Stop Motion Production

Set designs

Following the process of capturing images of cocktail sticks which are moved into the frame, I will be attempting to create the illusion of the background behind the 4 changing whilst the 4 remains in the exact same place on-screen. In order to accomplish such an effect, I will be required to arrange the cocktail sticks onto the pieces of paper in a manner which ensures that all versions of the logo appear almost identical, specifically in regard to position, the amount of sticks within the frame and the arrangement of sticks that comprise the rectangular shapes that make up the overall logo. I might be required to carry out this action 4-5 times.

Timing sheets

Timing sheets

Timing sheets

Timing sheets

Prop/character creation

Pre-Production Prior to beginning the production of my television ident, I obtained a series of images from the internet which were edited within Microsoft Word; techniques such as colour correction, lighting and alteration of contrast were used to enhance the overall quality of the pictures. In order to make the process of arranging the cocktail sticks into a 4 easier, I placed a series of arrows and rectangles which formed the outline of the blocks which make up the channels logo (as seen within the existing idents for the channel) into the word documents (all of which featured a different coloured background).

Production After purchasing two small boxes of cocktail sticks (each of which contained 100 sticks in total), I began creating my television ident. Throughout the course of production, I animated 128 cocktail sticks (the same number of sticks was required to create the 4 logo as shown in the image on the right). Production encompassed more than five hours on Day One of shooting, whereas on Day 2 production lasted almost 2 hours. I was required to arrange the cocktail sticks into the Channel 4 logo three times on several different pieces of coloured paper (one grey, one brown and one black).

Post-Production Following production, I utilized the editing program Adobe Premiere CS6 to arrange the images together in order to create a continuous and uninterrupted sequence. Because different backgrounds and frames were required throughout production, I spent a fair amount of time attempting to drag different sections of footage into different areas of the timeline to ensure that the sequences were placed in the correct order. I was also required to alter the Speed/Duration of the footage (after creating a new sequence from clip) to achieve the desired effect, as well as ensure that the cocktail sticks appeared to arrange themselves in time with the beat of the soundtrack (Under Control). Following the assembly edit, I added the three images I took of the 4 (comprising of cocktail sticks) to the end of the footage and duplicated these images several times. This created the illusion of the background changing 8 times, even though only three images were used for this section of the ident.

Include different stages of the production of your assets and the final advert here

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Final advert cocktail sticks ident

Production stills

Include production stills as you create your advert, consider different methods for this [time-lapse?].

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Working docsThroughout the post-production process, I was required to work with more than 600 images which were taken during production (as shown in Image 1). It was quite time-consuming to select different sections of footage (which featured a specific background) and arrange them into the order I initially intended (as shown in Image 2). Due to the fact that the framing of each image within the timeline was irregular, I was also required to highlight every image and scale them to the intended frame size. This proved to be beneficial as it enabled me to view the full on-screen animation as opposed to a section of it, thus providing me with increased flexibility during the production of my ident. The soundtrack used within the ident (Under Control) was shortened to 20 seconds and a fade-out was provided at the end of the track. The reason why I included this technique was to provide dramatic effect. In order to enable quick and successful alteration of screen duration i.e. accelerated motion, I selected a new sequence from clip which was edited (as shown in Image 3). The reason for employing accelerated motion was to ensure that the animation taking place on-screen matched the beat of the soundtrack, thus enabling me to achieve the desired effect.

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Also consider adding your amendments to documents as the project progresses

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Personal evaluationMy television ident for Channel 4 appears quite visually intriguing due to the presence of multiple fast-moving objects that arrange themselves into the centre of the screen in time with the background music (Under Control by Calvin Harris), as well as the various different-coloured backgrounds present. My production has clearly benefited from the animation technique I employed (animation of found objects) because there are aspects present within the animation that arent possible in real-life (cocktail sticks manoeuvring themselves) and the action that unfolds on-screen is fluid and can be considered aesthetically pleasing. My production has also clearly benefited from the creative ideas that went into it, specifically in regard to an ident composed of cocktail sticks attempting to arrange itself as depicted through a wide range of camera shots (most notably close-ups) until the final ident is revealed through a long shot. As a result, my ident appears unique, quite distinctive from existing television idents as of recent times. The production of my Channel 4 ident was not group-based; I worked independently to construct the animation (i..e on my own). This can be considered highly beneficial because the production process went uninterrupted and I was my own boss throughout; I was also provided with the opportunity to expand on my own work or make adjustments whenever I felt necessary. In essence, I had complete control over the production of my ident and this is a positive aspect. However, working independently could have also been a negative aspect of production because I was required to rely solely on my own skills and I was fully responsible for ensuring the animations were successful, therefore if anything went wrong it would have been more difficult to rectify. Also, there was no group dynamic present whatsoever, as well as little access to support.

