What I Have Learned...

First and foremost, the first thing I had to readjust to was the amount of organization that has to be maintained within AfterEffects. Not that organization is new, but on this assignment I had a particularly confusing encounter with 40+ files of which were all named very different things. It was a painful, yet necessary reminder about the importance of great file organization skills. Secondly, the idea of planning everything concretely has been heavily reinforced throughout this project. Without a skeleton, a blue print, a storyboard, something, anything that plotted out the linear narrative, confusion would only follw. I found myself creating as I went, improvising, design solutions rather than taking extra time to see if that solution was the best solution. It has been noted in this project that without a plan things can easily go awry. In a nut shell: think ahead. think and head, and, oh yeah, THINK AHEAD!

From this assignment I also learned the importance of a linear and a non linear narrative. The user has the ability to navigate through the timeline as they wish. To make slow right hand turns, sharp right turns, or straight on if they choose to. But as the designer we have the ability to force them to see what we wish them to see in a particular way. I have come  to understand that we can create a perspective, any perspective, and show them, entice them, and persuade them. Perhaps this is why I find our poor delivery of project 2 most disappointing. Because we walked away with so much knowledge and had nothing beautifully concrete to show. But another project will come our way in no time, not to mention revisions post final critique, after all that's what critiques are for.