Evaluation of finished animation and project as a whole Part 1

 The first part of this evaluation will deal with the project pitch and how I feel that the finished product reflects the final pitch. I proposed to create a 3D animation roughly two to three minutes in length that related to the topic of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). As I stated in the pitch, this is an area that I feel very passionate about. It is something that I deal with on a daily basis and I wanted to raise awareness on the matter. The animation that I created definitely deals with this topic and is an animation that fits the time frame that was intended. Looking through the animation, it seems that it could be used to relate to other anxiety related mental health issues including depression as from user feedback, it looks like some people interpret it as anxiety as a whole. I like this idea actually as it makes me feel like there is an understanding for the topic.

        The research undertaken in order to create the idea was important to fully understand the condition from a psychological perspective. The books that I studied really helped me when it came to analysing the various anxiety related symptoms, cognitive behaviour based therapy and deeper causes of the condition. These factors were important in creating the closed off and emotional nature of the main character. It was important to understand his emotions and feelings before he could be brought to life through his emotions and facial expressions. Here is the plot of the animation as outlined in the pitch at the start of the semester.   


       "This animation would focus on a particular aspect of the disorder, not necessarily well known and explore it through a story of a character struggling to cope. My main idea for this is that of a man making his way through the Arctic only to fight for survival as the ice cracks around him. As he comes to the realisation that he is trapped within an area of ice, he begins to break down. The environment then changes to a household scene where the man is cowering. It is revealed that the ice cracks are in fact metaphorical for the cracks in the path outside his house and he is struggling to leave his home due to the cracks that he is unable to pass. This shows us the real fear that many deal with due to this debilitating disorder."  

         I believe that this is very fitting to the theme of the finished piece. On reflection, the cracks could have been highlighted further as the metaphor within the ice cracking but at the same time the concept of the disastrous area where a person feels lost and alone is enough to then reference the reality and let the audience know the pain that an OCD related person has. It is enough of a contrast to put that shock factor into the audience showing them that something so small can be something so terrible when the condition is introduced. From the user feedback that was received this seems to have worked. The audience seems to be able to walk away from the video being able to empathise with the character and understand the situation and story as a whole. That understanding is one of the most important factors when it comes to successful animation.

     As for the technical side of the research, it was important to look at some challenging aspects such as cracking ice and creating snow simulation. These issues would not have been possible without the trial and error and constant searching for solutions to better myself. When one aspect failed, it was key to look at a problem from a different angle, try a different method and overcome it. This happened in all aspects from the modelling and animating (which I restarted when I found the body movements weren't quite right) to the snow simulation and arnold watermark rendering when trying to output. I feel however that these issues were overcome to a strong degree and that the animation has improved based on this.