User Feedback Finished product and response

During the post production stage I showed my almost finished animation to fellow students.

Interactive Systems student

The animation is very smooth and flows very well throughout. The cameras also work very well in accordance with the animation as a key moment in the animation was when the ice cracks and the character slows down and slides to a stop then looks up after the ice has cracked. This would have been very hard to perfect in my opinion as making it look like the character is actually sliding on the ice and halting has been done very well. The models aren’t the best but do work very well with the animation as they have been rigged and skinned very well. The story line is very key in this and the way the awareness was portrayed has been done very well and gave the user an understanding of the issues people face. The sound is also key as it is what delivers the message through a different way, the music as well as the voices worked very well especially the part when the character was heavily breathing in the icy terrain. Overall the animation and sounds tied in very well to portray a great story that made the viewer aware and also interpret the story very easily.

Computer Animation and Visual effects student

This is an evaluation for the final project of Joseph. I will start with the positive and continue with the negative evaluation.

• Positive Evaluation:

• The first thing I thought when I saw the final animation, was that the idea involving OCD or any mental health issues is beneficial to not only a particular group of people, but also to the whole society.

• Another thing is how Joseph created the cracks on the ice and the snowing scenes. The introduction scene, which starts with black screen and falling snow helps with the overall aesthetics of the animation. It’s definitely something different and catches the eye of the audience.

• The majority of the movements and the facial expressions of the character are nicely done and helps the audience to understand what is going on. For example, the moment the character realises the ice is cracking and it take a nice startled position with a scared face, which represents that something is really happening and the character have to run. However, not all of the movements are perfect and I will mention some of them in the negative evaluation. I do feel however that the crouch was well done and the character does accurately show fear.  

• The animation of the ice floating around in the water, after all the ice cracks is brilliant!

• Negative Evaluation:

• The first thing I will mention in my negative evaluation is the shader that has been used for the creation of the snow. In comparison with the falling snow, which is amazing, the environment is not as good. The scene in the very beginning before the introduction is too light and gives the representation that everything is made of ice, even the mountains.

• The second thing is the running cycle of the character. That was maybe the movement, which I really disliked. The position and the movements of the arms are nearly unrealistic to almost wrong, mostly because of the armpits being in a weird position.

• The final thing I will mention, that caught my eye while watching the animation was in the final scene where the character is in front of the hospital with the nurse beside him was why she is purple and why she doesn’t have any textures on her shoes.

Overall, my final opinion is that yes, it does need some fixing and re-rendering on some scenes. However, in the end of the day the animation served its purpose to show to the audience, how people with OCD feel every day in their life and have to deal with on a daily basis. I personally think that this project was not only beneficial to Joseph on practical (Maya) level, but also helped him to understand OCD in a better way.   



Computer Animation

I really liked this animation overall. Your animation skills, for both body and facial animation, have improved tons since last year. The best looking bit of the animation is as the character slams to a halt in front of the cracked ice - the timing and body mechanics work super well here. The environment looks really nice and you can definitely tell where the character is supposed to be and what is happening. Possibly the most effective part of the environment is the way you made the ice crack. It looks like you've taken a lot of inspiration from scenes in ice age.

The music works super well in context with the story, and the story itself is very effective. It's understandable and flows really nicely. Aside from a few minor animation issues, mainly tiny points that need more work on body mechanics, the only real criticism I would give is the breathing noises of the character towards the end of the animation are a bit disconcerting and possibly carry on for too long. However, since you're raising awareness for OCD it makes sense in this context, and I suppose in some ways it makes the audience feel the discomfort that the character is feeling.

The last thing is I'd say that because I've known from the start that the story is about the character not wanting to step on cracks in the pavement that this makes it really easy for me to understand. However, I don't think enough attention is brought to cracks in the actual pavement that the character is standing on at the end. A possible quick camera shot to show small cracks in the actual pavement might have made this a bit clearer for audience members who have don't understand what OCD is about.

This feedback is very helpful and highlights that I have achieved the goal of creating a piece that highlights the pain of OCD and anxiety. This feedback is proof that the work has been helpful to creating awareness and working as a coherent and powerful piece of animation for the audience to empathise with.

For the second bit of feedback, I find that the positive feedback is really good and that it is a response that fits very well to what I was going for. As for the negative feedback, it is understandable that these comments were made. The shader and skin colour issues seem to be a personal issue for the user as others have not mentioned it but were I to go and redo the project in the future this and the animation issue on the run would definitely be elements that I would work on, the close up run being the weakest part of the animation in my opinion. I would edit this section as well as lighten the therapist's skin tone and recolour the ice if the ice was seen to be an issue across many users.

For the third bit of feedback, the positive feedback is again fitting to what I wanted to see, the negative side is that the user knew my story and as explained there is biased knowledge there in that sense which means that a viewer may not necessarily grasp the concept straight off. Also the breathing is something that were I to continue working on in the future, I would edit further to the feedback given.

Thank you to these students for their valuable feedback.