class evaluation

1. In general, what did you like most about this class?

i loved learning how to make Detailed animations with interesting stories 

2. In general, what did you like least about this class?

Storyboards 

3. What were your most favorite project and least favorite project and why?

my favorite project was my final because i always liked making videos related to a song in the background
my least favorite project was my 3D short because i just couldn't think of a interesting story at the time

4. Do you feel that this class will help you achieve your future academic or career goals? How or why (or why not)?

Yes i do feel that this class will help because of the lip synching the walk cycles timing and all the principles of animation will help me make video games if i make it there 

5. Additional comments:

Mrs. Licata is a awesome teacher and i will miss all of my new friends i made in Animation we had good times i wish you all the best 

Reality TV post

what i learned:

• adults watched things as kids that they wouldn't approve of for their own kids
• not many shows revolve around watching as a family nowadays 
• that Duck Dynasty, Storage Wars are some of the shows that are watched by families (i love Duck Dynasty)

opinions:

• i like that families can find things to watch together
• i dont like that their isnt many things they can watch together

question: why do they have so little family based shows?

Glass Film making with Lajoie Petrov post

things in learned:

• that they make animations on glass
• that its only done by a few people
• that the old man and the sea was on glass

opinions:

• i like how he was able to make the art look so awesome while doing it on glass
• i don't like that not much more people do this style even though its hard work its very cool

question: what made him want to do it on glass in the first place?

weekly post

what i learned:

• that i need to add a few things to my final to make it better even though i did think it was good in the beginning 

what i want to learn:

• how to make a full scale video game

something that frustrated me this week:

• the online proficiency assessment

something that made me happy:

• passing the online proficiency assessment

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8bOm7DrJ7o

i thought this was a great example of how music can really play into the song it made me think of the abstract audio project cause there was no singing involved but yet it was really good i loved how intense the emotions of the video played out in the music it was very well crafted i hope you enjoy it as much as i did.

Documentary mistakes

things i learned:

• that a soundtrack could make or break a documentary 
• that you should do script after shooting in a documentary
• that documentary writers sometimes don't even have a strong vision in mind

opinions:

• i like how this tells you all the simple mistakes you could make
• i don't like how some mistakes that can occur could be avoided with a little common sense so why point them out

question: why don't they make sure the have a strong vision before they go with the idea?

'Brave' sexism post

what i learned:

• that they call her a princess
• that she hates the dress in the movie
• that they even made a doll of the character (i.e. im a guy don't care about dolls)

opinions:

• i dont like that Disney isn't using the original idea for the character as a strong willed woman
• i do like that people are fighting for the original concept of the character to be used in the doll

question: why did Disney make it so girly in the first place?

weekly post

what i learned this week:

• i learned that my project was a little more longer than i thought it was

what i want to learn in the future:

• i want to learn to make video games 

something that frustrated me:

• was the fact that i had to improve some things that i did find OK at first

something that made me happy this week:

• i got these blogs done and i liked the improvements i had to add to my project

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYAQ6ZWiZS4

standards of living post

things i learned:

• i learned that someone actually made a movie on a I-Pad 2
• i learned that they put a criticizing guy in the start 
• i learned that it being put into film festivals atm

opinions:

• i like the idea of using unconventional means to make a movie
• i don't like the fact that people might be to critical of the movie

question: why did he want to make it on a I-Pad 2 in the frist place

crowdfunding post

things i learned:

• i leaned that they have a website for people to put cartoon ideas on and people vote to continue them
• i learned that it hasn't been accepted by a company yet
• that they earn alot of money to make these cartoons to try and get them to be put on tv and continued

opinions:

• i like how people can vote for shows they wont to continue
• i don't like how they havn't been accepted by a company yet

question: what made them think to make this site?

weekly post

what i learned this week:

• i learned that ive only gotten a little over half way in my final project some im gonna have to try to push my self even harder and come back and add stuff after if there is time

what i want to learn in the future:

• i wish to learn how to do work faster in this future so i can get video games made fast along as well if i can become a video game designer like i want

what frustrated me this week:

• that during the half way period of class ive been falling asleep for a few minutes

what made me happy:

• that this time i brought coffee to keep me awake during my project

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_HRA-VSGXE

i picked this because it was quite interesting and brought some interesting emotions to mind when i watched it

pixar use of Moores Law post

things i learned:

• that theres a Moores Law
• that it takes certain intervals of time for a computer to get better
• that they tried so many times and had to back out of projects until Disney proposed Toy Story to them

opinions:

