Major - Reflective Statement

To begin, this project has definitely been an experience that I will not forget. I could go on to say that the Major project has been the most challenging one that I’ve done, but I feel like the Minor project was the one in which I felt the most incapable and doubtful about in terms of what I could achieve. By the time I finished Minor, I felt so much more confident and capable, as that was perhaps the project that I learned the most on. Because of this, I was able to go into Major with a much more positive head space. However, the Major project has required the most work and time than any other project by far. In terms of my actual knowledge, I felt less in the dark here than I did in Minor, but from the start of this project I knew that I had to invest all of my time and effort into making this film, which I have tried my best to do. I have been so focused on creating my film that I haven’t had the chance to think about much else, and it has been beyond exhausting. However, this has definitely been the most enjoyable project that I’ve committed to and the thought of the end result has been kept me working continuously on what needed to be done, even during the hardest times. Mentally, I feel like although there have been many challenges, I’ve remained excited and positive about always working, whereas the Minor project was ruled by a lot more negative thoughts and self doubt. 

In this Major project, I fully rigged two characters, after also finishing the modelling for the scientist character. Considering that I fully rigged one character in Minor, but I have fully rigged two in Major while also working on my animated short, I feel proud about what I’ve achieved in this project and would like to think that I’ve improved on my skills and speed of my workflow. I feel like I have done a lot just in Major alone, and looking back over it all, I am glad that I carried on working even during the difficult times, where I felt stuck and unmotivated, as it has all gradually led up to finally creating my film. 

With animating, there were some shots that I had no idea how to approach or how I would even animate, but I found that in this project a good way to figure that kind of thing out is to just do it. There were a few shots that I found very challenging, which resulted in me working on their animation for a lot longer than I had hoped at times, which is probably one of the reasons why I didn’t get the last 2 scenes animated before the deadline. I still have a little bit more to animate which shouldn’t take particularly that long, but it would have been a lot more satisfying to hand in with those scenes too. I aim to get the rest of it animated and rendered as soon as possible, which is my priority before going back and cleaning up some of the animation and shot continuity issues that are in my film so far. 

As a whole, I know the animation could be better in some shots, but I feel it is readable and has life for most parts. It wasn’t until I had animated over half of the film, that I went back and noticed the first shots I did had more flaws than I thought. I began to notice things in the movement that made it look stiffer and less natural. Because of this, I’d like to believe that I have improved at animation during this project, or it could just be that I have become more familiar with my rigs in particular. Animating has definitely been my favourite part of this project, which is why I have enjoyed Major, and been very motivated and excited for this one. 

I really enjoyed this project, and I’m glad that my film has been going the way that I was hoping it would go. Working with a composer and a sound designer was also a great experience, and it felt nice to have music and sounds created specifically for this film. I know that what I’ve made has flaws here and there, and I should have really had every scene fully animated by now, but I think that I’m proud of what I’ve done so far, and I know that I’ve worked so hard to get to this point. 

Reflecting on this all, it feels overwhelming to think about how far my film has come and how much work has gone into it. Hopefully, once I animate those last scenes and have everything rendered, I can fully step back and take it all in, but until then, I know there’s still more to be done. Despite the end result of the Major project and my film, it has been a huge experience for me to create my film, and I have learned so much during it, and have hopefully improved on my skills here, that will stick with me forever. It definitely feels very weird to be finishing, but I have really enjoyed this final project and I am excited to have everything finalised and rendered.