Critique Reflection blog Post

     In my chandelier animation, the design is not quite as refined as it could be. I find that some shots could be tilted more or less, or in the case of the shot following the chandelier as it swings, I could definitely have changed the angle as it swung. Overall, I did a fairly good job with the shots, having the right focus for the feel that I was looking for, however, I feel that with more practice, I will be able to pull more emotions out of the same scenes.

    The technical quality of the animation is definitely and obviously flawed, with the shadows not rendering in the necessary stills. However, I will soon fix this problem and re-upload this project. Other than that, with more time, I would have mapped bumps to the surfaces based on their textures, as that would bring in even more shadow, and give a realer feel. I also felt my chandelier glowed strangely, and I would love to get a more refined glass texture.

    My shape and design was actually based on the Pokemon chandelure, pictured below. It is a ghost type pokemon, and originally the goal was to model the pokemon itself, but I found the transparency would be too hard to achieve. However, this is where I decided on my spooky, ghost-like design for the project. Given more talent, I would have loved to make the pokemon, or at the very least, add emitters of fire for the candelabras, and inside the chandelier. I also believe that fog, or some perhaps a grandfather clock in the background, would have further enhanced the original idea of this project.

   

    While the class did not comment on my animation, my family and friends have. My brother found that a more reflective chandelier would have been more interesting, however unfortunately this would not be possible. This is actually because it would reveal my hidden ways of shooting this room, by having the South Wall and Ceiling move out of the way of the camera as it pans out. With better planning, I would agree with this assessment. My father also believed that the music I used was not quite unnerving enough, and with this I wholeheartedly agree.

    I feel my greatest strengths in this project were the models themselves, and the shots. The chandelier was more impressive than I figured it would be, and it received a lot of positive feedback. The table and chairs were also well received, although the table is, upon closer examination, secretly geometrically impossible.  I also thought my shots were very engaging, most being close enough to make the audience feel uncomfortable but engaged, and I feel the crazy angles and movements made the animation exciting from the beginning to the end.

    My brother felt I did very well with the model as well, and was impressed with my usage of shadow. My sister really liked the colors I used, with a fairly consistent palette that complimented itself well. My friends thought the animation was neat, and was "very dynamic".

    I feel my shots were not quite what they should have been, and I should have more accurately bought in to the rule of thirds, applying better focusing for more engaging shots. My lighting was flawed in the render, and I felt my placement of the room light was too close to the chandelier, causing too large of a shadow. Finally, I feel the lights inside of the chandelier should have had more focus, and more to do, and that they could have improved the scene by a lot. 

    My brother and father were the only ones to truly critique this. My brother, with his wide experience in film, understandably found issue with my shots, and felt I could have better refined them into something more engaging. My father was less interested in the shots, and more the music, saying it did not quite fit the theme. I feel my brother's thoughts carry more weight, as I progress as an artist, I will find that if I cannot adequately pull together proper shots, my modelling and animation work will be wasted.

    Overall, I feel that my largest strength is still modelling, and coming up with interesting ideas. My chandelier was cool enough to draw most attention the majority of the scene, and the room spooky enough to fit the theme. I chose great colors and made something truly exciting. My issues are likely more damaging, not paying enough attention to standard principles of design and techniques, I tend to instead learn on the fly how exactly I want my shots to line up, and this weaker approach would be benefitted by more extensive planning and storyboarding. In the future, I will try to apply more artistry with how I use the camera, and do it in a much more methodical, less experimental manner.