Final Reflection

    There was truly a mix of emotions over the course of this entire project. Initially, I was very excited to have the opportunity to create a short film and have it be assessed by professionals. But as time went on, I found myself often stressed for numerous different reasons.

    I completely failed to follow the schedule and planning that I had layed out before. This caused me to fall behind. I had wanted to begin animation a long time before I actually did, and as a result, I had to cut out the final part of the film opening, which was very disheartening for me. I think I may have overestimated myself a bit. I can’t say that I was fazed much by the rigorous process of actually animating because I already knew how time consuming it was going to be and my opening did not include many complicated sequences anyway. But I certainly know now that I could use a bit more practice not just with video production, but with large projects such as these in general. It is not enough to simply make a plan; it is crucial to commit to it and follow that schedule as tightly as possible. At the very least, I can’t see myself making this kind of mistake again.

    Even so, something very exciting happened while I was doing this project. I found that I really enjoyed making larger scenes through drawings. I had done small animations and plenty of digital drawings all throughout my life, but this was the first time I had done anything more. Setting the scene for a story with the colors and pictures and visual styles that are at your fingertips from a blank canvas was thrilling and even magical for me. Of course I had always loved the medium of animation, but that surface-level engagement with it caused a bit of a disconnection. But after this, I feel that I’ve discovered a new way to express the narrative ideas that I’ve had sitting in my head for so long, and a new skill to practice. I will definitely be doing more animation just for pure enjoyment and fun going forward.