As I near the conclusion of my first year at Leeds Metropolitan University, I find myself reflecting on the projects I have created and the lectures I have attended. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year of animation and special effects, and feel that my quality of work has greatly improved. I have felt much more at ease attending Leeds Met then I have at previous schools, and colleges. I used to feel that my views were brushed aside for a forced modern outlook. However at Leeds Metropolitan I felt respected for what I admire and enjoy.

The lectures were very interesting, and I always found the subjects touched upon to be intriguing. I enjoyed the visits from old Leeds students and looking at where there experience at Leeds Metropolitan has taken them. It interests me; as I like to see what options are open to me when I finish my course. I also found the genre lectures very interesting, and I always tried to make a page of response to back up what I learnt. The lecture that stands out in my mind was where we learnt about the history of 3D, and spent the whole hour wearing 3D glasses. I found this an entertaining lecture, and found that I had a keen interest in 3D, and in the future I want to look more in to the subject, and possibly do something with 3D myself. I found most of the subjects to be very inspiring, for example for my final project I felt undecided about what I wanted to do. I went to my morning lecture hoping for some inspiration, where we touched on the subject of Stop Motion, something I was thinking about at the time. While watching some Corpse Bride, I found that it was something I was very interested in, and knew that this was something I wanted to consider for my work.

The first few weeks of term were spent looking in to different subjects. This was an excellent way to start the year, and I felt that it helped me settle in well. I found it was a great way to meet new friends and work partners as most tutorials we had to pair up. We learnt basics of graphics and audio, and how to use them effectively. We also touched on the programme Photoshop and how to use the basic tools. We also learnt about the best resolutions to export our work as. All this helped me, as well as reinforced some things I already knew. This all came in handy during the year, and will help me in the years to come.

I have had experience in film making in the past, and always enjoy being in front and behind the camera. As it isn’t often I get to use high quality equipment, this was a real treat. My photo shopping skills came in handy also, as I had to create the background for the major scene that would incorporate the animated robot. This used a photograph of the James Graham building, however it needed to look like ruins and have large pieces missing. This meant using the clone tool to remove parts of the building and any people from the scene. I also took stock photographs of craters and bullet holes from creative commons, and added them to the photograph. Working in the blue room was a new experience for me, as the closest I have been to a blue screen was the one in Bradford Film and Photography Museum. This was an exciting experience, and something I would love to use in the future, as I enjoyed seeing the world I had created become the background behind fellow student Alex.

The 3D project was interesting, and I really wanted to do something great. However at that time, I was taken ill, and was absent for a number of weeks. This left me at quite the disadvantage, and I when I returned I found the project was to be handed in later that week. However my tutors were very understanding, and helped me get my work back on track, and helping me though the extension process. They gave me help, and I managed to gain a decent mark, although it wasn’t to the standards that I was hoping for, due to me missing a number of tutorials on 3D Studio Max. I enjoyed using 3D Studio Max, although the software was frustrating at times. I found the software was easy once I understood the components, although I still spent a good amount of time scratching my head in confusion. However I was pleased with my overall finished product, and the detail it could take. I intended to add television footage, but unfortunately I didn’t have the footage I needed, and I couldn’t get hold of it. I intend to use 3D Studio Max, during the summer, and hone my skills in the subject a little more.

The website project was the hardest project I encountered. I’d never tried to create a website before, and found the software difficult to grasp. I also encountered problems with the tutorials. I was given tutorials for Dreamweaver CS3; however I was using a copy of CS4. This caused problems concerning Layout mode, which had been taken away from CS4. I unfortunately had to scrap my whole design that I had created in Photoshop, and create a more basic design. I then had to build everything smallest detail inside tables, which made it very precise and I had to align everything, as the tables wouldn’t let me move things around the screen. However after talking with my tutor I got around the difficulties I faced with the website, and was able to get a decent standard. In the future I intend to use in older version of the Dreamweaver software, or try out some tutorials for flash, and build a more flexible and interactive website. I hope that I might get some time in the future to gain some more experience in building websites, and possibly use it to create promotional pieces for future work. I also created a promotional banner using the basic design I created for the finished website. This turned out very nicely and is something I intend to use in the future, possibly as a promotional ident for my film and animation work. However I would intend to animate it in some form so that it’s more interesting.

In lectures we told to look in to the idea of ethics. I found this very interesting, and new. I had never thought deeply about ethics before and found that much of my work that I looked in to had some form of ethical undertone to it. We were told to create a minimum of two pages in our sketchbooks on ethics, which I did. I looked in to the Disney World War Two propaganda films, and the ethical problems that they had. I also looked in to the video game Bioshock, which gave you the ethical choice of harvesting or saving young girls. This really interested me, and I felt very devoted in to looking in to this. I have enjoyed learning about ethics in the past, but it was never necessary to read in to it, and I always decided to focus on my main work.

Throughout the year I have been thinking on my learning style, and how best I work. I never really thought about it before, as I always forced myself to sit and study. I never really tried a different approach. However, after this year I left myself open to new ways of working, and through this I found that I work better without sitting and reading, which was my original study style. I found that I prefer to see visuals and that through images I learn a lot quicker and easier than simply being told were to go. With visuals I can see exactly where everything is, and find what I need. I also found that I like to be shown things first hand, rather than being left to figure it out myself. I prefer to talk, and have an answer to my problem straight away, than trailing through endless books and websites, trying to figure out an answer to my problem. I find that speaking to someone with experience in the field makes it easier to learn.

Over all I have found this year challenging and exciting. I feel I have done my very best on this course this year, and feel that come next year I am going to be able to have even more input in to my work, and that with practice over the summer I will be able to put more effort in to my work. This year has been difficult for me, with being taken ill in January and with part time work on top. Much of my time I feel drained and exhausted, yet I still push myself to work harder as I wish to be the best I can. I hope that next year I will be able to take the next step in to 2D animation, something I have always wanted to learn, but never felt I could attempt it. I know that what I’ve learn this year will become extremely useful next year, and I hope to use some of the equipment, like the blue room and editing software, again and incorporate it in to some ideas I have now. I am looking forward to next year, and I know it’s going to be another interesting year.