TITLE SEQUENCE
Much like the previous task, for this task I am going to separate it into sections. After researching both general title sequences and title sequences related to the genre of 'Our Day Out' I plan to do some initial idea development such as a mind map or a list and then some idea refinement which will include my proposal and a storyboard and/or mood board. While thinking of Ideas I will start to build and develop my skills in the Adobe After Effects software. I will feature all of this development below and eventually produce the final product of an 'Our Day Out' Netflix title sequence.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Above is where all of my initial research is. In the blog I look at and dissect various different title sequences both from relevant genres and different ones. I explained what made them effective and which parts I may take inspiration from later on.
Underneath, for more secondary research, are the tutorials I looked at based on the inspiration I found in my research blog. I found these particularly useful and even if I didn't end up using them for my final project they helped me to learn and develop my skills in the software a lot.
Tutorials.
PLANNING & FINAL IDEA DEVELOPMENT
Below you will be able to find both my storyboarding and the links to my moodboards that I created in Pinterest. You can also see my initial mind map of ideas.
Mind Map.
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Storyboard.
PRIMARY RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTATION
Some primary/practical research I did myself was looking at tutorials online and experimenting in After Effects as it was something that I had not ever really used a lot before.
Below are some examples of basic tests and elements I tried animating in the software to get myself more comfortable instead of jumping to create a final project without any knowledge of the software.
To the right is a video showing a couple of examples of what I did in the practice sessions and workshops in after effects. These were useful as they got me used to the software and the different tools and possibilities within it. In this video I worked on a smoke text effect and a colour fade effect. I really like how the colour fade effect looks however I don't really like the smoke.
On the left is a screenshot of me experimenting in After Effects while following one of the tutorials I included in the section above. I was thinking about the themes and aesthetics/visuals I wanted to include in my title sequence and thought it would be a good idea to to use a paper rip animation as a transition into the next section of the sequence. I thought the ripping of paper could represent the sometimes destructive nature of the student characters while also representing the childlike school themes with the paper textures I plan to include if I end up using this animation.
To the right is a video of the result of me experimenting with the 'scribble' tool mentioned in some of the tutorials I featured above.
For this particular thing I created I created a solid shape and a mask. I applied the effect to the layer and the scribble effect appeared within the shape. I think I will end up using this effect a lot not just for backgrounds but also within different shapes and maybe text too to create a hand drawn effect throughout the sequence.
I found through experimenting with the tools and buttons that something effective you can do with the scribble effect is you can make the lines move instead of them just staying static within your shape, this creates more interest within your animation. There are different modes you can select including 'smooth' and 'jumpy'.
Here on the right is an example of the scribble effect used within the heart shaped illustrations I created, I also added the crumpled paper texture to add to the theme of the sequence.
I used this in my finished product.
After experimenting with many things such as these above in after effects, I decided that I'd use these skills and styles I discovered as more inspiration to start creating my final sequence. I knew that after this experimentation I would definitely utilize effects and textures such as the scribbles and the paper to create that childlike vibe I planned to go for.
FINAL PRODUCT & EVALUATION
Overall, I am really proud of my efforts in making this title sequence, it definitely turned out a lot better than expected. To begin with, I was extremely nervous about creating it as I knew that the After Effects software was not a strong point for me due to me never really using it before, especially not for animation. I had no problem coming up with ideas and a storyboard/mind-map however it was trying to execute and create them in the software that I struggled the most with. This is where my experimentation and tutorial research came in useful, these things really helped me to get started creating elements in the software and animating them, I was able to follow the tutorials and experiment with different tools, methods and effects to get a substantial result.
Something that I feel is a strong point within this piece of work is the illustration and the overall style and its consistency throughout, which was something that was also commented positively on within the feedback I received. I made sure to make the paper textures and ripping transitions a common theme as it relates to the theme of the play and I was happy that the drama students and the client picked up on this and thought positively about it too. Another thing that I think the client and I can agree on are that the transitions a strong point within this part of my work. I personally really like the most how the ripping transition came out both at the beginning and the end and also the transition with the bus and the text disappearing behind. Personally I think that the music I chose was a good choice as it has a 'cartoony' kind of feel giving it a childlike vibe while also being quite modern at the same time with the beat which will appeal to more of an older, teen audience.
Another thing that I believe was a good addition was the additional sound effects I added as well as the main music - the sound effects make my sequence feel more immersive and my research had inspired me to do that as it was something I noticed in a lot of the already existing titles that proved to be quite effective.
Some things I think could be improved however are things such as the fonts, I also would have liked to experiment more with different transitions and followed more of the tutorials I featured above and I would have also liked to find more. The reason why I think the font could be better is because while it is good in the sense that it is bold and clear to read, it doesn't really represent the play's theme/story enough or fit too well with the illustrations that surround it in most shots. If I were to create something like this again I would probably look into downloading some extra fonts that go more with the theme and genre or I would use after effects to edit fonts/text in a way that makes it fit with the theme more. When it comes to watching more tutorials, I just feel that within the experimentational stages of my work I could have definitely took more time to learn because while I did go to the workshops that were held in college classes and followed the tutor's instructions while looking at many online tutorials, there is still a lot about the After Effects programme that I do not yet understand or I have not yet fully grasped. I think that if I had more time to experiment with the software my animations and my overall sequence could have looked a lot more professional.
To add to all of this though, as I mentioned before despite this not being my favourite piece of work I have done, I am really proud of my efforts and I was able to see that I should still feel proud upon receiving the feedback from the client that my sequence was the favourite among all of the drama students and the client, It made me really happy to see that my efforts came to be worth it.
FEEDBACK
Below is my feedback from the client, a professional videographer, other creative media students and the drama students.
Press the button below to see it!