[ADP01] Play and self

Youtube Link 

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https://youtu.be/1y048MxSpFc

Context

This week's topic is about to discover and present myself by playing something. When I was brainstorming, I was thinking about who I am, what I want to do now and in the future, what my hobbies are and so on, which focus on the key point of myself. I am learning After Effect and want to use After Effect to make motion graphics, so I decided to use After Effect as the tool for this week's production to practice my skill.

However, I have the tool but do not know what element I want to do. To find the idea, I go back to my social media account and youtube account to see what I like and who I follow to try to find some ideas. Soon, I found that I had followed some people who were talking about the horoscope, which was followed a few months ago. At the very start of reading horoscope, I really trust everything that was written on the post. When I browse the information and try to find ideas, I suddenly find that the horoscope is not so important for me at this moment. I might read the weekly horoscope, and then forget the content in a short time. Although, I do not know what has happened in these few months makes me change. I do know that this is me right now. Although I am curious about what the future is, I do not believe in any future predictions. So I choose this as the main theme.

Then, using the playing cards is the result of my thinking. After deciding the main theme, I am looking for a way to present the content to the audience. Tarot cards are a very good choice, but I do not have one. While I struggle about the tarot cards, I find that the playing cards also work. Also, I now know playing cards more than tarot which means that this is much easier for me to design the motion of playing cards.

Method

The video includes a screen record, video and animation which was made by using After Effect and Adobe Illustrator. In the video, the playing card is the only physical prop. 

• In the first part of the video, it is a video that records the process of starting a tarot by using a phone. 

• The second part of the video is a screen recording about browsing the website which records by using the capture function in Windows. 

• The third part of the video is an animation about turning the spade into heart, which was made by using Adobe Illustrator for creating illustration and components and using After Effect to animate.

Response       

The video kind of presenting the presonality of my and what I am learning or try to do now. The video is about using playing card to divinate. I do curious about what the future like, but I don't believe the result that the card shows. Most of the time I have a thought in my mind by I still want to see what the cards tell me. If the cards give me a good result, it will encourage me. Or, it gives a result that is bad, I will still believe in the thought that I have at the beginning.

The reason why choosing playing card but not tarot card or other things is because personally I think the playing card is one of the most fasinating graphic designs. We can design the back just like design a banner, an illustration or even a graphic. As the front of the card, we can design the font, the icon and the illustration. Most the playing card that we see, which suited as Hearts, Diamond, Spades and Clubs, just one types of format of the playing cards. It can become any kinds of icon if you want. Or even u don't want to follow the rules of playing card, such as there are four suit and each suit has 13 cards from one to ten with Jack, Queen and King, that is totally fine. Also, the shape of the card and the box of the playing card not nessecery needs to be square, it can be designed as any shape. Basically playing card combines many components in graphic design. When I am talking about designing the playing cards, is more like whether I want to follow the rules or to break the rules.

The third part of video present a ides that I only believe what I believed. Also, I use this type of animation is to present I want to study and practise motion design recently.

Reflection

At first, I did not have any idea what play means and how to play with self. Then, I have a look at the previous good work and start to understand the meaning of “self” meaning. This week's theme asks us to present self through playing. It can be a way to play which you love or play something that can stand for you. Anything that can reflect or present yourself. During brainstorming, I discovered more about myself. It's just like giving myself a summary, which helps me to know myself, about hobbies, experience, the things I want to do, what kind of person I am and so on. 

When I chose the element of the project, a lot of ideas came to my mind, but many of them are hard to make or get in a short time. So I spend a bit of time thinking about how I can present my theme in a way that is possible. The word “possible” here means low cost, using the thing around and playable. The first and second part is quite easy to record, which only requires a phone or a screen recorder. The third part did cost me a bit of time to make it. To prepare the element that is used in the third part, I used Adobe Illustration.  Maybe because this is my first time to make those elements, I did not plan about what element I need and which part of the photo needs a mask. Each time I think I finish all the element making and jump into After Effect to start to do the animation, I can always find that something has been missed. So I need to go back to Illustration to do the element and then jump back to After Effect again. This problem happens three times or more. Now I really understand if I need to make the 2D photo into an animation, it really needs to plan and think about what element is needed before making the element.