The screenshots that can be seen on this page showcase further notes on the theory of ‘Interactive Narratives’ during Week 3 as well as the expansion on the initial mind map concepts I created a few weeks before in characters, locations, potential options for player to select in narrative and formats the ideas could be based on (i.e. Filmmaking, Digital Art Slides etc.). Mock diagrams of the options can be seen in the pages seen below in the main ideas of ‘Woodland Creatures’ and ‘Grief’.
I’ve written an email to the main head of the courses from Performing Arts, Music, Film/TV Production as well Art and Illustration which can be seen below;
Hi (Name of Tutor) My name is Callum Forster, a student from the Digital Media BA Course within the School of Art in Anglia Ruskin University (Tina Burton is the Main Tutor for the Digital Media Course). The reason I’m sending you this email is I would like to potentially work with one or a few of your students for a project that I have been working on. This Project I feel would benefit your students in the area that they are studying in. The Project in question is called ‘Interactive Narratives’, following the format like the recent production of Black Mirror called ‘Bandersnatch’ but on a smaller scale. I wanted to send you an email first to see if it is possible for this collaboration to happen, if it is possible then please reply and I’ll keep you informed on what I’m doing regarding said project. I’m still in the early development stage of the project so I felt it would be good to contact you now rather than later. Regards Callum Forster
This was written so I can see if I can work with students within the ‘Interactive Narrative’ so I not only utilise their skills but also for both myself and students to learn new skills from each other to create a high quality outcome.
Several of the Tutors (including my own) can be seen below during Week 3;
The thoughts I have on the ‘Klynt’ Programme is how adjustable a lot of the features and edit tools are, not too dissimilar to Premier pro or Photoshop. Like Photoshop and Premier Pro however they require a lot of use so the long list steps and functions the programme can work continue in an affective manner, which is difficult initially due to the amount of information to digest.
Photos of the Sketchbook Pages produced in Week 2 can be seen below;
The screenshots above depicts my own attempt in utilising the ‘Twine Programme’ with the task being to create an interactive narrative with the topic of ‘BREXIT’ being the main point of reference with 14 sentences related to the said subject matter. links were provided to go to and fro from each page.
The statements were deliberately made controversial to highlight the many talking points the topic of ‘BREXIT’ covers at the time this written. The controversial points meant to spark debate rather than outlining definitive facts.
The work produced is saved on a Mac in Rus 137 in Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, England, UK.
Harvard Reference below links to original work/experiment I produced as depicted about in the screenshots;
Chris Klimas, 2019. Twine (1.4.2) [computer programme] Chris Klimas. Available at: <https://twinery.org/2/#!/stories> [Accessed 27 September 2019].
Two Interactive Stories (Research);
Choice of the Deathless (Screenshots of Interactive Story Above)=
The main positives that I can point out when I originally played a portion of this interactive game is how detailed it is in the Prose-esque paragraphs describing the character you slowly become through the four options given in each step as well as the unique worldbuilding over the expanding narrative.
The four options in question always relate to the narrative in hand with a lot of them not being too similar or too outlandish with the inclusion of established characters and locations that were brought in with each option playing a different part in the personalised narrative direction chosen. The character ‘Ashleigh Wakefield’ being one of many elements linking the narrative world together.
It is easy to manoeuvre regarding selecting one of the four options, the sections containing the options always having the less paragraphs which is good so there isn’t a sense of being overwhelmed with the intact of information.
The negative features that I have come across while experiencing this interactive story is the lack of visual illustrations or animations that would’ve, in my opinion, not only added a more modern and accessible aesthetic to the game itself but also would’ve garnered more engagement with the narrative which is informed by the choices chosen using the four-option system.
After further expanding on the programming and presentation of the Interactive Story ‘Choice of the Deathless’ itself, it became evident that it not only requires an update to the font, style or colour scheme but also in how the interactive story itself flows from one choice to another in an engaging manner which I feel is lacking due to these faults addressed in the last couple of paragraphs.
The features that I will consider incorporating into my Final Interactive Story is the skill and craft of creating an interesting narrative and story structure through the practise of Prose which despite being the only feature on the Interactive Story ‘Choice of the Deathless’, it did however work well enough on its own whether its the use of dialogue to the creation of atmosphere and evolving mythos which I feel partially makes up for the lack of visual story telling which will be a part of my Final Interactive Story; creating a balance between these two essential methods of storytelling.
Choice of Games LLC, 2013. Choice of the Deathless (17737). [computer programme] Max Gladstone. Available at: <https://www.choiceofgames.com/deathless/> [Accessed 27 September 2019].
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018) ‘Screenshots of Interactive Story Seen Above’
Positive points that I can draw from engaging with the Netflix Original Programme ‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’ is just how well structured, presented and assessable the shows first Emmy Award Winning ‘Interactive Story’ is.
The consistency in the main story points within its narrative is also applaudable after playing the Interactive Film twice with the clips and narrative directions the film offers all blending seamlessly together, like a Lego set where you can rearrange the pieces into different forms but still utilise the same pieces without anything being added or taken away, with the pieces in question being the standard potent themes of the said film that is expected from the work of Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones.
