Reflective writing December ‘08

Final amends to the presentation include a simple but summative slide explaining 3 different phases in the project as follows:

Phase 1: Sept 07 - Feb 2008
Rapid and progressive animation tests/
broad research into language/reflective practices throughout

Phase 2: March 08 - Nov 2008
Audio collated and transcribed/audience clarified/focus shifts from dialect towards subtleties of spoken language/focus on word stress/critical analysis of own and others’ work

Final phase: Dec 08– July 2009
Application of linguistic research and critical analysis to pre-production/Commence final animation of 3 conversations for MA Exposition.

This slide should clarify timescales and changes to the original proposal. The next section is a more detailed account of my observations of the last year.

Minor changes from the original proposal (as the project has evolved)

Animating and reflecting on the East Midlands accent is less important than the individual quirks that occur naturally in speech

My original pre-conceived idea of animating purely typographically has been overtaken by visual stimuli to aid a sense of location and personality within the speakers.

Language references change from Chomsky, Descartes, Barthes, Umberto Eco, CS Peirce, Derrida to focussing more carefully on discourse analysis with the following linguists; Tannen, Lakoff, Becker and Grumperz

Original time planning has been unrealistic and tight. I had over-planned and not allowed space for technical issues or organic growth. Not enough time was devoted to preparation for audio or the animation process and this has meant that the final outcomes will be reduced.

Motion graphics has been less important than the process of stop frame animation.

The project evolution has increased my awareness of audio as a subject matter of great importance.

Location and visual reference to location in connection with language has also evolved within the project.

Being recorded as well as recording (as part of Bill Drummond's art project Choir 17) helped me analyse my role as an interviewer.

Including overseas students to review the work has allowed my project to become more focussed on key areas of speech analysis, primarily word stress. This has helped my research to become more specific.

In relation to the point above, previous research with Professor Antoinette Renouf (which was broadly based on language acquisition) has changed to the University of Derby ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) department.

My working methods have altered throughout the year. Originally writing in a diary and having imagery separate was the beginning of my reflective writing practices. Currently, I jot ongoing notes in my diary after a week I will summarise these notes formally. I Print the writing and publish a blog with relevant images. Interesting quotes appear next to work in my sketchbook, in effect I am visualising the theory directly into my work. I deliberately ‘react’ to the quotes I have found and draw conclusions from them.

Update

Wednesday 26.11.08 – Reflective writing
Instead of reading writing, archiving and getting ready for the presentation I was compelled to create storyboards for Ken. I have devised five different routes based on the following;

1 Simple shapes, circles (stress dots) for Ken and triangular shapes for my voice again, changing shape and size when synchronized with the audio. The work is similar to Len Lye and Rhythmus by Hand Richter. This approach is concerned with word stress, it is not concerned about typography.

2 The second approach represents transcription convention and typography. De-constructing type and over-sizing the transcription symbols and allowing the text to crop out of shot or be deliberately broken apart into syllables and natural pauses.

3 Repetition of words is explored in the third route. When the word ‘yeah’ is repeated in the audio the same background image will appear with small text. The visual language of the old worn carpet will convey a flatness of voice. Repetition will be obvious as the frame ‘yeah’ will be repeated five times, in line with the audio. The animation will clearly highlight who is speaking and the tone of voice will be apparent from the type choice and backgrounds chosen.

4 The final route shows a combination of word stress dots, location and typography. Textured circles are used as word stress dots, the text can be simply placed within the shape. When Ken speaks the circles appear, when I speak strips of wallpaper appear (to keep my voice second in line and neutral). It would be useful to break out of these constraints when laughter occurs. The use of letterpress or typewriting will be explored for Ken and more modern text to represent my character.

5 Road markings will be used in connection with route 2. For example when Ken stops speaking it is quite abrupt, linguistically this is referred to as a ‘glottal stop’.
With this knowledge I can use the road making ‘stop’ to highlight linguistic references. The road, road signs and markings also relate well to Ken’s voice and personality, looking down wards and worn out in places!

The next stage is to work into each storyboard in more depth, edit and start small tests. I am also reviewing all written work and producing a guide for the assessment.
I have noticed that the written work is slightly disparate due to the fact that other commitments have interrupted the natural flow of the work. In terms of my development in the MA I am pleased to have been able to spend the time to find a method of work and a project that suits me.

