Jackie’s blog

The final project is about the “Transform”. When I did the researching, I feel confuse, I do not know what should I research, how should I start my researching. But I still get to British Museum to do my research that I might can found some ideas about my project. First I saw some item about history, so I want to make something about history. Then I thought, maybe I can make a animation about my history, the transform about myself. But some detail I still do not know. So I asked Paul, she gave me some very good idea. So the final theme for the project is about the BULLY.

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In the learning context of the level 3 studying, there are lots of different people belonging to different cultural. Now those people including me are studying in the same college. The international study is this kind of learning context. It is an interesting way to study, people can study as a team with different people from different cultural context.

  I think it is a good way to communicate with other people belonging to different culture. It can let people know the culture of different people, so it can let people understand each other. But the language is a problem, different people come from different country, and say different languages. I am Chinese, so English is not my first language. It is a little hard for me, but I learned some English before I come to Britain. And the style of education has some different. In Chinese college, most of time, teacher stand in front of the classroom speaking and teaching the skill or the theoretical knowledge. In Britain, teacher not just teach and speak, they also do more communication with students.

   The style of the education in Britain is very interesting, I am not just sit in my seat and take notes and just finish some homework. It is good for me. But I still have some problem for the language, sometimes when I write or speak, there are still some grammar mistakes. So sometimes I can understand what the other people said, but other people do not understand what I said. I have this problem one reason is that English is not my first language and this cannot be changed. The other reason is that I have not very good English skill, I still need progress my English skill.

I can improve my English skill through watching English videos, practising more speaking and writing. I already have some progress comparing with it when I just came to Britain. I think this is benefited from that I have spoken English with other people in Britain, it means I am practicing my English every day. But it cannot practise my writing, so I need do more writing practice. I will try to write an English diary every day. I hope my English skill can be getting better.

About the transformation, I want to make the theme about the transformation of myself, I want make an animation about the “transform of myself. When I was young until now, the change of my hobby, and why and how I choose the animation.

 First, I need to do some research about myself. when I was studying in primary school I do not have a good time. I was be bully, but I changed myself. So I want to fin some books about this in library. Then I pick the part of research I can get to be the reference of my project. When I finish them, I need find some artist which white or draw the “transform” about them self. Like watch the animation in the website of the London International Animation Festival.

  If the outcome is an animation, so I need use the Premiere or the Aviutl to do some editing of my animation. And I might need use the After Effects and photoshop to make the animation. Or use the photoshop and the clip studio paint to draw my character. I might need the printer do some scan for my research. This project will be show in a exhibition I the collage, so I may need an iPad to show my animation.

  This animation might be successful, or unsuccessful, because this is the first time I make an animation about myself, and this animation will show on a exhibition in the collage. I do not know what happen in the future, but now I just know I need work hard and get my best to make this final project.

  About the professional of the animation, some people say the winter about the animation is coming. Now lots of animation do not have good idea of the story. The animation is become more commercialization, but there are still some great idea of the story. Do not need sad, the young people will get the good idea.

My personal reviews is write about the clocks gallery in British Museum. I think this reviews is successful, because I have clear ideas to write this reviews, and I found the books can used in this reviews. But the most important things is I spend an afternoon in the clocks gallery to take the photos for all of the clocks an the labels . Before that I have not did something like this. Because of that, I have enough photos and information about those clocks. So I think this reviews is successful.

George Daniels, a master watchmaker said that ‘Watchmaking has always been an art, and the mechanical watch is not obsolete’ (Clerhael, 2013). It could be suggested that, most people agree with this, because, on walking into the gallery, the delicate and beautiful clocks and watches impress the viewer by the beautiful design of the clocks. It could be agreed that those clocks and watches are the greatest art works in the world.

Compared with the other galleries in the British Museum, the clocks and watch gallery is a little small. It is arguable that, it is one of the most interesting gallery in British museum. It will spend you the whole afternoon to visit this gallery, you can take photos of all of the clocks and watches. It can be argued that when you visited the gallery you might feel exciting and happy, I never have this feeling when I visited other exhibition. It may be the first time you find something you are really interested in in a gallery.

There are two special clocks some people might be interested. One of clock is the Monument Carillon clock, by Isaac Habrecht in Strasbourg. It’s a beautiful mechanical clock and it still works. It have 400 years history. I really like the design of the clock, and the bells voice is very clear and melodious. The second one is the rolling ball clock, designed by Sir William Congreve, made by Santiago James Moore French in London. It is a very interesting clock, it uses the rolling ball to keep track of time, although arguably it is more ornamental than useful.

