LO4 4.3: Final visual effect graph

Final Visual Effect




Visual Effect in my short film

LO4 4.3: Evaluating my final product

Evaluating and justification of editing 

In creating my visual effect graph I ensured i stuck to planning and pre-production documents, this allowed me to have a clear plan throughout and to make sure I was aware of the aesthetic to make sure it would fit with my short film. 

As you can see my final effect is very similar to the planning documents created in LO2, whilst in the planning stages i really enjoyed the idea of a pie chart due to its visual display of data, I think the involvement of colours means that its much more visually attractive as well as informative, this element of the graph wouldn't be shown in a line graph which as the other graph I considered placing into the short film, however after doing a draft of the graph in premiere I thought it looked very sub-standard and not at all visually appealing for the audience.

By having the pie graph surrounding the ellipses outline it allows the separate colours to curl round when displaying their proportion of data i think this element adds to the graphs main appeal however this was not shown in the planning process due to the simplistic plan I drew in the storyboard.
The appealing aspect of the graph was much more clear in the second version of the graph, I soon realised that I needed lots of bright contrasting colours to not only gain the audiences attention but to keep it, as you can see in the first version which is aline graph the colours were dark green and black, these dark and dull colours wouldn't have enticed the audience like my second version does. 

In production as mentioned earlier I began creation intending to make a line graph, the line graph would differ from pre-production as I thought a pie chart would be too complex and not display clear enough information. Whilst creating the line graph I felt underwhelmed by its visual aid and didn't think it displayed much motion to excite and engage the audience or many compelling colours or information. After finishing an early draft of the line graph I decided to change direction and stick with my original planning idea and try see how a pie chart would show the same data.

After deciding to choose to change the graph format to a pie chart I felt this was a much more understandable way to see the data for the audience as well as it being visually pleasing with the continuous lines guiding the audiences attention the full way round meaning they are being lead through the data this leading it to not be really overwhelming like graphs such as bar charts or line charts can be. I felt the pie chart was a better fit for purpose as it demonstrated the data better with stronger environmental connotations really driving home the subject and data of the graph.

After beginning the pie chart i had more of an idea of what i wanted to create and the aesthetics surrounding it, I think without making the first line graph the pie chart would've been a lot duller and not as exciting due to the line graph demonstrating important features that needed including to engage the audience.

In creating the pie chart I have demonstrated many skills and learnt a lot about the software of Adobe After Effects, however throughout the production of the graph I did run into lots of technical problems this mainly surrounding the older hardware Macs and the new software not working well together, this did leave me at certain points of production stuck for timing in relation to the deadline however by putting more hours into production I did manage to create a graph I think demonstrates well not only the data but the aesthetic of the short film.
As well as demonstrating skills on the software I have also learnt new techniques such as 'tweening' and 'layering', whilst planning the graph I learnt the various tweens i could use e.g motion tweens, size tweens, this allowed me to understand the movement I could create and how this could create meaning and impact in the graph.
These skills I have developed will help greatly in later After Effects work as I now am able to control fluid movements in the software.

The graph demonstrates the different sectors that plastic is made for, by showing this information it is very well fit for purpose and allows it to link in with my short film really well, once i started production for my pie chart I decided to show slightly different data to my first line graph that demonstrated the increase in production of plastic, and I think this was the best decision made in the process as it allowed me to figure out what I wanted to include and how to represent it.
By restarting and creating a whole new graph it enabled me to make the best version possible in terms of graph type, visuals and information displayed

In conclusion I really think my graph represents the data well in a very visually clear and attractive way, I think it really adds to the Unit 5 short film as it demonstrates some hard hitting facts that allows the audiences to see the impacts on their plastic use, this ties in nicely with other aspects of the short film such as the interview with the owner of a non-single use plastic shop.
To demonstrate in the introduction the waste of plastic thanks to the pie chart this leads well into the interviews and the main conclusion of the short film.
I was really happy how the outcome came out and think this was especially helped by the voice over that accompanied the graph, it allowed a narrative and brought audio to the graph which also held and kept the audiences attention in quite a visually focused portion of the short film.

LO4 4.2: Exporting my final product

 Step 1.
In exporting my final visual effect I decided to use the exporting method of adding it to the render queue, this is the simplest and quickest method in getting an exported version of my graph.




Step 2.
After adding it to the render queue, I can decide what render settings, output module and output destination.

 Step 3. 
Here are the render settings and the options I can apply, I wanted the best quality render to ensure that the graph ran smoothly when playing in my short film, if the graph had any rendering then this would look unprofessional.







Step 4. 
Here is the output module settings, the most appropriate option at this stage for exporting was quicktime however I will later need to open Adobe Media Encoder to change this to H.264 as this file format is not only lossless meaning a high file quality but is accessible on all devices making it the perfect file type to support my graph

 Step 5.
In one of the last exporting steps I saved my file with a recognisable name and to a safe place where I new I could find it easily.
I will also upload this final version on a online saving system such as Onedrive to ensure that I have several copies in case of a computer malfunction.

