After a few last minute changes (including the overall size of the product which we really shouldve clarified at the very beginning of the project) we are done. You can view the final draft at the following link.
I think we have produced a product that is exactly what the client required and is a commercially viable and professional looking advertisement that introduces the community radio station and the ideologies that support.
The group worked exceptionally well and we worked hard to produce a project of a high standard for application in a 'real world' setting. I'm very proud of what we have achieved.
Showing posts with label 4zzz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4zzz. Show all posts
Oct 30, 2010
Oct 9, 2010
Summing up the Community Engagement Experience
Overall it was interesting to be able to work on a project that could potentially be a part of something professional- fingers crossed it gets an airing on Briz31.
My role has been an interesting one as producer. I've enjoyed liasing with the client and also with the group keeping morale up and working through any issues to ensure a positive and productive experience for each group member. Although the teamwork aspect of this task has been easy considering our group works together exceptionally well with egoless cooperation and each group member working to do their share and furthermore step in to help others who may be struggling. Each group member worked responsibly and with deadlines in mind. All of us worked towards a common goal and we are proud of what we have already achieved given the pleased reception we got from the client.
As part of my role, organisation and timelines were decided upon and enacted on a weekly basis through the typing up and distributing of weekly meeting minutes to the rest of the group. So from my perspective I think the project was organised effectively and efficiently as is evidenced by our ability to have completed the task on time for the client's needs.
My role has been an interesting one as producer. I've enjoyed liasing with the client and also with the group keeping morale up and working through any issues to ensure a positive and productive experience for each group member. Although the teamwork aspect of this task has been easy considering our group works together exceptionally well with egoless cooperation and each group member working to do their share and furthermore step in to help others who may be struggling. Each group member worked responsibly and with deadlines in mind. All of us worked towards a common goal and we are proud of what we have already achieved given the pleased reception we got from the client.
As part of my role, organisation and timelines were decided upon and enacted on a weekly basis through the typing up and distributing of weekly meeting minutes to the rest of the group. So from my perspective I think the project was organised effectively and efficiently as is evidenced by our ability to have completed the task on time for the client's needs.
Challenges Throughout the Project
When we first took on this project it was essentially a blank canvas with a very broad idea from the client. Our first hurdle was to narrow down what treatment we were going to apply to the advertisement and secondly how we were going to encapsulate the ethos of a 25 year old radio station in 30 seconds.
Once we had selected the idea for the advertisement and used the unifying structure of chronology to help tell the story of 4zzz we had to work together to create a treatment that each of us could understand from a design perspective given that we were an even mix of 2 and 3D animators. Flash animation was eventually decided upon as it gave us the best sense of the graphic icon driven design we were aiming to achieve.
This in itself served as a challenge to me, as Flash is a form of animation i tend to avoid given past experiences with the program and my current love affair with Toon Boom Animate Pro. So when it came time to animate my portion of the advertisement i had to relearn some aspects particular to Flash animation.
I was happy with the design of the cloud and my interpretation of the wrecking ball typography given my limited knowledge of both Flash and typographical design.
In addition to the visual we also had a few hiccups with the audio, most notably the crucial static tuning sound of the radio. Initially we had difficulty locating freely available sound and then struggled to make it sound like the tuning of a radio. After many revisions we were able to pitch it perfectly with the inclusion of a feedback sound that instantly denoted it as a wireless tuning to a new station.
All in all our challenges and the difficulties encountered throughout this project have been minimal.
Once we had selected the idea for the advertisement and used the unifying structure of chronology to help tell the story of 4zzz we had to work together to create a treatment that each of us could understand from a design perspective given that we were an even mix of 2 and 3D animators. Flash animation was eventually decided upon as it gave us the best sense of the graphic icon driven design we were aiming to achieve.
This in itself served as a challenge to me, as Flash is a form of animation i tend to avoid given past experiences with the program and my current love affair with Toon Boom Animate Pro. So when it came time to animate my portion of the advertisement i had to relearn some aspects particular to Flash animation.
I was happy with the design of the cloud and my interpretation of the wrecking ball typography given my limited knowledge of both Flash and typographical design.
In addition to the visual we also had a few hiccups with the audio, most notably the crucial static tuning sound of the radio. Initially we had difficulty locating freely available sound and then struggled to make it sound like the tuning of a radio. After many revisions we were able to pitch it perfectly with the inclusion of a feedback sound that instantly denoted it as a wireless tuning to a new station.
All in all our challenges and the difficulties encountered throughout this project have been minimal.
Oct 7, 2010
Meeting with the Client
Today we met with the client. And we were pretty proud of how our advertisement looked and so were the client. We were advised of a few minor changes such as colour and the inclusion of their new logo, but overall they were very happy with the quality and style of the advertisement.
In order to allow more time at the close of the advertisement we were advised to cut one section of the ad which we were more than happy to do :) The rest of the meeting went well and for now the rest of the semester will be spent refining the animation and typography before we submit it for (fingers crossed) airing on Briz31.
In order to allow more time at the close of the advertisement we were advised to cut one section of the ad which we were more than happy to do :) The rest of the meeting went well and for now the rest of the semester will be spent refining the animation and typography before we submit it for (fingers crossed) airing on Briz31.
