Simulated Work Experience Account
In this collaborative project, I was responsible for the animation part, analyzing the storytelling of Layout and using TVPaint to do 2D part . The project has delivered on schedule.
At the beginning, I received the brief and files at the earliest possible time and established close collaboration with the second-year students. During the work , I reported the progress as actively as possible, and they gave me the feedback about opinions on the action rhythm and expressiveness of drafts, which ensured that the quality of the final outcome met the expectation. In the project, I took the initiative to get involved in the early planning of the actions. Because I actively optimized the original layout and designed perspective effects, I attempted to make the layout a more visually dynamic. This made program more complicated and challenging. However, due to good communication, the second-year students immediately agreed with me and supported my version. During this period, we shot many reference videos outside the classroom to refine the action logic. And when the reference videos did not meet expectations, I would directly give suggestions and re-shoot individual parts to analyze animation principles.
There were also some other challenges. On the one hand, I needed to complete this 10-second frame-by-frame animation (236 frames), and on the other hand, I had to keep on the Lip-sync and CGI practice, all of which were very physically demanding. I had to manage the pressure of multitasking. My approach was working on this project first while I received feedback, and then using the time when waiting for feedback to work on the Lip-sync. However, the biggest challenge was in the technical aspect of animation – handling the dynamic tension in the Low-angle rear perspective. This required me to have an accurate understanding of the human body structure and perspective. Moreover, the greatest success was the excellent communication between us, not only did it allow me to understand the character’s motivation, but also the feedback could lead to adjustment plans on the same day, which ensured the efficient progress of the project.
This work experience made me realize that animators are not only a producer of images but also needs good physical strength, patience, and the soft skills which are often overlooked like communication skills and time management skills. It also made me understand how to align personal aesthetic with project standards in professional collaboration.