This week, we shared the progress of the current project in the collaborative course and enjoyed the brilliant project concepts and production process of other students in this course. It is essential for us to receive inspiration and to reflect on our previous work for the next step of the project through others sharing concepts, progress, and suggestions from teachers and classmates.
Two suggestions were collected:
- Focus on the storyboard. There are a lot of parts that could be clearer; add more details to make it more accurate. This will help the group work better to distribute specific workload.
- Due to the large project volume at the beginning of a plan, we should always review the tasks and improve the contents to ensure that our tasks can be carried out as planned and completed on time.
Project progress:
The project changed dramatically, and we scaled back the story. The main focus is on the plot outline, the dialogue of the storyboard, the character’s movements, the expressions, and the setting and lighting environment. After getting some suggestions from George about storyboarding, we nailed down the storyboard and decided on the next step, which were more specific components of our project. For example, we started working on 2D concept painting and 3D production models.
Storyboard:
Story concept:
The idea for the story came from school bullying. In the backstory, the hero is considered odd because of his feminine appearance, so he gets a lot of snubs, jokes, and unfair treatment. The boy’s personality became withdrawn and reclusive. He has been living in a paradise of his imagination, using the facilities as tools to not to be alone. He longs for friends but does not trust them, so he oscillates between destroying them and longing for them. Some toys at the amusement park become targets for the boy to bully.
Group division next step: (2.11-2.14)
2D Object design:
1. The gate of the amusement park 2. The doll 3. The color matching of the hero
(Assigned members: Sophia and Guowei)
3D Object design and modeling:
1. Carousel (Modeling Cynthia)
2. Doll Machine (Modeling) (Me)
3. Character model refinement and materials of character clothing (Jonathan)
Reflection:
During team work, arguments and disagreements occurred quite frequently. But through communication and agreement on different solutions, we will eventually resolve conflicts, and our plans can be executed with higher quality. Secondly, it is vital to specify the task for each person. When we push forward to the next step, we must fully clarify the plan or idea of the previous action before carrying out the next stage of work distribution. Task assignments and work content should be evident to be maintained at smooth progress. Clear and timely communication is crucial.