Evaluation

Introduction

After second years final project and with a little help from everyone around me, I found my passion for sculpting and liked to get my hands dirty, so I decided that third year would be sculpture themed. It’s not what I intended on doing when starting this course but through, what I believe to be failures, I made to the other side with an idea of what I actually enjoy. It uses my craft skills more than computer skills, yet still uses the sound editing skills I learnt from second years professional toolkit. This way I could point all my focus into creating something big. 

Adfectus

Adfectus is my only project that I tackled on my own, to bring, what skills I had learnt and testing newer skills, into one big final piece about a topic that has effected not only myself but most of the people around me. 

Before third had even started I had obtained an idea from a moment I had once at university. I wrote it down and had my heart set on it, the idea of an interactive animation that had themes of mental health issues being depression and anxiety. After going through all of first semester with this idea in my head and all the preproduction work based on this, I was devastated and struggled to agree with the concept of changing the idea a little. The reason behind this was that I, myself, had no experience with animation, which I tried to counteract by asking animators around university if they could help me out, but then came the topic of what would I be doing work wise? Yes, I had done all the preproduction and concepts for it, yet I was passing it on to someone else to do for me. With a bit of guidance I realised that I was being a bit ridiculous with that idea and pointed me back in the direction of sculptures, which it only then hit me that that is what I should do for my project? 

Luckily I already had all the concept art for the animals, I just had to figure out how to make them and what to add to it for the cherry on top. That’s where I came up with the instead of drawing them, I’ll make them out of wire and paper mache, as I had experience with once those before. In second semester I started to gather the materials for this project and got down to testing what materials. The wire I found was both good in width but strength wise could be a little stronger however it still holds itself up once all put together. It was the paper mache that caused a lot of problems, when wet and applied to the wire it seemed fine, but once it dried it became tight and bent the wire in whatever way it felt like it. So I quickly had to find something else to cover it and give the animals some skin. I thought that tissue paper would be a good substitute and that if I added a light inside it would add a cool effect to the room that they were displayed in like a lantern. However, after covering half of one of the sculptures, the tissue paper was found to be a little untidy with the corners being roughly done due to the difficulty of cutting the paper and then attaching it. So once again I was back at the drawing board thinking about what kinds of fabric could use to give these sculptures skin, as it had to be in a certain colour and not be too heavy for the wire. This took a long time to find as I had little access to fabric stores, and the ones in which I did visit didn’t help all that much with helping me find the right ones to the point I gave up and tried Amazon in which I bought some Navy blue Polyester cotton to see how it felt weight wise and how it looked, as I was under the intention that Polyester cotton was shiny. 

The next major change was when I had a realisation that I may not be able to get seven get larger sculptures made in their certain style and covered with fabric within the specific deadline. So I changed up the idea a little to reduce the amount of animals I had on display and would only present the main three given me more time to work on them and make sure they weren’t rushed causing them to look bad especially as they’ll be presented in a Grad Show. This change in plan also helping the way of storing the sculptures as each one would be around thirty inches high and twenty inches wide which I wouldn’t have been able to keep in my room and I couldn’t store anywhere else. 