• i like that they knew when to back out until they had better equipment
• i don't like that it takes such long intervals for a computer to get better

question: why did they even try some projects if they knew their computers were to slow to do them and then they end up having to get out of the agreement

Robotic interviewers post

what i learned:

• i didn't know they were gonna have little robot reporters
• i had no idea that the voice was a 7 year olds
• i had no idea that people are not asked these questions normally

opinions:

• i think its kinda rude to have these things going around asking personal questions
• i do like that they have such a cute child like voice

question: why do they look as if they are made of cardboard?

weekly post

what i learned this week:

• that my final project is gonna take alot more time than i first thought but im not doubting that ill get it done

what i want to learn in the future:

• how to make video game characters

something that frustrated me this week:

• that i kept struggling to keep my eyes open to keep working

what made me happy:

• was when i got a few scenes done this week

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S3IPzquZNk

i thought this was quite interesting it showed some good use of forshadowing along with some some secondary action when the guy was at the computer over all i think it was a well made vid and i hope you all enjoy

disney stealing copyrighted image and putting it on bags post

things i learned

• i learned that someone drew a picture of alice and Disney stole it and put it on their bags
• i also learned that artists who have been victims of copyright infringement don't all the time know what to do 
• i learned that she still hasn't got a hold of Disney

opinions:

• i don't think its rite that Disney didn't get the artists permission to use her art work
• i don't think that even though the bag is obviously her artwork that just because the t-shirt is inspired by her artwork that its illegal cause the t-shirt is different but the bag is truly a bad thing

question: why can't people make sure that they are not breaking copyright law before they use something

jonathan coulton interview post

things i learned:

• i learned that there were planning to make a comic based on Jonathan coulton's songs
• i learned that they are making code monkey a actual monkey
• i learned that he is supposed to team up with a villain (skullcrusher)

opinions:

• i think its a interesting idea to make a comic out of his songs
• i honestly dont care for the idea of code monkey being a real monkey

question: what made them want to make a comic in the first place?

weekly post

what i learned this week:

• i learned that its not easy to match up words in a song with lip syncing 

what i wish to learn in the future:

• to add lip syncing to video game characters i make

something that made me frustrated this week:

• figuring out how much work it took me to do a little bit of my project

something that made me happy this week:

• figuring out that if i keep trying i can make this final project really good i hope

link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqxm4wGD6oA

i chose this link because its not all in your face but uses some good animation principles to show some deep emotions to its viewers and also i thought it was pretty cool to watch

Tips of storytelling post

things i learned:

• that you should use a lot of verbs
• need to use all the senses not just sight
• also you don't need to give a back story

opinions:

• i like that he points out that you need to use descriptive words to display emotions just not stating them
• i like that these are good tips that don't seem to have any flaw in them

question: why would he give these tips to everyone when he could just keep these golden tips to himself?

smell-o-vision post

Things i learned:

• that smell-o-vision has been around for awhile even if it was only in a primitive version
• also that they went from oils to cartridges at the moment but no one has one in their house yet
• i also learned that they are trying to make it come from the screen wich they have done mostly with fans blowing the smell from the cartridges to the spot they want it to come out

opinions:

• i don't like it for the fact that it would take alot of work to set up your movie/game to have the sents come out and also it would cost alot of money to keep replacing the cartridges 
• i like it for the fact that it would be cool to go to a beach in a video game and be able to smell the ocean breeze

question: why did people want to be able to smell the scents in a movie anyway?

weekly post

what i learned this week:

• that trying to figure out what to do to make objects go with music is quite difficult

what i wish to learn in the future:

• i want to learn how to make a full functional video game using ideas and techniques i have gained from this class

what frustrated me this week:

• was when i forgot to draw characters for my 11 second animation like i planned on doing

what made me happy this week:

• what made me happy was finishing my abstract audio project 

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4CSRo1iJJE

i chose this because it has some really good concept to it and storyline

No place like Oz post

what i learned:

• that the monkey talks
• that there is flying baboons 
• also that the china doll is alive (i havn't seen the movie)

opinons:

• i like that they have it where you get to see the landscape of Oz because of the flight of the baboons
• i don't like that he had to really fight for the flying baboon part to stay in

question: why didn't they make a movie revolved around the wizard in the first place?