The Monument Carillon clock was the trigger in my animation, the starting point for the story, in my London A-Z project. The reason is because this clock have a long history and it still working. The vitality of this clock is very appropriate to be the trigger. Another reason is that the story of the animation need a trigger to turn back the time, the clock is good to connect with time. The Monument Carillon clock is more like the normal clock which most people know. So I choose this clock.

Ilya and Serge said that “But time has suddenly reappeared on all the frontiers of knowledge”(2020). The clocks are the used to mark the time. So it is important to make them correct and true in every detail. That is why most of people improve the clocks quickly. But when people want the clocks not just have the basic function, they also want to make the clocks get more beauty, more valuable to shown the standing of them. So they found the great clock makers, ask them use the gold and the valuable gem to make the clocks, because that, lots of precious clocks have been made. Not just the mater of the clocks, the greatest design is also important. And all of those mix together let those clocks become to the art works.

Before the machine clocks were invented, there are some other special way to know the time. The machine clocks until now someone still use them. In my opinion people can use it to display their imagination and the creation. A great and beautiful clock can be a great art work. The machine clocks are not only tools to mark the time, but also artworks, that could be compared to the great art works of Van Gogh.

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Bibliography

Clerizo, Michael. (2013), George Daniels: A Master Watchmaker & His Art. London: Thames & Hudson

Barbican Art Gallery. (1986), Art & time. London: Barbican Art Gallery

This outcome I used a new software to make the animation, the After Effects. This is my first time use this software to make a animation. I use is make a 30 second animation, then I use the Aviutl to add the dialogue.

  For me, this trying is successful, because it can achieve the desired result, although it is harder to use then I think. At last I finished this animation. The style which I choses is another reason why I think this animation is successful. I get the idea from the 100 different experiments. I think it can used for my animation. The props made by copy of leaflets is best then what I thought. All of the props is made by the copy of my leaflets collection. I use the Photoshop do some processing for the copy of the leaflets, then put them in the After Effects. This style is very special and interesting. So I chose this style to made my animation.   

But this animation still have something can improve. Although I can use the After Effects make a simple a animation, when I make the motion of the characters, it still looks strange. I hope next time if I still use the After Effects I can make the movement more good. The background have a good style but still have some stage want to make, but I do not have time and I do not know how can make this stage.

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The object which led my idea is the medical tools. I saw them is when I visited the Wellcome Collection exhibition. First time I saw them, I was scared. The Knifes and the Saws is very scared, I can not image them used for human body, but when I back to home, sort out the photos, they give me the idea for the outcome. I can make a animation about medical. It will be interesting. But still do not have the detail about the outcome. In an Friday, in the Adobe After Effects class I got the new idea to make the animation. Use the paper crate the character and the background, then put them to the After Effects. My physical collections are leaflets. So I chose this way to make my animation, I chose the leaflet to be the material for the background and characters. Then I draw the storyboard. And use the After Effects make the animation. It all start at the medical tools. With the new idea which used to make animation. I think I can make a interesting animation for the collection project. The animation is started to make. So it should finish before the deadline.

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About the practices and the documentation, one of the good idea is take photos, this is a easy and safe way to documentation the collections, but it is not easy to check what object did people saved in the phone or camera. So is a good way practices and take research. Actually there is a simple way to make this way become a good method, put the photos to the computer, pint them out and stick them on the sketch book. It can easily to check, I will use this way next time. Another idea of collection about physical collection. Take the photos or copy about them, make classification for them, then stick the photos and the label (or write the label) on the sketch book. It is a good method to do the physical collection.

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I collected the photos about the place near the British Museum. I like the beautiful streets in city, so I take lots of photos when I went to the British Museum. But I do not remember the name of all the streets. So I would not write the name of the photos.

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This out come I think is much better then the first outcome. The good thing is this animation is the first animation I made by myself, and it not a rotocoping. The successful part is the animation is a complete video.And it is my first time to made a video like this. And the story for me have a good start. Because for me, the story is have enough fun for the people which watching the video. And the research I think it is a complete research for the clocks gallery. Because I record the information of the whole gallery.

But there still have some thing can improve. Although I let the character can move in the animation, but the motion still not complete. So I still need to read some books and do some research about drawing animation. The other thing is that the color is not very good, so I still need to do more practice and reference.

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Their are some image about my first sketch, research and storyboard.