60 Second Documentary: The Importance of Maintaining Balance - Evaluation

Evaluation

The 60 second documentary was a great brief to get me back into using After Effects and editing software. The fast turn around meant it had to be focused and to the point. As a result, the research was specific and relevant, and the project did not have time to stray off course. 

The design used existing audio from educational and poplar culture outlets in order to respond to the problem of producing an informative documentary. This solution meant the documentary would provide facts and learning material, mixed with an element of fun to preserve engagement. 

As a first brief it was fun, broad and open to experimentation. Being able to explore and produce work off an area of interest, stimulates engagement within the project, which subsequently produces motivated outcomes. Getting back onto After Effects reminded me how much I want to build my skill set with this software, as audio and visual editing is something that really motivates me as a designer, especially creating visuals that react to a dialogue. The fast turnaround proved how much could be achieved in a short space of time, and the restricted length meant rendering time did not have to be factored in. 

The project started off by looking at the time scale, what the options were for producing moving image, and planning methods of production to meet the 60 second target. The design thus considered the broad scope of newly available options for producing moving image, such as the more technical software - Photoshop, Cinema 4D  and AfterEffects - and then more lowbrow options such as apps and visualisation software that may be lesser known but work well as a basis for editing over. The software chosen for this project meant that looped animations could be exported as 6, 15 and 30 second high quality videos, which provided useful outputs to easily fill the intended time span. 

The nature of the brief meant I was forced to consider and apply my designs into new outlets of communication. Progressing in contextual relevance from last year when these visuals were used for club nights, this project displayed their potential for a much broader scope of design, including documentation. Their successful application and the development of my skill set, such as in adding text on AfterEffects, makes me want to explore and develop further this year the various contexts this style could be implemented, whilst I still have access to the large desktop computers and the AfterEffects software.