Web Banner Animation

Today we began by looking over our time logs and seeing what we had to do over the next hour. I had to create the movement for my assets in the web banner. I did this by using the create motion tween option and drawing a path that I felt was suitable enough. I then drew the other assets in to add decoration to the web banner.

After break we had an hour and forty five minutes to continue with more of our animation. We had this amount of time because today was an interview day for students that wish to join Develop next year. In this amount of time I got the frame timings to a more suitable level so that the assets would appear and disappear at the required points.

Overall today was a very good day because I achieved a lot on my animation and a few other tasks. I made the assets in my animation move, I wrote up reviews for each hour and added information to the design log. The positive of the day was the workload I got done. The negative of the day was the long lunch session that took one hour and forty five minutes.  

Creating the Animation

Today we began by doing a quiz that had a different format compared to other quizzes. In today's quiz we had three possible answers and one of these answers was the odd one out. We then had to select which one we felt was the odd one out and then give a reason for it. I achieved a score of 4 out of 11 which is low but not the lowest score.

We then moved on to creating our animations for assignment 3 task 1. I began by looking at the design brief and then designing the layout of the animation. I then had to hand in a re-submission for the previous assignment so that I was not capped for the unit or potentially fail the assignment.

Overall today was a good day because I got lots of work done and I am currently on schedule in terms of my design plan for the animated web banner. The positive of the day was the quite amusing score I achieved in the quiz along with a few other people. The negative of the day was that I was not able to get ahead of my schedule.

Assignment Deadline

I have learnt about how to make an effective storyboard that conveys ideas while also having clear images. I also learnt how to make an effective time planner, it involves adding dates and adding in notes on what you expect to achieve in that time or day. I felt that I have learnt a lot today but I can still learn a bit more.

I will meet my deadlines by saving any documents to Google drives and then completing any work left at home. I will then hand this work in on time so that I do not get my grade capped for the unit. I will also do re-submissions at home so that I do not miss those deadlines and not achieve a good grade.

I would like you to know that I feel assignment two is in my opinion focused on the drawing aspect a bit too much meaning I have to look at my horrific drawings every five minutes. This does not help when other people around me draw really great drawings in comparison to my drawings. I feel that my drawing skills will take years to improve so at the moment it is a struggle to create a good drawing.

Half Term Over

My Flash skills have improved because before we started using Flash I could barely draw or make anything move across the screen. We were set different video tutorials that described different tools and methods available in Adobe Flash. These tutorial videos taught me how to draw more effectively and tween drawings.

I have re-submissions coming up for the games design unit. These include assignments 1 and 2 of unit 22. I also have assignment four of unit 22 to complete by today so I will be working on this until I finish it. I will do the other assignments later because they are not due in for another couple of days. 

I enjoyed the activity at the beginning of the lesson because it fun and it helped improve our drawing skills. I enjoyed the Flash tutorials as they helped to improve my knowledge and skills about Flash while also helping me come up with ideas for my animated banner when we have to create them. 

Half Term

Today we had a half day so that meant that we finished at lunch time. We began the day by being put into groups of 4. We then had to come up with a key term for animation and then the next person in the group would have to come up with a key term for animation using the end letter of the first key term. I found this to be confusing at first but our group eventually grasped the idea.

We then moved on to working on an Adobe Flash tutorial. The tutorial was for creating a train that would move across some tracks. I found the information in the tutorial to be confusing at some points as it did not specify where certain tools were. I did enjoy the tutorial in the end though because I managed to animate the train to go to the end of the screen.

Overall today was a good day because the activities helped to improve both my knowledge and my software skills. I also learned the creative process of making a product. It starts off with brainstorming and then becomes a spider diagram, then a mind-map and finally a mood board.

Design Brief

Today we began by playing a game of yes or no. We each had a famous person, item or tool to do with animation written on a post it note that was stuck to the forehead. We then had to walk around the classroom looking for someone who we felt matched whatever was written on our foreheads. I found this task to be both fun and informative because it combined knowledge with fun.

We then did a quiz about animation. I found the quiz to be very good as there were no observational questions and it was just facts and information based questions. I only managed to score 7 out of 10 which meant I did not get the dual monitors for a week. We then moved on to writing up design briefs for example banners on white boards. I found this to be helpful when it came to writing my own design brief.

Overall today was a good day because we started off with two fun activities that also helped with our understanding of animation. I also got to learn a bit more about Adobe Flash which is the program that I will be using to make my animation. The negative of the day was that I did win the quiz which annoys me because I still haven't won the dual monitors yet.

