Flip flop
This brief was requiring yet another abstract based animation, it consisted of being given a choice of words, followed by making an animation based on that word, my word was 'Flip-Flop', and so I created visuals based on flip flops alone. As well as this simple concept, I have mixed the imagery of flip flops within a summer vibe, as displayed by the colours, the settings and even the music. I have made this animation into one of those pieces where the visuals are designed to be in time with the music. I did go for this word because I had those ideas quickly on mind, I am one of those people who will come up with final ideas quickly after being supplied the instructions, and so when hearing about the word flip-flop being a choice, that is where I looked back at my experiences with flip flops, and I wanted to share this experience with everyone, (because not going to lie, I like flip flops a lot, and I have many memories of them during my summers). I also wanted to present flip flops in a way which is so distant from reality, animation after all is used to create imagery which live action cannot do, I have been advised that the best animations are animations which cannot be replicated using live action elements.
The softwares involved Photoshop, After Effects and Premier pro. Photoshop was primarily used to create the visuals such as the assets and settings, After Effects was used to connect all the rendered screens followed by adding the animated transitions followed by other techniques like glowing effects; and then Premier pro was used to adjust the speed of the scenes and make sure it was in time with the soundtrack. The 2D aspects was done by creating reference footage and then drawing on top of it, all the feet and flip flops were real, everything else is officially 2D, except for the volcano which was a 3D asset at first which is drawn on top of, the way I made the volcano I would like to make an entire animation based on this approach, turning a load of 3D assets into 2D assets, in that way, my 2D elements have more three-dimensional aspects to them, as me and others believe my 2D content could do with being more three dimensional. There were other After Effects based techniques that were new to me yet successfully applied such as blurring the background, to add to the three-dimensional aspects, alongside some visual flashing effects.
This animation at this point has been the highest marked animation yet, it has been given results and grades that are much higher quality compared to my past work (and as I write this, my university work after this one hasn't been marked yet so it will be interesting to see if the flip flop animation stays on top or gets beaten by another assessed piece of work). This animation is another favourite of mine, really showing off my identity via the colours, bold assets, and a light-hearted nature. Feedback has stated that while the animation could have improved such as the way the volcano flames curve out of the volcano. However, the animation is strengthened by its quick pace, strong sense of energy and a well-executed colour scheme, I would even consider this animation to have my favourite colour scheme due to how well condensed and consistent it is, and even my future work consist of my going for colour schemes just as good as this one, and I do get summer memories and vibes for when watching and listening to this animation too.
As this brief was around for three months, this was the time for when planning and making this animation. This brief was also released alongside the RSA animation, but as the RSA animation had a due date that was much later, this encouraged me to go for this animation first, and I was glad to do this animation first and limit the time towards this animation, so I had the time I needed for the RSA animation. Unlike the Rio animation where the portfolio got uncontrollably full, this portfolio was more organised and simplified, which is why this animation's portfolio took around more than a week, and I did revisit it for when adding extra details or when checking through it. The animation itself took a fortnight; it reached a final form until there were many changes such as swapping scenes to fit the soundtrack. The compositing of the animation and the formation of the environments were the quicker points but drawing on top of my reference footage to form these realistic flip flop movements were the lengthiest parts, even all the reference footage took roughly a week, outlining the footage followed by the appliance of colour. Overall, all this planning and production took around four months, as I used the remainder of this brief's time to check everything while also making a solid start for the RSA animation too.