Some photo's of emotions

So here a handful of photo's featuring emotions, which isn't the most exhilarating of tasks but hey what can you do, aside from take some pictures.

Here's a photo of contemplation

Cheekiness afoot in this picture.



A bit of surprise in this photo

Frustration is apparent aplenty in this aperture.

Principles of Animation: Revision

There are a number of principles when it comes to animation and the way that things move in order for them to appear natural, here is a just a quick revision of these principles in my own words for future reference as there will be tests later on that will go into these principles in detail.

1. Squash and Stretch: This principle states that as an object moves in certain ways it will squash and stretch depending on the forces being applied to it while it's moving. It's important to note that the shape retains it's mass and as it stretches in one direction it thins on the opposite axis. The most simple example of this is a ball as it hits a flat surface and bounces.

2. Anticipation: This means prepaing the audience for the action that is about to occur, for example a dancer jumping off of a platform would bend their knees and a golfer would raise a golf club up above their head before swinging. Removing the anticipation creates gag moments where an action occurs without the audience expecting what comes next.

3. Staging: Staging is the idea that the idea and meaning of what is happening on screen is unmistangly clear what is happening and what is going to occur. This is akin to staging on theatre and film.

4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose: These are animating techniques where Straight ahead action involves drawing subsequent drawings from an original frame, one after the other that creates a more fluid movement and makes for really good action sequences however it is hard to mantain proportions of an object over a number of drawings. Pose to pose involves drawing the key poses of an action and is a more planned out approach to animation that is more suitable for scenes with high drama.

5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action: These are elements that make an animation more realistic as it gives the impression that they adhere to the laws of physics. For instance as a character moves it may take a few frames for limbs and hair to catch up to the motion of the main body.

6. Slow In and Slow Out: This is the idea that objects accelerate and decelerate with any movement that they do, akin to a car starting and stopping. this applies to all motion as nothing can go from no mevement to full speed.

7. Arcs: Most human and animal movement occurs across arced trajectories, this should be applied to everything that moves from a joint such as arms and legs.

8. Secondary Action: Secondary actions are used to give actions more life. An example of a secondary action is a character who swings their arms as they walk or they whistle as they move, these actions need to compliment the primary action.

9. Timing: Timing in animation is the amount of frames given for an action that determines the speed of the film. Correct timing gives the impression of realism and can help flesh out the emotion of the character.

10. Exaggeration: Exaggeration is the act of making an animation look more alive by stretching movements or dimensions of a character as drawing the characters as like-like as possible creates a dull movement and can make an animation appear lifeless.

11. Solid Drawing: Solid drawing means drawing objects in a way that conveys three dimensions, giving the objects and characters weight and volume.

12. Appeal: Appeal in a character is akin to the charsima of an actor in that the characters have to appeal to an audience whether they make themselves out to be protagonists or the villian of the piece, the character has to be able to connect to the audience in order for the animation to be effective.

Luke's Photography Class: Depth of Field

Greetings, slautations and all that good stuff.

Kicking off this unit of photography we were assigned the terribly tumultuous task of finding photos that demonstrated effective use of depth of field in an extremely shallow manner.

Here are the collection of images I've found as well the links to the site they originated that show this off wonderfully.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teenytinyturkey/2870905547/ - A glass full of vegetables.

http://digital-photography-school.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/depth-of-field.jpg - A beanstalk with a creepy back ground, out of focus.

http://www.whistlerisawesome.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/5723939713_42e5fd0ba2_z1.jpg - Birds the word for this photo that shows of depth of field.

http://biglensfastshutter.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/20110124_d320248.jpg?w=590&h=263 – This picture is a nice sports shot that demonstrates depth of field with a wide angle.

http://oneslidephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Beginners-Guide-to-Photography-Controlling-DOF.jpg - Picked this one because it shows off depth of field quite nicely…  

Yep, no other reason…

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Luke's Nature of Design Class: Ipad Questions

When it comes to Industry trends we are tasked with keeping up to date with state of current technologies and how they are impacting the workplace and it's a big thing to consider in this workplace as with the constant change of technology falling behind is a dangerous thing to do in this industry. So we were tasked with the following questions regarding the Ipad and tablet based technology in general.