Broadly summarise the strengths and weaknesses of your production consider technical, creative and group aspects of production.

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Screening planIn order to obtain information regarding the audience for my Channel 4 television ident, as well as their thoughts and opinions, I will be creating a questionnaire that will be designed on the website SurveyMonkey. The sole purpose of this questionnaire will be a statistical study of the members of my audience, specifically in regard to their preferences regarding television idents, as well as their personal opinions on my ident. I will insert ten questions with a choice of answers for each one, and once I have received responses from the members of my audience, I will analyse them and determine whether or not people think the ident is intriguing, professional and/or suitable for a television channel. This survey will be created online; I consider this effective because teenagers and young adults tend to use the internet regularly and there will be an even greater chance of a wide range of people locating my questionnaire. Alongside the questions, I will provide a link to my Channel 4 ident on YouTube; this will enable those responding to my questionnaire to actually see the ident prior to completing the questionnaire. The survey I will be creating can be considered a good example of quantitative research its primary aim will be to obtain responses which are brief and simple and will provide me with a conclusion. This research will also be conducted in an objective manner because it is research which I am undertaking myself through a questionnaire.

Positive responsesfrom screeningThe responses from my questionnaire on SurveyMonkey are generally positive, with many members of the audience commending the nature of the ident and the level of anticipation and suspense that is provided throughout the course of it. The fast-paced nature of the ident, specifically in regard to the cocktail sticks manoeuvring themselves into position on-screen, was praised by many members of those who responded to the survey; this was most likely influenced by the fact that all members of the audience preferred an ident that is fast-paced as opposed to slow. This shows that people who responded to my survey were intrigued by how rapid the animations were and that my ident did well to evoke adrenaline due to the fact that it was fast-paced. Just over 80% of the audience thought the ident appeared visually attractive, with some referring to it as energetic and fast as well as detailed (one member of the audience commented that a ton of work went into the product). This further shows that the ident pleased the audience due to its fast-paced nature. Some of the responses I received implied that members of the audience were kept hooked throughout the course of the ident due to the presence of multiple close-up shots representing different stages of the ident arranging itself on-screen prior to the long-shot depicting the finished product. Some members of the audience stated that they were unsure of what the sticks were going to make and that they wanted to see the finished product. This can be considered quite positive because it implies that the audience did not get bored during the ident and were hoping to see what the animations were going to produce. One member of the audience stated that they thought a lot of work went into the creation of the ident; this does well to show that the amount of detail was praised, as well as the nature of the production stage. This member of the audience has clearly acknowledged the fact that the production of the ident will have been time-consuming. 81.82% of the audience stated that the ident seemed as visually pleasing as existing ones on television, with one member even commenting that the animations appeared a lot more fluid than those within other idents. This shows that people considered my ident quite professional in regard to its aesthetic quality. 90% of the audience thought the style of animation flowed well, especially along with the fast-paced soundtrack in the background. One member of the audience stated that the animation was easy to follow, thus showing that my ident was quite coherent. In addition, over 90% of the audience stated that a strong sense of creativity was provided in regard to the ident. This is highly positive because it shows that the majority of my audience assume that my ident is quite original. Just over 70% felt that the ident was an accurate representation of Channel 4.

Negative responses from screening18.18% of those who responded to my survey stated that the ident did not appear visually intriguing in any way, most likely due to the presence of cocktail sticks rather than a wide range of different objects e.g. pencils or pens. One member of the audience stated that nothing stood out to them; this implies that the ident did not appear original or visually attractive to this particular member of the audience. Another member of the audience commented that the presence of cocktail sticks within the ident was not very interesting and not visually appealing to look at. These responses show that although the majority of the audience preferred the fast-paced animations, some werent pleased with the nature of the objects depicted on-screen throughout the ident. 10% of the audience thought that the style of animation did not flow well, with one person stating that some aspects of the ident appeared quite jarring. This can be considered a negative response because it shows that some members of the audience assumed that the ident was clumsily produced. Almost 10% of those who responded to the questionnaire thought the ident was not creative, whereas almost 30% stated that it represented Channel 4 inaccurately; these responses can be considered negative because they create the impression that the ident fell short of a professional standard and that it did not satisfy the audience. Nearly 55% of the audience stated that amendments would need to be made to the ident, further implying that it did not reflect professional standards. Some members of the audience specified that the ident itself could have been smoother in regard to the animations, as well as more suitable to the nature of Channel 4. One audience member stated that the final shot of the Channel 4 logo (made out of cocktail sticks) seemed very cropped and that it should have been more zoomed out in order to enable the audience to see it clearly.