Then I had a tutorial a little too close to deadline, whilst I still had a lot of work to do on the sculptures, finishing building them and attaching fabric to them. However everything changed once we discussed the issue of how the sculptures would look finished and came to the conclusion they would look to crafty as even with the polyester cotton fabric the edges and corners were still a bit rough, less so with than the tissue paper yet it still didn’t look that great. Instead with help the idea changed into the sculptures having there wires bodies exposed yet their faces covered with a veil of fabric that hits the ground. The transparent like look to seeing what it’s made from gives them a raw feeling and more interesting to the audience eye, however I didn’t really like the sound showing the insides of the animals as I felt they were quite shabby looking compared to being covered in fabric but due to time it would have been impossible to get them done in time. Also with the veils I enjoyed the idea it meant that I didn’t have to rush with applying a full coat of fabric to all three of the sculptures. Now it was the issue of finding another fabric that fell in a certain way that looked nice and fall neatly over the faces of the sculptures as for the fabric to fall nicely across the detail of them. After some research about what fabrics draped nicely I came to two conclusions, silk satin and chiffon. With none of the fabric shops that I could reach in time having any of the colours I wanted I had to look on Amazon again, with orange and green chiffon coming on time and only the silk satin blue coming on time as well. Hoping they all would come earlier, of course they didn’t. After receiving the fabrics I found that the chiffon was a better fit for placing on the sculptures as it fell with weight but wasn’t too heavy the only issue was that I was missing one the colours for one the sculptures. So to fix this I used the silk satin I had received as a substitute until I got the Chiffon to complete the set, sadly that was out of hands. 

However I managed to finish the wire body of the sculptures on time with the only issues being that if moved too much the wire will start popping out of the joints. I also had problems with how the wire would come in a roll which then required me to sit and straighten out long lengths of wire for hours and hours so that when it came to putting together the sculptures, I wasn’t interrupted in having to straighten more wire and I could focus more on them. The other issue is with the hot glue that I used to put them together, as much as it is strong enough and holds them well, it only does so for a while as they can pop out, I did think about using a soldering iron and then put hot glue on top, however the thickness and type of wire I got seemed to be too thin to solder together and would be just as weak as having just the hot glue. Also, if I had realised this ahead of time I would have tried to solder it, just too see how it would affect the overall look as well as the strength of all the joints and if that would have helped them stand up more and resist more weight of the fabric. I also couldn’t test certain things at home, such as making sure the length of fabric was good enough and that they all stood up on their own without falling over. However, I do know that two of the sculptures can stand up on their own, only one falls forward which I can only fix with a possible bamboo stick hidden under the fabric to keep its chin up. Overall the sound piece was the easiest as with the help from professional toolkit in second year I knew how to record sounds and edit them on Pro Tools and Audition. This meant that when it came to recording, and especially because it was a scripted sound piece, all I had to do was record the lines and edit a few sound effects to make it like internal thoughts with some ambient noise and they were done. I didn’t choose doing just sound because it was easy, I chose it because I knew that the sculptures would be my main focus and would take most of the time I had, therefore with the sound, I could add something to the sculptures with little effort and still keep most of my focus on building them. 

I still feel that I have learnt not to think too big about what I want to do, project wise. I have these big and wild ideas from nowhere, but either don’t have the talent or time to make them which is what I found out over the course of this year with this project, as its overall size went down more and more to the point where I feel like it’s very minimal work due to its original size yet what I’ve done is a lot, especially for one person. And sadly if it wasn’t for the issue with my dissertation and problems at home I would have had an extra month or two to really sit down and put all I have into make these, possibly making them even bigger, or better quality, but I am pleased with what I have achieved this year. Also thanks to this third year project, I have learnt what I really want to do with my life, job wise and even finding myself through a series of ups and downs over the past three years, I have learnt that as I need to limit myself to what I want to achieve, again project wise and in some cases real life, there is also the fact that I can be easily disrupted from my motivation to do something that I enjoy. I find that I get too attached to my ideas which makes it harder for me to see the smaller and better outcome to said ideas, and the fact that I have no sense of time in as time management is still one of my down falls. 

The Installation + Evaluation

Finally the day of assessment was upon me, and the preparation had to be done, so I got the equipment I needed, projector and plinths, and organised sharing a room with Julia and Josh as we needed the room for our projects. 

So the day before, we gathered are projects and started to set them up in the room, first off it was trying to find the placement of all our projects and trying to find the best way to lay it out.

 

 We finally found our places in the room and set up, so now I had to position the projection so it was focused on the sculptures and not the wall and keep them in frame.