In your opinion how important is it for mobile applications and devices to both look good and function properly? Comment on both the attractiveness of the software and the hardware.

In such a new take on the personal computing medium it is important that both form and function take equal measure of thought in its design. New technologies, especially when it comes to computing people tend to be very wary of purchasing it without outside opinions on how they hold up for what their advertising. First impressions count a lot in this industry and how well an app or piece of tech is received initially is a strong indication of how well it is going to sell. Selling an app on its potential is almost a mark of failure in its design as proven by some of the worst tech ever released.

The easier it is for people to wrap their heads around the tech, the quicker they’ll start spreading good praise through word of mouth and positive reviews will bolster initial sales.

Who designed the iPad? Was it an individual or team? In your opinion, do people use this device because it looks good or because it functions well? Or does it do both?

When it comes to looks and function I think it’s safe to say that it’s a bit of both, if you’re viewing the iPad as a means to view through several sheets of data quickly, easily and with as little fuss as possible, there is nothing better than a tablet to get to these documents in a timely manner. Tablets are designed to look neat and tidy no matter what environment you’re using them in so its looks contribute to its popularity.

How has the iPad changed the way some businesses function? Can you find examples of where businesses have implemented the iPad into their day-to-day activities?

The ipad has made carrying large amounts of text easier since stacks of paper can now be carried and accessed at any time through the slim device. The easiest place to see where this has a huge effect is the legal system where attorneys have taken to carrying around iPads in lieu of briefcases filled with documents due to the easy storage and accessibility of any item that it has on file.

Overall, what other major flaws of this type of technology? Can you think of anyways in the future that this hardware will be improved to the point where it will compete with desktop and laptop computers?

The major flaws with this technology at the moment lie where precision is required, as the iPad doesn’t offer the same precision as external devices such as stylus/ mouse or even in the case of doing considerably more typing then simple e-mail text, a keyboard. The alternatives that the iPad offer are harder to use then the devices they are emulating.

How do you think the iPad could help your day-to-day workflow? Are the answers straightforward? Is it more a case of combining this technology with others that already exist?

In its current state I find it hard to see how it would help my current workflow other than an overly pretty external device to transport files. As further additions are added further down the line there could definitely be a use especially if more software becomes integrated into the hardware and it starts to connect to more devices, really embracing the idea of an entire home as a pc, then I could definitely see a use for this.

Consider the following–has the iPad shaped the way we do business? Or has business and technology shaped the way Apple developed the iPad?

It’s a little bit of both as there has definitely been input both ways, as new technology is developed with a mindset of fulfilling a need that the market has for the tech and it is up to the individual companies to identify this need. In this case Apple found a new way to take their mobile technology to the next level and they went for it with good results.

Is the iPad and tablets in general a passing fad? Or do you think this type of technology is here to stay long-term?

The sustainability of this technology depends on a number of factors:

First of all at this point in its life cycle tablets in general are at a stage where the ease of which developers of both external software and applications that directly interacts with the tablet is a big factor in the growth of people using tablets in their daily lives. If developers of external devices and software can jump on board and devices like the ipad become a window to controlling several aspects of our home the ipad really will be a revolutionary tool that will change the way people manage their house hold.

This leads on to the second point that I would like to bring up with ipad specifically as Apple's method of doing business with outside developers is to put them through a rigorous process of checks over the development of apps for the device all of which costs more money for the developer. Without the open source of development constantly spurring innovation the uses with which the technology could be stunted until another company comes along with a cheaper more open alternative that's still easy to use.

Many people say that the iPad is an unnecessary piece of hardware caught in limbo between a laptop and mobile phone. Do you think this consensus is accurate? Do you think that your answer could be different in five years’ time?