Interview with linguist/Presentation Practice

Monday 18.11.08 – Reflective writing
Interview with Alan Patterson – Senior Lecturer ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) University of Derby

Work shown:
Animations reviewed: Delyse “What’s your favourite part of the day?’
Audio reviewed: Ken “If you were about to be shot, what would be your last request?’
Sketchbook: Transcription conventions/lexical repetition/word stress dots

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION
TAS: Are there other conventions to mark intonation and word stress?
AP: Yes, phonetic script or symbols can be very helpful to express how to pronounce the words.
TAS: Who are the linguistic pioneers within this field of study?
AP: I’m not sure, we deal with generic books on the subject.
TAS: Within your curriculum, is slang and everyday language addressed?
AP: We try to mix formal with informal and be realistic. We realise ‘good morning’ has long been replaced with ‘hi’ and ‘how are ya’?
TAS: How much or little do your students know about British culture?
AP: It varies, some have travelled a lot, very few haven’t been here before.
Seeing visual aspects of British culture in the animation wouldn’t harm the students’ knowledge.
TAS: What variety of materials are your students provided with to help their learning? i.e. books/internet/audio/TV/video/podcasts etc.
AP: All of these, we sometimes use clips from ‘youtube’ to make the work contemporary and up -to-date with the students age range, it always links to the topic of the day, i.e. useful to show aspects of grammar.
TAS: Approximately what percentage of the student’s time is linked to the printed word (text book)?
AP: I would say 70% is based on the printed word, because it can be accessed at the students pace.
TAS: What percentage of the student’s time is linked to audio work?
AP: Approximately 30% of the time it is pure audio (tapes/vt etc). The students are constantly listening to conversations and the classroom experience has audio aspects.
TAS: What are common/major issues your students have with acquiring
a second language?
AP: The greatest problem by far is word stress. Take for example how to pronounce the words photograph and photographer. The wrong emphasis on a word or sentence can result in miscomprehension. You can get grammar wrong and even the order of words, but the importance of word stress is of paramount importance.
It is also useful to recognise that spelling and pronunciation are wide apart. Think of word such as ‘thought/through/bough/bow/thorough etc.
It is confusing for new learners.
TAS: Are there many lessons about intonation of voice?
AP: No, only before formal presentations, we try not to over-correct this aspect as the student can lose fluency. If a student is monotone, we will highlight this as it will affect the delivery of their presentation.
TAS: Can you describe the student profile you are currently teaching (cultures, ages, ethnicity, nationality).
AP: It is varied. We have Spanish, Portuguese and Korean students from ages approximately 18-21.
TAS: Can you see parallels between typography and oral language?
AP: Not really. What I think will help students is printed work and slowing the pace down the way that typography on a page slows down in general.
It would be good to offer the students the script first, before they see the animation. Is there a way the sound can be slowed down without distorting the voice?
TAS: I am not sure, I will try to find out about this.
TAS: We only listen to 7% of the contents of speech, the rest is tone of voice…discuss! See comments from previous question about intonation.

REVIEWING THE WORK
TAS: Which parts of the animation do you think will help the students to learn English?
AP: At the moment, I think it would be too confusing for them. It’s a more artistic than practical. I like the visual aspects though.
TAS: Would printed supportive material help the student to capture the message?
AP: Yes, definitely it would slow the pace and help comprehension.
TAS: Are there parts of the animation you think might hinder learning?
AP: The pace mainly, perhaps Ken’s voice will be better as he doesn’t say as much.
TAS: Can you see this work fitting into a module or during an
induction/introductory phase?
AP: Not at the moment it is too fast for a learner, I was struggling to watch and listen and it’s in my first language!





My reflections and conclusions from the interview:
1 PRINTED SUPPORTIVE MATERIAL
Printed materials will be helpful to show different aspects of language.
Small printed booklets could explore the following:
1 Word stress
2 Pronunciation (using phonetic script)
3 Transcription convention (how the words were said)
4 Regional Accents (highlight this more/’bus’/’buz’)
5 Patterns of speech (lexical repetition)

2 PACE OF VISUAL MATERIAL
Review how much content goes into the animation, ensure the work is not visually cluttered. Simplify your visual language and keep to one theme, ie road markings or tea related to reduce visual noise.

3 PACE OF ANIMATION
Can the animation be slowed down, paused stopped, points made then the work continues? This will be harder to implement and will alter the fluidity of the work.
I am not keen on doing this because it forces and unnatural stop where the audio and visual need to be continuous and flowing.

4 VALIDITY OF USING THE WORK TO AID ESOL STUDENTS
Is the animated work the right medium to teach aspects of language to ESOL students? It might not be. Currently the work is too fast, experimental and frantic.
I need to be mindful of selecting the right words to be experimental with. For instance, ‘in’ ‘then’ ‘on’ ‘yeah’ would be better to experiment with than more complex words. This has been Barnbrook’s approach.

If the animations aren’t right for ESOL students where does this lead
me to next?
I think that working with ESOL and overseas students has helped me to focus on specific parts of oral language and has helped my research become clear. I now see that if I continue to work with this department the outcomes could begin to be too restricted. I will aim to strike a balance between function and aesthetics.