Claymation and Stop Motion

Today we began by talking about Claymation. We had to research facts, key dates and people of note and then share this information with the class. I felt this helped me to understand a bit more about Claymation. We then did the same task but instead looking at stop motion animation and coming up with examples of films. I enjoyed the film clips of Wallace and Gromit and Jason and the Argonauts because they helped me to understand how animation worked during that time period.

We then moved on to working on more of assignment one task one. I managed to complete three sections of assignment one task one. This included uses of web animations, history of web animation and animation. I feel that I am course to meet the now extended deadline of Monday the 16th of February.

Overall today was a good day because I got to learn more about key terms and phrases in web animation. I have worked on a lot of assignment one task one so that I can meet the deadline, Also have less work to do later on in the week when I have assignment 1 task 2 or any re-submissions that I may need to complete.

Animation

Today we began by making an A-Z of key terms in the current unit we are doing which is web animation. We then went around the class each sharing what we had put for a certain letter. I felt this helped me to remember more key terms and the definitions of each of these definitions.

We then moved on to working on assignment one task one. We had to write an article about certain aspects of animation. This ranged from uses of web animation to the history of web animations. I feel that my assignment is going very well because I have lots of detail and I am following the scheme of learning so that I meet criteria.

Overall today was a good day because I got two sections of assignment one done and I am halfway through the third section. I also got to recap other key terms which I may have forgotten or needed my memory jogged on. The negative of the day was the repetitiveness of the assignment because when you write lots it becomes a strain.

Presentation Day!

Today we began by writing up a list of PowerPoint presentation do's and don'ts. We then had to narrow these down to a top three and then share these lists with the class. This helped me too realise what techniques are needed to make a good presentation and presenter as well as seeing if I can make improvements to my own presentation.

The time then came to present my PowerPoint to the rest of the class. Unfortunately the other person I was working with was away so I had to do the presentation all by myself. I felt the presentation could of gone better because I stuttered on some lines but overall the presentation was considered a cross between adequate and good.

Overall today was a good day because I got my presentation out of the way. I also got to write some more of assignment one which is due in on Wednesday. The negative of the day was writing up a smart target because I find writing smart targets to be particularly boring. I hope to learn more key phrases soon as I am finding it hard to write definitions of these words.
 

New Unit!

Today we began by making a mid-map containing different key words about the new unit which is Web animation. I feel that I know very little about the key terms until we went into more depth about them. I learnt about frames, frames per second and about a tool that is used by animators in Adobe Flash.

We then moved on to looking at different videos which show how videos are affected at different frame rates. We were then put into pairs to come up with a presentation about an allocated topic. The topic me and my partner were given was animated banner ads and animated interface elements. We will then present these tomorrow.

Overall today was a good day because it was a fresh unit and it was a unit that I have learnt before. I am also keen on learning about animation. I enjoyed watching the videos because it was both informative and interesting. I also enjoyed working in pairs to come up with a presentation. I did not enjoy the mind map at the start because I barely had anything on the page.

The Final Countdown

Today we began by writing up a self-assessment of what we were planning to do during the day. We did this by replying to an email that contained certain questions that needed answering. I felt this again helped to set out my goals for the day and achieve them while also being slightly more reflective as well. My goal today was to finish assignments two and three.

We then moved on to completing any work we had left for the communication technology unit. I completed assignment two and half of assignment three in this allocated time. I completed a table comparing transmission methods on assignment two and made a step by step guide for accessing both Skype and a wireless connection. I also wrote up a section of the report that required us to compare the effectiveness of Wi-fi and a wireless connection.

Overall today was a good day because I managed to achieve some of the goals I had set out on the self-assessment. I had managed to complete an assignment and half of another assignment. The negative of the day was that I could not finish assignment three today as I cannot access bluetooth on my phone and I only managed to write half a report so I still have work to do tomorrow at home.

Februrary

Today marked the first day back at develop on a February. We started off by replying to an email in which we had to state our goals for the day, how we would go about achieving these goals and how the criteria was met. I felt that doing this helped me to organise the day and to get on with my work.

We then moved on to completing any assignment work we had outstanding. Since today was the deadline for assignment two I decided to complete as much of assignment two as possible. I completed task one and I am currently midway through task two which I will complete at home so that I meet tonight's deadline.

Overall today was a good day because I got my day organised and I was able to be observed while connecting to Wi-Fi which is part of assignment three. I completed task one of assignment two and handed it in. The negative of the day is the amount of work still outstanding although I can use independent study time to complete this work.