evaluation

Idea

My idea was quite complicated because of how much it changed but the experience of it was interesting due to the fact that my idea changed 4 times . My first idea was to do a Lego stop motion which would last around 30 seconds and it would have around a couple thousand picture because i would have it run at 12 fps.The topic would be war / military or gangster Al Capone type of piece but i decided against it .The reason that i decided against that idea was due to the fact that i had no idea of what i was doing when it came to stop motion and i was not very confident to do stop motion also i was also worried about equipment and the accessibility of the equipment and due to those reason i decided against that idea and had a rethink for another idea. Due to the knowledge and experience that i had i decided that it was not in the best interest for me to do this with the time that i had and the accessibility of the equipment.

My second idea was to go over to do photography and i first deiced to do my photography using my massive Lego star wars collection of figures as well as sets to recreate scenes form the films and the clone wars. My idea soon changed due to the fact that when i came to start my production i did a first test shoot and i then saw that in my opinion and with the way i was doing it Lego in my opinion didn't look good on camera and i was determined to do my project around toy photography so i turned over to do Airfix which is my other favorite toy and i still have a large collection of so i could have a large selection and variety of pictures to present and this was the idea that i decided to go with because of what i knew and how i felt about it i decided to peruse it . One of the main reasons i have done this is because i have developed a passion about photography and i really liked this idea and due to how i felt and the amount of knowledge i had in the subject it really effected my decision making me confident i could do this and i decided to peruse it and i was very happy with what i decided to peruse because it was something that i really enjoyed doing and i found a passion that i might peruse further down the line. Doing this change helped me develop and expand my idea a lot because it helped me learn a lot more about the equipment and the subject which allowed me to gain a lot and changing my idea form Lego to Airfix was a big think because i learnt that if i did Lego i would be a lot more constricted and restricting than if i did airfix . which is something that i have learnt and i am grateful  fro learning because it allows me a lot more freedom and allows me to gain a lot more from the experience. Such as i gained more practical experience than i would have otherwise and learn it is a new skill i have gained. I also have gained other skills such as practical skills by using brand new camera skills and learnt a lot more of the settings and functions such as focus points to just name one.

My project then changed again and my experience with this was not very good because of how close to the dead line was when i started the change as well as of how long it has been since i have used the software so my project change was a risk but after being suggested to do this several times i went for it.My idea update was to create a website to promote my work and to show it in a commercial way instead of having a range of toy war pictures and a selection of recreated 3D vintage Airfix box art to go along with it. I then transferred all of my work into the website and submitted that instead.Internally i was not very confident with this due to the fact that i have not used wix ( the software ) in a very long time and due that the idea change came in very late so i was not confident at all as well as i expressed my concerns externally but i was still being recommended to do this website .And the knowledge that i had of the time limit and what i would be capable of what i the time in was very concerned but i decided to peruse this idea. i could have dealt with this better but i decided to carry on with my idea because i realised that it would help in the long run which is where my aesthetics awareness came in which made me realise that it would be with in my best effort to go ahead and peruse what i have been recommended. My idea did not change due to previous experience with my work with wix instead it encouraged it due to the fact i knew a few secrets and tricks on wix which helped me make up my mind .

Planning

I was happy with how much planing that i have done because it meant that when i came to start my production i was prepared and i knew what i was doing where i was doing it and when because i had a very detailed and thorough time plan which was very helpful when it came the time to start production . Which is another skill which i have learnt through my planning because it taught me how to write and explain a detailed time plan as well as using that helped me plan out and complete the rest of my paper work which i ended up being very happy with.What i was trying to achieve when writing my paperwork was to have a detailed clear and precise plan and have an out line of my project so when it came to production i had a very good idea of what i wanted to do where i wanted to do it when i wanted to do why i was doing that and how  i should be doing it and with what equipment. Which was very successful in my opinion such as i had a good and clear time plan so i know what i am meant to be doing and when i should be doing it and it is very helpful to learnt and remind me when the deadline are which my planning documents have helped me with. My experience with planning documents was alright i found them easy and simple to fill out due to having previous experience with them made my job a lot easier. All i was trying to get out of these was a detail out line of what i needed to do which i did with good success and with no consequence or any negative repercussions. Internally and externally i felt fine about filling out these documents because in the long and short term them would help me out and keep me focused and on time. Also due to prior knowledge and experience with planning documents i was fine and confident filling these documents out which helped me fill these out quickly. The main things that i have learnt and have gained is the fact that i now have more experience in working with these documents meaning that i can now fill these documents out faster and be more efficient with them. But i have also learnt the extent and amount of detail that these documents would need to be fill out with which is good to know so that i can use it later on and adapt what i have learnt to the required document.

The other things i need to cover are when i started planning documents and how often i did them.I personally think that i started my production documents and especially my time plan too late because it left me a bit flustered but i think i managed to over come that but i wish that i could have and probably should have started my planing documents earlier which leads me into something else i wish that i had done is how often i planned and reflected on my planning which is not the best attitude to take but it is the one i had but it is something i should have done more because reflection and re planning is very important but it is defiantly a skill i will reuse and carry on using them in further projects.

