Mock script for assessment video V2

 Mock script for assessment video V2                                                                                                     01/12/2022

Figure 1: Pictish stone remnants: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kylemunro1/4622963784

Hello, my name is George Salisbury, and this is my assessment video for the Exploring Practice module.

My main specialties from previous experience include video editing, graphic design, motion graphics, and videography, and to a lesser extent hand-drawn 2D animation and modelling in Blender.  My final project for the MSc will be a self-inspired piece entitled "Seoras" (Gaelic for George), which will be a metaphor for neurodivergence.  It will focus on a humanoid alien who arrives in Dundee for the very first time and can see projections in surroundings indicative of past life and culture.

My experiences with crafting the 2D animations for tests were long, and if there was any takeaway from it all, it would be to never stop working.  The meticulous technique to me of drawing every individual frame meant that to complete a useable animation, I would have to arrive at 8am and not fully call it a day until 9pm.  I do not have the tools necessary to complete the animations on my laptop at home, and my laptop is not powerful enough for the required software, so I depend on the college facilities to get the project done.  Of all the software used, I have found TV Paint to be my favourite and the one I will aim to highlight the most on my CV.  The software has taught me the importance of perseverance with your work, regardless of how complex it might be, and I have found success with producing animations of growing jute stems, a basic deer run cycle and the practice of rotoscoping.  I was also relieved to have found that the software was also used in the production of Apollo 10 1/2.  The first tutorial I credit with getting me interested in TV Paint was the quick start guide on the software by Aaron Blaise, the director of Brother Bear and an animator on the Lion King and The Simpsons Movie.   Whilst my animation designs are nowhere near as professional as his, his use of the software showed me how accessible it could be to those starting out in the field of expertise, and that the ultimate learning curve of 2D animation can be done on TV Paint.  Whilst ToonBoom is the more popular choice of software for animators these days due to its more enhanced features, I aim to make the most of TVPaint whilst I am here.  I have largely taught myself how to animate fluently with the use of references for walk cycles and positions, but I still need to develop my skills to craft backgrounds, colour and shading for the animation to be fully effective.  

For some visual effects, my preferred tool has been Adobe After Effects.  I recognise that it is a software better suited for the end of the animation process, such as with colour-correcting and compositing, but I have found that it can be useful when you need something done quickly, such as lava textures and simple sketch reveals.  I used to hate using the software during my first degree but I have used it to the point where I have fallen in love with it.  I still follow tutorials whenever I am producing something complex with it, but I am steadily growing more confident with it.  I acknowledge that I have to follow tutorials exactly sometimes.  

My experience with 3D has not been as fruitful.  Whilst I am aware of the benefits of 3D, both in terms of employability and efficiency if you know what tools and techniques to use, I have found it harder to learn.  Blender and Maya, I find, are the kinds of software that require a tutorial to know your way around.  That being said, I have managed to produce some very simple animations using them, including a jellyfish, a smoke plume and a butterfly (which was my first experience using a very simple rig), as well as the foundations of a whale.  I have also tried to make a strong lava flow with Blender without the need for keyframes, but I need to figure out how to make the fluid not pass through solid objects.  

Book-wise, my main source of instruction and inspiration has been "The Symbolism of the Pictish Stones in Scotland" by Inga Gilbert.  The book has been my main source for Pictish drawing style, and I have used the Kirriemuir Pictish stones found in them as a revealing figure.  I have also used the book for material in my research poster and to develop the context of the Pictish animations.