Weds 19.11.08
I presented the work to my work colleague today in an auditorium and had the session timed and notes were taken. There were a few technical hitches connected to switching programmes to view movie files, which I have now resolved. The pace of the work and titles sequence and contents were well received. The presentation was perceived to be in a well-ordered and logical framework. The words ‘handmade’ were queried, does this sound glib or could it be misunderstood? I have altered the text to read as I have adopted a ‘hands on’ approach.
My colleague found it useful to see my influences and understood the hierarchy
of the artists/visual communicators chosen. Useful references were suggested, ‘Ursonate’ by Kurt Schwitters (see web references) and Johnny Hannah (‘the man with the beautiful eyes’). These references are broad ranging from historical to contemporary and audio dominant to visually dominant. I have spent some time researching these artists and include screen shots and references. Concrete poetry was mentioned again, this is in my context files but I will include it in the presentation as a research topic.
Suggestions for future animations are to consider hand-drawn letter/writing from the speakers themselves. This could add to the authenticity of the work and personify the speeches.


Useful Urls for Kurt Schwitters Ursonate

http://www.ubu.com/sound/schwitters.html
http://www.schwitters-stiftung.de/bio-ks2.html
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/cutandsplice/media/ursonate2_205.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/cutandsplice/merz.shtml&usg=__HJqHa8pSG6rL0VpjjS3Xz7XuLsI=&h=205&w=205&sz=7&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=YsZHoIPczN5rZM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=105&prev=/images%3Fq%3DUrsonate%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gPKpX0bGqps&feature=related
http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?hl=en&resnum=0&q=Kurt+Schwitters+Ursonate&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#
http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?hl=en&resnum=0&q=Kurt+Schwitters+Ursonate&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#
http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?hl=en&resnum=0&q=Kurt+Schwitters+Ursonate&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#
http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?hl=en&resnum=0&q=Kurt+Schwitters+Ursonate&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4JZfONAWMWg&feature=related
General typography (youtube ref)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4gzDgj5MFGY&feature=related

Reflective writing November

11.11.08
Continuing from the previous reflective writing, following is a list of preparatory questions for a linguist/lecturer Alan Patterson (ESOL)
Before the interview, discuss a broad overview of the brief ‘Typographic Conversations’ Exploring the relationship of the typographic representation of oral language.

Are there other conventions to mark intonation and word stress?
Who are the linguistic pioneers within this field of study?
Within your curriculum, is slang and everyday language addressed?
How much or little do your students know about British culture?
What variety of materials are your students provided with to help their learning? i.e. books/internet/audio/TV/video/podcasts etc.
Approximately what percentage of the student’s time is linked to the printed word (text book)?
What percentage of the student’s time is linked to audio work?
What percentage of the student’s time is linked to mixed media?
In your opinion, what is the most effective method?
Is there a typical day or pattern of teaching that occurs in your modules?
What are common/major issues your students have with acquiring
a second language?
What is the difference between intonation and word stress?
Can you describe the student profile you are currently teaching (cultures,
ages, ethnicity, nationality).
Do you have a particular area of specialism within linguistics, what about your colleagues?
Can you see parallels between typography and oral language?
We only listen to 7% of the contents of speech, the rest is tone of voice…discuss!

REVIEWING THE WORK
Which parts of the animation do you think will help the students to learn English?
Would printed supportive material help the student to capture the message?
Are there parts of the animation you think might hinder learning?
Can you see this work fitting into a module or during an induction/introductory phase?
Having written a varied scattergun approach to the question, I will edit the questions to a more focussed set of key questions. I will title the questions and cut them down, especially any that are similar. I have realised on my
MA journey that I have not always edited work and thoughts and this leads
to confusion and frustration for both parties. I am also aware that I have
to switch onto a different part of the project and come back to this to gain clearer perspective. So, I will go back to the PowerPoint amendments.


12.11.08 Preparing for your Presentation (PGC phase)
Notes from lecture at NTU (Stuart Hodges and Frank Abbott)


1 Why we need to present the work.
To disseminate our practice/treat it as a professional ‘pitch’/learn about other’s work/assessable component

2 Tips for the presentation
Keep it short/image based with supportive text around key themes/practice with colleagues/have a key point you keep to/keep it simple

3 Learning outcomes
1 articulate your project proposal to your peers (presentation)
2 illustrate the difference between your methodology and methods in your subject area
3 demonstrate your ability to research and analyse project (check this!)
4 show you have understood where your work fits in a broader context (social, technical, cultural)
5 Where is your work sited? (see above)
6 Look back at last years work, make some conclusions and then project forward to what you aim to produce (and how this has changed)
7 show how you have organised your time, have you managed your time appropriately?
Method:
How you have gained your research and processes e.g.

Primary research interviews and audio Recordings/ Creating animation/analysing research/reflective writing/analysing audio.
Secondary: theoretical research/Galleries/Design and animation events/Lectures

Methodology:
Methodology is concerned with the overall broad approach to your project. An example of my methodology has been making work based on analysing audio, testing it on a specific audience and analysing different methods to analyse audio.

