Research Documentation Done
I did it
My Reader Writer looked over and corrected my research documentation
So, I am about to hand it in, here is what I wrote
Research Documentation
Bethany H – 2020
Context
- Introduction
- Title
- Research Question
- Key Terms
- Rationale
- Methodology
- Outline to Documentation
- Main Arguments
- Body
- Documentation Method
- Colour vs Desaturated
- Style Displays Different Feelings/Thoughts
- Colour Displays Different Feelings/Thoughts
- Supportive Friendship
- Negative Impacts Happiness
- Conclusion
- Key points
- Possible Implications
- APA Referencing
Introduction
Colour. Everyone knows it's there whether it’s seen or not, it is present in all our lives. I will be working alongside with colour for my major project this year, with the working title ‘The Colours’. How can I, with the use of colour, show the state of mind of a character within a light-hearted short 3D animation? With my research question heading down a deep topic, I will need to watch carefully what is appropriate and what is not. The key terms for this project are: Colour, Desaturated ‘to make unsaturated or less saturated’ defined by dictionary (I more refer to the style of black-and-white photography); Feelings ‘an emotional state or reaction defined by dictionary; Thoughts ‘an idea or opinion produced by thinking, or occurring suddenly in the mind’ defined by dictionary; State-of-Mind ‘The psychological state of someone's cognitive processes at a certain time, the condition or character of a person's thoughts or feelings’ defined by dictionary; Friendship; and Good vs Evil. The rationale for my want to complete this project, is that I have always been interested in improving my understanding of how to use colour efficiently to both add meaning and overall visual appeal. Also, the topic explored within the project is something I can identify with closely, as I am prone to getting mildly ‘low’/depressed, meaning I can add more depth to the project from experience alone. I am still looking into my methods for how to create this project, but I do know that I will be animating in 3D with some added 2D effects to give a more 2D look to the final result, an artist model being ‘Spiderman Into The Spider-verse’ [Motion Picture]. My main method for keeping track of all my documentation will be by using a blog through Blogger, as it is easy to update and for others to access anywhere.
The main arguments I have are: Practice-based research alongside active documentation via a blog is the methodology utilised in my project. Can colour be used in contrast against desaturated to express a character's positive feelings/thoughts? The style of an animation displays the different states of a character's thoughts/feelings. The colour of an animation displays the different states of a character's thoughts/feelings. Can I display a relationship, where supporting and never giving up on each other is the key for a deeper and more meaningful friendship? Can I show that the negative thoughts within a character's mind impact their happiness or outlook on life?
Documentation Method
Practice-based research alongside active documentation via a blog is the methodology utilised in my project. Blogging is a tool I can use to both show my progress with my work, but also a part of myself at in a single moment of time. Blogging is less formal then essay writing but is also less personal than diary writing. Blogging can be both engaging for readers wherever they are, and a reflection for the author themselves, going over past blog posts. “To read just one of my blogs is to know only a part of me, but a whole part of me in that moment of time and space. My blog has no brand or social media strategy. I write about my life, my thinking, my hope for the future. I write my struggle with my world that seems to lack so much in hope into existence at the same time as trying to solve the struggle. My blogging is a map, not a snapshot” -88 (Barnes, 2017, p. 24). I agree with this quote, blogging giving more than just a post. Blogging can reveal more about the author and who they are and what they want to achieve, whether it be their hopes and dreams or goals. I plan to use my own blog to record important milestones, achievements, setbacks and many other key events. I will also give more of myself within my blog, about my thoughts about how I am doing, what I am worrying about and other important factors that can impact my work. I will also use labels within my blog, to make it a lot easier to navigate for both my tutors and myself.
