to the audience. 

My concept was about people trying to be creative without borders and have the artistic interpretation shine through and have the desired effect on the people its aimed at. I personally think I have hit my own journey with this concept through this project and I couldn't be happier with where I am now

My final Film -

[laurenmadisonuca]

Rendering My Film (20/4) - Part 2

Process:

I exported my after effects file to adobe media encoder to get a better quality and more personalisation on the output of the file. I saved in at a H.264 file with a 1080p hd quality to really make sure the fares and the quality comes through in all formats and devices. I saved this to my hard drive as well as my desktop to ensure that I have the file in multiple locations. 

Evaluate:

This is the most thought and effort I have put into exporting my files and it really has taught me a lot about choosing the right combinations of elements to make sure that this film works and renders appropriately on all the different devices and platforms that it could be viewed on. Its a really good way to get the hang of developing my files and then doing them justice when I do get round to exporting them even if exporting and rendering isnt my favourite activity and doesn't really interest me that much. Even though I feel that I have learnt a lot I feel that I still have a lot to learn about this element of the film making process and doing stuff like this.

Plan:

I now need to upload my film so that I can put it on Tumblr. I also need to organise a hardrive to put all of my work on for hand in. 

Rendering and exporting my film -

[laurenmadisonuca]

Applying Peer Feedback (20/4) - Part 1

Process:

I went back to the after effects version of my film and applied the changes to my film comment by comment. One comment was to have the colouring sorted on the clips that I shot in the studio. I did this by editing one of the clips and then applying the same edit values to the rest of them so they all had the same saturation and colour values as the rest. This means that they all have the same tone and contrast and blend better with each other and the colours aren't clashing. Another issue was the audio being too abrupt and I fixed this the same way that I fixed the other audio by changing the volume values and creating a fade. The last fix I needed to make was the abruptness of the ending and to smooth this out I added a glitch effect using the stock footage and the adjustment layers. 

Evaluate:

This task has really made me feel better about the film as a lot of these issues were things that I hadn't even noticed or thought about and now having fixed this little nuances that other people have picked up on I  feel better about the quality of the film. I am glad that contextual and conceptual elements of the film didn't really need altering as I am not sure how I would’ve done this and how I would’ve fixed that. Getting peer feedback and just comments and criticism in general is so vital for things like this as you re creating them for an audience and not for yourself so its more important that other people understand it that you understanding it. 

Plan:

I now need to get do rendering and uploading the film so that people can readily access it. 

Changing the colouring of the clips -

Adding the glitch effect at the end -

Fixing the audio ending -

[laurenmadisonuca]

Peer Feedback about Film (19/4) - Part 2

Process:

I sent some of my friends the early rendered file for my film so that they could watch it and send me some feedback for it so that I can then apply it to my film. 

Evaluate:

This task has really helped improve my confidence with he film that I am producing as now I know how the piece appeals and conveys to people outside of the project and even outside of the demographic. The peers were overall really helpful with the feedback and gave some really positive feedback abbot elements that I was really not too sure on which was really reassuring and gave me a bit more assertiveness in my creation. They also pointed out some technical things for me to fix which was really helpful as it meant that I could correct those directly and I hadn't noticed them previously. Getting feedback this positive from the people around me has really cemented the whole project for me. 

Plan:

Now I need to apply these changes to the film and render and upload the final thing so that people can view it freely. 

Peer comments - 

[laurenmadisonuca]

Finishing My Editing (19/4) - Part 1

Process:

I completed the final stage of my film and went back and fixed all the small details that I needed to.

Evaluate:

It feels so good to have finally finished the film and to have something to base all of my ideas on. I am happy with the final result but I have a bad habit of always thinking something can be better than it is and sometimes its just better to stop whilst your ahead. I enjoyed editing the final few clips of this film as they offered such a great summary to the film and really rounded everything off and this has made me really glad that I held off of deciding the ending when I was doing my storyboarding as I don't think it wouldve fit the vibe as much as my current ending does.