Comparison to own opinionsMy personal opinions regarding the television ident I have produced are that it is highly detailed, fast-paced, tense and that the animations themselves are fluid and convincing, especially due to the fact that they fit with the beat of the soundtrack in the background. I also think that the choice of music was ideal because it sounded strikingly similar to some of the most recent idents for Channel 4, particularly the Clock ident (https://theident.gallery/player.php?id=C4-2015-CLOCK-2100-1) which depicts coloured blocks arranging themselves across the screen in time to the music, although my ident was a lot more fast-paced than the Clock ident. I feel that some of the animations for the ident could have been done better, particularly the shots depicting cocktail sticks simply appearing one after the other on-screen as opposed to arranging themselves (in which case 4-7 images were taken for each cocktail stick). I also think that the overall logo could have been done better because it is quite difficult to identify it as the number 4 initially. Those who responded to my survey stated that they liked the ident due to the fact that it built tension, with many implying that they were kept hooked throughout the course of the ident and wanted to see what the cocktail sticks were going to produce at the end. Others commended its visual quality, fast-paced animations and level of detail. This does well to reflect my own personal opinions in regard to the nature of my television ident. Some members of the audience stated that the ident could have been improved due to the fact that some of the animations appeared jarring and that the ident did not seem to represent Channel 4 in an accurate way; in addition, some felt that the presence of cocktail sticks animating themselves was not visually convincing and that the ident therefore lacked a sense of sophistication. This reflects my own personal opinion that more images could have been taken in order to ensure that all animations within the ident appeared equally as fluid and did not disorient the viewer(s) in any way.

ConclusionOverall, I think that my animated Channel 4 television ident does not quite reflect a professional level, even though it does appear visually attractive and is somewhat adrenaline-evoking and tense. My ident has clearly benefited from the significant amount of images I took; the animations appear smooth and a great level of detail is implied. The presence of dozens of fast-moving objects manoeuvring themselves on screen in time to the beat of the background song is quite visually intriguing; it does well to provide the ident with an atmosphere that is not usually present in existing television idents as of recent times. The ident has clearly impressed my target audience (which is 18-19 year old males), as shown by the responses I have received from my questionnaire.