Colour vs Desaturated
Can colour be used in contrast against desaturated to express a character's positive feelings/thoughts? A desaturated image can be used to display many ideas and emotions, also giving attention to detail. “Photographers may also choose black and white in order to convey a certain emotion. While this is by no means an exact science, black-and-white photography can give an air of elegance or realism, particularly given the rich history that surrounds the medium” (Collins, 2017). The author goes on to give an example of how this technique can be used: “As such, wedding photographers will often use black-and-white photographs to symbolize the love, commitment and happiness of couples and families” (Collins, 2017). With black-and-white photography used to give off an emotion, an addition of colour can significantly change the outcome emotion. If the intended emotion for the black-and-white/desaturated was sadness or negative/harmful thoughts and/or the feeling of emptiness/numbness, then the presence of colour can evoke the sense of hope along with it. With colour being used to give contrasting emotions to the desaturated, it gives more meaning in how colour is used. I plan to use colour in contrast with desaturated to show more emotions and journey for a character to experience.
Style Displays Different Feelings/Thoughts
The style of an animation displays the different states of a character's thoughts/feelings. By style, I mean the look of the animation (with visualizing the desaturated/colour). Example: If the style is spikey, sharp or angled, if gives of a dangerous, dark or evil feeling/look. If the style is rounded, soft, and almost bubbly, it gives off a happy, light or kind feeling/look. “Another significant example or the evocative function of animation can be seen in the Animated Minds series of short films, directed by Any Glynne (2003 and 2009). In these two series of four short films, animation is used to evoke the experiences of living with different mental health issues” (Marcus and Kara, 2015). With Animated Minds looking directly into visualizing a range of mental illness’, the techniques they use are important. “Most of the Animated Minds films work in this way, by visualizing what is heard on the soundtrack, evoking the experiences being described by giving the audience a visual equivalent to that which is invisible or internal” (Marcus and Kara, 2015). With the idea of expressing something that is invisible and/or internal to the character, I now will watch and use Animated Minds as an artist model for how I should go about animating my own desaturated/colour. How I style the two contrasting ‘feelings/thoughts’ (desaturated vs colour) will depict whether the colour is viewed as good or evil. Example: If the colour is styled harsh, spikey or sharp, it will seem more evil. So, the way I style them is very important for what they represent/mean, as I do not want to display the wrong idea.
Colour Displays Different Feelings/Thoughts
The colour of an animation displays the different states of a character's thoughts/feelings. Although the style is important, the colour plays a just as important role. Example: If both desaturated and colour were animated in the same way, the colour alone will already lead the colour to look brighter, happier than the desaturated. “Storytelling is one of the interesting elements that should be broadened in education… Colour is another element which can enhance learning and motivation. However, colour can be easily misused so as be ineffective” Yussof, R. (2012). Colour is already my focus this year, so linking the colour with storytelling is key for a successful outcome. I need to ensure I do not overwhelm/overuse the colour, destroying all I worked on and aimed for. Also, colour theory can be used effectively to show the different feelings/thoughts within a character's mind; red meaning anger, yellow happiness, blue sadness and grey (desaturated) numbness. I plan to use colour as the good element and desaturated as the evil. How and what colour I use, I am yet to decide, maybe a range.
Supportive Friendship
Can I display a relationship, where supporting and never giving up on each other is the key for a deeper and more meaningful friendship? Friendship, something we as humans all desire. A connection to others and to have others connect with ourselves. To display a friendship that feels real for both the characters and the audience will involve looking at myself and others to capture this aspect. The definition of a friend is ‘A person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection and loyalty’ defined by dictionary. “People with often think of a good friend as someone who offers support and understanding – who is loyal, caring and always willing to listen and help, even during difficult times (Collins 2015). The author continues to state that “An important part of friendship is the fact that it should be mutual” (Collins 2015). This is an abstract from a social worker’s workbook. This is an important reference as social workers must learn and understand the basics of what friendship is, in order to help others. To show deeper friendship within my project requires both characters to be loyal, caring, understanding and supportive for each other.