At the moment that statement is true to a point. A lot of the innovation that the ipad could really capitalise on hasn’t actually happened at a state where it is feasible to market to a large audience. But as these technologies come out and tablet devices become more integral in interacting with a wide variety of hardware, all of a sudden what is viewed as an unnecessary piece of hardware becomes the window to connect to everything and anything.

Conduct a discussion with the whole class and determine based on the general consensus the pros and cons of tablet-based technology.

This last question is a tiny bit tricky for someone in my position where I missed the class where this was discussed in detail, so it’s hard to list anything as general consensus when its one opinion, that said I think my opinions are pretty well fleshed out in the previous questions. In its infancy whether it catches on or not has to do with the consumers’ willingness to buy the product, to make their lives easier in a way that makes them wonder how they ever lived without one.

A fairly large wall of text to be sure for this post and the bad news it isn't over, as there are more text heavy posts to come, its a good thing I like wrkiting so much or this would actually seem daunting.

Going Green Website: Initial Design and Feedback

So it is time to post some feed back over a little flash program we’re cooking up for the interactive portion of our animation class and after presenting the initial idea to the class we were required to take the feedback and mull over it while we implemented changes to the design that address the points raised by the class. The Original pitch is below:

Now there is never going to be a perfect example of an initial concept for a design and this is no exception as my colleagues have dutifully pointed out the flaws in this current design.

1.       The way the wheel is designed, the arrows can only go in one direction, and it might be a good idea to have them g both ways.

2.       Perhaps a way to quickly navigate to each room as oppose to going in sequence, possibly giving them their own space in the wheel menu as well as colour coding the rooms appropriately to give them distinguishable features.

3.       Make something that can serve as a home page with a bit of a tutorial to guide people to the interactive elements in the work.

4.       Give the piece of work some branding, this gives the work something the people viewing can easily associate with that particular experience.

In response to these criticisms I came up with this piece of work, a more refined concept though not the whole picture and sadly, lacking colour.

How the previous criticisms were addressed (or not addressed in some cases) is as follows:

1.       Giving the arrow a backwards button seemed contrary to the idea of someone going through the house in a linear fashion. The design for the arrow would no longer be reminiscent of the arrows used in every recycling logo that the target audience would be able to identify and associate to going green.

2.       This is one I do believe in as a person should never feel like they have to stick to the rails so in the wheel I added a slider that would have icons or text for the three different settings for quick navigation if they really wanted to jump to a specific scene, this also means that they wouldn’t have to go back in the sequence creating unnecessary load times for the user.

3.       This is something I wanted to address with its own screen as creating any one of these images as a home page would detract from the other two or clutter up the screen of the chosen setting which is something I would like to avoid.

4.       When it comes to branding the piece that I would associate with the brand would be the wheel although a phrase could be added to that or a heading.

There's more work to come down the pipeline but for now it serves nicely as an initial concept page.

Writing Effectively: A critique of the copy writing in the army recruitment page

Aside from competing in the worlds longest heading competition* this first lesson of our writing unit has us critiquing the text used in the army recruitment article located here.

We were given some standard questions to go over and instructed to post them here so here they are in no particular order:

1. Does the copy get to the point quickly?

It gets to the point that it's going to be hard, it starts off with a negative spin and then slowly works it into a positive. In a selling point of view it asks you to think hard in the first sentence which isn't an effective way to sell their careers and get people interested to join the army.

2. Is the copy shy about the offer or incentive?

Simply put, yes, it is shy about what it is offering. It only draws attention at one point to the incentives where with the use of bold text at the end of the first paragraph and even then the incentives aren't clear. If they had extended "Unlike any other job" to encompass more of that sentence it would be a bit more eye catching as a way to feed someone down the page, but that would imply the first sentence was effective in it's selling pitch. (Hint: It wasn't)

3. Is it easy to respond to?

No, most of the links buried in this page lead to preparation and other ancillary web pages that don't lead to any page where you can physically join up to the army. There is a link to a list of job listings on the army site but it's the start of a maze of links that isn't very clear.