Animation Timing Sheet

PRODUCTION TITLE: Channel 4 Ident SHEET 1

FRAME SOUND NOTES/MOVEMENTS SKETCH/STORYBOARD

1 Beat 1 Frame 1: A cocktail stick moves into the screen.

2 Beat 2 A second cocktail stick appears at the side of it.

3 Beat 3 A third stick appears at the side of them.

4 Beat 4 A fourth stick appears among them.

5 Beat 5 Another stick appears.

6 Beat 6 A sixth stick appears

7 Beat 7 A seventh stick appears

8 Beat 8 An eighth stick appears

9 Beat 9 A ninth stick appears

10 Beat 10 A tenth stick appears

11 Beat 1 Frame 2: A stick appears

12 Beat 2 A second stick appears

13 Beat 3 A third stick appears

14 Beat 4 A fourth stick appears

15 Beat 1 Frame 3: A stick appears

16 Beat 2 A second stick appears

17 Beat 3 A third stick appears

18 Beat 4 A fourth stick appears

19 Beat 5 A fifth stick appears

20 Beat 6 A sixth stick appears

21 Beat 7 A seventh stick appears

22 Beat 8 A eighth stick appears

23 Beat 9 A ninth stick appears

24 Beat 10 A tenth stick appears

Animation Timing Sheet

PRODUCTION TITLE: Channel 4 ident SHEET NO. 2

FRAME SOUND NOTES/MOVEMENTS SKETCH/STORYBOARD

25 Beat 11 An eleventh stick appears.

26 Beat 12 A twelve stick appears on-screen.

27 Beat 13 A thirteenth stick appears on-screen.

28 Beat 14 A fourteenth stick appears.

29 Beat 15 A fifteenth stick appears.

30 Beat 16 A sixteenth stick appears on-screen.

31 Beat 17 A seventeenth cocktail stick appears.

32 Beat 18 A final cocktail stick appears on-screen to accompany the other sticks.

33 Beat 1 Frame 4: The first cocktail stick appears on screen.

34 Beat 2 The second cocktail stick appears on-screen to accompany the first.

35 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

36 Beat 4 A fourth cocktail stick appears.

37 Beat 5 A fifth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

38 Beat 6 A sixth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

39 Beat 7 A seventh cocktail stick appears.

40 Beat 8 An eighth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

41 Beat 9 A ninth cocktail stick appears o-screen.

42 Beat 10 The tenth cocktail stick appears in-time with the beat.

43 Beat 1 Frame 5: A cocktail stick appears on-screen.

44 Beat 2 The second cocktail stick appears.

45 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

46 Beat 4 A fourth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

47 Beat 1 Frame 6: A cocktail stick appears.

48 Beat 2 A second cocktail stick appears.

Animation Timing Sheet

PRODUCTION TITLE: Channel 4 Ident SHEET NO.3

FRAME SOUND NOTES/MOVEMENTS SKETCH/STORYBOARD

49 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

50 Beat 4 A fourth cocktail stick appears on-screen

51 Beat 5 A fifth cocktail stick appears.

52 Beat 6 A sixth stick appears.

53 Beat 7 A seventh cocktail stick appears.

54 Beat 8 An eighth cocktail stick appears.

55 Beat 9 A ninth stick appears on-screen

56 Beat 10 A tenth stick appears.

57 Beat 11 An eleventh cocktail stick appears.

58 Beat 12 A twelfth cocktail stick appears.

59 Beat 1 Frame 7: A cocktail stick appears on-screen.

60 Beat 2 A second stick appears.

61 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

62 Beat 4 A fourth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

63 Beat 5 A fifth stick appears.

64 Beat 6 The sixth cocktail stick appears.

65 Beat 1 Frame 8: A cocktail stick appears on-screen.

66 Beat 2 A second stick appears.

67 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

68 Beat 4 A fourth stick appears on-screen.

69 Beat 5 A fifth cocktail stick appears.

70 Beat 6 A sixth stick appears.

71 Beat 7 A seventh cocktail stick appears.

72 Beat 8 An eighth cocktail stick appears.

Animation Timing Sheet

PRODUCTION TITLE: Channel 4 Ident SHEET NO.4

FRAME SOUND NOTES/MOVEMENTS SKETCH/STORYBOARD

73 Beat 9 A ninth cocktail stick appears.

74 Beat 10 A tenth cocktail stick appears on-screen

75 Beat 1 Frame 9: A cocktail stick appears.

76 Beat 2 A second stick appears.

77 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

78 Beat 4 A fourth cocktail stick appears.

79 Beat 1 Frame 10: A stick appears on-screen

80 Beat 2 A second stick appears.

81 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

82 Beat 4 A fourth cocktail stick appears.

83 Beat 5 A fifth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

84 Beat 6 A sixth stick appears.

85 Beat 7 A seventh cocktail stick appears.

86 Beat 8 An eighth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

87 Beat 9 A ninth stick appears.

88 Beat 10 The tenth cocktail stick appears.

89 Beat 11 An eleventh cocktail stick appears on-screen.

90 Beat 12 A twelfth stick appears.

91 Beat 13 A thirteenth cocktail stick appears.

92 Beat 14 A fourteenth stick appears on-screen.

93 Beat 15 A fifteenth cocktail stick appears.

94 Beat 16 A sixteenth stick appears.

95 Beat 17 A seventeenth cocktail stick appears.

96 Beat 18 An eighteenth cocktail stick appears.

Animation Timing Sheet

PRODUCTION TITLE: Channel 4 Ident SHEET NO.5

FRAME SOUND NOTES/MOVEMENTS SKETCH/STORYBOARD

97 Beat 1 Frame 11: A cocktail stick appears.

98 Beat 2 A second cocktail stick appears on-screen

99 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

100 Beat 4 A fourth stick appears.

101 Beat 5 A fifth cocktail stick appears.

102 Beat 6 A sixth cocktail stick appears.

103 Beat 7 A seventh stick appears on-screen

104 Beat 8 An eighth second stick appears.

105 Beat 9 A ninth cocktail stick appears.

106 Beat 10 A tenth cocktail stick appears.

107 Beat 1 Frame 12: A cocktail stick appears on-screen.

108 Beat 2 A second stick appears.

109 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

110 Beat 4 A fourth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

111 Beat 1 Frame 13: The first cocktail stick appears.

112 Beat 2 The second cocktail stick appears.

113 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears on-screen.

