Vislang: Communication Model vol 5.0 Final Statement and artifact

This was a great project for me. Experimentally, I decided to render my entire animation using cut paper and minimal digital effects which is a style I had never attempted before. After learning about the communication models general principal I decided my view of it became something that was very hands-on for all participants. The cut paper reflected the hands-on nature and physicality of the process. I decided to take a very linear approach in order to form a narrative. This allows for a more engaging and entertaining learning experience for the viewer of my animation. This project really drove home all aspects of the communication model and I realize that it is something that I need to focus on every day I work as a designer. Even while making the video, I constantly thought about clarity and tried like hell to minimize noise. 


Narration: Written by myself, read by Jason Gongaware
Song: Edited and looped by myself, from the original riff of Xoxo, Panda's "The Boys and Girls (Good Morning)." 



Untitled from Abby Gallagher on Vimeo.



This year really helped me step out of my box. I experimented and opened myself to failure with the expectation of self-improvement and gain. Though I may not have always acted receptive in critiques, I really took each comment to heart and will use those small utterances to shape my design-mind and my work process and ethic. Every failure was a success. Every mistake was (eventually) a blessing. This year it has become my new-found goal to continue pushing myself beyond my own limits and find my own brand of greatness. 

VisLang: Communication Model vol 4.0 Video

With a Chance of Rain: An Illustration of a Communication Model from Abby Gallagher on Vimeo.



This is the first round of an actual video. I've since made a few changes. I'll post the final piece in the next day or two.

VisLang: Communication Model vol 3.75

The top image and the very last shows the hand cut/placed type used to denote the title of my movie, "With a Chance of Rain: An illustration of a communication model"

The next three images are just a bit of a teaser of my movie. Jill's hair has changed.

Fifth image down is some furniture made for Jack and Jill's studies.

Second to last image is a shot of the rooftop of Jill's apartment building, where she will send off the pigeon (who has no name.)

The New (new and edited) Dialogue

___________________

This is Jill. In this illustration of how a communication model works, Jill represents the Sender. The Sender is in charge of distributing a message that he or she wants others to receive. A Message does not deal only with saying something, but how it is said and the treatment of the actual content. The Receiver in this context is Jill's brother Jack.

After writing her letter, she will attach it to the pigeon and send him off to deliver the message. A channel is how a message gets from a Sender to a Receiver. The pigeon is the channel.

If there are any problems with the delivery of the message, the problem is called Noise. Noise alters how the Receiver perceives the message. Since the paper got wet and the ink smeared, the rain acts as noise. Jack now has to fill in the blank based on his personal knowledge and cultural background. His response to Jill will act as Feedback to let her know how her message was received.

Minimal noise will allow for a clearer communication of the message and keep everyone happy and unconfused. The End.

VisLang: Communication Model vol 3.5 Further character/prop/scene set up

Per Jamie's suggestion, I decided to add a bit more to the faces of Jack and Jill. Jill's lips are gone again. They seemed too wrong for my type of character design. Jack's mustache and the twins eyebrows stay. 

I needed to make a larger version of Dmitri for his solo flying scene. I created the larger version like I created everything else- sketch to cut out to tracing onto new paper to cut to tracing out rest of the parts. 

The very bottom photo is of the individual rain drops I cut out for the sake of the big storm that will be the cause of  noise in the communication model.

VisLang: Communication Model vol 3.1 furniture

I met with Johnna today for a crit. I asked her if the new characters were working better than the old, she agreed that they were. I also asked if a narrative-style voice over to explain my communication model worked better or if I should switch to visible text on the screen with the rest of the animation. She said that the voice over was more interesting and continued the consistency of my animation.

The rest of the class was spent building furniture. To start all of these little things, I generally draw out a pattern on white paper. I then cut out the white paper version and transfer via tracing to the correct colored paper. Then I cut out the correct colored paper versions and glue everything together. Behold, the two tables and two chairs that will act as props/scenery in my movie. I enjoy the small size in relationship to my characters. They look so cheap and tiny.

VisLang: Communication Model vol 3.0 new characters

This is the new storyboard. There was a major disconnect between Lucy the sender and Fargo the message in the last character set. Now that I have Jack, Jill and the pigeon (tentatively named Dmitri), there is a greater relativity between them. The pigeon will now act as one of the channels in the model, carrying the messages between Jill and Jack.




This is Jill and Jack. And Dmitri, the pigeon.











This image is just showing scale of my hand-cut characters.








This is a close up of Jill's pencil. The dime showing size again.

VisLang: Communication Model vol 2.0 character development

These past few days have been spent organizing the scenes I want to include, as well as actually creating my sets, props and characters.

I have broken my movie down into 5 scenes.
1- Lucy is walking (intro, this is Lucy)
2- Fargo walks/escapes (this is Fargo)
3- Fargo is wandering- finds noise (is distracted by many things)
4- Joe finds Fargo
5- Joe Lucy and Fargo, all united (Feedback, restart cycle)

VisLang: Communication Model vol 1.5 feedback

I met with Micah and Brian about my choice of annotation. After conferring with the two of them, they both agreed that this was a good way to annotate my animation. They agreed that it was clear and easy to follow, as well as interesting. Brian suggested I add in a line about the channel.

Originally I simply stated: Whatever path the message takes is called a channel.
I believe I will change it slightly, possibly into: The path the message takes from the Sender to the Receiver is called a "channel." A channel is generally constructed by smell, sight, taste, touch and sound. 

VisLang: Communication Model vol 1.0

Narration from Abby Gallagher on Vimeo.



This is the first round of annotation that I'm trying out. My animation is going to tell a story of the communication model, and thus I thought a narrative approach for annotating my story would be an appropriate approach. I put the first iteration of the narration on vimeo, which is above. Below is the monologue. You can see where it is broken up and sort of how it will "appear" in my animation.

1-This is Lucy. In this ridiculous illustration of a communication model, Lucy represents (what we in the business like to refer to as) the Sender. The sender is in charge of having a  message that he or she wants to distribute to someone else.

2-This is Fargo. Fargo is a dog, that is true, but for this purpose fargo represents Lucy's message.

3- Now that he is free of Lucy, Fargo is going to start looking for that "someone else" I mentioned earlier. From here on out, let's call him the Receiver.

4-Whatever path the message takes is called a channel.

Between The Sender and the Receiver, Fargo (as dogs often are) is going to be distracted by many things. Any thing that causes the message to run astray of it's original purpose is known as Noise.

6-The message has been found by Joe, the Receiver. After looking at Fargo's tag, Joe decides to look for lucy and return Fargo to her. Since Fargo is now traveling from Joe to Lucy, he acts as feedback. Feedback is the way the receiver communicates with the sender, generally in order to improve the sender's original message.

7-Now that Lucy and Fargo are reunited, Lucy can train Fargo to avoid distractions so he reaches people like Joe in a more timely fashion, and the circuit starts all over again.

8-The end.