On My Own Time – Animation
February 18th, 2009 by Diana FriedmanMy animation reflects my approach to time, which includes the notion of doing things at my own pace. This is my second version of the animation for the time unit, and I decided to depict a more personal issue. As a child, I had a very hard time learning how to read. My concept embraces the revelation I had, which was that I could not rush the process, and that if I just took my time and practiced, it would eventually click, and I could “dive in” to the adventures of reading.
February 21st, 2009 at 2:14 pm
To further accentuate your theme of “on your own time”, perhaps you could alter the video in various unorthodox ways.
For example, you could greatly alter the pace at which the frame rate changes, or perhaps put a jarring pause in the middle of the clip just to show how strong you believe in going at your own time.
It could make the viewer uncomfortable, dealing with the irregular flow of the video but I believe it would coincide with your theme even more.
February 24th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Powerful use of a single photograph (of the little girl) in different scenes. The artist gets the maximum for the minimum here – simplicity is key to the success of the piece. The pace could be slower with more attention to focus, blur and legibility.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Thank you for your comments!
Han Yang, that’s an interesting idea. I definitely could play around with frame rate in the future and see if it can add to the concept.
Amber, I could definitely play around with focus, blur and legibility more in a next version of the piece. I agree that this could be helpful in conveying the concept.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Simple yet coherent storyline and the use of minimum elements (as opposed to your first piece) makes this animation easy to undetstand and relate to, which I think is one of the strongest points of your piece. I think a clearer contrast between before and after the girl learns how to read might bring out the moment of revelation more effectively. You could perhaps play around with the focus, or make a more deliberate use of the text in the book instead of blurring it.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:22 am
This video is a huge improvement from your initial attempt. Taking the film in an entirely new direction was a very bold strategy and it worked out quite well. The imagery in the video is great, but sometimes the use of blurring becomes a bit much. At some points the blur seems to have a specific purpose, but often it seems random. If you were to use the blurring more strategically I think the film could communicate it’s message better. The sound track is a great compliment to the video, enhancing the sense of lightheartedness.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Diana,
I really like what you did to the video compared to last time. I could get a much clearer sense of what you were getting to. The use of vague closeups add to the dreamlike quality of your piece, like the imaginations of a child. The music is also a sweet addition to the piece. I feel like you would benefit more with a clearer image of the child, not only a blurry image of her.
Good job!