STRENGTHS
My research skills were effective. I got all the relevant information needed to development my product. Throughout the research stage of my fmp, I have displayed strengths in various skills. These include:
Harvard Referencing
I learnt how to do Harvard referencing for the first time using the Queens University Harvard Referencing generator.
Understanding how comics are designed and made
I read around 10 comics/graphic novels that my tutor brought in for me. This included Scott McCloud’s “Making a Comic” & “Understanding Comics” which gives you knowledge on why the space between panels is so important, and why some panels are bigger than other and horizontally elongated verses vertically elongated etc.
AI Midjourney Prompting
I spent most of April doing AI research. So I have lots of knowledge on how it works and how you can make it work for you in terms of prompting. I know all of the commands, and coding tips and tricks like: photo-bashing, using chatgbt to generate prompts, using picture links, seed numbers and /describe to get specific images.
Organisation
I have displayed organisation in the research page in my website. All of my research is separated into into sections so that it doesn't appear messy.
Patience
I dedicated an entire month doing AI research, learning everything about Midjourney before using it. I arguably showed too much patience with that.
WEAKNESSES
A big weakness for me is procrastination. When I'm working from home, I get distracted easily and then I would work all night to make up for that lost time. Procrastination for me mainly happens when I'm not enjoying the task at hand (i.e AI research). I found AI research to be boring and a drag, resulting in lots of procrastination.
OPPORTUNITIES
I would have tested out Midjourney AI prompting at the start of April instead of the end of that month. I had spent the entire month of April doing Midjourney and prompting research...only to realise that using Midjourney for my production was not a viable option, ultimately rendering April as a throw-away month (Only in terms of production).
If I had realised AI wasn’t an option early, then I would have dedicated the month of April to production and post-production in May (As originally planned).
The reality is that I was a month behind everyone else (Starting production in May). I had to rush and get through the production and post-production stages in two weeks.
THREATS
The only threat that I can think of is misinformation or lack of information in my finished product (that would otherwise wouldn't be a problem if I did more research).
However, my research is thorough as I started research in the last weeks of March and continued until the start of May.
STRENGTHS
Pre-production involves a lot of typing from - script writing, storybording, writing treatments etc. Therefore you need to have good grammar and story writing skills, which I have displayed in the pre-production page in my website. Throughout the Pre-production stage of my final major project, I have displayed strengths in various skills. These include:
Story/script Writing
Writing my full story was surprising fun, I kept adding characters, and characters that were meant to be one-time encounters forced their way to ore and more scenes. I spent most of March writing the script for my full story. I used Celtx to write it in a professional manor.
Celtx
I wrote my script in a professional manor by using Celtx. I know how to write headlines, action scenes and character dialogue etc.
Storyboarding
I did storyboarding using Adobe Illustrator by uploading storyboard templates and copying and pasting my unedited photography pictures into the boxes with text boxes below them describing the images.
Web Design
I spent a lot of time designing my website. I wanted to do a comic book theme and I think I achieved that by creating a dotted background and reshaping buttons to appear like caption box and speech bubble. I also added animations to all of the headlines, buttons and pages.
Organisation
I have displayed organisation in the Pre-production page in my website. All of my pre-production work is laid out in a professional manner.
WEAKNESSES
I have a habit of doing my storyboard after production (I did it last year too). I am aware that this is a mistake in film making.
So, it's important for me not to get into that habit. There is a reason why storyboarding is a part of the pre-production stage. I got away with it this time because I only did one scene from my script, but if i'm doing my full story next year, I will need to doing storyboarding first as it will stop me from losing track while shooting.
OPPORTUNITIES
I would have begun development on my storyboard earlier as I started it after production. The reason I did that was because I could use production photography for my storyboard, which saved me time from having to draw each panel.
THREATS
There is some foul language (censored) in my script and there is a sequence that involves blood. It isn’t for kids, so I could experience some publishing problems in the industry.