114 Beat 4 A fourth stick appears.

115 Beat 5 A fifth cocktail stick appears.

116 Beat 6 A sixth stick appears on-screen.

117 Beat 7 A seventh cocktail stick appears.

118 Beat 8 An eighth stick appears.

119 Beat 9 A ninth cocktail stick appears.

120 Beat 10 A tenth cocktail stick appears.

Animation Timing Sheet

PRODUCTION TITLE: Channel 4 Ident SHEET NO.6

FRAME SOUND NOTES/MOVEMENTS SKETCH/STORYBOARD

121 Beat 11 An eleventh cocktail stick appears.

122 Beat 12 A twelfth cocktail stick appears on-screen

123 Beat 1 Frame 14: A cocktail stick appears.

124 Beat 2 A second stick appears.

125 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

126 Beat 4 A fourth cocktail stick appears.

127 Beat 5 A fifth stick appears on-screen

128 Beat 6 A sixth stick appears.

129 Beat 1 Frame 15: A cocktail stick appears.

130 Beat 2 A second cocktail stick appears.

131 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears on-screen.

132 Beat 4 A fourth stick appears.

133 Beat 5 A fifth cocktail stick appears.

134 Beat 6 A sixth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

135 Beat 7 A seventh stick appears.

136 Beat 8 An eighth cocktail stick appears.

137 Beat 9 A ninth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

138 Beat 10 A tenth stick appears.

139 Beat 1 Frame 16: A cocktail stick appears.

140 Beat 2 A second stick appears on-screen.

141 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

142 Beat 4 A fourth stick appears.

143 Beat 1 Frame 17: A cocktail stick appears.

144 Beat 2 A second cocktail stick appears.

Animation Timing Sheet

PRODUCTION TITLE: Channel 4 Ident SHEET NO.7

FRAME SOUND NOTES/MOVEMENTS SKETCH/STORYBOARD

145 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

146 Beat 4 A fourth cocktail stick appears on-screen

147 Beat 5 A fifth cocktail stick appears.

148 Beat 6 A sixth stick appears.

149 Beat 7 A seventh cocktail stick appears.

150 Beat 8 An eighth cocktail stick appears.

151 Beat 9 A ninth stick appears on-screen

152 Beat 10 A tenth stick appears.

153 Beat 11 An eleventh cocktail stick appears.

154 Beat 12 A twelfth cocktail stick appears.

155 Beat 13 A thirteenth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

156 Beat 14 A fourteenth stick appears.

157 Beat 15 A fifteenth cocktail stick appears.

158 Beat 16 A sixteenth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

159 Beat 17 A seventeenth stick appears.

160 Beat 18 The eighteenth cocktail stick appears.

161 Beat 1 Frame 18: A cocktail stick appears on-screen.

162 Beat 2 A second stick appears.

163 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

164 Beat 4 A fourth stick appears on-screen.

165 Beat 5 A fifth cocktail stick appears.

166 Beat 6 A sixth stick appears.

167 Beat 7 A seventh cocktail stick appears.

168 Beat 8 An eighth cocktail stick appears.

Animation Timing Sheet

PRODUCTION TITLE: Channel 4 Ident SHEET NO.8

FRAME SOUND NOTES/MOVEMENTS SKETCH/STORYBOARD

169 Beat 9 A ninth cocktail stick appears.

170 Beat 10 A tenth cocktail stick appears on-screen

171 Beat 1 Frame 19: A cocktail stick appears.

172 Beat 2 A second stick appears.

173 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

174 Beat 4 A fourth cocktail stick appears.

175 Beat 1 Frame 20: A stick appears on-screen

176 Beat 2 A second stick appears.

177 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

178 Beat 4 A fourth cocktail stick appears.

179 Beat 5 A fifth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

180 Beat 6 A sixth stick appears.

181 Beat 7 A seventh cocktail stick appears.

182 Beat 8 An eighth cocktail stick appears on-screen.

183 Beat 9 A ninth stick appears.

184 Beat 10 The tenth cocktail stick appears.

185 Beat 11 An eleventh cocktail stick appears on-screen.

186 Beat 12 A twelfth stick appears.

187 Beat 1 Frame 21: A cocktail stick appears.

188 Beat 2 A second stick appears on-screen.

189 Beat 3 A third cocktail stick appears.

190 Beat 4 A fourth stick appears.

191 Beat 5 A fifth cocktail stick appears.

192 Beat 6 A sixth cocktail stick appears.