There aren’t too many options that are brought up every few minutes or so and the footage shot for the film is engaging enough for myself to be completely immersed in the film’s fictional universes with the options that are selected not being too difficult to implement, the tv remote in my case being a good example of this.
The system in which you ‘play’ through the film by choosing different options lasts for a good one hour and thirty minutes with a clear beginning, middle and end forming a proper film experience while also being given the opportunity to go to the end credits if the player (i.e. myself) of the interactive narrative decides to end the session. You can end twenty, thirty or forty minutes in and the film still achieved its goals and story beats although it is worth spending the initial hour and thirty minutes to experience the interactive narrative in its full form.
What became apparent when further experiencing the Interactive Story in question which I felt detracted the enjoyment is how the footage, although well directed and performed, becomes a bit tiresome after a period of time goes by with no added scenes of unexpected twists or turns happening due to the ‘rigid’ story points you have go through to complete and fulfil the films purpose.
I felt this was restrictive and underwhelming even though this was deliberately made the case due to the themes the creators of ‘Black Mirror’ wanted to portray using this tried and tested medium. I’m more disappointed with the lack of extra surprises and routes when you play ‘Bandersnatch’ a second time around despite as I said this being the main intention by the creators themselves.
Varying beats and features that I will consider adopting for my own ‘Interactive Story’ will be the implementation of having clear ‘moments’ and ‘themes’ within the fictional world I’ll create so everything has a structure and is not too fast and loose.
This’ll allow footage or visual images to breath and not be cut short by the ‘player’ having to choose options every two minutes which I found the most appealing while playing ‘Bandersnatch’ although a few more scenarios will be considered in my piece so none of key narrative beats in my ‘Interactive Story’ over stays its welcome and defeats the point of the medium.
I will include a ‘Two Option’ system throughout so things won’t get too convoluted and apply a ‘button’ where you can restart the game or go straight to the end credits if it’s a film or an episode for T.V.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. 2018. [Interactive Film] Directed by David Slade. United Kingdom: Netflix.
The term ‘Climate Change’ can be broken down to different definitions both in science and politics. Roger A. Pielke, Jr Journal Article ‘What is Climate Change?’ expands upon these various contentious definitions of the term due to the use of politics or science as stated prior. The Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are both compared throughout the article by Roger to highlight the clear divide in opinion upon the topic of ‘Climate Change’.
‘FCCC’ not only focused on ‘International Policy’ but also defines Climate Change as ‘a change of climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity, that alters the composition of the global atmosphere, and that is in addition to natural climate variability over comparable time periods’.
‘IPCC’ however focused on ‘Scientific Assessment’ (Originally in support of the FCCC) with its broad definition of Climate Change being ‘any change in in climate over time whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity’. These different interpretations of the definition for Climate Change has lent itself for endless politicized debate that is continuing today.
Pielke, R.A., 2004. What is Climate Change?. Issues in Science and Technology, [e-journal] 20 (4). pp.31-34. Available through; Anglia Ruskin University Library website <http://library.aru.ac.uk> [Accessed 04 October 2019].
The extra videos and images depicted below in ‘Harvard Reference’ were thought up during the late Post-Production of the Second Tutorial with the main reasoning stemming from enhancing the humour within the video as well as make it more engaging as the edited recorded sequence prove not to carry all of the video and needs assistance with the cut away gags to keep the upbeat energy the video evokes.
12lenlen, 2009. I Love To Singa- Owl. Available at:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj1FifK3bbg> [Accessed 13 April 2019].
‘I love to Singa’ to be placed after line ‘That’s about it MATE!’ before continuing the recorded dialogue after short cutaway.
Placard (BBC TEST Placard) will be set after line ‘what’s your story’ with my ‘Spike Milligan-esque’ noises playing over it. Distorted Photoshop image of ‘Ron’ can be put within the circle that contains the girl and toy clown for a brief second. This will be before ‘Eric the half a bee’ mock singing. ‘Spike Milligan-esque’ noise will come from ‘Lincolndale 3’ recording.
‘Static’ Clips will still be used to indicate transitions between video and image alike. The First Tutorial will be played within the Second Tutorial in ‘Reverse’ over the ‘Edited Recorded Dialogue’ with the quality of the footage tweaked to the Second Tutorial to look more engaging and experimental with the approaches ‘Premier Pro’ can offer.
Monty Pythons ‘SPAM’ Sketch might also appear as a blip that interrupts the edited recordings I done beforehand, the space between ‘1.23-1.49’ will be used for video tutorial referencing for clip can be seen below (Showing clear recognition of who it belongs to). Clips plays after line ‘Want know about anyone else’s absence?’ (Clip Tweaked so German Subtitles are not present):
Lucas Gomes, 2014. Monty Python SPAM. Available at:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bW4vEo1F4E> [Accessed 14 April 2019].
All ‘Harvard References’ will be presented at the End Credits of the ‘Second Tutorial’.
The screenshots below showcase the basic layout of the First Tutorial I produced for this project;
Video produced in previous Semester (Above) incorporated in ‘First Tutorial’ as a recommended video, linking to overlooking what YouTube Videos normally present at the end of their content.
