Final Sequences - Top 10 Trends To Look For In 2011

My Final Sequences
My final sequences work together one after another. They would be released one after another to tell the story of the programme that is to come. (View them top to bottom)
The overall feel I wanted to create is that of high fashion with glimpses of what is to come in the programme. The colours I have stuck to are neutrals and soft pastels contrasting with harsh contrasts and black and white text. I feel this gives the sequence high impact and catches the eye. Lines and flashing images are most predominant  effects and movements. The lines help move text and images in and out of frame and the flashing images attract the eye. Snippets of information and images help keep the audience interested and wanting to know what it is all about. The frame is mostly static and the depth 2D throughout to give the feeling of a scrap book of images and ideas. 
I am very happy with my final animations and feel that they fit in well with the website fashionising.com and brief that I was set.

End Of Module Evaluation

Working with video this module has been very beneficial to me and my design skills. Although I would still class After Effects as foe rather than friend, I understand its importance. Previous to this module I had never touched any type of video software and so everything I have had to learn from scratch. The After Effects timetabled sessions were a great help to give me a kick start into the basics of the software and with this basic knowledge I was able to build slowly upon my skills to try and achieve work that I am proud of.

I found it very helpful to start off with the 'Silent Movie' project as not to overwhelm me. Using a software you are not fluent in is very daunting and helping to keep things simple in the first place gave me more confidence to progress.

Managing time on such a long brief I normally find quite hard, however for this module I chose to write lots and lots of detailed timetables. They helped me to focus on the smaller picture and not get stressed looking far into the future for the end result.

To help develop my identity I am consciously choosing to focus on subject areas I enjoy and I think would benefit me in the future. I am very interested in fashion, therefore for my Top 10 brief I chose to look at fashion trends. Choosing a topic which I am very passionate about I find helps to keep me focused and excited about designing.

For the Top 10 brief my aim was to create a high end fashion title sequence to be featured on an existing website. Choosing to design for an existing brand proved very helpful and I think more realistic to myself. If I were to work for a fashion magazine and had to create a video advertising them. They already have a corporate identity and the images and content they need for the video, I am just there to design and perfect. Using an already established website enabled me to focus more on the design of the video and less on finding the actual content.

I have found it quite hard to storyboard all of my ideas this module. Although I understand their importance for progress and fluidity, being not so confident with my drawing skills I often find it hard to portray my ideas on paper. For me they look fluent and understandable, but for fresh eyes I feel they may not be so clear.

Because my design was quite cutting edge and high fashion I wanted my CD packaging to reflect this but also contrast in some way. Keeping things simple and fresh looking can intrigue people. My final CD packaging was made from water colour paper sewn together to hold the DVD inside. The idea of the packaging was to be simple and confidential. The DVD would be sent to the fashion house to then be uploaded to their site. The stitch encasing the DVD makes sure that no one can tamper with the DVD without it being known; kind of like a wax seal on a letter.

Working with video and it having the capabilities to be viewed on any size screen you have to be aware of attention to detail.

My Weaknesses


I feel I could improve greatly on my story-boarding to ensure my ideas are more clear to understand.
As it is new software to me After Effects left me somewhat lost in the dark for a while, but with perseverance I think I have progressed well.
When creating new assets in After Effects I felt I was slightly unorganised. Working on it during the day would be fine because I would be able to remember where certain layers were, but if I were to come back and revisit the project I would probably get very lost. Naming the layers was definitely not my forte.
Creating better design direction boards for crits would help me get better feedback.

My Strengths


I would say my time management skills have been better than normal for this project. Organisation is the key for me to performing my best.
I also think I have been able to pick up new, foreign skills relatively easy as well (After Effects).
Having perseverance when you are put out of your comfort zone is key.


Attendance - 4
Punctuality - 4
Motivation - 4
Commitment - 4
Quantity of work produced - 4
Quality of work produced - 4
Contribution to the group - 4

Final Crit Feedback

CD Packaging Design Sheets

I want the CD packaging to be minimalist and reflect the clean fresh start to a new year of fashion. The clean, minimalist style also reflects fashion magazine houses. For example:

The idea behind the stitching is to incorporate magazine paper with fashion textiles. Once the CD packaging is opened it can't be closed again. Like wax on an envelope you will know if it has been tampered with. 