Sep 30, 2010
Revising the Animatic
Our Community Engagement project is really starting to take shape. Thanks to some great revisions in our Sound Design, we now have a solid basis upon which to build the visuals.
We chose to divide each section of the advertisement as equally as we could. I was responsible for the introduction and the Cloudland section (seen in the YouTube link above). When these ideas were presented to the group it was decided that they essentially captured the 'look' we were aiming for with the ad. Although the text was a little clunky we were able to learn from Alex how to create a fluid graphic typographical look to the font and the associated revisions were made. We also decided to ditch the music notes and the dance feet entering the screen as this overcomplicated and cluttered the staging area; something we have to be acutely aware of given the amount of movement in the advertisement and the short time frame available to communicate the message.
Next week we will hopefully present our final draft animatic and then move into the final revisions before the advertisement will be ready for 4zzz. Part of my role in this later stage of the production is to ascertain the production parameters required for an advertisement on Briz31. I will also have to write a disclosure statement of some kind absolving us of responsibility in the use of the prerecorded music that the station stipulated would be ok to use. So it all seems to be coming together and after weeks of fearing that we were running behind schedule in relation to other groups, we seem to have caught up and will be ready to present the project in good time and at a quality that we the group and the client should be happy to 'own.'
We chose to divide each section of the advertisement as equally as we could. I was responsible for the introduction and the Cloudland section (seen in the YouTube link above). When these ideas were presented to the group it was decided that they essentially captured the 'look' we were aiming for with the ad. Although the text was a little clunky we were able to learn from Alex how to create a fluid graphic typographical look to the font and the associated revisions were made. We also decided to ditch the music notes and the dance feet entering the screen as this overcomplicated and cluttered the staging area; something we have to be acutely aware of given the amount of movement in the advertisement and the short time frame available to communicate the message.
Next week we will hopefully present our final draft animatic and then move into the final revisions before the advertisement will be ready for 4zzz. Part of my role in this later stage of the production is to ascertain the production parameters required for an advertisement on Briz31. I will also have to write a disclosure statement of some kind absolving us of responsibility in the use of the prerecorded music that the station stipulated would be ok to use. So it all seems to be coming together and after weeks of fearing that we were running behind schedule in relation to other groups, we seem to have caught up and will be ready to present the project in good time and at a quality that we the group and the client should be happy to 'own.'
Sep 20, 2010
Working on the Animatic
Part of our pre production package is the creation of an animatic. Today saw predominantly Beth and Alex work on the second draft of the animatic in Flash, I was also able to share opinions and share in the creation of it and the formulation of ideas.
After last week's meeting we were armed with a series of revisions and suggestions for this draft of the animatic. At the moment we have settled on the background colour, a gradient black/burnt orange fill that gives definition to the stage area of the animation and furthermore creates a border of sorts. At times we struggled to come up with politically correct icons and symbols as ironically the reason most symbols are recognizable is due to their stereotype status as the archtype; something that would be an issue for a social justice driven radio station like 4zzz.
The animatic at the moment lacks the final choice of fonts so at times it can be difficult to envision the final result. However the icons and symbols we have chosen are coming together well and fit with the overall theme and look of the advertisement.
After last week's meeting we were armed with a series of revisions and suggestions for this draft of the animatic. At the moment we have settled on the background colour, a gradient black/burnt orange fill that gives definition to the stage area of the animation and furthermore creates a border of sorts. At times we struggled to come up with politically correct icons and symbols as ironically the reason most symbols are recognizable is due to their stereotype status as the archtype; something that would be an issue for a social justice driven radio station like 4zzz.
The animatic at the moment lacks the final choice of fonts so at times it can be difficult to envision the final result. However the icons and symbols we have chosen are coming together well and fit with the overall theme and look of the advertisement.
Sep 19, 2010
Community Engagement Group Roles
We're about half way through the timeline for this project and the group has been working together exceptionally well, with each member willing to stay back to work on the project and keen to get involved in as many aspects of the project as possible.
Not sure if I've outlined this before, but felt that I should go into more detail in relation to our roles within the group.
Currently we're still in Preproduction phase and this is where my role as 'Producer' has the bulk of its workload. We sat down as a group and developed a production schedule as I see it as part of my role to ensure that we are pretty much sticking to that expectation as much as humanly possible. I also see it as part of my responsibility to keep minutes of meetings and each week I distribute through FaceBook an outline of the meeting and the set objectives for the following week. My job also entails communications with the client, setting up meetings, troubleshooting and ensuring that the group is happy with all aspects of the project thus far. As part of my preproduction role I also obtained and selected segments of audio suitable for the project.
The production phase of the project is where the other group members take charge. Marnie is sound designer, Alex is in charge of typography design and Beth is in charge of animation design. Although each of us will experience all aspects of the production phase through the equal sharing of the animation workload.