Problems and Solutions:

I always doubt my work and critique the small things that the average viewer may see and I struggle to see my films from the audiences perspective which always makes me worried that people won't really get it. I need my audience to clearly understand the concept behind this film for it to have any kind of emotional or mental impact on them.

Solution 1:

I could really try to dissociate myself from the film and attempt to experience it from the perspective of someone who hunt seen the progression of the whole project. this however is really difficult for me and I really can't guarantee that I will be able to see things in this light. It is a skill that I really want to develop but I don't quite have it nailed yet.

Final Solution:

Ive decided that I am going to get some of my friends to look at the film and give me some feedback and comments about what they understood and what kind of things I could improve on technically and contextually. This should hopefully mean that I can accurately see the things that I am missing and have reassurance that people are understanding the meaning behind the visuals.

Completed timeline -

[laurenmadisonuca]

Editing Exhibition Images (16/4) - Part 1

Process: 

I used the feedback that my sister gave me to create a cohesive selection of images for my exhibition. I had to edit some of images a little more to really fit each other and work as a series. 

Evaluate:

I managed to take on board Beths advice and bring some more colour into the two black and white images but I also added an image that I like and that I think works particularly well. I am going to go with a final six images and then see if I can fit them into the exhibition as I think these just work so well together and it would be a shame to leave it out. This task was really eye opening as to how images have to work together when in an exhibition. It also showed me how my own input is as important as everyone else as it is my exhibition and it is my concept. I really enjoyed this and was really interesting to see how much better they fit when they were coloured slightly differently. 

Plan:

I now need to get back to editing my film and hopefully I can finish it this week! 

Editing the images and finalising my choices -

[laurenmadisonuca]

Easter Week Timetable (14/4) - Part 1

Process:

I used my timetable template to make a timetable for week 8 of the project.

Evaluation:

This timetable doesn’t have much detail in the slots as my editing is quite sporadic and I jump back and forth from tasks and thats just how it works for me so I cannot plan to specifically what editing I am doing. I do however have some plans to get my images really well sorted and ready for sizing and printing when I go back to college in a couple weeks.

Plan:

I now need to write the weekly evaluation and assess myself on the criteria for my progress this week. I can also get the peer assessments done at the same time.

my timetable for Easter Week  -

[laurenmadisonuca]

Week 8 Evaluation

Evaluate:

I spent the majority of this week editing with a few extra bits of general work regarding my exhibition. This week felt quite slow because of all of the editing that was happening. However I do realise that the progress I have made this week was necessary and very well done.

I managed to get my exhibition designs reviewed by some peers at the start of the week which really allows me to get push on creating this exhibition space. I also managed to get feedback on the photos that people wanted too see in the exhibition but they all chose varying selections. I feel that I like my sister Beth’s choices the most because they work really well as a series.

Editing wise this week has been very progressive for me as I got the main bulk done in regards to the timeline and the audio clipping I just need to put all the small details in and finish the video off but I’m still not sure how I am meant to finish it as I never deciding on and ending scene but we will see how things go over the next week. 

Emotionally this week has been quite relaxing because of the simple tasks that I am setting myself and because of how close it is to the end of the project. I think that maybe because I know I have two weeks off now I can take things a bit easier and just work on them with a bit more time and concentration. It feels good to know that I actually have a break week coming up where I can just refresh and focus on something else and that means that when I come back to college I will be able to notice and develop things that I may have missed before with more energy and more attention. 

I wish that I could've gotten further with my editing as it would’ve been nice to have more time for the smaller nuances in this project but at the same time I understand that editing can't be rushed. Editing takes time especially because of how precise the image in my head is. I also feel really strange not doing daily evaluations but I do realise that they would all pretty much be the same so I think just activity evaluations and weekly evaluations are working better.

Overall I feel that this project is on the right path and I hope I can keep up my stride and pace of working through the holiday as well.