Over night I tried to convert my laptop, with the help of my dad, so it could run Windows for me to use a program, However we struggled to do that and had to look for another program which I then had to learn over night, which wasn't the best idea, but I tried my best.

So the morning of assessment I came in early to set up and make sure everything was alright and started to use this new program. It seemed easy enough until the textures I made were too big and not showing the whole image.

So I had the idea to go back and re-size all of the texture images to see if that would change the apperance... Sadly it did not. 

After much faffing around with no success I accepted the fact that this was the best I was going to get. 

The final look of the projections.

The final look of the textures mapped around the shape of the sculptures.

During assessment. Damn sun!

Fields and Frames - Evaluation

When making the textures, I sturggled with making them 3D but then wondered if it would matter seeing as they would be projected onto something and possibly be distorted. Of course I made the texture but wasn't sure if I would be able to animate them in such intricate detail to what I had in my head, instead I would keep in simple with simple frame animations, however due to time issues and fears of trying a new programme I did not animate them.
In making the sculptures everything was perfect until it started to reach the end. When finishing the sculptures I struggled to get the look of them just right, I tried to layerthe newspaper, as to get rid of the chicken wire outline, however that didn't work. So I experimented with some toilet paper to see if it would buffer out the outine, then put newpaper on top to seel it in, but that did not work either. I gave up on layering it and hoped that what ever I did, it would buffer out eventually. The final finish to the sculptures was a thin layer of toilet paper to cover up the text and colours of the newspaper, as the paint did not cover it up all that well and did not react to the surface of dried glue. After glueing the toilet paper down gently I let it dry before painting so that it had stuck properly and then painted over it which worked a lot better. Sadly they didn't come oout perfect but they are a lot better then what could have been. I actually like the texture the toilet paper has given, sadly I ran out of paint and could not get more in time, as I think they needed either 1 or 2 more layers to completely cover up the newpaper font. Next time I need to look more into sculpting as I now have the basics down. Or maybe try a easier material to work with.
When it came to arranging the instalment, I could have been a little more prepared, luckily with the help of julia, we arranged to share a room at uni to show our work in and she helped with finding me some plinths for my sculptures and recommended someone to help set up the projector. It all seemed very last minute but I managed to do it. 
As a bonus to the original idea, I was going to add a sound piece for it to give it more of an atmosphere, but due to time and forgetting that that was a part of the project so far in, it never got done. 
Overall, the project came out how I wanted too, I made the sculptures and got my hands dirty doing it. I made the textures to be projected onto it and I enjoyed the overall experience of making this project. But sadly due to badly timed personal reasons I couldn't give it my all like I hoped. Also again with better time managment and more motivation to get up and do my work, I think it could of come out even better then it already is. But even then I am still proud of what I have made and have learnt a lot from it.

Studio shoot evaluation

After a few production meetings to discuss what the film would be about, and then our roles in the pre-production process and during the two shooting days. I took the roles of Set Designer and Continuity or Script supervisor. I then went off to do my part as set designer, however the desired outcome the director wanted me to do was not explain properly. I researched what a set designer was to do and did exactly that, but according to the director all she wanted was a Mood Board of sampled wallpaper and colours for the set, with a list of props that would be on the set. Anyway, after the mucking around I finally made mood board for her and scrapped the set design. 
My job was then done till the shoot days so I researched my role for Continuity which I found out was also called Script supervisor. Looking at the things that continuity looked at and for I wrote down notes for myself to remember on the days however, with the fact that our shot didn't contain any lines and we didn't have access to slates I could focus on other things.

I took images of the props if I knew they would change during the take so I could put them back. Same with the outfits as we didn't have the same actor the next day.

We also had to redo the hole wall for the next day so I photographed it for reference for the next day and the same for the back side of the wall.

For the final shot which we tracked the camera through the hole in the wall so I took note of where Laura is as she would be seen in both shots and I also noted which position the camera went through the hole so that it could be matched the next day when we had time for pick up shots. 