4 Skills Qualities Attributes
Confidently debate your project/reflect on peers’ work/show research skills/apply subject skills/demonstrate time management skills.

5 Submission requirements
Written report (review of research question, use of variety of methods)
Presentation (burn onto CD)
Print out hard copy of the presentation
Learning agreement (proposal) (Plan for the future, clarify your objectives)
Body of research (sketchbooks/maquettes/prototypes/journal/diaries/blogs/cd/harddrive etc)
clearly labelled for assessment with name/pathway

6 Where have I been?
Life/work/experience – your critical review as a maker
Identify strengths and growth areas
What are your objectives, how will you get there?
Skills development/timeplan/resources/action plan.
Use assessment criteria to evaluate your work

7 What to expect
Pass or referral/written feedback/feedback tutorial (no % marks)
The feedback tutorials will provide you with specific comments
at this point to help you with future work.

8 MA culture blog
Ensure you check the blog for relevant events, this is the MA course information (not an addition to it)
http://ma-culture.blogspot.com/




14.11.08
I have added in more sketchbook images for the presentation to show working processes in a looser way (less edited). This will help to communicate ‘handmade’.
Three tests of talking aloud with the presentation have led to further amendments.
I have reduced text on the slides and emboldened type to help my speech. I have also omitted 2 films (Early Delyse and Barnbrook) as the talk was going over by 5 minutes. There are 2 more tests I will do with my partner and a work colleague who will give me objective feedback.
The separate films have been numbered to help synchronise the presentation. I will print the slides as a small series for my 2 tests to gain written feedback.
Other aims for the next week are to continue with dope sheet and analysis of audio transcription for pre-production of ‘Ken’ and ‘beach’ animations.
It is a difficult period of work, as I feel that I am waiting for the PGC phase to shift in order to allow me give my full attention to my project. In short, it is looming over me! My usual way of dealing with this is to tackle the work early then keep amending it- I have been doing this since August, so this stage has over-run in my view. I need to recreate a realistic timeframe for the next series of work.
Despite tutor advice to not worry about this, I do not work effectively without structure. I will be able to relax more if I can reach goals that are attainable also this is a required part of the learning outcomes.

Reflecting on reading

Tuesday 4.11.08 – Reflective writing

Having read ‘Talking Voices’ and reviewed the transcription of the ‘beach’ and ‘Ken’ audio I have started to apply my findings directly into the transcription.

I have spent more time analysing the words and how they were said and have utilised transcription conventions. It has been interesting to revisit the audio after a long break. As I applied the linguistic symbols I realised that there were small parts of the audio I had omitted or misheard, even though the recording was so familiar.
Another difference in my approach for this series of work is to include the narrator (my voice) and not ignore it. The main reason for this has been reading and reflecting on the importance of the interaction of one voice with another. I have recognised that the personal interaction and intertwined dialogue is inseparable, there is a subtle dance between interviewer and interviewee, on cannot exist without the other.

Scollon believes the following;
“As musicians use the term, ensemble refers to the coming together of the performers in a way that either makes or breaks a performance. It is not just the being together, but the doing together.” (p.19) Tannen, D Talking Voices (1989) Cambridge University Press

This research has opened up more directions and themes to explore relating to typography and language. Increasingly, details within speech and patterns within dialogue are becoming more apparent. I am also aware that the study of language in relation to typography is limitless and has proven to be a rich and engaging subject that will sustain my research beyond the MA.

I was not aware, in the field of linguistics, that symbols to express intonation and emphasis existed.

Examples of these devices are as follows;

. indicates sentence final falling intonation
, indicates clause
?! denotes exclamatory tone
CAPS reflect emphatic stress.

The transcription conventions could appear in the animation almost as a faint blueprint. However, in my opinion changes in voice quality by the speaker can be reflected directly by type scale, colour or composition more clearly than including the visual clutter of transcription conventions. This thinking is also echoed in a similar comparison by Tannen.

“ writers used print conventions to identify dialogue, speakers had even more effective inexplicit means to do so: changes in voice quality and prosody which marked entire utterances as representing, literally, a different voice.” (Tannen, D (1989) p126


In terms of process, I have redrafted the PGD presentation and am cogent that elicitation needs to take place. With this in mind, I have organised a meeting with ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) to review previous work and discuss the merits of showing the work to a small group of students for their reactions and feedback.

Animation day

Wednesday 22.10.08 - Animation day
I went through the audio files for beach and Ken animations. Reflecting on Barnbrook’s approach for the Radio Scotland animations, I listened to key words and decided to try the opposite of his approach. Instead of creating visual noise before and after the key word, I allowed the key word to have centre stage. In Barnbrook’s work the key words are static, in my version, they are rapid in their movement and a different visual style sets them apart from the rest of the words. This is an area I am keen to emphasise.

