Visual Effects Evaluation

Visual Effects Evaluation

In this evaluation I will be looking at the strengths and weaknesses of my work, first the strengths and weaknesses that I saw, and then the ones pointed out to me in the survey feedback.

Firstly I will describe the weaknesses of the video that I noticed.

- The first thing that I noticed about the video is that the introduction scene of the actor walking to the ‘site’ takes up to much time and would most likely make viewers lose interest quickly. Also the set-up scenes as a whole take up a bit too much of the total video.

- The second thing I noticed is that the 3D elements are to small and a bit to far away from the camera to be seen as 3D which defeats the point of creating 3D objects and animating them.

- The final thing that I noticed is that one or two of the sound effects used in the setting up scenes are unrealistic and spoil the realism of the scene.

Next I will describe any extra weaknesses that were brought up in the survey results.

- Firstly all of the survey results share my opinion that the introduction lasts to long for the amount of animated footage there actually was.

- Secondly people thought that the camera movement was a bit too shaky and made the animated and live-action footage run out of sync.

- Thirdly viewers think that the camera does not get close enough to the 3D elements.

- Finally one survey result mentioned that the aura/glow is too strong. So this could be distracting to viewers.

I will now describe the strengths of my work as I saw them.

- The first strength I see, after the overly long introduction, are the mini camera cuts of the equipment being set up which are visually interesting as they do not drag on so the viewer does not get bored looking at the same thing.

- The second thing I notice is that the animated footage and live-action footage appear to move together very smoothly and that the Mario animation animates smoothly so the scene appears quite realistic in spite of the shaky camera movement which I think adds to the realist of the scene.

- The third strength I notice is that the Mario animation is slightly transparent and has no special lighting or shadows on it, which makes it seem more holographic rather than a real object, which is the effect I was going for.

Next I will describe the strengths pointed out in the survey results.

- The first thing pointed out in the survey results is the interesting idea of doing a retro Mario game being project into the air.

- The second strength mentioned is the quality of the animation in the Mario characters, which is smooth and matches the style of the old game very well.

- The third thing mentioned is that the setting up scenes, which build up the interest in the video making the viewer want to know what is being set up and for what.

- The fourth strength mentioned is the use of sound. I assume this result is referring to the use of interesting sound effects used during the setting up scenes and the use of original game music and sounds during the animated part of the video.

- The final strength mentioned in one result was the authenticity of the 3D characters and scenery and their movement.

There appear to be similarities as well as differences in opinions of myself, and the viewers who filled in the surveys.

We seem to share opinions on the weaknesses such as the introduction scenes taking up to much time and the camera not getting close enough to the 3D elements to see them in full detail. We also appear to share the opinion on the strengths that the animated characters move smoothly and authentically and that (for the most part) the animated footage and the live-action footage move together very smoothly and realistically.

However, some of the viewers seem to have pointed out some strengths and weaknesses of the video hat I have missed or would not classify as a strength or a weakness such as the animated footage moving out of sync at one point on the video which I did not notice and so didn’t see it as a weakness, and the authenticity of the characters appearance and movement which I was attempting to recreate but did not initially class as a strength on its own.

These results came from a small variety of viewers with different experiences and knowledge of animation and it appears that those with more experience will give more constructively critical survey answers where as those with less or no personal animation experience will give both positive and negative feedback based completely on the appearance of the video because they have no idea of the processes that go into it and can also be slightly more critical than those with better animation experience.

In conclusion I have learnt that it is good to get a variety of opinions and feedback on the work as it provides multiple targets that can be improved upon so that future projects can run smoothly and realistically enough to please the animators who have the curse of knowledge and true sight, being able to see flaws in videos and ruining the experience for themselves. While also looking pretty enough to please the general viewers with little or no animation experience and so need to be visually engaged as much as possible and are not amazed simply with a computer generated moving image on a screen.