Designer Species: Project Blog

Drawing of our species

Summary

In this project, I learned how different animals use their adaptations to help them out in the wild. I learned about this through researching the different traits that might be beneficial to our animal. Through this, I was able to learn how the blowholes of dolphins work, how the reproductive system of a frog is like, and how seals keep themselves warm. Through the designer species project, I also learned how to create an engaging, and informational video. I also learned how to better use the green screen effect through the green screen that we filmed on.

Backward Looking - In what ways have you gotten better at this kind of work?

I believe that I got better at this type of work because I learned how to better make a drawing as a representation of collections of ideas. This allowed me to have a better understanding of the importance of teamwork and collaboration to share ideas. I also learned how to get better at making video that are informational and also entertaining. I also leaned how to better film with real cameras, as well as how to do green screen effects.

Inward Looking - What was especially satisfying to you about either the process or the finished product?

I guess what was especially satisfying as the end result of the project was the collection of different types of products that we made for the project. I like the fact that we did an animatic, as well. as a detailed sketch/model. This way, we were able to express different versions of the same product.This was especially satisfying at the end because  we got to see lots of collections in different ideas coming together. Another thing that was especially satisfying at the end was the video quality. Even though the audio lacked in quality, I liked how we were able to use a variety of shots and angles. 

Outward Looking - Did you do your work the way other people did theirs? In what ways did you do it differently? In what ways was your work or process similar?

We did our work differently then other in a variety of ways. Even though our methods were different in presentation, we all had the same concepts, for some the same planet. The reason why our methods were different then other was due to us wanting to do something a little out of the box. Because of this, we decided to do a video instead of a presentation, which pretty much everyone else was doing. We also included a different type of detailed sketch, because in a way that detailed sketch was like a model, in the sense that it could stand up on its own, and used all sorts of materials. We were similar to other groups because we all made animals that were, in some way, adapted to their environments and. 

Forward Looking - What would you change if you had a chance to do this piece over again?

If I were to do this piece over again, I would redo the filming on a lot of the shots. I say this because the audio on all of the shots that we did after the restaurant scene had a lot of background noise in it. Also, the green screen didn't come out very good on those shots, and was pretty hard to work with. I would also probably try and add more texture to our detailed sketch/model. I say this because we were originally going to add all sorts of material onto the sketch but ended up not having enough time for it. These are thing that I would change if I were to do this over again.