Negative impacts Happiness
Can I show that the negative thoughts within a character's mind impacts their happiness or outlook on life? Being positive/optimistic already sets in others’ view that the one being positive/optimistic is either looking at life with a great point of view, or that they truly are happy with their lives (others also think that they are naive). But, does being negative really impact their outlook on life? Serena Thatcher of Ottawa University put this into practice, and the outcome indicates it can. “In my own practice, I began to see a pattern between my ability to connect with myself in a positive way, and my students being able to harness that positive energy within the classroom” (Thatcher 2014). The author states that she could notice subtle changes and that she “started recognizing that when my mind was not focused and clear, when my mood was not calm and positive, or when I was “pushing” through a lesson without being mindful of the teachable moments, my students behaved much differently” (Thatcher 2014). With this being the outcome for both teacher and students, it really shows that having a negative point of view impacts how others interact with you. They seem less open and positive themselves, changing life to be less ‘positive/happy’ and more dull or boring. With my own project, I will be only expressing this mildly, as an indication for the audience to begin their understanding or this concept. How I execute it will be within the main character's reaction to the negative and positive feelings/thoughts, leading them to either seeing a positive outlook on their lives, or negative.
Conclusion
Within this research document, I have introduced my main question: How can I, with the use of colour, show the state of mind of a character within a light-hearted short 3D animation? The keywords I used were Colour, Desaturated, Thoughts, State-of-Mind, Friendship, and Good vs Evil. My arguments are: Practice-based research alongside active documentation via a blog is the methodology utilised in my project. Can colour be used in contrast against desaturated to express a character's positive feelings/thoughts? The style of an animation displays the different states of a character's thoughts/feelings. The colour of an animation displays the different states of a character's thoughts/feelings. Can I display a relationship, where supporting and never giving up on each other is the key for a deeper and more meaningful friendship? Can I show that the negative thoughts within a character's mind impact their happiness or outlook on life?
The key points I found within this document are: Blogging can reveal more about the author and who they are and what they want to achieve, whether it be their hopes and dreams or goals. Colour being used to give contrasting emotions to the desaturated gives more meaning in how colour is used. The way the style/animation of the invisible and/or internal of a character is very important to give meaning to what they represent/mean. Colour theory can be used effectively to show the different feelings/thoughts within a character's mind. To show deeper friendship within a project requires both characters to be loyal, caring, understanding and supportive for each other. A negative point of view impacts how others interact with you and how you view the world.
The possible implications for my own work are that I will use blogging as a sorce of documenting my project. I will use colour in contrast with desaturated to show the state-of-mind of the character within my project. I will practice and trial how to style/animate the internal and/or internal feelings/thoughts of a character for the best outcome/result in my project. I am using, and will continue to use, colour theory within my work to show more about my character’s mind. I will use the basics for friendship as a structure for my two characters within my project, the end result of having them come closer as best friends. Finally, I will show the harm a negative point of view can have on a character and how it affects their ability of being happy.
Thank You for reading
Bethany H
APA Referencing
- Ramsey, P. Persichetti, B. Rothman, R. (Directors). (2018). Spiderman Into The Spider-Verse [Motion Picture].
- Barnes, N. (2017). “Blogging as a method of inquiry” Recontextualizing Education Research Methodology. Page 24. Australia: Queensland University or Technology.
- Collins, B. (2017, September 15). Symbolism of Black-and-White Photography. Our Pastimes, Retrieved from https://ourpastimes.com/about-black-white-photography-12146142.html (25/03/2020)
- Marcus, D. Kara, S (2015). Contemporary Documentary. Page 48. Oxon, UK. New York, USA. Routhledge, Taylor & Francis Group
- Yussof, R. (2012). Affective Engineering of Background Colour in Digital Storytelling for Remedial Students. Page 202-3. Malaysia. Elsevier Ltd
- Collins, S. (2010). Supporting Relationships and Friendships : A Workbook for Social Care Workers. Page 15. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ProQuest Ebook Central, Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/sitlibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=677673 (27/03/2020)
- Thatcher, S. (2014) The Journal of Excellence: Issue Number 16, Making a Habit of Happiness. Page 39. Canada
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