Monday 21 April 2014

Evaluation

Overall I am very pleased with my final outcome, especially considering I had no previous experience with the software and had to teach myself by experimenting and watching tutorials. I think the final video looks professional and has potential to achieve its purpose which was to increase footfall in the town. I think the content of my video covers all ages and features attractions that will bring people with different interests and hobbies into the town. Attracting all ages was one thing that Sharon from Don't Let Dunstable Die stressed so advertising different aspects of Dunstable was very important. I covered play area's which will attract children and families, Grove and Priory Church Gardens which is targeted more towards the elderly, and things like shops, the grove, Whipsnade Zoo and golf which attracts a variety of ages in between.

In this video I used Andrew Gill as an influence as his video is a similar style, and features a transition whereby text swings down like a flipcard, which I used throughout my video. I also took a lot of inspiration from the Haven Holiday videos which I researched later.

I am happy with the choice of colours used and fonts used as I feel they can be read by all ages from different distances. However some things that I would improve if I were to do the project again would be the yellow text on the white background which can be difficult to read, especially in certain light, such as sunlight if the video was to be shown out doors or in shop windows. Also on some photos of outdoor areas that I took, the skies are dull and grey. This could be improved by taking the photos on a sunny day which always makes places look more welcoming and positive. Another thing that I think may be a problem for some, is the speed of the transitions and the duration in which images are shown. I made sure that my video was no longer than a minute as I didn't want it to get boring or lose appeal to people in more of a rush. However with 9 areas to cover, with text and images, this meant that there wasn't room for slow transitions and images shown for a long time. I tried to have the text appear at the time an average person would read, and then it would slide off the screen. This could be a problem for readers slower than myself, or people reading slower due to finding it hard to read (which may or may not be my fault).

In conclusion, I am happy with my final motion graphic video as I think it looks professional and achieves its purpose by attracting all ages to Dunstable. Although if I were to do it again, I would make some improvements.

Take a look at the video here: (watch in 1080p)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmIgSH5nAEA

Screenshots

First I added all the text and positioned them evenly along my timeline, with equal duration's in between. I chose to have 2 important words in each sentence in colour then the rest in black. However some people found that their attention was draw to the black text rather than the colour so I changed the black to a dark grey so it wasn't as bold and attention was back on the colourful words. I think having some words in bright colours is successful as it makes it more interesting and emphasizes the activity being advertised.




I then added the images in between each duration of text. I think the collage of 4 photos is effective as when places are advertised with only one image, some people assume that it is almost false advertising as the place is made to look better than it is just for the photo. However 4 photos showing different areas and angles of the same place gives a more true insight. If I were to do this project again or have longer to do it, I would retake some photos I took but on a sunny day as cloudy/dull skies can be off-putting.





I then added transitions to all the text. For each duration of text, the dark grey words alternate transitions. In one duration all the dark grey words slide on from the bottom of the screen. In the next duration the dark grey words will swing down. I think the dark grey transitions alternating is good because it offers variety so people don't get bored but is also consistent making it look professional.The colourful words have more exciting transitions such as growing, spinning and fading. I think this is effective as it also emphasizes the activity being advertised, just like having the text in bright colours does. Here is an example of the colourful words entering the screen, in this case swinging and spinning to match the words, and then the dark grey words sliding in from the bottom. Then there's an example of the dark grey words swinging down, inspired by the Hitachi advert made by Andrew Gill who I researched. I think this is effective as it exciting and looks professional.



After each duration of text or image is finished, the text or image slides off the screen in either a south west or south east direction. If it is text that has just slid off, the next image comes from the top of the screen moving in the same direction as the type left. Here are screen shots of the text moving off in a south west direction, the image entering in the same direction from above, then exiting in the same direction after a pause.




I then made the text and transitions for the end of the video. All 9 duration's of text in the video had different colours for the 2 important words. These colours are shown on each letter in the word 'Dunstable' creating a spectrum gradient. I think this looks good as it links back to the previous moments in the video and the bright colours will attract young ages. The word 'Visit' swings down like previous words in the video. 'Dunstable' then slowly fades on from left to right with feather so it looks smooth. The URL address also fades on with the linear wipe transition but without feather so it looks like it is being typed. I think this is effective as URL addresses are typed so it has a meaning.



Sunday 20 April 2014

Design Development - Final Storyboard

1. This was my first idea. It is a simple idea based on the word 'dunstable'. The idea is that when you zoom into the counter's, such as in the letters 'd', 'a', 'b' and 'e', there is an image of dunstable.





2. This was a small idea for transitions from photo's to illustrations and animation.




3. This was a small idea based on logo's of businesses and companies in Dunstable.





4. This was a small idea for transitions from photo's to illustrations and animation.



This is a type sheet where I experimented with 6 different fonts. I had chosen the idea above to develop and wanted a sketchy style font. All these fonts were from the site dafont.com. I chose the first font as it was the most popular with peers and was one of the easiest to read.





This was a final story board that I started for the idea I had chosen. Although I soon realised that I wouldn't be able to create this as it was too complex and also it featured animation rather than motion typography.







