FMP: REM (My Final Animation)

My final animation. REM by Elloise Rosemond

The process of making was a very slow and stressful one due to my computer having a lot of technical difficulties, but I was able to finish it in time to create a decent animation, which lasts approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds. I created the animation using Flash Professional. I imported each edited image (editing was done in photoshop) into Flash and ordered them in the correct sequence for the bathroom and end bedroom scene, but also for the photos of the dreamer and other random objects e.g. the moon (the circular kaleidoscope with a blue filter seen in the animation when the water wave is introduced). The third eye animation was drawn straight onto the stage in Flash, which was a challenge because I was not really working with any guidelines on the movement of the eye, apart from the stills of my storyboard and it was helpful to refer to any life drawing that I had done in the process of this project. When I had finished with animating in flash and exporting the film, I imported it into After Effects where I added the Kaleidoscope film as a background layer to the Flash animation. Then rendered the film and imported it into iMovie.

Once I had finished the animation and watched it back, it surprised me how fast everything I had produced pasted by. When I exported it into iMovie to edit it, I decided to slow the whole thing down 25%. This created a more dreamy mood, allowing every movement to become more significant. 

I am not completely pleased with my final outcome as some of the effects that I applied have not turned out as I wanted them to. For instance, near the end of the animation the dreamers skin colour is supposed to fade back into a grey scale colour. However, it is a very abrupt change from one shade to the next. The sound was also a bit too relaxed, which caused the more dramatic scenes to lose some of there impact. There were some aspects that I like such as, how I visualised the underwater scene and the movements performed by the eye. A feeling of suspension is received and it adds to the transcendental feel to the piece.

If I were to redo the animation I would have managed my time more effectively so that I had enough time to correct the imperfections I have now noticed after reflecting on my work. Although, I am please with the animation of the third eye, which I personally feel to be the most important component of my story.