8 steps to a successful filmmaking in the winter post

what i learned:

• i didn't know you needed to Acclimate the camera
• i didn't know you want to under expose your image
• i didn't know you want to bring plastic bags with you

opinions:

• i don't like that the obvious is stated to bring warm clothing
• i do like that they give enough steps to make sure you don't ruin your equipment

question: why did they have to tell you to wear warm clothing i thought that would be self explanatory

weekly post

what i learned this week:

• i learned that lining up objects with audio is not as easy as i once thought its more tedious

what i want to learn in the future:

• how to make interesting videos and video games in the future

what frustrated me this week:

• was trying to get the objects to do stuff to go along with the audio

what made me happy this week:

• was getting blogs done before i forgot (also breeding ALL THE STARTERS FROM EVERY POKEMON REGION for others with their egg moves)

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfYKn-LairA

i thought this had a good use of Alpha and a good use of angles and color combinations and i just love these amv's

how to make your videos good post

things i learned:

• that its hard for people to talk to a camera like it was a living being
• that companies buy certain channels that get a lot of subscribers in their field of work
• that if you want people to watch your videos especially if they are tutorials do at least 1 every week.

opinions:

• i don't like how some stupid stuff can get some many subscribers and views when stuff like that cat vids are common knowledge to a normal person
• i did like how they explained to talk like your talking to a friend and make it interesting to keep your viewers attention

question: why do people watch some videos that they should already know about? (such as taking care of a cat)

Pixar's Senior Scientist post

things i learned:

• that they actually stated the use of math in animation
• that they had to make a new physics engine for Merida's hair
• also that her hair is made of 100,000 individual elements

opinions:

• i liked how much work they put in to make Merida's hair seem life like
• i didn't like how many elements they needed to make her hair seem life like

question: why did it take so much work just to make her hair life like?

weekly post

what i learned:

• i learned that i really find lining up the audio with shapes is pretty difficult 

what i want to learn in the future:

• how to make a really advanced character 

what frustrated me this week:

• that i couldn't think about some things for my audio project

what made me happy this week:

• what made me happy was when i got some ideas for my audio project 

link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djrSeJnwBEE

i chose this cause it uses a good sense of emotion in its technique and it shows a good contrast of color

Amid Oscars Fanfare post

things i learned:

• i learned that they declared bankruptcy even though they make a lot
• i learned that they left many without jobs who ended up protesting
• i learned that VFX has been around since 1902

opinions:

• i don't like how so many lost their jobs 
• i like that the workers protested about the loss of their jobs for no good reason

question: why would they declare bankruptcy when they still were making money even if it wasn't as much as they wanted.

guest commentary: life of indian 3D artists

things i learned:

• they have to pay around 4 months pay as a deposit 
• they get no interest to the money they deposited
• that they can get fired or hired at any time 

opinions:

• i think its wrong that these studios treat these people like this i don't like it
• i like that this man was smart enough to get out and get a job where hes able to spend time with his family

question: why must people always go after the biggest profit even if it means treating others like crap?

weekly post

what i learned:

• i learned what the audio project is all about and i think im gonna really enjoy it

what i wish to learn:

• i wish to learn how to make a game using these techniques in the future wich will most likely be after im done with school

what made me mad this week:

• trying to see if i could add something to my 3D short when i love it just the way it was

what made me happy:

• learning about the audio project and getting to watch examples made me really happy 

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DadhaG4ph60

Motion Capture Filmmaking post

what i learned:

• i learned that more and more films are using motion capture
• i learned that this can limit the number of actors needed in a film
• i also learned that Serkis is teaching the method to others to advance the film industry

opinions:

• i like the idea of making the characters seem more emotional and life like by using the process of motion capture.
• i don't like the idea that actors could be replaced in a film by just one actor to play many of the roles they would of played i feel bad for them that this could happen

question: why did they just think to do this kind of stuff and not sooner?

Filmmaking Tips From the Disney Masters post

what i learned:

• i learned that you should keep your failures not throw them away
• i learned that you should animate from inside your character (pretend you are the character)
• i learned that life experiences can influence a character

opinions:

• i liked the tips considering they actually can help increase artistic capabilities 
• i don't like that im supposed to keep all my failed drawings they make me sad i like my good ones

question: why would you have to tell people to use there real life experiences in their artwork i thought it would be common sense to do so?

weekly post

what i learned:

• i learned that 3D walk cycles are kinda easier than i originally thought even though mine stinks

what i want to learn in the future:

• how to make a better walk cycle and maybe make my character Gumby come into a later project

what frustrated me this week:

• trying to get my blogs done so i don't forget and that i got hit in the lip in badmitten

what made me happy:

• was that i was able to get my 3D short done all i have to do now is turn it in

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZqBaG2Uzfc

i thought it was quite interesting with the bright colors and how it showed use of animation techniques like lighting

facebook Emoticons

things i learned:

• i learned that facebook was looking to improve there emoticons
• i learned that its not easy to show certain emotions on a emoticon
• i learned that the Pixar animator helping them wants to make them into like tiny living characters

opinions:

• i like how he shows the negative emoticons so simple but they still show the emotion well
• i didn't like that facebook needs so many emoticons though

question: why does facebook need new emoticons in the first place?