Production

I was happy with my production because i felt like it went smoothly and i was very consistent with my production because of my efficient paperwork meaning that my production was very successful meaning i got what i wanted apart from a few things that did not go my way but apart form that i was happy with what i produced. the experience was very good but a bit scary because i have never done photography before and before this project i have never used a dslr before so the whole experience was a bit risky to start something that i have never done before. But i think that i now i have done that i have learnt how to use the equipment and i am now confident with them equipment and it is now a skill that i can now use later on. i think that it is a good skill to have and it is a skill that i will use later on in the course or in life in general it was not easy but i am glad that i took the time to learn it.

I was trying to achieve several things with my production such as create a variety of war toy photography picture for my main fmp using a dslr but i also wanted to just get some experience with the equipment because it is equipment that i have never used before. As well as that was not the in  part of my production i also ended up making a big bunch of other things for my fmp such as photography editing in Photoshop and web design.For my photography i had a set layout and location and times of where when and how i was going to produce my picture first i chose a place which is behind the nursery and next to the green house in the little garden area which i chose because once you set up the figures they looked perfect because the are was dirty dark enough. As well as having a large amount of dead sticks and twigs which is good because you could reuse them to make them look like dead tree of barricade bunkers and basic ground defences that would have been used by the defending side in a battle which was something i want to give my pictures more realism which was good and looked appropriate.As well as i have learnt how to use the camera and some of the main settings as well as a whole new camera  and lenses the equipment that i used is a canon 7d with a canon 70-200f4 usm lens which were very effective because they allowed me to get very close and get alot better tighter and better clearer pictures in better surroundings with a better tone and feeling to them giving it the effect and realism. Which was also mainly thank to the location which helped it look like as well as to get that feeling i used a small bean bag to rest the camera on to keep it stable and close to the ground to get better shot compositions.Which were perfect and helped me get very good shots 

Also i used adobe Photoshop for several things such as i created a series of 3d box art pieces as well as i used Photoshop to edit my picture to make them more realistic and engaging . I was trying to achieve some realistic and creative pictures as well as i wanted to recreate original airfix box art and some of it other variants and by doing that i am showing the progression of airfix over the years . As well as showing how my picture could be used comercially by airfix if they were chosen to be as well as  i have had a good experience with Photoshop due to what i have done with the program over a couple years of experience .The things that i have been using a learning are adjustment layers and brightness and contrast layers to make the image darker and more realistic and i also use hue and saturation layers to bring to certain colour as well as i use hue and saturation to make the image greyer making it more realistic. Also i have been learning and in a few picture i have been using filters which you get through the filter tab and you browse the filter gallery and choose one you find appropriate to the image you are editing. I was trying to achieve a series of pictures that represent a realistic state as well as capturing the feel of the war through toys and airfix by using filters and effects in Photoshop to achieve this. There were no consequences with this because i have used the programme before as well as i have had a lot of experience with the effects that i have used due to my previous experience so nothing wen wrong and i am happy with what i produced and how i produced it. Internally i felt good about my production because i knew what i had to do and how to do what i wanted to do as well as i feel like i expressed these externally because i was confident and i know i expressed that internally and externally. Also i have a lot of experience so i was happy with what i produced and because i knew a few tricks and skills i was happy with what i had to do and because of that i have a lot of knowledge so it did not change my idea in anyway or effect any decisions. And i do not think that i could have dealt with it better because i felt that i have dealt with the whole Photoshop experience as well as i could of because i have had experience and practice.

My experience with website creation and production was a bit on and off because i have been rushing to complete it also i have had very little time to create my website which did not make me feel good because i have had to make a website within a few days to meet my practical deadline and i have also been able to do this in time which i was happy with and i came out with a piece i was happy to present and publish .What i was trying to achieve is a full functioning website so that i could present my pictures and box art in a professional way so that if people are not able to come along to my gallery display then there are other ways for people to view them and contact me for more .The consequences with this is that i have very little time and i was not sure that i could do ti in time and the only other thing is that it would look right or professional enough but i think that i have managed to do that even though i was quite concerned of what i just stated. Internally i felt a bit uneasy because i was worried on weather it would be up to a good enough standard and weather i would meet the deadline and i feel like i expressed the same externally and with the knowledge i had of the deadline did not help but my knowledge of the software helped me feel a bit better and i was happy with what i produced and i feel like over this whole process. I have learnt a lot about the soft ware and its capability as well as i have learnt a lot about my own capability which is a big step and i feel like i could done more but it might be a struggle but i am still confident i can what is asked of me and i was very happy with what i produced and what i have made and published.

I have learnt a lot in this project because it has taught me a lot that would be very helpful for latter projects as well as it is very helpful fro me because the things that i have learnt are camera skills and photography skills. Which is helpful for me because that is the career path that i want to go down doing photography and advertisement. So learning how to use focus points and exposing and shot composition with a dslr is very handy to know and i am grateful for learning about it. This also helps me with future projects because in the future weather we do another advertisement project or weather we do a web design project or a photography project i have now learnt those skills in detail and i now have experience in all of these making my job easier. That will now also apply to any media related job that i may get in the future and having those skills would either give me the edge to get the job knowing i have these skills as well as they are useful to help me preform my job.