Screenshots (Below) show further tweaks in how certain effects were achieved on existing footage as well as the rough layout of the final edited tutorial labelled ‘Humorous’.
Two video links below are there so I can refresh on how to achieve Subtitles on Premier Pro as well as how to Adjust Sound, Amplitude etc.
Orange83, 2017. CAPTIONS and SUBTITLES tutorial for Premier Pro. Available at:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhHG4f-9MBY> [Accessed 16 April 2019].
(Subtitles above), (Voice Pitch Below)
Orange83, 2019. Change pitch for a HIGH or DEEP/LOW voice in Premier Pro. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3B3NMGh8B0> [Accessed 16 April 2019].
After showing Jacob (Fellow Colleague in the Digital Media Course) the ‘Rough Edit’ of my ‘Humorous Tutorial’, the one critique that he put forward was to apply ‘Subtitles’ over the footage and recorded audio as it will create a more focused presentation as well as allow the audience to better understand what is going on. This point I will apply for the final edits. The font/colour variants for the five characters in question can be seen below (This is done so each character is identifiable which could be lost if all the subtitles are the same font/colour);
Colour Scheme could change but what is seen above will be applied to final ‘Humorous Tutorial’. Subtitles throughout 13 Minute Tutorial will vary in size and position throughout lining up the anarchic set up brought forward through the edited recordings I done several weeks prior. The recordings will also be tweaked in pitch, incorporating both high and low to mimic the broken, glitchy video aesthetic that I tried to replicate throughout the ‘Humorous Tutorial’.
Screenshots below showcase Fonts and Colours for the Individual Characters ‘Subtitles’ which will applied throughout the 13 minute run time;
Initial font for ‘Reginald Lincolndale’
Gerald
Armandia
Cecil
George
Geoffrey
Two versions of the ‘humorous’ tutorial will be produced for the project. One with the added clips and images from the internet and the other without said clips and images. This is so the second variant of the tutorial can be posted on YouTube without the risk of infringing copyright while also keeping the original tutorial that was planned out in Pre-Production.
Final Clip that will be applied to 13-minute video from YouTube will the application of the ‘Beep Noise’ often used for censoring swear words. This will be applied as it adds a bit more humour to video and maintain the viewers interest which I felt would be lacking without it (It also felt like the best course of action in case there is criticism with the swearing, therefore limiting the videos chances of being presented on YouTube). Harvard Reference can be seen below;
Sound Effects, 2017. FREE “Censor Beep” Sound Effect [High Quality]. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnubI6M-eL4> [Accessed 23 April 2019].
‘Ron’s Face’ will also be applied during the ‘Boat Sequence’ within the ‘Monty Pythons SPAM’ sketch at half opacity, briefly appearing and disappearing during the duration of said sequence. This is applied to add consistency and uniformity to the entire video as well continue the reoccurring joke of ‘Ron’s Face’ appearing at various points throughout the video, dominating and interrupting the flow of the said video during the scripted sections and the cut away gags.
Week 12 Feedback;
After receiving feedback on the first tutorial from the class including Tina (Main Tutor) the main point that was clearly addressed early on which I later applied to the second edit was to clearly showcase the finished final outcomes of the method I`m teaching ‘first’ before I teach the method throughout the tutorial which I did not take into account when I created the original video.
I applied the three tweaked final outcomes that were created using the method I taught within the tutorial at the very beginning with subtitles before and after the said three adjusted pieces to clearly explain what the three related images are as well as give the audience/viewer a clear understanding what their final piece of work should look like instead the audience/viewer skipping through all 13 minutes so they briefly see the final outcome.
The four screenshots that can be seen below showcase that added three pieces of work that link to the method taught within the video with added text as explained in the previous paragraph;
Reflection upon the ‘Humorous Tutorial’;
After some reflection upon the 13 minute comic tutorial I produced for the ‘Video Tutorial Project’, it has become evident to me that the aspects that I would’ve changed or reconsidered if I was given another opportunity to do a video in the same vein is to make the scripted video no longer than 5 or 6 minutes which proved to be a massive detriment to the original 13 minute video. The 13 minutes being too long and dialogue heavy leading to the next point of including more interesting events and situations, both verbally and visually, as the subtitles could only provide so much to a scripted comic video after a certain period.
Key Screenshots of the ‘Humorous Tutorial’ can be seen below depicting the finished outcome;
I will consider recording lines from a fixed position in the future as production and post-production was made very difficult due to myself shouting near and far from the mic, creating a lot of wasted time trying to adjust the volume to ensure that all the video played at the same pitch.
WARNING Notice before beginning of video=
After working upon the video over the weeks the project was given it became apparent after further editing that despite the adjustments made to the volume, it still fluctuates from high to low which proves to be a big problem considering the video will have to be heard on headphones as well as played out loud in a room.
I provided a ‘WARNING’ at the beginning of the video explain this problematic quirk that is present throughout the video due to the way I utilised the speaker during the original recordings, this saves any problems in the future regarding loud sections which even took me aback initially when I started editing the video together. The screenshot that can be seen below showcases the WARNING placed before the beginning of the humorous tutorial;
Change of Plan regarding the initial Third Video/Edit of the Humorous Tutorial;
After receiving feedback mixed with consideration on my part during the last few weeks before the projects end, I finally decided to push forward with the ‘One Minute Trailer’ idea rather than the safe, original ‘Copyright Free’ edit I had in mind for the humorous tutorial.
