Responsive Session 5

This was the last session before our holiday, and I am surprised to say that I enjoyed it for once as compared to the previous sessions (And no, not because it was the last one before Christmas). It was great that our classes were no longer separated into different sessions, I had the chance to interact with the other Illustration students this time round and had a pretty productive session with the group I was assigned to (The only issue was the time limit given to us when we were made to present our boards to one another, and so I ended up trying to present mine within 1 minute after the announcement was made by our lecturers. since I ended up being the last one).

The storyboard was a homage to some of the earliest examples of sci-fi, that being the incredibly campy, and almost comic book-ish look. Inspiration was taken from such shows as "Lost in Space", Adam West's "Batman", "Land of the Giants" and even the original "Star Trek", and inspiration in terms of the art style was taken from shows such as "Space Ghost", "Johnny Quest", "Scooby Doo", and other animated shows from the 70s.

This short was meant to be done in a way where very limited animation would be used (Which could be easily done in After Effects), much like the old cartoons that used the Suncro-Vox technique back in the 50s. 

I was more focused on the art style then, seeing as 

Initially, they had goldfish bowls over their heads, but I decided not
to include it in the storyboards as the extra outlines from the bowls might
make each frame a little too busy.

As an extra supporting item, a character concept board was created alongside the storyboards, I had wanted to created one for each different storyboard, being seeing as we were only allowed to print 3-5 boards, I decided to simply make one for the more developed idea (But I might whip up one for our next session).

The second idea was based around the soft science fiction genre (Examples including such shows as "Star Trek", "Stargate" and "The Outer Limits"), a darker colour palette is used for this one as compared to the first storyboard, with particular focus on cyan (A notable colour used in various examples I have seen), to give it that contrast it needs. While this one may seem a little more serious in tone as compared to the first one, I feel that vibrant colours could still be used, but only in selected areas.

For one of my last boards, as part of the range section, I applied some images to various medias to show where these animations can actually be viewed. Aside from television, other gadgets such as laptops, phones and tablets are included.

As usual, Fred got us to list a set of questions we wanted to ask ourselves:

What do we want to get out of feedback? (With Peer Group)
1. Does it meet the brief?
2. Strong enough concept?
3. Suitable for audience?
4. Can any improvements be made?
5. Is the visual direction right?
6. Is the medium suitable?
7. Is the choice/use of media appropriate?

What do we want to get out of feedback? (With Entire Class)
1. Appropriate concept?
2. Does the pitch meet the specifications of the brief?
3. Do the boards communicate the proposal effectively?
4. Is it suitable for the audience?
5. Is the media appropriate?
6. Is the response achievable in the time available?
7. Is the response appropriate to do the identified context?
8. Is the visual direction (Tone) right?
9. Do the deliverables meet the mandatory requirements?
10. Can the response be improved?

I was then provided helpful feedback by my group mates on what I should insert into the polished boards for the next session:

Areas of Improvement:

1. Describe the brief.

2. Maybe show contextual reference to show my idea process.
3. State why my work answers the brief.
4. Annotate my character designs.
5. Could the choice of art style be improved on to fit the target audience?

Questions that need answering:
1. Why have you chosen the colours/tone of voice you have?
2. Is there going to be sound? If so, what kind?
3. Why have you chosen the brief? What are your motivations?
4. Will it appeal to the target audience?
5. Do the characters talk in these shorts?

10 Expectations we expect to see one another in the next session (With Peer Group):

1. More polished and refined boards.

2. Specific direction.

3. More development of research and sketches.

4. More finalising.

5. More professional presentation.

6. More clarity.

7. More spelling and grammar checking.

8. Earlier preparation.

9. More justification of media and colours.
10. Actual production.

10 Expectations we expect to see one another in the next session (With Entire Class):

1. More resolved visual concepts.

2. More appropriate visual aesthetic.

3. More professional/clearer presentation.

4. Clearer timescales and deadlines.

5. Refined brief (Rewrite it a little perhaps).

6. Production tests.

7. More content.

8. Mock ups.

9. Contextualisation.
10. Existing feedback and confirmed decisions.

In the next session after Christmas, we are expected to return with a set of more polished boards (3-5 as usual), as well as a set of questions we wish to ask our peers after we present our boards to them.