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Writer/Director
+44 7484 136116
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Story Planner
Writing the Script
As I had such a small amount of time to plan and execute the idea I had for my music video, I decided to work efficiently by writing the script during the process of drawing the animations. This wasn't just for efficiency, however, as I knew from the moment of conceptualization that if I was to complete the final version of the script before I began drawing, it would likely change drastically. to the point of futility, by the time it can to finishing the music video. The reason I was so certain of this was that I knew the content of the animation's story would depend quite heavily on how capable I was at drawing the images I wanted.
Looking at my finished music video now and considering this, I am certain that I made the right decision as I would never have been able to put down on paper what the animation became before I made it. Although it may seem like a risky or unprepared decision, I was very confident that I could rely on my own strange mind and also make use of this chaos to make the music video that I had wanted. Considering the focus of my video, anything too concrete may have actually negatively affected the finished product by restricting it too much.
The way that I chose to write the script was by writing a section, animating it, writing another section, and then animating it. This way I was able to spill the ideas that came to me onto paper so that I could then begin planning how I was going to draw them. However, the majority of my ideas came to me whilst I was drawing and were those that I wouldn't have thought of had I just sat down with a pen and paper.
Final Script
Film Inspiration Mood Board
Psychedelia Mood Board
Storyboards
Just like the script, I drew the storyboards during the process of animating the music video because of the impending deadline. And so the storyboards I drew were done in sections as I progressed through the animation.
Sketches
Along with the storyboards, I also did a number of small sketches to help me with the body movements and designs of certain characters. As it was my first time doing animation, I also used these sketches to get used to drawing characters from different angles and, although they were often very simple and silly, they did help a great deal when it came to actually drawing each frame.
Pre-Visualisation
During one of our rare face-to-face lessons on campus, we learned about a pre-production process known as pre-visualisation or 'pre-vis' that is carried out on many modern productions and is essentially a way for film crews to visualise complex scenes before they begin shooting to ensure that they are prepared and know how they are going to film the scene beforehand.
We were tasked with creating a simplified version of this by taking our storyboard sketches and setting them to the music that we planned to use.
Equipment List
For this project, I used a limited amount of equipment as I chose to make an animated music video and also because of the current circumstances, I had to complete it from home which meant that I couldn't access any of the college's equipment.
iPad
To draw the animation, I used my iPad Pro as the screen is 10.5 inches and so allowed me to see each frame that I drew at a size big enough to know whether I needed to make changes or adjust anything. I am obviously very used to using my iPad and I knew that it was very reliable and wouldn't cause me any trouble. Battery life didn't cause any problems as I spent the majority of the animating process sat behind my desk in my room where there are multiple plug sockets available.
Apple Pencil
When drawing each frame of the animation, I made use of my Apple Pencil which is Apple's stylus pen that connects to my iPad via Bluetooth. Because of this, the pencil allowed me to be very precise with my drawings. This helped most when I needed to draw very small things and alter very minute details in the frame. However, despite how reliable the pencil was for the extensive amount of time that I was using it, the only problem it caused was when it ran out of battery as I couldn't use it whilst it was charging. Although this may sound like a very petty issue that was to be expected, it always seemed to run out just as I had a great idea for each frame which was frustrating.
FlipaClip
The app that I used to create the animation was FlipaClip which I found whilst searching on the Apple AppStore. The reason I chose to use this specific app was that it seemed to stand out and was fairly well-reviewed by other users. When I first started using it, I was a little worried as I couldn't get the hang of it and I began wondering whether or not I would have to completely change the idea I had for this project. However, after just a little while of figuring it out, I became used to it and started to get the hang of it. The layout of the app is very simple and is clearly designed for casual users as it doesn't possess many features that are overly complex.
CyberLink PowerDirector
The editing software that I chose to use to edit the animation was CyberLink PowerDirector. I decided to use this software as it was what I had chosen to use for the previous project that I also had to make from home. Because of this, I was fairly used to the software and its simple layout and so I knew that I would likely be able to edit the music video in the way that I had wanted to. I wasn't able to use Adobe PremierePro as I didn't have access to it from home and, although it was available at college, I was only in for one day a week and didn't want to put pressure on myself by having to complete the final edit in the few days between the deadline. I also preferred the idea of using ProDirector from home as it meant that I could edit the video in peace and not be put off by people glancing over my shoulder.
Risk Assessment
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