STRENGTHS
In terms of shooting, I knew in my head exactly what pictures to take, how to get the right composition. Throughout the research stage of my fmp, I have displayed strengths in various skills. These include:
Photography
To get the pictures I needed for my graphic novel, I took cinematic pictures of the location, and myself doing facial expressions. I made sure to take my pictures all on the same time of day so that my pictures have consistent lighting, shadows and weather.
Web Design
I spent a lot of time continuing to design my website, and Putting work into it as a go along.
Patience
I have written a long script which is proof of patience, as script written can be a long boring process for lots of people, as it isn't for everyone. I however loved working on my script and would work on it all day with a smile on my face.
Problem-solving
I fixed some continuity errors in my pictures.
I only planned on shooting at one location (as my scene takes place a one location), but I was unhappy the establishing shot. So I changed locations.
However, I was really happy with some of the original pictures that I took. So I worked around them to make sure it isn't noticeable.
Organisation
I have displayed organisation in the Production page in my website. All of my Production work is laid out in a professional manner.
WEAKNESSES
Acting was my biggest weakness as I haven't acted in anything before. It took my a while to think of the right facial expressions to use for each panel.
I am also not used to taking pictures of myself in public, which was slightly uncomfortable for me.
OPPORTUNITIES
I would have attempted to re-do my facial expressions, but I am happy for the most part.
THREATS
There could be some rights issues after shooting at a grocery shop. Even more so for next year if I decide to do my full story. As it involves a variety of public locations where right issues could pop up.
STRENGTHS
I wasn't expecting my biggest strength to be Photoshop editing (because I thought I was going to be using AI to get my pictures). Before moving into post-production I had minimal Photoshop experience. Since post-production, I've done a lot of Photoshop editing (day and night).
Now, I'm at the point were I have lots of experience with it and can say i'm knowledgeable.
I even developed my own personal comic style/theme formula.
Graphic Design
I designed my website background from scratch on illustrator.
Graphic design was not involved in my pictures or comic style, but my cover and the pages can be seen as a form of graphic design as I rearranged shapes (pictures within panels and speech bubbles) and used them to create visual art.
Photoshop Editing
Photoshop editing is the skill that I have developed the most, as I used it to create and apply a comic style to my photography pictures. Before working on my fmp, I was disappointed that I had minimal Photoshop experience. So, I'm pleased that I now have valuable experience in this field.
Web Design
I spent time continuing to put work into my website.
Patience
I have displayed patience with my comic style. It involved a lot of "messing around with tools" to find it. I kept finding ways to improve on the style and that takes patience.
Problem-solving
I used Photoshop to fixed some continuity errors in my pictures (In relation to location and weather).
Organisation
I have displayed organisation in the Post-production page in my website. All of my Post-production work is laid out in a professional manner.
WEAKNESSES
I get in the “zone” easily (mental state in which you are 100% focused on one specific task), which isn’t a weakness but what is a weakness is being in the “zone” and not realising when to get out of it. I’ve went 12 hours in the “zone” without breaks or food, I will be in it until the work is done.
OPPORTUNITIES
I would have spent less time messing with filters and tools in Photoshop. Because of the time I lost in April, I didn't have as much time to play with Photoshop. But I did anyway because I'm a perfectionist.
THREATS
My project this year is just one scene taken from a story that I wrote this year (I didn’t have enough time to illustrate my full script). For my project in year two, I want to turn my full story into a graphic novel.
The threat is that my script is long, and it will require 200+ cinematic/compositional pictures to be taken, and then photoshopped to into a comic theme. Then, arrange/layout my images to make detailed graphic novel pages.
The point is, the project might be too large to complete in time.
Info in
gallery below!
The following screengrabs in the gallery below are taken from a feedback survey that I conducted using Surverymonkey. My survey contains ten questions that’s are a mixture of open and qualitative.
My survey has 7 responses.