What worked well and why?
I enjoyed rebuilding the foundation of my craft by focusing on Art and Animation fundamentals and what tells a story rather than on expressing myself. The lectures were great and I enjoyed the Group Work, especially in my initial (and eventually Final) Group. I loved putting ideas out there, and the meetings online and offline encouraged me, as I got feedback from like-minded people and developed ideas with them. I felt that we managed to form a mutually supportive group.
What did not work well & why?
Switching to a different group was difficult because the group I joined seemed to have already almost finalised their ideas. We didn’t have a proper opportunity to reform the group with the new members and break the ice. My main contributions were to the story and the main characters in my final week with them but, as a newcomer, I struggled to contribute significantly as most of the project was already decided.
What did I learn about creative teamwork?
I found that the group work was at it’s best when I was part of the initial group and very constructive when I returned to them. Being back where we had formed relationships, and stormed, normed and performed, was great. I learned that not everything had to be a good or correct idea. It just had to be presented to see if it could be part of the collective vision. It was also a good learning experience because we learned that creating an animated film was as much to do with what we took away as what we added.
If I were to start the module again – What would I do differently and why?
I would probably stay in my initial formed group as there wasn’t time to integrate into the second group properly. I would also create the blog posts differently by adding dates and turning them into an art-focused online diary that I would consistently update. I now would see it as an opportunity to encourage myself to draw and share something daily. It would be a way to continue my personal development and solidify a professional discipline that creates art regardless of feelings and external circumstances. I would also include more references and make it a goal to have a few every day.
What do I need to do more/less to improve my animation practice?
Watch more animators create their animations online. To draw more from life, and go into more depth with animation-based books. Also to read more Comic Books and Novels for storyboarding, dialogue and narrative ideas.
What might I change? How?
What should I keep? Why?
I should keep working with a Group if the option to stay with them until the end of the project is available – unless the Group becomes too difficult to work with. If it is a good group, it works better for personal development and team work.