I decided this as it would be nice to add a third video to the collection produced for this project. I also feel confident in the existing footage providing enough clips to be edited together to create a fun, manic piece. It would also feel a shame not to attempt this as the moment it was suggested the structure and outcome of the potential video had formulated in my head which I feel should be applied while its still fresh in my memory.
The Chinese words that can be seen below are what were used for the final trailer with the original English word opposite it. The site I used to translate the words from English to Chinese is also depicted below in Harvard Reference;
The title of my second tutorial will be ‘Ron Humorous Tutorial’ as it sums up the themes and traits found within the video itself as well as being a neat title for the trailer I produced that incorporates the Chinese language rather than English (Although the English Language is included anyway to complete the sequence presented within the one minute and eight second video).
Two Photos below showcase the early Storyboard and Notes produced for the ‘Trailer’ with specific decisions and creative choices highlighted in pen within my ‘Digital Media Design’ Sketchbook;
Storyboard
Notes
Key Screenshots of the ‘Trailer for the Humorous Tutorial’ can be seen below depicting the finished outcome;
The Three images that can be seen below showcase the final attempt/demonstration of the ‘Cool Watercolour Effect’ on Photoshop for the Video Tutorial which this post which this post will greatly expand upon during its ‘Production’ Phase.
I will attempt to create two videos for this project (This sentence written on 02/04/19). The First focusing on the ‘Cool Watercolour Effect’ step by step as seen above condensed in a 15 minute video akin to a YouTube video. The Second Video will incorporate the ‘Humorous’ plan layouts from the ‘Pre-Production’ Post with edited clips from the Straight Layout (First Video) sprinkled in linking to the idea of the comic story interrupting the proper tutorial, three images above will become even more distorted in the background as time moves forward within the escalating situation with the second video.
The ARU logo that can be seen below will be used for the beginning and the end of the both video tutorials (Straight and Humorous);
Screenshots below depict Group work myself and Sasha produced during Week 9 on how to produce step by step and storyboard which will be applied to the Video Tutorial I will produce over the next few weeks.
The sheet below showcase the further tasks produced during Week 9 with the class adding comments on the best and worst tutorials they could find and broken it down into bullet for future reference with the individual Video Tutorials;
The research produced by myself for the Video Tutorial Project can be seen below;
Two Good Tutorials I researched=
The qualities that make ‘How to make an Electric Guitar from Cardboard’ stand out as a good quality video is the lack of vocal description and heavy reliance on visual footage showcasing the construction of said Guitar which stands out from the sea of tutorials of various subject matters that rely too much on the vocals of the content creator with low quality still images rather than an edited film with carefully chosen music which works just as well if not more so due to the lack of distractions and overload of information.
Show Maker, 2017. How to Make an Electric Guitar from Cardboard. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4G2ikmMPZ4>
[Accessed 26 March 2019].
‘The EASY Background Remover Hidden in Photoshop!’ works as a good quality video in the sense of not being the stereotypical ‘click bait’ video despite its title as referred earlier in this paragraph with all the elements of a good tutorial present in clear vocal presentation of explaining the step by steps as well as provide the right editing transitions which is easy to the eye when viewing the tutorial
PiXimperfect, 2018. The EASY Background Remover Hidden in Photoshop!. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C9p23iffNA>
[Accessed 26 March 2019]. Two Bad Tutorials I researched=
The video tutorial ‘Why Some Tutorials Are Annoying’ although is a well-made spoof it is however a perfect example of a stereotypical ‘clickbait’ video which I found in the proper photoshop tutorials suggestion list in YouTube which I feel is very misleading when initially viewed with no real techniques taught within the video itself despite it title suggesting otherwise.
There is also too much going on regarding locations of the footage and the narratives that played throughout which I will not replicate for my tutorial if I decide to further expand upon the theme of Spoof and Humour.
like ‘Why Some Tutorials Are Annoying’, ‘How NOT to make an Electric Guitar (The Hazards of Electricity)’ follows the trope of being a ‘click-bate’ video to gain views rather than educate with its quality being lower than “Why Some Tutorials Are Annoying’ due to the focus being on the individual rather than creating the faulty guitar itself with the video and sound quality varying throughout rather than holding a clear consistency throughout which will not be replicated for my Final Video Tutorial (The clear step by step of producing the Guitar in a Deadpan fashion would’ve linked the video more to the Spoof Genre that it tries to mimic).
These examples of tutorials researched ‘Above’ will dictate the how my final five-minute tutorial video will play out from Week 9 to 12 during the second semester.
Four Initial Photoshop Effects that were considered for the Video tutorial=
BLOG.SPOON Graphics, 2012. How To Create a Movie Style Photo Effect in Photoshop. [online] Available at:
More than five minutes (almost six) for saying step by step for ‘Watercolour Effect’ out load
I chose the ‘step by step’ of ‘ Turn an Ordinary Photo into an Oil Painting in Photoshop’due to it filling out the criteria of being enough to fill a video from five minutes and beyond as well as being the most practical for to produce while hopefully also retaining the audience’s attention who will watch said video (Development Screenshots will be posted showing experimentation before starting tutorial).