I then thought of another idea as I didn't like the previous ideas I had. I didn't want photos floating around on a CAD background which would look like its been made on Powerpoint by a child. I also couldn't have these complex transitions from a photo filling the screen, to a screen full of CAD illustrations and text like idea 4. I  came up with a compromise whereby photos on the screen have an outline around them as a sort of border between photo and CAD background. Although it sounds simple and almost identical to the Powerpoint made by a child, it works. The reason I found this worked was because in this new idea I wanted 4 photos next to each other but slightly overlapping as if they had been placed messily. This matched the sketchy type that I wanted to keep despite not using the idea it was originally picked for. However 4 photos in a messy overlapping collage didn't look good as there was nothing separating the photos and if any had similar colours they appeared to merge. I then added an outline to each photo inspired by Polaroid photos which stand out from each other when overlapping.

 I then did some more research to see how actual places are advertised as the motion graphic videos I had researched and analysed weren't advertising places. I wanted to see how they combined photos of the place being advertised with CAD solid fill backgrounds and illustrations on screen. The first thing that came to my mind was holiday resorts. I then searched 'Haven' as it was a holiday resort chain I knew of in England. I found these three videos:


In these videos Haven have used a border around the photos/videos that are on the CAD background. This was similar to what I had in mind. I then created a short story board of what I wanted although I didn't have the images or know what text I wanted to include.


I then came up with the text:

Be inspired by historic surroundings. 
(to be followed by 4 images of the Priory Church Gardens and Grove Gardens)
Go on a wild adventure.
(to be followed by 4 images of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo)
Have a round of golf on the finest of courses.
(to be followed by 4 images of Dunstable Downs Golf Course)
Shop till you drop on the high street.
(to be followed by 4 images of the Quadrant and high street)
Challenge your family to a game of bowling.
(to be followed by 4 images of GoBowling)
Relax or party at the grove.
(to be followed by 4 images of the Grove complex such as Cookies&Cream, the Theatre and Gary Coopers)
Get fit at a variety of facilities.
(to be followed by 4 images of Dunstable Leisure Centre)
Swing slide & spin at the play areas.
(to be followed by 4 images of Grove Gardens play area)
Admire the views as you glide through the skies.
(to be followed by 4 images of paragliders above Dunstable Downs)




For the images of these areas I took as many I could myself then got consent from a local photographer to use his images of Dunstable Downs paragliding and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. I originally emailed ZSL Whipsnade Zoo for images of the zoo however they did not reply in time and when they did one of the images was portrait and would look out of place with every other image being landscape. I also got consent from Dunstable Downs Golf Club to use their high quality photos of the golf course.


Golf
 Request:

Response:






Paragliding
Request:
Response:
2nd Request:
2nd Response:




Zoo
Request:
Response:






 I then made my final story board. This includes CMYK colours, transition information, font information, music information and more. All this information means it is clear enough to be mac'd up by another designer.





Wednesday 16 April 2014

Chosen Song

The song I chose to use in the end was 'Naughty Boy featuring Emeli Sande - Wonder'. After searching for instrumentals of other songs and being unsuccessful, and some chosen songs not fitting the positive theme, this song randomly popped into my head. Its a positive and up-beat song which will match the video's message. Also the lyrics can relate to the topic. For example the chorus says 'we are full of wonder'. I used software called Audacity to manipulate the song as its free so I could use it from home, easy to use and allows you to save the song as an mp3 which other softwares don't allow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kASjW_aPbQ&feature=kp

Motion & After Effects Tutorial

Dan came in to give us a tutorial on Motion. He showed us the 'Motion 5-Essential Training' on Linda.com which has video tutorials covering everything you can do in this programme to a basic standard. It also had exercise files that you could download and practice with while the tutorial is playing. After this, I looked at Adobe After Effects as it is a similar programme and a member of the class said they were using it over Motion 5. After looking at this software I made the same decision as it was much easier to use, and was laid out like the rest of the Adobe Suite which I had previous experience with. I then looked at the 'After Effects-Essential Training' on Linda.com and downloaded the exercise files for it. This is the software I will make my final motion graphic on as I find it easier to use and can download a free trial for it enabling me to work on the project from home.

Audio Manipulation

Paul showed us how to manipulate audio using 'Final Cut Pro'. We imported our audio file and learned the basic editing techniques such as cutting sections of the song, changing the volume, and fading the music in and out. We then just played about and experimented with effects and different features to gain more knowledge about how the software works and what you can create using it. Then we added images to be seen while the music plays. Once again we experimented, using the pre-made transitions that the software had, and got a feel for the programme. I liked Final Cut Pro as it is quite simple to use but after using alternative software I found that this wasn't the best software to create the final motion graphic as the effects you can add are limited.

Don't Let Dunstable Die Representative

Sharon, one of the two founding members of the 'Don't let Dunstable Die' campaign and also our client, came in to speak to us about what she wanted in the motion graphic piece and what the campaign is all about. In this talk she made it clear that she wanted the motion graphic piece to feature only positives of Dunstable, no negative aspects such as derelict shops etc. However, she didn't really know what she wanted the outcome to look like, other than for it to have a modern feel and appeal to all ages. She also gave us a 'Don't let Dunstable Die' calendar with photos of Dunstable that she gave us permission to use and said we could contact her if we had any queries.

Thursday 20 March 2014

History Of Dunstable Secondary Research

In groups of three we researched the history of Dunstable. We looked in Dunstable's library and found books and files about the history. We then took some photos of this information and some areas of Dunstable that were featured in this research.