4. Does the copy overcome every objection to replying, leaving the reader with no choice but to act?

This copy does the exact opposite of this, and instead does a fine job of instilling some doubt as to whether or not you would be a good fit for the army.

5. Does the copy use simple words?

This is actually something that it does do well, the language used is simple and easy to understand.

6. Does the copy use active language (does it address the site visitor as ‘you’)?

yes it does use active language in the way that it addresses the visitor.

7. Is the copy broken down into simple sections and bullet points?

No it is simply a written testimonial of a soldier and it bounces around the key points. It brings up the challenging aspect of the career every paragraph while bringing up the other points when it could have consolidated it a tiny bit.

Next post will be a write up of my own interpretation of the page aimed at selling the army lifestyle and careers in a way that would get people to actively enlist.

(*This entry was disqualified immediately on account of being too small)

Panorama - rama*

So for the first photoshop lesson after the break we found ourselves tasked with the preposterously perilous process of  manually creating a panorama shot from a selection of images and mending them together to create a cohesive photo of a wide angle shot. A daunting task with only the most basic of automation from photoshop at our disposal, meaning we had to stick to basic transformation and rotational tools with the odd bit of masking layers to achieve the end result.

The following is the images used without any work done just stacked next to one another:

And the following is the end result after all the work has been done:

Pretty seamless with only minor distortion so overall I am pretty happy with how the end result turned out considering I have never done anything like this before.

(*Indicative of multiple items which is not the case, but who knows unless someone points it out right?

...

Son of a...)

Improvements to the Schweppes Rocker Bottles

It's been a week since the class critique of all our ideas and since then I have written down some improvements to both the idea and the pitch itself to help give it a more eye catching and lasting appeal that will hopefully hold up as a finished product. We were tasked to take what we learnt from the critique, write up a list of improvements and then do a quick sketch to present to our control group.

These are the list of improvements starting with the idea itself.

Improvements to the idea:

1. Needs to be simplified, in its current implementation it is two separate parts as well as the syrup which is sold separately which raised concerns over its complexity and price. Current train of thought is to make it just one item and then the syrup is added, while still retaining the twist and shake to get the custom flavours out into the bottle. This also addresses another concern raised in the idea of the rocker bottom piercing the bottom of the rocker top as the sharp end could be used as a weapon, but if it's all one item people can't get to the sharp piercing part of the bottle without tearing it apart which is just as dangerous as a person cutting into a regular P.E.T.E bottle.

2. A better way of incorporating the cooling element to the bottle, such as a form of gel that would already come with the bottle so people would only have to get the syrup they want and insert it into the bottle. This would also increase the viability of over the counter sales as it's extra cooling can be a selling point from any location.

Some ideas to improve the pitch, due to my limited analogue skills this is going to be a big one:

1. The colours need to be more vibrant and eye catching, which is even visible in the photo as the colours don't really show that well and you need to look really closely to the image to see anything substantial. Current thought train is to have light colour towards the centre of the design that grow in intensity as they reach out to the edge of the page.

2. Needs to include more information on the product including greater coverage of the cooling facts as well as the advantages that brings.

3. Overall presentation needs to be clearer, and more coherent. The four quadrants put the information all over the page with a very loose structure of focus.

4. The main bottle could be implemented into the image with a bit more coherency, as it stands the bottle is just dumped on the page and conflicts with the four quadrant symbol. It could still catch the eye if it was a major part of design but it was worked into the other elements.

5. Title could be cleaner with typography that would be associated with the product and the company making it, (In this case Schweppes). If current idea of making one bottle goes through the control team could simplify the name down to something akin to just "Rockers".

Getting these improvements into a quick sketch is the challenge I am presented with now, more developements as they occur.