According to this calendar, initially my goal for today was to complete the animation. Well, this was a very ambitious goal. Luckily I started my animation yesterday, and I am about 20 seconds in, which I feel like is a huge success. As the presentation and due date get closer the more anxious I get about finishing. But I have to say, the pressure of a due date always inspires me to get more work done and be more productive.

What I did…

Reworked my calendar. My new calendar is kind of go with the flow but is as follows:

4/27-4/30 Work like crazy on this animation

5/1 In class presentation, I am coming to terms with this being a rough cut work in progress, but hopefully will be a good representation of what the final has the potential to be

5/2-5/5 Work like crazy

5/6 Turn in this project!!! (and then cry from relief) 

Why I did it…

Okay so as you can see in my new strategy plan and calendar, I don’t really have a good plan. At this point, I just need to plug away and keep working. I have done everything I can to make this project go smoothly, from research, to story boarding, to front end work in Illustrator, now its time to just get it done.

Some constraints I have faced are: my own inexperience and time management. I have also realized some of the flaws in the Flash animation program (which is a good reason why it is not used as often in the professional world as other animation programs.)

I have also learned that I am definitely not cut out for a job in the design world, although I really respect all the work and creativity that is required to do well in the field. From now on I am going to admire from a far, far distance.

Today, and since last class, I have really been trying to get all of the work I will be doing in illustrator our of the way. This includes illustrating complex scenes and objects that will get transformed in Flash, typing out all the credits and spell checking names (there is no spell check in Adobe Illustrator) and staying consistent in a visual style.

One scene I have really been focusing on is the end of the animation right before coming to the title of the movie. This was not in my story board because I was intimated by the design aspect of it. So, I have included a screen shot of the most basic part of the scene for reference, but my goal in this animation is to make it look like someone is advancing toward the Tri-Wizard trophy in the maze, having two hands grab the trophy (which is actually a port key if you are familiar with the movie/book) and have the trophy spin into a transition to the final title scene. The handle of the trophy is actually the inside of the “P” in Potter. It’s a lot harder to explain in writing than visually so hopefully some of this makes sense.

Why I did it….

By designing everything in advance in Illustrator I am really saving myself a ton of time in Flash. The more work I put in on the front-end of this project in terms of planning, creating images and vectors for my animation in Illustrator, and working through kinks of transitioning, the less time I will spend on the back-end of this project during the actual animation. Right now my biggest concern is keeping my animation in Flash organized with labels and layers (I will post pictures in future blog posts to show just how crazy it can get) which can get really confusing during the animation. Two things I have really had to watch during this project is time management and organization. If I let one or the other go, this project can take a turn for the worse.

I was originally nervous that people wouldn’t really get the concept behind my project. So, as an introduction to my project I showed a little clip from the title sequence by Saul Bass (Catch me if you can) so that my peer reviewers had a little background as to what my end goals for this project would look like. I am considering how I can also do this during my presentation in the short time span that I have.

Unfortunately, I am still in the illustration mode of this project so I only got to show my peer reviewers parts of scenes that were more like advanced story boards, instead of any animations. My peer reviewers were excited to see the final result, which just puts a little more pressure on the execution of this project.

I am feeling a little overwhelmed by the amount of time this project will continue to take me and right now its my biggest stressor of the project. I chose an earlier presentation date to encourage myself to get this project well underway, rather than waiting until the last minute to have things start to come together.

But I have to say, I am really enjoying the challenge of working on a creative project in programs that I don’t normally get to use in other classes, and I am really happy that I committed to this animation and look forward to seeing it through to completion.

Today we signed up for presentation slots and continued to work on our project. I continued to design my animation. Two of the big things that I was able to get done was the Warner Bros logo, which was painstaking, and creating fire from vectors. I actually enjoyed designing the fire because I felt like it was done in a particular style that I hope to continue throughout the rest of the design work for this title sequence. I also began working on the most detailed scene at the very end of the title sequence that I know will take a lot of pressure off my project down the line.

Why I did it…

I didn’t realize how much I would be working in Illustrator for this project. I actually prefer working in Illustrator compared to Flash, as I am more used to the tools and can get work done faster than if I was working just in Flash. Also, in Flash objects get confusing when you start adding a lot of different elements. So, making more complex vectors in Illustrator and grouping them together I can simplify them to one object before transferring to Flash.

Still have not started an animation :( Oops..

Some of the work I have been doing in Illustrator

I have been thinking about how I am going to document my assets and sources. Since my project is already going to be a credit sequence, I need to decide how to cite my sources in an appropriate manner. I am thinking that I will include my own name in the main animation. I am also including one of my sources, the book by J.K. Rowling in the main animation as well. I might, at the very end, create a high speed assets and sources credit page at the very end of my presentation.

What I did…

I continued working on my animation. This unfortunately has not meant animating anything yet.

Why I did it…

Something I did not realize when creating my initial calendar and plans for this project, was all the prep work that needed to be done between creating my story board and diving into the animation. Creating all the elements that will eventually be animated in Illustrator first, has helped to further develop my story board, and will cut time in Adobe Flash, a program I do not have nearly as much experience with as Illustrator. I have included a couple screen shots of scenes and elements to show a little about what I have been working on in Illustrator.

What I did…

Today I am ready to begin my Flash animation. I have been creating some elements in Illustrator that will be later dragged into Flash before being manipulated by the Flash software. I have also decided which names I will be using for the title sequence. The credits I have chosen are the following:

Screen Play by Steve Kloves

Based off the novel by J.K. Rowling

Directed by Mike Newell

Produced by David Heyman

Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger

Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley

Executive Producers David Barron

Tanya Seghatchain

Music by Patrick Doyle

Why I did it…

These credits seemed to be the most important for the movie. I could not include all the credits (because it would make my animation way too long) I think that with these 10 names, plus the title of the film, I hope to keep the animation relatively short. My goal will be two minutes and my maximum will be 4.

