27hrs later...

After really rethinking my animation for this semester, I have managed to create 1 minute piece that I am extremely proud of and really hope it expresses the message that I intended to create. I have used many techniques whilst making my animation, with YouTube tutorials helping me almost entirely when using After Effects to a professional standard (eg. when creating the fire, explosions, and the cityscape silhouette in Photoshop)

I have worked very hard throughout this project and I really hope that this shows through the quality of my work. I also hope that my sketchbook shows my creative side and a development of ideas as the sketchbook continues.

My original idea was to create a post apocalyptic sequence that shows the effect that recent developments in technology has on our lives, forcing us to lose focus on the things that matter in life such as physical human interaction. I created post apocalyptic scenes within my animation through the help of Photoshop and After Effects itself. I followed certain tutorials off YouTube that taught me how to create the special effects I needed to enhance my video and make it look realistic.

I included symbolic images from social media networks such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter in order to try and express the idea that we are becoming brainwashed (hence the exploding head//minds) and that we are becoming technology dependent, losing sight (hence the eye images) of what is real.

However, towards the end of the video, I try to include a more Utopian view of the world if we just take a step back from our technology dependent lives and enjoy the world as it it, for its natural beauty, hence the sunny cityscape. I included the message: 'Refuse to let technology control you...just switch off', to try an enforce the idea that we do not need to remove technology completely from our lives, just don't become dependent on it.

Overall I am extremely proud of what I have created and I believe that I have improved my overall technical skills and therefore expanded my knowledge on how to use After Effects. I think I have met the brief  'Looking Outside' in a creative, unique way exploring a very real problem in the 21st century.