Presently, I have not concentrated on type at all. Key words ‘tea’ and ‘half’ are represented using stop frame footage and the rest of the audio is left to play without text at this early stage. This has emphasised rhythm and pace in an interesting way, it is more considered and calmer than previous animations I have produced. Text will be introduced, but not until I have listened to the audio in more detail and produced a storyboard.

My next aim is to annotate the speeches in terms of timing and try different methods to illustrate key parts of the speech. My main way of doing this is using a paintbrush with ink and creating fluid text in storyboards and the using colour to break the speech down. I will also look at the ways linguists approach illustrating speech and other methods (‘Talking Voices’ and ‘Visual Research’).

I will be organising a meeting with the ESOL department to test the work before it is too developed to gain vital information from the overseas students.

A contemplative day

Weds 22.10.08
Aims for the day and next session:

Original plans
I was going to do a dry run of the presentation with 2 colleagues at the University of Derby, then attend a tutorial at Nottingham. However, due to family illness all has been rescheduled.I have completed as much as I can on the PGD presentation and will put it to one side. I recognize that I am overworking this presentation and need to gain fresh perspective on it (external feedback). Presenting the work to students and peers will help me with timing of delivery and tweaks to content.

I have updated the presentation as previously planned. My next step is to work through the following:

1 Research (medium)
Complete reading Visual research book. Make rough notes.
Read ‘Talking Voices’
Call Jenny Marshall (ESOL) to meet up with her and her students, to get feedback.

2 Photographs (low/medium)
Resize and colour images from last week’s shoot.
Create batches of work and title the work for ease of use.
Create QuickTime movies of the work.
Start an ink storyboard of Ken’s speech
Revisit original project schedule
Continue to reflect on practice

A creative day...

Weds 15.10.08
An enjoyable and creative day, I needed it! I had to break away from writing the presentation and tweaks to it and decided that photography would yield potential creative outcomes. Today I was able to do something I had planned months ago,
my aim was to photograph specific road markings in a nearby city. The images might be used in connection with the audio for Ken. I had originally planned to do this for two reasons.

Firstly, Ken is an observer, rather than someone who fully participates in life. He doesn’t drive or walk much, just watches. He is often seen outside his house noticing the local gossip and is constantly watching people and traffic in the local village.
The second reason for choosing road markings and lines is to represent Ken’s tone of voice, which is quite flat and ‘grey’. In places Ken’s voice breaks due to old age (wear and tear) the breaks in the lines and the variance in the quality and thickness of paint reflect some of these traits.

Several other links occurred whilst taking the images. Ken’s viewpoint about life is negative and down. A metaphor for this negativity was introducing photographs of drains obviously they lead to sewers my take on it was that they could lead to hell. Ken’s view of others was very bleak, so I found these shots appropriate. I also observed that the lines would be useful to represent changes in pitch, with colours and zig zags reflecting narrator intervention and laughter for the zig zags. Some of the lines faded into nothing, some were bold and present, other lines were worn by the heavy tires running over them.

I reflected on my experience photographing on the beach, when a person walked into view by accident and remembered that this helped the perspective and authenticity of the work. With this in mind, I set out to walk along a street and photograph sections of the road and not be concerned if a car was in shot or not. I also deliberately photographed my feet walking along the road lines and made sure I had tests with and without my feet in view.

During one of the tutorials debate about including the narrator was mentioned. To represent this for Ken’s animation, one single white line could change to a single yellow line. Two yellow lines could represent an overlapping conversation.
Other interesting elements included arrow markings fading or separating and unidentified painted markings (presumably produced by the council) a secret language for the piping, my interpretation of these marking was along the lines of thankless tasks, functions, neighbourhood watchmen, unsung heroes?

Having spent time reflecting on previous work whilst preparing the PDG presentation I was consciously editing and reviewing the photography as I was going along and knew I needed to write about the processes as soon as I could. Reflective practices are becoming more natural and less mechanical or forced.

Updated Powerpoint presentation

I have worked constantly on this presentation and have tried to allocate a series of days to maintain momentum and break the back of the work.

There are a few additions to include (references for images and quotes).
It has taken a lot longer than I had allocated. So this week I put the presentation to one side and will be concentrating on reading (Talking Voices) and creating new work.

I have attempted to upload the presentation but at 18M it is too large.

What I have been working on…

Saturday 12th October 2008 (5.30-8.30am)

Since my tutorial and peer discussion I have been reviewing and improving my PGD phase presentation. This week I have clocked up approximately 15 hours on peer discussions, thinking and amending the presentation. Having culled the slides from (approx) 40 to 20 I continued to sharply focus on major influences, minor influences and cut out any grey areas. I have amended the way the PowerPoint looks (deleted my original photographic background images and simplified the work significantly. I have made a concerted effort to show how I have been reflective, especially from one animation to the next.

