Week 6 Links & Notes
(specific to this week)

Live Sessions This Week:

📺 Watch: Mon 9.29 Review → [Watch Here]

Looking Ahead (Week 7)

Weekly review will be pre-recorded, and week 7 will open Tues. Oct. 7th @noon due to In Service Day on Mon. October 6th.
Next live (recorded) session: Wed. Oct 8th @ noon (only live session in Week 7)

This week’s deadlines:
Tuesday, Oct. 7th @ noon

Next week, we have Exercise 3, numerous AE demos, and continue our P2 development.

Next week, for P2, we will revise our storyboards, 2s motion test (Wednesday), and move on to developing our first 10–15s of P2 (Monday) for a Zoom or Discussion Board Critique. Next week includes additional AE Demos on Compound shapes, merge paths, trim paths, 3D shapes.

Weekly Content

Week 6 (though not required, it is recommended you move through in sequence. All items need to be complete by the of week):

1. Attend or watch recording of Monday Zoom. We will review this week’s content.
   
   SECTION I – Transitions
   
2. Review of Transition Resources
   
   SECTION II – P2
   
3. Continue development of P2: Principles of Design in Motion
4. Due next Tues 10.7: Project 2 ideation (brainstorming, mindmaps, sketches to Medium)
5. Due next Tues 10.7: 3 Styleframes (post to Medium)
6. Due next Tues 10.7: Rough Storyboard (post to Medium)
7. Due next Tues 10.7: Post your 3 styleframes and storyboard to D2L “P2: Styleframes & Storyboard” by Tues @noon OR attend next Wednesday’s ZOOM Critique.
   
   Looking ahead (next Tues–Thurs): P2 Crit #1 – Styleframes -Comment on 3 others by Thursday@noon (if you do not attend Wednesday’s ZOOM). You only need to participate in one or the other.
   
   SECTION III – AE
   
8. Watch Demo AE Videos
9. Review After Effects Resources
10. Begin Exercise 3 (due Mon. Oct 13th)

SECTION I – TRANSITIONS

P2 Process Work

Post/Post to a story called “Principles of Design in Motion: Ideation” on Medium. How to post on Medium.

• 4.Project 2 Initial Exploration:
  • Brainstorm 20 different themes. Then, select 8 principles and create 3 Mind Maps based on your top 3 themes; Consider the animation principles that may be used to correspond with each design principle. Research all principles and decide on a theme that can connect all of the ideas together and demonstrate the principles. Begin thumbnails for the top 3 themes.
  • Narrow to 1 concept after exploring and documenting 3 ideations.
  • Continue thumbnail sketches on 1 theme (brainstorm the animation principles that may be used to correspond with each design principle). Begin exploring concepts.

• 5. 3 Styleframes (1920px x 1080px): A single, STATIC frame that depicts the look and feel. Visual considerations coalesce with narrative, composition, and motion. All choices must be rooted in concept. Each styleframe should be a completely different visual direction and may pull from different conceptual directions. Using the same layout/composition, and simply changing the typeface will result in a grade deduction. Spend time creating three completely different visual directions, and avoid committing to “your favorite” too early on. Each direction should be strong. You will more than likely need to explore more than 3 visual directions to result in 3 strong directions. Consider breaking your design time into a minimum of two sessions (an initial sprint + a refinement session). Upload to the bottom of your Medium Process story you created last week.
• 6. Rough Storyboard: (suggested methods: index cards OR .ai artboards OR storyboarding paper above): Brings together the script with the visuals. Indicate framing, as well as how elements will enter, exit, move throughout the frame. Minimum of 12 frames (title slide + 8 principles + consider transitions)
• Optional: Create 1 moodboard on top 1 concept (include type exploration, image/illustration style, color, keywords).
• 7. P2 Crit #1 –Post your 3 styleframes and rough storyboard to Discussion Board on D2L “P2: Styleframes” (post by next Tues @ noon / 3 comments by Thurs @ noon. In D2L, go to Communications > Discussions). You only need to participate in the D2L critique if you do attend next Wednesday’s noon Zoom Critique.
  
  Looking ahead (next Tues-Thurs): P2 Crit #1 -Comment on 3 others by Thursday@noon (if you do not attend Wednesday’s live ZOOM). You only need to participate in one or the other.

Focus for Critique: 

TOPIC: What is the theme you are using to communicate the principles? What is the overarching idea (thinking, logic, thread) for your design? Brainstorm on the principles within your theme. (for example: If your theme is a game of pool, alignment could show the balls aligning together. If your theme is a designer's process of creating, alignment could show the final works pinned on the wall together in alignment.)

STYLEFRAMES: Which styleframe is most successful in communicating the visual style for your theme? Type, color, imagery, etc. Is there unity throughout? Color coding? Suggestions for improvement. 

MOTION: How can the motion could communicate the theme? (for example: A nature theme might connect the motion to the movement of growing. A magic show theme could connect the motion to the forms appear or disappearing.)

8. AE Demos

In After Effects, this week we will review Pen Tool, Bezier Shapes, Adjustment Layers, Masks on images, Effects + Presets

9. AE Resources

1. File Setup and Management:
Create a Composition: Set the duration to 5-10 seconds with dimensions of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Background: Choose a background image or texture that supports your concept (Unsplash, Lost and Taken, or similar).
File Management: Organize your project files appropriately for ease of use and efficiency.

2. Theme: Transformation Transition:
Concept: Define what is transforming (an object, mood, or scene).
Decide how the change begins, how it progresses, and how it ends.
Make sure the viewer can see the evolution—don’t just “cut” between unrelated images.

3. Image Selection and Masking:
Select 3–5 Images: Choose 3-5 images from Old Book Illustrations, Unsplash, or personal photos that represent different stages of your transformation.
Masking Techniques: Mask at least one image using the pen tool. The other images can be masked using different techniques (e.g., shape masks or track mattes). Integrate the images so they feel like part of the same space or visual world.

4. Effects and Text:
Transformation Effects: Apply 1-3 effects per image that reflect or enhance the transformation theme (e.g., blur, color shift, distortion). Make sure the effects contribute to the narrative and don't overwhelm the composition.
Quote and Text Effects: Choose a quote that relates to your transformation theme. Animate the text using 1-2 effects (e.g., opacity changes, scaling) to integrate it into the composition.

5. Motion and Transitions:
Animate and Choreograph: Ensure smooth transitions between the images, with thoughtful use of scaling, rotation, or position changes. Each image should enter and exit the composition in a way that emphasizes the transformation.
Overall Flow: Pay attention to timing so that the elements move harmoniously, avoiding any dead space or abrupt transitions.

6. Rendering and Submission:
Render Your Composition: Render in H.264 format using the Vimeo 1080 preset. Upload to D2L + Vimeo (if possible). If possible, submit the link via D2L.