This week, we watched rough cuts of everyone’s silent short films. I was impressed with everyone’s work, especially the way that everyone took a different approach to the assignment brief. While some classmates paid homage to, or modernised the traditional silent film, others experimented in different ways. Some students even used stop motion, visual effects and even colour to communicate in their films.

I unfortunately couldn’t show anything, because of the changes of plans, and constantly having to go back to the drawing board because things weren’t working. As much as I want to actually hand in a finished product, I feel like it’s unlikely to happen. While I’d like to learn more about animation in the future, I will probably do it in my own time, when I at least have the energy for personal projects.

This week, we looked at Assignment 2 again, first at the requirements, then at some short films for inspiration. Unfortunately, the mate who was going to help me out had a death in the family, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to ask him for help at this time. It means I have to go to the drawing board, and worse, possibly have to attempt animation again, but if it’s the only way I’m going to be able to do it, then so be it. I’m not too sure how to write a “script” if there’s no dialogue though. With that being said, I’ll watch some old silent films and animated shorts for inspiration.

We also started looking at our major assignment, starting with defining what makes a “good” gallery experience. From my understanding, it involves striking the right balance of informative and engaging. From anecdotal experience, it makes a lot of sense. Growing up in Canberra, I was spoiled by well-resourced museums and galleries, where curators were able to invest in the overall experience, especially compared to much smaller private galleries, where investment was limited to purchasing and maintaining the collection.

This week, we started off by watching everyone’s short films for assignment 1. It was interesting to see how others in class experimented with different styles, as well as adapting their filmmaking skills during this almost surreal time. That was my reasoning for giving animation a go, but I completely overestimated my drawing skills, and underestimated the animation learning curve, hence my work seems to look like something blammed from 2001-era Newgrounds. Hopefully my Canberra-based friend can act through Zoom or Discord for assignment 2.

On Thursday, we looked at the technical side again, this time working with visual effects. One of the main things was chroma keying. While I have some experience working with it, it was good to go over it again, especially in Premiere. It’s much easier to create good results than in After Effects, the software I had used before.

We also examined some elements used in making the TV series The Mandalorian, especially their use of a Virtual Production workflow. From what I can understand, scenery is sculpted and rendered using a game engine, and is displayed on LED panels installed on set; in the case of The Mandalorian, in a 360º circle. It is rendered on the fly, so adjustments and modifications can be done up to the point of shooting; and uses motion capture to move around with the action on the set. It would be interesting to experiment with virtual production, especially when combined with practical effects.