Today I changed the overall Font - from Rockwell to Goudy. The position of the text blocks and type sizes have been altered for consistency throughout. All copy has been edited to fit (any repetition has been deleted). I have also added in the ‘next step’ at the base of relevant slides to show reflective thinking, organization and continuity of the project.

Reflecting on the work I have produced this year has been interesting. When I look through the tests and experiments I am surprised by how many varied responses I had (in the early phase of the MA). It is clear that I was creatively restricted at the beginning and then a significant release happened! I was not able to harness some of this raw material at the time. I hope to go back to that vital work and bring it into the final phase of the animation.

Writing about the work when it appears in a static format, has also been helpful.
It will be prudent to create ‘still’ material for the show and for the International students to explore word stress and intonation ‘schemes’. This work can be research based on other practitioners methods, i.e. linguists, writers, designers and my own concepts will be presented within this context. This outcome, might be printed literature or a set of posters and will be discussed at tutorials and with peers.

Next phase (powerpoint)
Scan in Overseas students sketch of the English language waveform
Import image of international student/TAS interview
Complete slide with stills (Delyse) and critical reflection
Complete slide with research information
Complete slide ‘now then and beyond’.
Re read, amend, check for continuity, discuss with tutors and peers.
The work will be presented to animation students as a useful
‘dry run’, this will be helpful to review timing (15 minutes)
Final amendments

Peer discussion

I had an intensive meeting with two MA rpt students today, we discussed the PGD presentation. The general feedback on my plan was to create broader brushstrokes, less detailed, less about influences, much more about my journey.

It was suggested that 20 slides maximum would be enough. I could show the most recent work, then work back to front. The first slide could be the hand screwing up paper (my first test) so it show the mistakes and humble beginnings from whence I came! the last slide could show my recent work against the first attempts.

More should be made of the enthusiasm and passion I feel about the work, less about spoonfeeding information to the audience. One of the students said the presentation was too 'teachy'. It needs to be edited quite ruthlessly and show more about what I learned from one animation to the next piece. For example, show animation 1, explain what I had to learn to accomplish it, then show animation 2, what is still left to learn?

The other students were progressing on with further tests and mock ups of their work and were not concerned about the PGD presentation at all. I am becoming irritated by the PGD phase and desperate to get on with animation tests. It will be prudent to have a break from this and move back onto it after a week.

More 'mindmap' images

PGD Preparation

01.10.08 Reflective writing October 2008

Summary of activity: Planning for PGD phase
Creating a large plan/mindmap for the above
Reflecting on last years body of work

In order to assist the reflective process, I cleared a large space and brought together all the materials from last year, which includes portfolio of stills, 4 sketchbooks and 3 lever arch files of reflective writing and research. I created a master sheet with ink painted rectangles to plan the work for the PGD phase.

I started with basic, but fundamental questions, what, who where when how, why?
At the end of the presentation the statement reads ‘next’… The rectangles soon filled with information and titles to explore and the order will be reconfigured until the presentation is formalised.

One of the most useful exercises I undertook was to draw very rough diagrams of the project direction before and after. It was surprising to see such a monumental shift in my thinking, due to practice and reflection. The diagrams highlight the difference in my ability to animate, my recognition of the importance of audio and the shift in producing a purely typographic piece to work based on the relationship of type and image. The relevance of location and personality are also key themes that have evolved from the work. This has been mainly due to the involvement with the International Student department and the project’s evolution to address a sense of ‘Englishness’. Using the diagrams quickly demonstrates the different tenets set within the project early on and how it is presently.

A tendency I have to accentuate the work of others and shy away from discussing mine is still apparent and I think this was one of the problems highlighted in the previous tutorial. I need to make a conscious effort to bring my work to the foreground and support it with other work, not the other way around.

I have also been researching diagrammatic forms, particularly the Bauhaus 1922 curricular model. This is to help my reflective practice more transparent to peers and tutors during the PGD assessment phase, it is also essential that I gauge my processes. The act of creating such diagrams is encouraging me to think, reflect, redraw and define where I am located within the MA journey.

Two of the key themes that have emerged from reviewing the work are ‘intonation’ and ‘word stress’. How can these language terms be visually described?

Reflecting on the work I have produced, there are a variety of ways I have started to tackle these. See below some of the ways that I have attempted to represent intonation through visualisation.

Type style change (within the same family), bold italic, roman, light, formal informal
Space and composition of elements (sp a c e)
Extreme type characteristics (accentuated ascenders, descenders)
Media experiments, type letters enlarge with ink ‘tendrils’ or fading pastel
Deconstruction of letterforms (Lennon, during the swearing)
Colour change (type) and background
Word play
Angled words (Lennon animation 1)
Change in media (Delyse animation)
Deliberately misspelt words (HASSS)
Changing from upper and lowercase to capitals (whispering to shouting)
Bringing meaning to emphasis the word (time appears over a longer period
and fades away)
Change of pace (time appears over a longer period and fades away)

Simple symbols have been used to represent pauses or sharpness of voice patterns.
Circular pastel shapes were created as a visual pause growing, this seemed to fit in with the Lennon speech as it could be ‘read’ as a vinyl record (relevant to the time of the speech).