The first scene I am going to start animating today is the Warner Bros logo with a transition into the first credit. Second, (which I will probably not get to today) I will start creating the Goblet of Fire with second credit in the flames of the fire.

My calendar is going to be difficult to predict. I am actually ready to start animating my story in Flash, but know that at first there will be a learning curve as I re-familiarize myself with the program. Also, with the experience I do have with Flash, you can get stuck on one tiny detail for hours, setting you back and in other areas that sometimes come together much easier than originally planned. But here is my project goals:

4/13 Watch Flash tutorials and get to know the program

4/15 Start animation according to story board

4/20 Reach the 2 minute mark in Flash (about half way)

4/26-28 complete animation

4/28 Add music & publish (or prepare for presentation)

What I did yesterday….

Yesterday I began working on my project. First, I found and downloaded the two harry potter fonts that I will need for the title of my story and the credits themselves. These fonts were Harry Potter (go figure) and LumosLatino, all courtesy of dafont.com. I also began illustrating some of the graphic elements in Adobe Illustrator, as I learned yesterday that you can drag vectors between Illustrator and Flash somewhat easily.

I also created my rough draft story board (as I expect design challenges will influence changes as I go) but have a basic layout that will help me begin my project in Flash.

Why I did it….

First, what was most important was to create a story board. This basic outline helped me to hammer out transition issues and picture in my head what I wanted my title sequence to look and feel like. I had to make a lot of design choices in graphics, layout, and cutting out areas that seems unnecessary to telling the final story, or seemed infeasible to execute in Flash.

Second, I wanted to make sure this project looks and feels like Harry Potter. So, I really wanted to make sure that the fonts I used were the same ones (or very, very similar) to the exact fonts used throughout the books and movies. Similarly, I will need to get the infamous Harry Potter music by John Williams called “Hedwig’s Theme” that is used in all the Harry Potter movies and promotional materials for the film series.

I have been specifically looking at the title sequence for Catch me if you Can for this project. You can view the clip

. The title sequence gives an animated and graphic summary of the actions taken by the main character in the movie. I want to incorporate these same notions with Harry Potter.

I chose Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire so that I can use the title sequence to summarize the four events of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

My most important asset will be the music from the beginning of the movie. Otherwise, all the content will be my own and inspired from a variety of sources. Some of these sources will include: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling, Warner Bros’ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, work from film graphic designers Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, and online blogs for Adobe Flash tutorials. I also found this awesome blog that has a lot of Saul Bass’ and other graphic artists’ work. http://annyas.com/screenshots/

My biggest concern for this project is the time that it will take to make the final product work. Although I have knowledge of Flash, I have not used the program since high school. The challenging part will be designing graphic imagery that is simple enough to animate is a reasonable amount of time, while being sophisticated enough to tell a coherent visual story.

If for some reason something goes terribly terribly wrong, my back up plan is to create a series of propaganda posters distributed by the Ministry of Magic, also inspired by Saul Bass and MinaLima Design Studios.

A good remix will have the integrity of the original, but add a new and innovative spin to the work, therefore creating a separate work all together. One of my favorite ‘remixes’ that caused much controversy and legal fees is the following image by artist Richard Prince, an appropriation artist who ‘remixed’ an original photograph by Patrick Cariou. The Cariou v. Prince court case, which was settled in 2014, tested the copyright and fair use in the visual arts, pushing boundaries for appropriation artists everywhere.

What makes a good digital story?

I think that a good digital story has many visual elements. One of the benefits of the digital age, is the abiltiy to create movement, graphics, and color without the limitations of print materials. When I am invested in a digital story I want to see text as well as visual cues.

Stories I am considering…

I think I am thinking of this project backwards. When I initially thought of this project I thought of one of my favorite designers, Saul Bass, and his famous title sequences for films like Around the World in 80 Days and Catch me if you Can. Now I am trying to think of a TV series or movie that would fit my goals.

Some of my  thoughts are: True Detective season 1, Harry Potter (no movie in particular,) Lord of the Rings, and the Wire. I wish I could do the Wire, but I have not seen many episodes so I think that would be more challenging. I might make a few quick story boards to see if any of them pop out at me.

And I just thought about the Sopranos and I am going to add that to the list.

Prior to choosing our interface, I researched Digital Archives throughly to see if I wanted to use it as my interface. After getting a good grasp on the affordances and constraints of the interface, I decided to move on and explore other tools. However, after hearing the presentation of Digital Archives there were a few key points that I felt compelled to expand upon.

First, I think the most important factor of the Digital Archives interface (which I believe was not mentioned in the presentation) is that it is an education initiative hosted by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA.) NARA is our National Archives in the United States and preserves and houses governmental records like the Declaration of Independence. Second to protecting and preserving these immensely important documents, NARA aims to make records accessible to the public.

Although the audience we discussed as a class was educators, students, and history buffs, I would like to suggest that the audience for Digital Archives is anyone who is not familiar with materials that can be studied in archival libraries, and those who are new to the National Archives in general. Digital Archives is a fun, interactive preview tool that was created to help gauge interest in United States history and primary source documents that NARA holds. It was not created for experienced history buffs, who would likely visit the archives data base for a more comprehensive source history, or higher level students who are very practiced in research based work.

I agree with the affordances and constraints that were shared today in class, but I wanted to make sure that the goal of the Digital Archives was understood accordingly. I also commend Digital Archives in their mission to make historical documents accessible to a wide audience both online and in their archival museums (which are open to the public.)