Overall I enjoyed this experience however during the 2 shooting days there were a few things that could have been improved, as continuity I got a chance to sit back and observe the set whilst everyone filmed and I noticed a few roles changing, some people didn't keep the roles they were given and adapted others, and others slacked, not doing their jobs properly and not paying attention. I must admit looking back at my role, I could have done a much better job keeping track of everything, but there was so much going on I kept forgetting what was where and what I was doing. Also no one really took notice of my role, before each take I normally had to stop people because I wasn't ready noting everything down and had to keep reminding the Director to tell what shots she preferred and so on. But seeing as that was our first attempt it could have gone a lot worse and now we can look back at our mistakes and improve for next time.

Evaluation

This has been a tricky one all year round with Maps and Journeys taking the cake. To make something that can an audience engage with as an instillation piece was difficult to come up with. So many ideas coming to mind yet not enough time or knowledge to carry them out. 
To start with my original idea was kept quite small and easy to manage, using a small room to project a landscape upon too and have an individual take part in a relaxing experience or journey through that landscape. Calming noises and the smother camera movements allowing the experience to be relaxing. Of course after many meetings with tutors the idea changed or evolved over time, becoming more immersive, yet there was something missing to make it good. 
After a lecture with a Kathleen and hearing other peoples ideas I was ready to evolve mine own again, but Charlie came up to me asking if she could combine ideas with her and Katherine and become a group. Of course I took the offer as our ideas put together could make a interesting piece. Later, with lots of possible ideas passes between us, we came up with what wanted to create would be too hard. With the lack of coding skills and little time we just couldn't it. The tables turned after having a Skype meeting were we came up with the idea to do a scavenger hunt in Farnham. And with Nick joining our group we could in cooperate all our ideas together. With little to go on but rough ideas we had to make a plan that could still relate to our original ideas but in a way that was flexible enough to change into something encapsulating. We had the idea to do a student related challenge possibly held in the SU, based in and around Farnham, were 4 groups of 3 take part in three big challenges over the course of the term. However as time went on and we tested the website we found that no one was particularly interested in the event. We changed it quickly to a load of smaller, easier challenges that could be done whenever people wanted, so when deadlines came closer they were still doable for a bit of fun. 
However, it took us a long time to reach this point and far too late in the year to get it completely developed and finished before deadlines. With other things taking up time, like the studio shoot, meant that advertisement didn't make out as soon as it could, and the initial worry was that deadlines would have people not doing the event in time, so we changed it too last for a longer period of time, till 17th February, which meant that for assessment, the work that we'd be showing is a presentation for the work laid out on the table in a mini layout of how the gallery piece will look. And with the new website up and posters out, we received emails from people who want to do our event, which made us change the date and encouraged us to keep this going and push it even further.
What I could of done to improve the overall project and process was too plan as much as possible when the idea is new so we're not changing the initial idea over and over again. And as soon as the base for the idea is complete, contemplate the advertisement and get it out as early as possible. Also there's the time of the event, if it was set during freshers or re-freshers in January the hype for it could be a lot higher and it's during the start of term where courses haven't got a lot of work to do. I could have done better time management, with the amount of things happening at once, I need to spread the work evenly so I don't end up favouring specific projects at times. The communication between our group was good, using the Facebook group to help each other, Skype calls for group discussions and planning, then we used texting for emergencies and general contact. However at one point, after the studio shoot, I was creating the posters and posting prototypes on our Facebook group for feedback, yet only one person replied to me on the night that I needed it. Due to the studio shoot everyone sort of crashed and lost motivation to do work for the next week, leaving me to struggle a little bit the posters and preventing them getting out on time.

Overall, this term was difficult but I managed to get done what I needed to do, and have managed to make things works within the project. If we do get a space in the gallery I think the piece will be worth all effort and really set off the event in motion. 

Pyscho-Geography Feedback

After presenting my Pyscho-Geography work to the class, Leah gave some feeback on my work that i produced.