02.10.08 Reflective writing October 2008

Summary of activity: Creating a large plan/mindmap for the above

I photographed the active process of thinking through visuals today whilst organising the plan for the PGD presentation. It was particularly helpful to colour code the emergent themes. Visual hierarchy was established quickly, through the application of colour, for example critical components were painted red, major influences green, minor influences yellow and issues connected to reflective practice was painted with blue. In places I had doubled up on the content, this was stapled together and will
be either merged or omitted at a later date.

Working in this way I was able to see clear categories and introduced overarching titles
to help segregate the work appropriately. Reflecting on the previous presentation,
it is apparent my aim was to show as many examples of research and evidence trips
as possible with little concern for focus. Even at this early stage this amended presentation already has greater focus than before. I am keen to improve the work through regular peer feedback, which I have organised to do on Mondays after work.
I am planning to meet with at least 4 RPT students once a week or fortnightly to discuss the progress of our work collectively and broaden my ideas on this project.

September reflection on tutor feedback

19.9.08 Reflective writing September 2008

Summary of activity:
Reflection on tutorial (18.8.08)
Complete review of PowerPoint presentation for PGD phase
Revision to way of working
Major shift in priorities for next phase of MA

This week has been a major turning point in the MA. I had tried to plan ahead with the PGD phase, bringing the presentation forward, discuss with the tutors and gain their feedback, in order to ease the workload pressure I knew I would face as a lecturer. In my haste, I had not managed to focus on the question I had set myself ‘what are the parallels between typography and oral language?’ Also another key part of the process had been put into the background. That was to be explicit about reflective practice. I had actually written this on my own feedback before I went through the work with them.

The following issues were highlighted and must be addressed in order to successfully complete the next phase:

1. Be explicit about your research methods, what are they, how have you achieved this. Where are you in terms of the MA in relation to the research phase?

2. Recognise that you have experimented and produced enough material; you must reflect on this in greater depth with more insight in order to produce more focussed outcomes.

3. Include hierarchy in your research, which artists are key, which are secondary, how have they fed into your work? Use diagrams to illustrate your points more clearly.

4. Create themes in the research, so it is clearly ordered to people who know nothing about it.

5. When I discussed Stan Douglas and Nootka and how that helped me think about audio layering, this was a key piece of reflection and needs more information for the assessors/audience. This is the kind of reflection the tutors are keen to hear about.
Remember this as a benchmark; reflect on how the work feeds into your work, why has it caught your attention?

6. Reflect on your work more regularly, once a week, preferably on a blog, which the tutors
can access.

7. Re read your reflective notes over the last year and summarise these findings on the blog.

8. Show a graph/diagram of your journey, how it was your aim to gain confidence in animation and where you are on your journey.

9. What hurdles have you faced?
10. What pre-conceived ideas did you have, i.e. first storyboard was detailed and ink drawn, `I expected it to be reproduced and resolved straight away. I soon recognised how long things took and that I had to have a more open and fluid approach.

11. Personal journey (Ken), confidence, family, work – how this has been managed or mis-managed! What are your personal aims with the MA (MA}NIFESTO)

12. The presentation is too general and needs to be more analytical, where is the analysis of Barnbrook’s work? Do you break down language as he does? Have you used colour coding as a device? What are his devices to interrupt the viewer? His was the first movie to include type as communication, where does your work fit into this?

13. Reference all dates and where you obtained images (next to the slide)

14. In the Teal Trigg’s book, reflect upon which category does your work belong to, or is it merged into a variety of disciplines and boundaries? Add this book to your bibliography.

15. As regards your influences (Kyle Cooper) and Robert Brownjohn, can you see parallels in all of the designers and artists you have chosen?

16. Edit down all of your slides, make sure you can go through the presentation in 15 minutes.
Work out whether to play movies first, during or last. Ensure you have stills and movies separate (it slows PowerPoint down).

17. Make the turning point of the work (after Ken issue) explicit and your involvement with ESOL and Lee Yong Hee.

18. Compare ESOLs’ s textbook with Barnbrook and your approach, how do you teach colloquialism versus the Queen’s English?

19. Berlin images – Avoid wallpaper, be specific about what was important (Richter/ Douglas/Sony Centre) and show a visual hierarchy of which ones were key. When showing images, put text next to the image, otherwise it is confusing for the viewer.

20. Type out the places you have visited in the bibliography, at the back of the presentation.

21. Discuss Sam Winston’s work, why it relates to language, what you hope to take from the work, what is your slant on this? The work relates to language, the dictionary was used because it contains all the words needed to create anything, poetry, declaration of war and peace, it’s simple but profound. The work relates to rhythm, deconstruction of language, and tone of voice.