Research

For my research i was very happy with what i have done for my research because i have covered a lot of different things to makes sure i knew everything i needed to know for when i came to production as well as making sure i know what my audience wants and how to achieve that. My research was very good because it helped me learn a lot about photography and how to generate emotion out of pictures. I have experienced a lot of different things with my research because photography and what to do with it is something that i have never experienced a lot because photography is something very new to me so it took a lot of research to get the hang of it but the research that i did do has helped me a lot with what i need to and how to get certain effects such as with a camera or dslr i have learnt how to use depth of field and focusing points which has helped me get certain effects and feelings which was good because it helped me give my pictures a more realistic feel as well as it gives it a lonely and worried effect on some of my picture isolating the figure that is in focus which makes it seem more realistic. Such as one of my picture form my second collection on my website one of my pictures is of a Japanese soldier on his own with a spotlight on him and making him the only thing in focus and making him seam like he is alone and in danger making him seem scared and worried. That was something very helpful and useful that i did learn with the equipment to help me improve and gather certain effects.

I have also looked at other original box arts form airfix and other 70s to 90s action toy box art covers as well as i have looked at war films that where released in that era such as The Dirty Dozen and i have looked a promotional magazine cover from that era showing posters and cover pieces for Von Ryans Express and Where Eagles Dare which capture the feel i was looking for when i was taking my pictures and when i was creating my airfix box art .Because the displayed everything in them that i wanted such as every picture is bright and colourful which is something that i have wanted to do with mine but when i started doing my production i decided against that because in my opinion i preferred them in a more darker and realistic tone but it was some thing that interested me and i thought that it looked interesting and appropriate so i decided to stick with it. I also looked at how the posters are presented such as whats on it and how they are there shown and the poses they are in. This helped me because if i saw what poses they are in then i could potentiality use my figures and create a similar images because of how much these posters are liked theoretically they would like my pictures if they were in a similar format or style. But looking at these pictures posters and pieces of pox art are very helpful because they show and help me learn a lot about how i should show and present some of my pictures such as with these posters it shows me if i want to draw the same audience they need to bright and colourful or dark and serious depending on the desired tone as well as it shows me what type of pose of figure that i am going to need as well as it shows me what surroundings those figures should be placed in . They also show me how the shot should be taken such as how tight the shot should be and other small things such as which way the figures are facing which has helped me massive knowing these small details.

I have also looked at other forms of research such as books and websites that have been to do with famous war photographers as well as i have looked at other websites that show off other free lance photographers to see what i can learn form them such as from the war photographers i wanted to learn how they have been using photography to gather emotions and how they compose those there shots which has helped me learn a lot. It has helped me because studying these shots have helped learn where and how to position my figure to get certain emotions and feelings and a tone and feeling for them making my pictures look and feel more serious and emotional . Which was the reason i looked at these picture because i knew that they would teach me a lot about how to present and produce them as well as they have taught me how to present and display my picture by looking at how they have done it and taking inspiration form that. I have also learnt from looking at websites because i ave looked at free lance websites and seeing what is important and what is essential and how they are presented and i have looked at that and seen what i wanted to and i decided how they are shown and done and i have recreated that into my own style and used them on to my website.I have also used these websites as a test to see how the user interfaces and user flows work and to see weather it is effective by trying it out constantly and by doing this i am learning how it works and how i can apply this to my work . And i found a website that did this well the whole website was smooth and it was easy to manoeuvre with a clear and precise tab list or drop down menu to navigate the website.So i decided to use this and create a my own version and make it easy and simple to find and manoeuvre my whole website. The other main things that i looked at is the graphics and assets that they use and i saw that mostly they use massive impressive or strong images to show off what they are capable off and to give there audience something impressive making them want to use that company and learning from that i have tried to do that by using some of my strong images and making them banners or intro pieces and for logos and other assets.And i think that i have handled  my research well because i have searched and looked thorough many different sources and methods including peer feedback questionnaires and surveys as well as books web and many others and i feel like they have all helped develop my idea and helped improve my work in one way or another. Weather it be helping me understand or learn how to use a whole piece of equipment or how to use the soft ware to get certain effect or just simply seeing how professionals have made or taken pictures and how that makes the audience feel a certain way.

I have also learnt how to conduct my research and how to plan out my research which is important to know. Because when this comes to other / further projects it would become useful  to know so when i am conducting research i can conduct it a lot faster smoother making it simpler to find and making it simpler meaning i would become more efficient and the level of my research would go up with it because i now know how to write out my research to make it seam clear and precise . And now i know how many sources i need and where to find them.

I am happy with this evaluation and i am very happy with what i have learnt and how much it has helped me improve and learn some new skills and techniques to use latter on or in further projects.
What i would do next time if i had another chance i would have started my website design earlier and done a lot more research into it due to the fact that it was a last minuet recommendation to boost my marks but if i had more time i would spend more rime on my website.And if i had more time instead of having to do a full redo i would spend more time doing my blogger pages and add as much as possible.