Digital Photography & Imaging - Final Project

27/10/2022 - 02/12/2022 // (Week 9 - Week 14)
Denise Anjali // 0342430
Digital Photography & Imaging // Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Final Project: Self-Titled

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LECTURES

Week 10: Link
Week 11: Link
Week 12: Link
Week 13: Link
Week 14: Link

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INSTRUCTIONS

Final Project: Self-Titled

For the final project, we are instructed to create a 1080 x 1920 px poster about ourselves. This poster will also have to be minimally animated, akin to an Instagram reel or Youtube short. We were provided a google slides file that would help us go through the process more easily.

We started out with writing a simple biography and statement about our work. Here is the summary of both of them.

For my biography, in summary, I have many interests focused on modern media and I think that my flexible sense of style reflects that. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends and experimenting through various artistic endeavours as well.
For a statement about my work, to summarize, I aim to create a simple cut and paste style poster with my current image as the center point and featuring older photographs of myself to show a contrast.

After that, we had to look for inspiration and references for the style of poster we wanted to create. I collected a few off Pinterest that had a collage or handmade style.

Figure 1.1: Poster inspiration from Pinterest, Week 11 (10/11/2022)

From the references and the idea development writing, I moved onto the sketching stage. I created 2 sketches to convey the main idea and estimate the layout.

Figures 1.2 & 1.3: Poster layout sketches, Week 13 (22/11/2022)

From these sketches, Mr Fauzi advised me to go with the second sketch's idea which is more interesting. He also suggested that the animation could be that the cursor moves and clicks on the photos in the photo strip which would change the colour of the images from black and white to colour.

Based on the sketches, I created the static poster image. I started with the background and main photo so that I could arrange the frames for the other images. From there, I added the photos to fit within the frames of the MS Paint window and the photo strip.

Figures 1.4 & 1.5: Process of creating the poster, Week 13 (27/11/2022)

From this step, I created the final static image and could move on to the animating part of the project.

Figure 1.6: Final static poster, Week 13 (28/11/2022)

Using the skills we learnt from the exercise in Week 10, I started animating the poster in After Effects. Because the animation is meant to be minimal, I only animated the initial colour changing photos at first along with the mouse cursor moving.

Figure 1.7: After Effects timeline screenshot, Week 14 (30/11/2022)

At first it was too slow, so I added another cycle of the animation in between so that the colour of the photos would change to a saturated hue on the first click before reverting back to full colour on the second round of clicks. Additionally, I made the text in the speech bubble in the comic background appear over time as a little extra detail.

Here is the final video with music to go along with it. The song in the video is called Sunshine and Butterflies by Comfi Beats (aka Lilypichu).

Video: Final animated video of the poster, Week 14 (01/12/2022)

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REFLECTION

Exploration: This project required quite a bit of introspection in order to decide on a theme for the poster. This was the most difficult part for me but in the end I managed to create an image and animation that I am satisfied with.

Observations: Working on this project has made me realise that I tend to have the urge to over-complicate and try to add too many details. I had to turn the dial down and reassess what was truly necessary. When working off a simplified sketch, I need to follow the barebones guide to the end before adding more details rather than trying to add them as I go along.

Findings: I've found that while the different applications look and function differently, I should not be afraid of exploring new programs. They work together to enhance the end product. Despite the different layouts, they both are not very complicated as long I go about it methodically and follow some tutorials.