Star Wars, Avengers, and TV’s Lost Generation post

things i didn't know:

• i didn't know that some movie writers started with tv
• i didn't know that Whedon did Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• i didn't know that people thought that making a television show was just like making movie but shorter

opinions:

• i liked that i know who made Buffy the Vampire Slayer now
• i didn't like the fact that people think movies and television or so similar when there are different aspects employed in each

question: how can Ron Moore not think of something good to do?

Filmmaking Tips from Quentin Tarantino

things i learned:

• i learned that a lot of people lie to get into the movie business
• i learned that Quentin puts certain personal things into his movies
• i learned that he hides the personal aspects very well and only people who know him have a chance to know what parts refer to him

opinions:

• i liked the fact that he hides stuff about him in his videos
• i don't like how he lied to get into the movie business even if it was necessary

question: why does he hide his aspects of his life in his films?

Weekly update

I learned:

• that im gonna have some getting used to 3D before i get good at it

i want to learn:

• how to shape a good looking character in 3D

what frustrated me was:

• was how long the rendering took before i changed the settings

what made me happy:

• is that i think i got my logo the way i want it just hope i can get it a little longer by adding more camera angles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj6d36Cdi1A

i chose this video because i thought it was quite interesting and used many cool animation techniques

Escape from Tomorrow post

I learned:

• that someone was making a movie at Disney theme parks
• that Disney doesn't like the idea of a dark view of there property
• that he is pretty much saying Disney characters are evil in the movie (wich i believe Micky is cause i have always hated Micky Mouse)

opinions:

• i like the story behind his movie that a father goes crazy after going to the amusement park
• i didn't like how Disney is overreacting to a source of entertainment its not like little kids are gonna stop loving there favorite characters if they watch this

Question: why did he decide to make this movie and what made him think of this movie idea? i wish i could get into his mind to find out his interesting way of thinking

Disney Infinity post

i learned:

• That Disney is going to try and copy/ beat 2 of the best games ever skylanders and minecraft 
• i learned that there going to have 3 separate games and 1 universal game mode where all the characters can intermix with each other
• i also learned that its gonna be for Wii U, Wii, Playstation 3, and XBOX 360

opinions:

• i don't like that there pretty much copying minecraft and skylanders they should come up with something original.
• i do like that there gonna have Jack Sparrow in it thats prob the only reason id even touch this game.

Question: Why can't Disney do something more original? Its not like people are gonna stop playing skylanders or minecraft cause they are so awesome.

weekly post

i learned that my rotoball took along time to finish more than i originally thought i had to do it over the break.

i cant wait to learn 3D in cheetah next week

what frustrated me this week was geting new audio for my stop motion

what made me happy this week was getting both the rotoball and the stop motion in finally

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUFdMsSQGCw

i chose this video because it seemed like it had alot of emotion and animation techniques infused into it and it seems like a mixture of upbeat and torture in one to me

the 7 rules to writing a short film

i learned a few good things from this articles such as:

• the shorter the short film the better
• i didn't know that you should really keep cost in mind even with a short film
• i also didn't know that they take the same amount of work and thought to write a short film script just like a full sized film

i liked:

• how they explained what you should be aware of if you wish to make a short film
• i did like how they said think about cost of what you want to do and to keep it simple if thats all you have the resources for

my only question is: why can't short films be a little longer? cause they leave me wanting more

why traditional film making beats 3D any day

this article has given me a new way to think
I've learned:

• that 3D actually doesn't communicate true emotions like a traditional 2D film that they have perfected so well
• i learned that a 3D video can actually propel someone who knows what they came to see
• i also have learned that they look unreal and fake cause the film makers try to rush something they have not mastered yet

I liked:

• how he explained his opinion on these new 3D films he shows a good point

I disliked:

• how his opinion is making me not want to watch the hobbit cause i've been looking forward to seeing it

my question is: why do film makers rush what they do not have a full understanding of and try to leave behind what they are actually good at doing?