Unit 2: Introduction to design and research skills in creative media production

 Introduction to Research

11th Sept. MM XX III

Today's session we studied how to develop an understanding of different research methods. And how to develop a writing style that would be easy to interpret.

What is research?

Research is the investigation of into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions

Research can be further broken down into primary and secondary research.

• Primary Research is research conducted by yourself, which includes like surveys, conducting interviews, and doing on field studies.
• Secondary Research is research taken from sources like scientific reports, government statistics, books, newspaper articles, and even as simple as images.

Doing Research is important as to understand and establish facts, in order to reach new conclusions, this can applied to my course easily, as understanding is required to master the skills needed to be professioned(Sir is this a word?) in creating media works.

Research can then further broken down into the different types of information gathered:

Qualitative and Quantitative

• Quantitative, similar to the word, 'Quantity', is the information gathered in hard numbers, that can be measured easily. Like how many people prefer oranges to apples, how many dislike apples when compared to oranges, and so on.
• Qualitative, similar to the word, 'Quality', is the information collected in words and opinions. This can not be measured easily on a graph, but rather needs to be read through and analysed. Like for example, instead of how many people like oranges to apples, why do people like oranges to apples. With questions like "Why do you like the taste?" "Why you don't like the other fruit?" and so on.

Appendix, Bibliography and Harvard Referencing

When you use or get information from a secondary source, or you do secondary research, you need to provide or write a reference for the information you sourced it from in your Bibliography section.

The Bibliography section is where Harvard Referencing is used. As for example, the proper format needed for a media is: the title of the media, the year it was made or released in, what type of media it is (film/video game/tv show), the country and city it was made in, then the production companies associated with it. Here is an example, from my 12 principles of animation section from Unit 1. I separated the Videos, and Films I referenced, as the films can be easily listed, while the videos need a more detailed comprehensive review.

Research Homework on Animation Studios

19th Sept. MM XX III

Introduction to Cinematography: Shot Sizes

22nd Sept. MM XX III

Todays objectives were to understand how to structure our images in a way that helps story telling. And to reinforce understanding of the visual planning required to create effective animation.

The 10 main shots we learned today were:

• Extreme Close up (ECU) - The camera is intensely framed on a specific part of the body
• Big Close Up (BCU) - The head or a piece of the subject takes a part of the width or height of the frame, with no gaps left.
• Close Up (CU) - The head is still zoomed in, but there is some wiggle room, like the neck or top of their head is seen.
• Medium Close Up (MCU) - Halfway between a CU and a MS, where it is a medium shot, but more focus is on the head of a the character.
• Medium Shot (MS) - From the mid point to the top of the head or from the waist down is shown on camera.
• Medium Long Shot (MLS) - A long shot incorporated with a MS, as the background is seen a lot, but the body is cut off a bit still.
• Long Shot (LS) - The camera shows the entire body, and is from an incredible distance from anything. A Wide Shot is another name for this type of shot.

For this shot, it is used for many reasons, as to establish a location or scene, so that the audience roughly knows where the scene takes place in, usually combined with a High Angle Shot (HAS. But sometimes, it is used for more artistic reasons, like to make the character(s), appear lost and alone in the story.

• Over the Shoulder Shot (OSS) - The camera is over the character, 
• Dutch Tilt (DT) - Any of the type of shots are included in this, but the camera is tilted, as to insinuate a form of eureka moment.

For the practical part of the lesson, I made some example storyboards that I thought of quickly. I applied different techniques. I quite liked the panda one, as I drew my plush bear in a "cinematic" angle.

It made me understand why some shots are needed and used by directors, or by the storyboard artist(s). In which I can apply this to my actual animation course, which can and will improve my overall creative cinematography skills.

Understanding Pre-production Presentation