At the moment we have run into a small snag with the use of music and copyright, but its an issue that we have been able to overcome through reliance upon group members siblings (handy). At the last meeting we Marnie submitted the latest sound edit and Beth and Alex talked us through the basic animatic. We were able to identify potential issues with both aspects of the project and will work together as a team to create a vision of 4zzz that closely aligns to our and the client's expectations. I do however think that it is the sort of project that will have to wait for judgement until we can see a product in colour, as it is difficult to imagine how it will look and to furthermore ascertain whether all group members and the coordinator are on the same page in terms of design animation.
Not sure if I've outlined this before, but felt that I should go into more detail in relation to our roles within the group.
Currently we're still in Preproduction phase and this is where my role as 'Producer' has the bulk of its workload. We sat down as a group and developed a production schedule as I see it as part of my role to ensure that we are pretty much sticking to that expectation as much as humanly possible. I also see it as part of my responsibility to keep minutes of meetings and each week I distribute through FaceBook an outline of the meeting and the set objectives for the following week. My job also entails communications with the client, setting up meetings, troubleshooting and ensuring that the group is happy with all aspects of the project thus far. As part of my preproduction role I also obtained and selected segments of audio suitable for the project.
The production phase of the project is where the other group members take charge. Marnie is sound designer, Alex is in charge of typography design and Beth is in charge of animation design. Although each of us will experience all aspects of the production phase through the equal sharing of the animation workload.
At the moment we have run into a small snag with the use of music and copyright, but its an issue that we have been able to overcome through reliance upon group members siblings (handy). At the last meeting we Marnie submitted the latest sound edit and Beth and Alex talked us through the basic animatic. We were able to identify potential issues with both aspects of the project and will work together as a team to create a vision of 4zzz that closely aligns to our and the client's expectations. I do however think that it is the sort of project that will have to wait for judgement until we can see a product in colour, as it is difficult to imagine how it will look and to furthermore ascertain whether all group members and the coordinator are on the same page in terms of design animation.
Sep 8, 2010
Audio and Text
Locked in most of the audio today and was able to make some further cuts to ensure that the advertisement fits within the 30sec time slot. In addition to the audio we were able to finalise the 'script' for the motion typography. We've made the decision to animate the text and images in Flash in keeping with the streamlined simplistic design style of the overall ad.We're also going to add simplistic symbols and images to enable us to cover a range of decades and a range of topics without compromising on the mini narratives of each section.
Im envisioning this style of graphics and symbols, will create a folder to share with the others to see whether we are on the same page (literally).
Basic colours perhaps in a more pastel palette? With words, images and actions combined.
The final song for the tagline has also been chosen and its a song that we believe best fits with the ethos and motivations of the radio station.
This week will see the storyboarding completed for discussion in the next meeting. Overall progress is steady and I believe that we have a fairly unified vision of the advertisement.
Im envisioning this style of graphics and symbols, will create a folder to share with the others to see whether we are on the same page (literally).
Basic colours perhaps in a more pastel palette? With words, images and actions combined.
The final song for the tagline has also been chosen and its a song that we believe best fits with the ethos and motivations of the radio station.
This week will see the storyboarding completed for discussion in the next meeting. Overall progress is steady and I believe that we have a fairly unified vision of the advertisement.
Sep 4, 2010
4zzz Audio
Contacted 4zzz and they were extremely helpful in providing us with the information we required including the Audio snippets and the music tracks. I spent about 5 hours trawling through the tracks finding suitable key phrases and audio tracks that would be appropriate for community television. Given that 4zzz is a left wing anti establishment driven station you can imagine that some of the stuff was unusable.
The key phrases will make up the basis for the typography and by next meeting our sound technician should have a preliminary track laid down so that we can get an idea of time and amount of content that will be appropriate for a 30sec advertisement. The tracks that ive chosen give an overall impression of where the station has stood in terms of Brisbane history since 1975. We are keen to get moving on the actual motion typography but there is still more preproduction stuff to do, next week will see the final tracks chosen, the storyboard completed and the basic text movement started.
The key phrases will make up the basis for the typography and by next meeting our sound technician should have a preliminary track laid down so that we can get an idea of time and amount of content that will be appropriate for a 30sec advertisement. The tracks that ive chosen give an overall impression of where the station has stood in terms of Brisbane history since 1975. We are keen to get moving on the actual motion typography but there is still more preproduction stuff to do, next week will see the final tracks chosen, the storyboard completed and the basic text movement started.
Aug 27, 2010
4zzz Community Engagement
As part of our Community Engagement project we need to keep a blog outlining or progress. We're (me and 3 others) are working with local Brisbane radio station 4zzz to create a 30 second advertisement to be shown on Community TV channel Briz31.
Am more excited about this project now that we have got a clearer idea of our focus. We will be creating a motion graphics inspired animation that will outline the ethos of the radio station and also provide a chronological tour through the station's presence in the local community.
We have organised the group into the pre production and production phases with each person responsible for a primary role and a secondary job. I'm working in the preproduction phase which includes organising the collation and collection of the audio snippets and music tracks that will provide the basis of the advertisement. We also have a group member in charge of typography, sound design and animation.
The advertisement will signify the change in chronological era through both the sound and the visual (radios from 1970s to the present day). Instead of using a cut out style, we are planning to employ a retro graphics style to the illustrations by using a limited palette and heavy outline.
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