The font used is the same as is used throughout the title sequence, Europe Underground.

CD Packaging Experimentation

I want to keep the CD case simple and fresh looking. Using the typeface from my title sequence (europe underground) I wrote the bare minimal amount of information needed. 

To incorporate the magazine sleek style with fashion itself the way I chose to fasten the case means that it can only be opened once and like an important letter sealed with wax you know if someone has tampered with it. 

Black and white cotton uses the main colours of the project to keep it all fluent.

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CD Cover Inspiration

Regarding the sewing I think it gives a really nice hand made feel. Material would be used for example cotton instead of paper for my design.

10 Second Ident - Top 10 Fashion Trends For 2011

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
The first ident I created pretty simply uses the main type information shown on the 50 second title sequence as a no fuss explanation of what it is, when and were it can be seen.

50 Second Title Sequence - Top 10 Fashion Trends For 2011

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
50 second title sequence pretty much done, needs some tweaking obviously, will see what people say in the crit this afternoon before I make any changes. 

Content, Assets & Choices - Using Key Frames

The look I was trying to achieve for my 50 second title sequence was high fashion, elegance and cutting edge. Using neutral colours contrasting against black and white type. Here are my thoughts on my final decision making. 

I wanted to chose a relaxing, fresh and beautiful image for the opening screen. Choosing a beautiful landscape for me represents the high contrast in fashion and how you have to expect the unexpected. This is an untouched natural scene, where as fashion is very much man made. Combining nature with fashion in photo shoots is very popular however and helps to capture the elegance of the said fashion.

Telling the audience what the purpose of the title sequence is straight away I feel is important because of where it will sit online. The 50 second title sequence will feature on fashionising.com on the home page as a key focal point to an upcoming programme being made for the site.

The black ink helps to highlight the type, but is used predominantly later on in the title sequence for an animated background.

One of the main assets for the title sequence is the moving lines. They move  independently and smoothly creating masks helping the animation to progress from information to information.

Adding fades to the changing layers helps for a smooth transition.

Keeping type such as this within the title safe isn't very important to me; as it acts more like a background giving a subliminal message and not one that needs to necessarily be studied and legible to all. The typeface itself is very thin and wide reflecting styles of popular fashion magazines.

Using masks to make the text appear alongside the ever dominant 'moving line' helps give the impression of layers and depth. I didn't want the sequence to look like a pop-up book, instead more like a scrapbook of images and ideas.

Using the mirror image effect I feel highlights the qualities of the garment. and creates a beautiful background to contrast against the type.

Using white for the type colour keeps the style looking clean and fresh.

Using italics and different weight settings helps keep the same font looking more interesting throughout. I have chosen to use images of ink dropped in water for one of my backgrounds by placing the images simultaneously one after another to create the effect of movement. By showing the ink dropping into the water I wanted to represent the reaction that can be caused when two things are combined (trends combining to create new ones).

Using the mask I moved it arund creating new irregular shapes to highlight different sections of the garments. The images I used were all zoomed in. I didn't want the whole of the item to be shown. I wanted it to be like a sneek peek as to what the audience can expect to see in the programme. 

 

The lines exit and introduce new images and text. I think it is a more interesting and fluent way to move from bit to bit.

A lot of the image ad type flash up when they appear like they are flickering like a light trying to stay on. This helps to draw the audiences eye.

If people watching the video are first time visitors to the site flashing the website name and url will help to remind them and come back to visit again.

The background used here is a macro image of the air bubbles in a glass of water.  

Important information about the contents scrolls down while imagery shows another sneak peek of what you should expect to see on the show.

Different weights and colours help to emphasise key information.

At the end the title is flashed up again to remind the audience what the programme is called 

As the programme is to be viewed online there is no specific time slot for it, so a simple 'coming soon' is written to create  a suspence and prolonging interest in the site so that people will come back to see when it has been uploaded and therefore the brand will get more coverage.