Digital Sotry telling - evaltuation

What were you asked to do? (Project brief tasks)
I was required to create a digital story in a similar style to that of Chris Marker's La Jetee. The film was to last between 5 and 10 minutes. The theme was family mythology and I needed to look into different stories that could be told from my family.
What did you make/present?
I made a photo montage film based on a story about me dropping a packet of chocolate buttons in the road as a child. The buttons were ran over and we had to get another pack. I took photos and recorded sound to use for this.
What did you want to communicate?
The main thing to communicate was the plot line for the story. I needed to represent the different sections of the story that gives it's structure and sense. I wanted to show the story through the child's eye by taking photographs from a low angle. This will allow the viewer to view the events through a more child like perspective.
Who was your intended audience?
My intended audience is my family. I found in research how story telling is used to help create a sense of identity, however these stories are fluid and change fro telling to telling. I have created a digital story that will tell the same thing every time. This means that there is a set basis for identity to be based around rather then a changing story. The video can be shown for many years to come, within the current nuclear family and to children and grandchildren to communicate that sense of the family identity. The story is fairly simple and told in a way that is suitable for all ages. This means that it can be shown to children to help create this sense of identity at the crucial stage for this.
What materials and processes did you experiment with?
I made a digital collage by scanning in photograph, textures and other images that I found. These were then compile in Photoshop.
I also used Photoshop to change the saturation of photographs and use pin light blending mode to allow colour to come through from a duplicate layer. This helped to give a sense of a rainy day to the photographs.
I used traditional collage, cutting up text and sticking it back down to create my title. This gives a child like, hand made feeling to the title - communicating that the story is about a child and the photographs are mostly take from a child's point of view.
What materials and processes did you reject?
I didn't use digital collage in my final. I wanted to communicate my story through a series of photographs, making the event seem more real to an audience. Using collage would have disrupted this, and therefore I decided not to use the process.
What materials and processes did you use in your final designs?
I used Photoshop to edit my photographs to make them seem more like a rainy day as they had been taken on a bright, sunny day.
I also used traditional collage to create my title. To communicate it being child like and hand made.
How do the materials you chose to use help you to communicate your message to your audience?
By editing the photographs I more successfully communicated the rainy day. If I hadn't done this my photographs would not have fitted in with the story. My use of photography helps to make the story seem like a real even, rather then using other techniques such as illustration etc that may have taken this away from the story.
What did you do to ensure you worked with tools and materials safely?
I made sure that I had no food or drinks around the computers and that I took regular breaks from the computer screen. I made sure that the camera was protected when taking photographs splashing in the puddles. I used the long zoom to help achieve this. When taking photos by roads I made sure I was a safe distance from traffic on the pavement. I made sure that I attained model release forms for my models to prove that I had the right to use the photographs.
How well did you manage your time?
Although my time management could improve I feel that I have done better on this project then previous ones. I had gotten more work done early on on then before. My main issue at the minute is balancing all the areas of my life as with college, work and church commitments I am finding it hard to find time to relax and have fun - running the risk of burn out. I am trying to address this. I have started to use a timetable that I have created for myself to plan my college work and other activities for the week around work, college and church.
What were your strengths in completing this project?
I have used Final Cur Pro before and find that I Take to the program fairly easily. This meant that I didn't have to worry about controlling the program and could work on the creative side of the design.
What would you like to have done differently?
I would firstly like to try and balance my commitments more effectively. I would also have liked to put some more work into the development stage of the design process.
What will you do to ensure you improve for the next project?
Next time I will make sure that I balance these areas of my life more effectively and put more effort into the design development side of the project to ensure I can achieve the best grade possible.