Original site used to find tutorials can be see ‘Below’;
Speckyboy, 2018. 50 Fantastic Photo Effect Tutorials with Photoshop. [online] Available at:
(Pre-Production) Storyboard and Mind map below showcase the basic step by step of the Video Tutorial I will create over the next few weeks;
Notes bringing together base structure for ‘Humorous’ section of Video Tutorial if there is time or need to produce it over the three weeks this project provides;
Screenshots below showcase the Photoshop Features referred to in my research put into practise through experimentation with my own photos;
Movie Style Poster
Ordinary Photo to Oil Painting 1
Ordinary Photo to Oil Painting 2
Dragan Style
Cool Water 1
Cool Water 2
Screenshots below demonstrating refined sound on ‘Cool Watercolour’ technique which I will perform for my tutorial over the next couple of weeks, Photo of ‘Ron Chao’ being the main subject for said tutorial;
Photos ‘Below’ showcase rough script for step by step on how to produce ‘Cool Watercolour’ affect in Photoshop. I will use this as a basis for the video tutorial
Select Photos seen Below in their original form before being tweaked for the Photoshop Affects that are presented and expanded upon earlier in this post (They are however tweaked on RAW Settings to be more presentable, this is the case for ‘0205’, ‘0216’ but I used the tweaked ‘0223’ photo for the Water Colour Affect;
‘Paper Parchment’ that will be used for the final tutorial (Below);
Further Development of Rough and Final Storyboard which will be presented to the group the Tuesday in Week 10 (Below):
‘Straight’ Rough Plan‘Humorous’ Rough PlanFinal Pencil Drawn Storyboard (Contains both ‘Straight’ and ‘Humorous’ plan layouts).
Screenshot ‘Below’ also showcases rough research in ‘Copyright Free’ music which could be included in both the ‘Straight’ and ‘Humorous’ sections of the Video Tutorial I will produce;
Screenshot/Photo below showcase early development of ‘Humorous’ Script, I decided to write the rest of the scrip on a Word Document;
After recording myself performing the script for ‘Draft 1 on my dictaphone’, it lasted for 10 minutes and 34 Seconds. Further Editing will be applied to Script which will be read out by myself in front of the Dictaphone from Media Services (Read out lines for characters separately to keep consistency within the narrative playing throughout Video Tutorial). Cast (List of Characters); • Reginald Lincolndale (Upper Class Voice) • George (Northern Accent, Yorkshire?) • Armandia (Female, Slightly High Pitched) • Geoffrey (Low/Deep voice) • Cecil (Nasal voice) • Gerald (Cheeky Voice ‘Ollie Ollie’ sort of voice) I’ll put on different silly voices and see which one will match up to the characters typed up ‘Above’.
‘Beginning of Video Tutorial’
Reginal Lincolndale; Good Afternoon Class! Let’s see what you sad bunch weedy gits, Trollops and everything else in the spectrum the modern age demands the likes of me to remember, have produced in the last week or so.
Reginald Lincolndale; First things first, the register, Geoffrey
Geoffrey; Here Sir!
Reginald Lincolndale; Gerald!?
Gerald; Aye
Reginald Lincolndale; No! your not here to answer with single letters from the alphabet, in my presence use the proper words of British English, now Gerald
Gerald; Afternoon m’lord Reginald Lincolndale
Reginald Lincolndale; That’s better, you little creep, could’ve spoken in broken Latin and still have no integrity, now Armandia!?
Armandia; Here m’lord Lincolndale
Reginald Lincolndale; Wonderful, Cecil!?
Cecil; Good to see you recover from your Mental Breakdown from the week before Sir!
Reginald Lincolndale; SHUT UP!! And George
George; Alright
Reginald Lincolndale; Seems it only you five that has bothered to attend, what’s the matter with everyone else?!
Gerald; Halfway through each of their tasks linked to stories you recommended the week before sir
Armandia; Mini-arsol is currently in the middle of the Pacific Ocean
Cecil; Harry’s in police custody
George; And Samantha attempted to set up a homegrown terrorist organization to be up there with the big boys, as far as I know she’s playing Russian roulettes at some point this week to make up for the organization’s insufficient funds.
Reginald Lincolndale; Alright, alright, I didn’t ask any of you to go on these little epic journys of failure and degeneracy across the globe, all I asked for was for you lot to write and READ out your short story to me!
George; Want to know about anyone else’s absence?
Reginald Lincolndale; Honestly, I don’t care as long as you five don’t waste my time!
Reginald Lincolndale; Now you! Armandia! Whats your Story!
Armandia; Hmhm ‘Ive got a Lovely bunch of Coconuts, there they are a’standing in a row
Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head
“Give ’em a twist, a flick o’ the wrist”
That’s what the showman said!’
Reginald Lincolndale; Hold on! NO!, Stop that! That’s not an original story, why are you nicking songs
Armandia; Thought it was funny
Reginald Lincolndale; Thought it was Funny, guess you thought you’d get away with it being an old song, presumed it was freed from the shackles of copyright.
