Evaluation

In this unit at the beginning we all had to come up with ideas for a story which our environment could be set in. After this we pitched our ideas and we could choose which ideas we liked and get into our groups. Mikes idea of an underwater encounter was interesting concept to me. So I decided to join his group. In the end there was 5 of us in the group. We each picked roles, I chose visual effects, I had done very little before but was interested to learn more.

We went out sketching to get ideas for the environment . We all did storyboards and picked the best from each followed by a group animatic. We communicated with each other by creating a Facebook Group to share ideas.

We started making props and the environment. We all worked hard doing this even if it was not our specific role, for example we had to build cliff edges, rocks, fish etc. When putting the environment together we had some issues with scale. This is not a problem with geometry but is more a problem with animated and rigged objects.

After creating and texturing the environment I could start putting my visual effects into it. I had some problems with scale importing the effects. In most cases they had to be re-made in the right scale for the environment.

We did not have long left before the deadline when it came to rendering. As a group we all chipped in and did parts of the rendering. I enjoyed the challenge of getting the work completed and working together as a group to ensure that it was all completed by the deadline.

One of the problems that we had was time management. We started off well and were ahead of schedule. We seemed to loose impetus in the middle of the project but all pulled together to get it completed on time.

I was ill for a while during the project which meant I lost track of what was going on and I did not communicate well enough with the group. I felt bad about this and have endeavoured to help and contribute more in the final stages of the project (for example the rendering) as well as my visual effects, which are not incorporated into the project until its latter stages.

It is the first time that I have worked in a group where we have had defined roles, rather than just completing a small section of a project and piecing it together. I really enjoyed doing this and I now understand how this works and my role in the group. I think that I was uncertain about this to start with, but now feel much more comfortable about it and by the end, this week, I am really enjoying the challenges.

I am really pleased with the project now it is completed. Obviously there are areas for improvement, but I am happy with what we have been able to achieve as a group.