22. Why are Thoughtful in your presentation, who are they, what do they stand for/ How have they affected your work?

23. Actual work, discuss preconceived ideas about choosing:
Speech from the CD Nixon/Lennon
Actual speakers
Storyboarding versus actually producing the work
Experiments
How to mesh the two worlds together
Wild and raw,
Referencing typography
REFLECT MORE ON WHAT WORKED and why
REFLECT MORE ON WHAT DIDN’T WORK and why

Typography is a form of delivering language, what did you find to be effective?
Delyse – sense of place/personality, show how I am tracking through my work,
shall I add subtitles and presently I am ignoring my own voice (confidence)

24. You need to reference stop frame influences (PES) more clearly in your presentation.
Stop frame has been the biggest surprise in this process.

25. A list of my preconceived ideas about the MA journey (the actual work, not too personal)
I would work in a clean crisp typographic contained way
The MA online would be heaving with other student’s work
Disruption to my family life would be minimal
I would be able to organise myself before deadline
I would not encounter technical difficulties
I would be able to access equipment as and when required
The MA proposal would be simple and quickly resolved
Being enthusiastic and hard working would be enough to get me through
I have a question to answer and a conclusion to find.
I will find a home for the work, before it is developed!

Truth
The MA would help my confidence as a practitioner
The MA would be challenging
At some points you want to leave it and walk away
The MA is time consuming, even when you aren’t doing it you are thinking about it constantly.
You need to be selective about which influences you are influenced by. (KEY point for me,
I am learning this the hard way)


21.9.08 Reflective writing September 2008

Summary of activity: Work flow plan for the next 11 weeks

Aims for next 11 weeks are to complete the following (not in order or prioritised, you can choose which area to look at on a weekly basis)
To start analyse ‘critical evaluation’ and your research strategies
1 Re-read PDG phase documentation
2 Re-read Visual Research book
3 Read notes photocopied on Discourse Analysis
4 Re-Read own reflective notes
5 Re-read lecture notes from NTU/Derby/D&AD/4 Designers/Transmediale
6 Jot down notes on your project phase and where you are on your journey, gauge it from the notes you have written
7 Draw visual research of each month you have written about.
8 Highlight the relevant path
9 Rewrite the PowerPoint and test it on RPT peers
10 Add your findings to your blog
11 Continue animation tests/amend work schedule
12 See ESOL students and tutor
13 If time/home doesn’t clash, book to see Kyle Cooper.
14 Read Nootka references, work intensively on Barnbrook and Douglas refs and how they fed into your work.

Dates: (blog the work you complete every Thursday throughout)
w/c week 1 Sept 22 Weds 4hrs Thurs 4hrs + 2 evenings at 1hr each
w/c week 2 Sept 29 Weds 4hrs Thurs 4hrs + 2 evenings at 1hr each
w/c week 3 Oct 6 Weds 4hrs Thurs 4hrs + 2 evenings at 1hr each
w/c week 4 Oct 13 Weds 4hrs Thurs 4hrs + 2 evenings at 1hr each
w/c week 5 Oct 20 Weds 4hrs Thurs 4hrs + 2 evenings at 1hr each
w/c week 6 Oct 27 Mon, Tues, Weds, Thurs, Fri (2 hrs a night – half term)
w/c week 7 Nov 3 Weds 4hrs Thurs 4hrs + 2 evenings at 1hr each
w/c week 8 Nov 10 Weds 4hrs Thurs 4hrs + 2 evenings at 1hr each
w/c week 9 Nov 17 Weds 4hrs Thurs 4hrs + 2 evenings at 1hr each
w/c week 10 Nov 24 Weds 4hrs Thurs 4hrs + 2 evenings at 1hr each
w/c week 11 Dec 1 Weds 4hrs Thurs 4hrs + 2 evenings at 1hr each
week 12 Dec 8 PGD ASSESSMENT PHASE (presentation)

I have been animating an interview by John Lennon, when he spills the beans about his hostility towards the members of the Beatles. His language is venemous and he doesn't hold back.

The animation I have started is a mixture of stop frame and after effects. I have deliberately included quick cuts in the work as a metaphor for John's agitation. This is work in progress. I have started the beginning and the end of the interview. Changing colour hues, tones, scale and perspective on the type in photoshop has been an effective method. Overlaying smooth blended text in after effects contrasts to the raw edginess of stop frame type layouts.

MA diary Feb 2008

Tutorial today covered information on After Effects, in particular how to work in layers, analyse audio, stretch time and starting to look at camera angles.

Useful references include: 

motionographer/Psyop/Johnny Hardstaff (sketch books).

Final great tip of the day...start a blog to evidence actual training and time learning Animation Programme and progress in general. So here I am! No longer a 'Blog Virgin'!