Armandia; Sounds about right Sir.
Reginald Lincolndale; Well you just failed this module, that’s sounds about right! Now, What’s your story Cecil!?
Cecil; Hmhm, There’s a song that I recall My mother sang to me. She sang it as she tucked me in
When I was ninety-three. Ying tong ying tong Ying tong ying tong Ying tong iddle I po
Reginald Lincolndale; NO, NOO Cecil. What are YOU doing nicking songs from artists who passed this mortal coil, are you in league with Armandia
Cecil; Yeah, so what Bruv
Reginald Lincolndale; Well you, Bruv, have succeeded in pissing me off, therefore you fail this module, Now Gerald and don’t you sing ‘Why Don’t Women Like Me’ as you’re just stating the obvious of your miserable, charmless life, now start!
Gerald; Hmhmhm (Deep Breath) ‘Is this wretched demi-bee, Half asleep upon my knee, Some freak from a menagerie? No! It’s Eric, the half a bee, A fiddle de dum, a fiddle de dee
Reginald Lincolndale; ALRIGHT, Alright Alright (Sigh) I give you credit for robbing a song from an artist who still walks and talks, Unlike Armandia and Cecil however, you prove to be thicker than both those two combined. At least they stolen material from people who they think will not sue them. What have you got to say for yourself!?
Gerald; Not a lot Mate
(Load Slap)
Gerald; Ohh?!!! YOU Hit me AHH?!
Reginald Lincolndale; That, what you experienced, is me flexing my power granted by this university over lanky twits like you.
Gerald; I’ll sue you. Ah?!
Reginald Lincolndale; After class, then you can sue me, don’t you worry I’m ready for this battle you little yobo, funny how your colleagues aren’t speaking up for you are they.
Gerald; No comment Mate
Reginald Lincolndale; SHUT UP!
Reginald Lincolndale; Alright Geoffrey, be HONEST with ME, have you created an original story to tell today at this very moment, or are you going to mess me about and therefore ruin your chances of a good grade!
Geoffrey; I do Indeed M’Lord Lincolndale
Reginald Lincolndale; There you go, alright then, Grab my interest.
Geoffrey; Ok, I saw this stray dog…
Reginald Lincolndale; Oh, for god’s SAKE are you even trying to catch my attention Geoffrey?!
Geoffrey; What would you want me to say sir, I haven’t even begun?
Reginald Lincolndale; You only need to listen to what YOU just said for you to lose my interest, grab my ATTENTION, think about it, What scenario could not POSSIBLY happen to you even if you have the chance. A FICTIONAL Scenario, I don’t care if your ‘Real-Life’ story involves you euphemising the stray dog with medication drugs or a pistol, it still wouldn’t interest me. NOW, GRAB MY ATTENTION!
Geoffrey; Alright… I met this lady of the night
Reginald Lincolndale; Ah, that’s better, tell me more…
(Sketch would end ‘Above’ and begin again ‘Below’ when two QuickTime edited footage has played its course)
Reginald Lincolndale; ‘Sigh’ you, Geoffrey, are waste of skin and effort on your mums’ part when you were conceived all those years ago. Losing your innocence is NOT A STORY, whether its fictional or not.
Geoffrey; Could be worse ‘M’lord’
Cecil; Geoffrey’s half-priced lover could’ve been your Mum
Reginald Lincolndale; ‘My MUM’, well there’s two points contradicting what you just said, one my mums not fictional, and TWO, even if Geoffrey is right in his claims she would certainly not be half priced, she’s good quality as I’m not an accident!
Armandia; Unlike you Sir
Reginald Lincolndale; WHATS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, I GET PAID VERY WELL!
Gerald; That’s good to hear sir
Reginald Lincolndale; Too right its GOOD!
Cecil; And by looks of it the Security Camera has picked up all the lesson so far
Reginald Lincolndale; Nah don’t you lot worry about that sodding camera, I dismantled it back in the first semester, this Uni might have higher powers I am the power
Armandia; You don’t say sir
Reginald Lincolndale; SHUT UP!! NOW, Finally George, little Northern George, whose accent is as dodgy as…
Gerald; You mums career choices
Reginald Lincolndale; OOIIII!! As I was saying, as dodgy as my broken pencil
Cecil (All five characters saying it together?); Whoooahhh what a comeback sir
Reginald Lincolndale; Coming from the goits and tarts who can only make jokes about my ‘mum’ so as I said before ‘shut your face’!
Armandia; No that’s first time you said that
Reginald Lincolndale; SHUT UP!
Reginald Lincolndale; NOW on with your story and George and we will break up
Reginald Lincolndale; That’s about it Mate? THAT’S ABOUT IT MATE!!
George; Don’t see what wrong with it, quite a harrowing experience I thought
Reginald Lincolndale; WHATS WRONG WITH IT INDEED, HARROWING EXPERIENCE?! Do you want to explain what you done wrong or should I!
George; Go ahead mate, earn your pay
Reginald Lincolndale; DETAIL, there’s no detail to your story in Location, Character or Descriptions of the environment around you, you don’t even make yourself sound interesting and you’re the main teller of this story
George; So
Reginald Lincolndale; SO?! DETAIL IS EVERYTHING
George; Not always, thought I was being subtle and multi-layered in allowing the audience free interpretation over my short story.