She suggested presenting the album of images in a different way that's more a efficient/eye pleasing when presenting it. Like a presentation slideshow or video slideshow with a narration of my journey. However, after looking around on blogger to try and improve the presentation of my work, I found a gadget for slideshows. Sadly, I couldn't get it to work so I kept it the same way it is.

She also suggested not to put landscape images into the presentation, meaning my one panorama image. However, being a landscape photographer I prefer to shot landscape images which is why they are in the this project. Overall, Leah really liked my work and thought I had grasped the concept of Pyscho-Geography.

Evaluating!

To start off with I didn't really feel enthusiastic about this project as it was hard to leave my previous film idea, however once the project started to get it's feet I started feel for it a bit more and I got into the swing of things. Leaving the planning and such to Hannah and Laura as it was their ideas, but I happily pulled my weight with filming/directing and colouring, two things I haven't done before. 

There were some things that would have been better off changing such as location for filming, however we did not have those resources at the time so we had to stick with what we had and tried to work our way around it. There is also the situation of the layout of each screen. Obviously it has been sorted to be clearer and softer on the eyes, however, before the change the screen slowly filled up with more mess and became a jumble of screens being played at the same time. Now, it's changed to only two films playing next to each other at a time instead of altogether. 

With sound, each director is commentating their film. Of course not over each other, when someones film plays only their voice will be heard, same with the other two films.

Preferably I wouldn't have wanted sound, I'd want to have the song from the original clip playing and leave the rest to the eyes to spot each difference as the piece loops. That would seem more like a gallery piece. Just having the music was going to be our original idea, then it changed to having it in the background with commentary, but we thought that might have been too much for the audience and kept the music out of it. 

Distorting and Evaluation!

For my work I need to damage the film in a way that it certain parts are preserved and still viewable. My original idea was to have a bucket full of dirty water and then sit my photos into it for a few days. So just to make sure that it would work I tested it on an unwanted photo.  

However after a few days of sitting in the water, nothing really happened to the photo apart from a few scratches from the stones and mud.

So I thinking quickly I thought bleach my affect the film so again I tested it out and tried to moderate it for when I do the final images.

With a few mistakes I managed to wash the bleach down with enough water to take the first few layers off the film, giving the image a washed/faded effect to it. In the image below I dabbed the wet image with a towel but I didn't like the look of that.

Finally I did it to my final images and used different techniques with the bleach, such as using a sponge to tab the bleach across it. 

I really enjoyed doing this as it's something different compared to what I'd originally do with this photography project. However I wished the water damage would have worked as it would have given it a more washed memory feel to the images where as the bleach seems very self damaged and done on purpose. Though it has given me the right look, I hope that with a small piece of text it'll be easily picked up that the images represent old faded memories. 

Time Art Evaluation!

I feel good with my work that I have produced, it came out better then I thought. However, from doing this project alone I have learnt a lot from my mistakes and discovered how difficult it is to wake up 5am to get quiet street for filming.
For example, with the lack of decent internet at home I wasn't able to research Lynda tutorials for when I needed them, as I regret not blending in the borders of the original images, rather than having sharp, straight lines cut across the present day footage.
I also wish I could have done a little more with After effects, as my work relied on it only when I needed to place the three screens together.
Overall I have learned from this and will apply the things I have missed to my future projects, whether in a group or on my own again. 

Sound Evaluation!

I am really proud of my Sound work as I created it into a rhythmic piece, a lot like Matthew Herbert's, One Pig album.


However i f I had more time, I would have re-recorded the sounds to make them clearer and reduce the static background noise. This would have made it easier to pick sounds for specific instruments, such as the bass drum or something with melody to it. Also I could have made the song longer, possibly stretching it too the 2 minute limit as then it could of had more lays of sound to it. Giving it a more fleshed out feel and sound a bit thicker and not so empty.