Step 6.
My last step is to open Adobe Media Encoder and change the file format to H.264, this is to ensure that the file quality is most appropriate for the function of the video.

LO4.1 : Rushes and Final versions

Section of rushes log demonstrating the graph being placed into the short film 'Climate Crisis'

Exporting the VFX to a H.264

 In terms of exporting the VFX in a H.264 this was done to ensure that the graph would be in the highest lossless quality, this being appropriate for the use of VFX as it will be used in a short film and therefore it not only up-keeping the professional standard I am trying to create around the short film but allows all text and information to be seen and read clearly even from a distance. The format, H.264 is a universal format meaning that it can be placed into premiere pro and be edited just like any other clip, this being to my advantage due to it being easier to incorporate into the short film.

Final VFX graph 

Final Short film

LO4 4.1: Evidence of editing, draft 2

Evidence of editing 

1. Creating the layout

In creating the animation I began by adding a plain background, I chose to have a purple due to it not connoting to any particular genders.
By adding the rectangle using the shape tool this is now the basis of the animation and the first layer.





2. Creating the layout of the pie chart

After creating the background I added an oval outline central to the background with a thick stroke thickness, i did this by choosing from the shape tool and decided that I would have a dark colour for the outline to compliment the background and to stand out against colours that would be added in later steps.



3. Duplicating and adding another layer

After being satisfied with the shape, position and colour of the original oval outline I then pressed CTRL+D, this duplicating the layer, after duplicating the layer I then changed the colour to a bright pastel yellow as this will be one of the colours of my pie chart statistics, I want bright pastel colours to really contrast the darker purple.
I then decreased the stroke of the oval to allow the darker purple original oval to be visible underneath as a lower layer.

4. Creating a trim path 

After changing the colour of layer 'DG2' I then continued to add a trim path, this being an action that allows a shape to grow and travel. By adding this trim path I clicked the layer and pressed the 'add' button which brought up the menu shown to the left.




5. Setting the trim path

After creating the trim path I then opened up the timeline and added the movement with keyframes, I placed the key frames 5 seconds apart as this will be the longest movement in the graph.


 6. Duplicating the 2nd layer 

After adding the first trim path I then duplicated the first oval outline again with the shortcut CTRL+D, after creating this second layer I then began to change the colour again this time changing it to a pastel orange to add to the contrast already created.




7. Adding a second trim path 

After creating the 3rd layer i then began to add the second trim path, however I ended the ending key frame a second early compared to the first trim path, this would reveal the yellow section that would act as a visual piece of information in the graph.

 8. Continuing to duplicate and add trim paths for 7 different colours

Every-time i added a trim path i then continued to decrease the ending trim path keyframe dependant on how I wanted to represent the data.

9. Adding a line correlating to the sector

I used the pen tool and picked two points that i wanted to show the line going through, once made however a heavy thickness was immediately added due to it being used earlier with the oval outline.

10. Adding context to the data

By using the text tool i then added subheadings that allowed the audience to interpretate the data easier.

I added it in correlation to the line drawn showing the relating sector.

11. Continuing to add subheadings for all sectors 

I did this using the pen and text tool throughout.

12. Adding a title and reference for the data 

After animating and adding all subtitles to the graph i then began to add in the title explaining the graphs information and then adding a subheading that added as a reference for the data. 

I did this using the text tool and placed them at the top and bottom of the graph to allow the graph to follow conventions.

LO4 4.1: Production evidence, draft 1

 Step 1. Here is my graph in the beginning of the animation, as you
can see the x axis has its measurements to demonstrate the subject of the graph.
A next step improvement is to begin the animation with the numbers to fade in and so the screen be completely blank in the beginning.







Step 2. here is a screenshot of the graph a couple of milliseconds in, as you can see the x axis has faded in and will be followed by the rest of the  lines demonstrating the y axis measurements.
By fading the lines in I have done it by adding keyframes at different points of opacity of the bars.








Step 3. Here is my graph mid way through the animation, as you can see I have points plotting the data and to really excentuate these points I have a shadow on the underneath side of the points, as many other animated assets in the graph all points and the shadow fade into view.

Step 4. Here is the last shot of the animation demonstrating the clear data, by having a colour such as green it allows the colour pop to catch the audiences attention. The animation lasts 2 seconds fully for all assets to fade into view.








Tools



Here is a demonstration of keyframes for one of the points in my graph as you can see I have keyframes on the opacity of the point this allows it to fade in sequence with the rest of the points.

LO3 3.1: Planning documents vs production

Pre-Production Planning visual Diagram of graph

As shown below you can see the similarities between the pre production documents and the final product, I have ensured to keep pre-production documents such as the storyboard with me during production to ensure that I can understand the processes and see the stages I need to next move onto.

Contrasts between the documents however are clear also and elements of the plan did change throughout the process, these being elements such as the already existing circular outline, by beginning the graph with the circular layout already present this allowed a more fluent flow of colours and the type of graph could be denoted immediately by the audience.
The addition of more colours then shown on the graph was another change however this was due to the data I was presenting and the bright/pastel colours chosen I think add attraction to the graph.

Planning of the graph 



























Final product of the graph