Reginald Lincolndale; SUBTLE AND MULTI-LAYERED MY ARSE!! These are the questions you should ask yourself George!
Reginald Lincolndale; WHY ARE YOU THERE? WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED? WHAT WAS THE REST OF THE DAY LIKE BEFORE AND AFTER THE INCIDENT WITH THE BIN? WHAT COLOUR WAS THE BIN? WAS THERE A MAGICAL DEITY THAT CAST A SPELL OVER THE CONTAINER CONCEILING THE OLD PERSON? ARE THEY AN OLD BOY OR OLD DEAR?! ARE THEY ALIVE OR DEAD? IF THE LATER THEN HOW DID THEY DIE? IF THE FORMER WHAT DID THEY THINK YOU STARING AT THEM DOING BUGGER ALL?!
ALL THIS AND MORE THAT COULD’VE MADE YOUR STORY THAT BIT MORE ENTERTAINING AND EVEN BELIEVABLE!!!!
George; That’s was a good lecture, well done (Sarcastic)
Reginald Lincolndale; Glad to hear you learnt something for a change!
George; Also, you know that Mac over there that’s turned on
Reginald Lincolndale; Yeah what about it? What’s is relevance to our conversation?
George; Been recording you mate, that Little Mac there is going to give you the Sack
Reginald Lincolndale; Hahaha, you and everyone else are having a laugh
George; No, we’re not mate
Reginald Lincolndale; Right, in that case, no more messing about, I’ll pull out this pistol, shoot the offending MAC and detonate the grenades that are currently around this classroom, any last words you little Twats. You George
George; Bit dramatic mate
Reginald Lincolndale; SHUT UP!
Reginald Lincolndale; YOU, GEOFFREY, any last words
Geoffrey; Your Mum
(GUN Shot)
‘End of Video Tutorial’
Rough Plan for next few weeks can be seen ‘Below’;
(Production) The script I will use for the recordings on QuickTime Player on the Mac while performing step by step. Feedback from group after presentation during Week 10.
(Post-Production) Screenshots of ‘Premier Pro’ Process regarding “Text, Editing, Music”etc. for final editing of Video Tutorial during Week 11.
The next few paragraphs showcase the ‘Evaluation’ (PDF/Word Document that was required for this projects deliverables;
The Concept that was applied to the VJ Animation is as suggested by its title “The Sense of Imagination’ with the incorporation of music to convey the idea of the music itself provoke the hidden imagination and potential within an individual, unveiling various aspects of their character which would be restrained and hidden way.
I mostly took the lead in the majority of decisions and group meet ups that were set up throughout the three weeks, said meet up often working upon the Magic programme Animation itself as well as keep everyone up to date on the current development of said VJ Animation.
As a group we often talked each other and communicated through group chats to show current work and make decisions on how the animation will look aesthetically. Marta and Sandra were set out to produce the Assets (Imagery for Animation on Photoshop) for the VJ Animation while myself, Hannah and Tara worked on the Magic Programme itself to create the final outcome.
My other approach was also to tweak the song used within the animation on Adobe Audition to fit the required length of the VJ Animation and depict the theme/narrative in a consistent manner. Tara further modified the song to the finished outcome used for final VJ animation using the Garage band Programme.
Particular technical and conceptual choices for the project originally revolved around the plan to have the hair move within the middle of the animation itself when the volume of the music is at its highest although this was scrapped due to time constraints as well as the realisation of the presentation gaining the potential risk of showing too much visually over short period of time.
We pushed forward with the imagery of a Woman (Portrait) being the main focus rather than completely going with the abstract appearance utilised for the background (landscape) as the group agreed it was better to depict a clear narrative with familiar elements that ease the viewer into the narrative being told.
The Term ‘Pleasure Principle’ was originally coined by the late Sigmund Freud which used to describe the motions and drives of individuals who seek pleasure or avoid pain. He argued that said individuals can go to great lengths to avoid pain in any form especially during a state of weakness or vulnerability.
Within Psychoanalytic Theory, the ‘id’ (One of three components within Freud’s Structural Model of psychology) is part of the unconscious dedicated to pleasure and base drives, Pleasure Principle is driven by this ‘id’.
Factors I learned over the course of the three weeks this project provided consists of using the Magic Programme in an effective manner as well as create the limitless experimentation that this programme also provides. The project I thought was good overall, only negative being the quick delivery of initial tutorials on the magic programme which proved to become tricky once the time started ticking.
Screenshots below showcase further discussions within the group (Highlighting the individual members role with the group during Week 8);
Select few screenshots below (Slideshow) highlighting the basic layout of the ‘Magic Programme’ file the group used to produce the final animation with the added tweaked music with added beats (Beats incorporated by Uttara with added feedback from Myself and Hannah);
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The next few slideshows depicts the assets created/found/edited by myself, Marta, Hannah and Sandra by Week 8 (Chosen Assets will be seen in final edit of Animation);
Hannah (Below)=
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Marta (Below)=
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Sandra (Below)=
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Myself (Below)=
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The specific Music/Song the group selected from is ‘Louis the Child-Better Not ft. Wafia’ which the group unanimously agreed upon due to the song itself not only flowing with the animation idea involving the girl but also compliments the “The Pleasure Principle” subject and themes of ‘Imagination’ and ‘Liberation’ which the animation heavily draws upon which would be lacking if there wasn’t an added sub-text accompanying said animation.
An added ‘Bass’ will be added to the song to tweak it slightly so the ‘Transitions’ within the animation can change from one scene (one of the combined assets created by the group that is manipulated on the magic programme) to another without it appearing clunky or out of beat with the song due to the song being complicated in its orchestral set up.
Edits will be made to increase volume at the beginning and end of sound as well as decrease the lyrics that sung so it doesn’t cancel out the artificial beat that is created on the programme known as ‘Garageband’. Myself, Uttara and Hannah worked together is manipulate the song to a standard that is appropriate for the final animation.
The factors that lead to the group not incorporating the Fonts/Words‘Satisfaction’and ‘Pleasure’is down to the inclusion of said words/fonts would clutter the animation and make it hard to watch which is also the case with other assets that were created with the problem of lack of colour scheme being prevalent in the early stages of development. The fonts/words will still be presented in the posts on my word press account, this is just and explanation on their absence from the main VJ Animation itself.
Ten Final Scenes were produced for the VJ Animation with the First Five playing in the first half of the song and the second half playing the last five scenes (There is a section dedicated to all ten scenes playing simultaneously at the same time in a random order rather than the Linear order we as a group decided upon) with tweaks on ‘ISF’ etc.=
Woman in Fifth Scene (Slideshow Below) changes colour, thus why there are two screenshots of the same Scene. She changes to a variety of bright colours but I limited to two to show what she looks from one transition to the next;
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Screenshot ‘Below’ shows last shot of animation before it concludes=
After receiving feedback from the class as well as Tina (Main Tutor), it became apparent that it would good to apply credits before and after the original VJ animation with the title of the project being present including the idea the group has produced during the scheduled three weeks the original project was set. The names of the ‘Illustration and Animation’ Students opposite myself and Uttara were placed during the end credits with University logo and the current year (2019) in Roman Numerals to add a nice professional touch to the video overall.
The inclusion of the logo at the end was considered by myself beforehand after seeing the benefit of providing continuity and branding to all the videos I have produced during the second semester as well the first semester, the video as a result looks more well-presented and clearer in who produced it.
The screenshots that can be seen below showcase the added titles, credits and logo that was applied to the original video after receiving feedback during Week 12;
The PNG’s that can be seen below depict the two backgrounds I produced for the VJ Animation which will be part or at least considered for the final animation Sequence opposite Marta’s, Hannah’s and Sandra’s work (Sandra being a late addition to the team opposite myself, Marta, Hannah and Tara);
Background 1 (Sea)
Background 2 (Nature)
Further Screenshots depict the ongoing discussion/development on the group chat on Messenger app and Whatapp. The title of the groups animation will be titled ‘The Sense of Imagination’ linking to the final idea of how music/sound (Sense) can ignite other faculties within the very core of our being (Imagination) with the female figure representing this throughout. A song will be used to provoke the transitions within the animation;
The storyboards (Both written and visual) can be seen below depicting the rough layout of how the animation is produced and how it will appear visually. A step by step of the assets used was also written down further elaborate on the said VJ Animation;
The text/words that will be considered for the final VJ Animation can also be seen below. the font being ‘Hiragino Maru Gothic Pro’ which will placed within the animation stills (Infront/Behind portrait of woman, background etc.) ;
Further Development was later discussed in Week 7 on the WhatsApp (Phone Numbers Blanked out for individuals privacy within group) with further Assets provided as well as the final group meetings and sessions dedicated to refining animation (Tara being tasked to create different variant of music for VJ Animation);
This post showcases the three digital experiments utilising the letterpress prints from the practical session. Experiments 1 and 2 depicting the blend of Analog and Digital which is ever present in the modern age. Experiment 3 mimicking the aesthetic of a front book cover and Experiment 4 being the more abstract concept in creating a human figure out of the prints available. Photoshop was the main programme that create the outcomes presented within his post;
Experiment 1Experiment 2Experiment 3Experiment 4
After receiving feedback from the class as well as Tina (Main Tutor) in relation to the Week 12 Presentation it has became apparent that the first tweaked print I produced for the letterpress project was the strongest of the four. As a result, extra comments were made on how the said digital print can be further improved in presentation with the main points being to fill out the background more with crosses in a darker shade of red with the orange square containing the phrase ‘Free Your Digital’ having lower opacity due to it not blending with the overall aesthetic of the digital print.
I considered the criticisms made I quickly applied it to the print to create a more polished outcome which I feel appears more superior over the initial experimentation which didn’t convey the intention of showing the clear blend between Analog and Digital. The Final Digital Print in question for the Letterpress Project can be seen below;
![bbc-220colour20test20card20f20v_v_g20201967[1]](https://callumforster.home.blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/bbc-220colour20test20card20f20v_v_g202019671.jpg?w=1100)
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Callum Forster 