Presentation Post - Film & Animation

Andrew Todd Marcus

THE PRESENTATION POST

This post's privacy is set to Everyone. This post showcases your final design by telling the comprehensive story of how your idea was born, developed, and manifested. The arc of the story should encompass the, How of your project in a compelling narrative. It showcases your design process including your brainstorming, each of your iterations, and your final prototype. It allows the viewer to delve deeply into your process.

  • Every Slide should have a Title and Caption.
    The body of this post is The Brief. You should include a version of the Brief for each collaborator in the project.
  • This post will be used in your review presentation at the end of the session.

You are encouraged to make your narrative as compelling as possible. All of the content below should be included, but if you would like to rearrange the material in order to tell your story differently, work with your coach.


INTRODUCTION PORTION

Your presentation is a narrative, and the introduction sets up the scene for that story. Here you introduce the project, say why it is important, and summarize what you did.

TITLE WITH TAGLINE: This slides shows a crisp, clear final image and the title of your project. with a pithy blurb describing the project. The image, name, and tagline should draw a viewer in. 

Examples:

  • Night of NuVu - When Zombies Attack NuVu Prom, Horror Ensues
  • T is for Talent - A Day in the Life of an MBTA Busker
  • Seed to Soup - An Animated Fable of Food and Hope

EVOCATIVE  IMAGE: This is a single image that shows a clear image that evokes the soul of your project. This image helps set up the why in a compelling way, sets the stage for your narrative, and will help frame the entire presentation. The caption of this slide (set with the Edit Captions button when editing your post) should discuss the context of your project. No Text on the slide.

THESIS STATEMENT: This is a TEXT ONLY slide for which briefly describes the Soul and Bodyof your project. You can use the project description from your Brief or write something new. This statement ties together your narrative.

Examples:

  • The Cocoon:  A wearable sculpture that explores the concept of transformations and death. The Cocoon explores the spiritual journey beyond the human experience; what it means to be human, how wonder effects us, and the concept of what happens after death.
  • Body Accordion: A musical prosthetic that translates the wearer’s body movements into a dynamic multimedia performance. The Body Accordion converts flex sensor input to sound through Arduino, MaxMSP, and Ableton Live. 
  • Seed to Soup Animation: A whimsical animation about the slow food movement. Seed to Soup showcases a holistic method of cooking. From garden, to kitchen, to dinner table.
  • Antlers: A wearable sculpture inspired by antlers found in the deer and antelope family. "Antlers" explores the comparison between armor and attraction. 

PROCESS PORTION

The Process Portion of your presentation tells the story of how you conceived of and produced your film or animation. It should include:

NITIAL STORYBOARD (1 slide):  A scan of your original storyboard. If your original is illegible or hard to understand, you should create a cleaner version. Preferably in marker pen.Make sure the storyboard is in the right orientation. You can include 2 boards on 1 slide. No Text.

PRODUCTION DECISIONS (1 slide minimum, 2 slides maximum): These slides show the changes you made after your initial edits. These should NOT include screenshot of your editing software. You can choose stills, a sketch of camera angles, or other representations of decisions you made. The caption should clearly explain the decisions and their ramifications. No Text.

ANALYSIS: (2 slides minimum, 3 slides maximum): The next part of the process post retrospectively express and explain your idea and process. They should include:

  • Final Storyboard :  A storyboard of the final cut of the film. Work in a graphics software and maintain a high production value. ALL film and animation projects should have this analysis.
  • Technical Analysis: A diagram showing your technical workflow. This should not be a screenshot of your editing software. ALL film and animation projects should have this analysis.
  • Character/Scene Development: If appropriate, include asset development (such as character or scene) sketches (primarily for animation studios.)

FINAL PORTION

The Final Portion of your presentation is the resolution of your narrative in which you show your completed work. Final stills leave a visual impression as you discuss your work with critics.

SHOW FILM OR ANIMATION - Pause in your presentation to do this. Video/Book/Etc is a separate post.

FINAL IMAGE: (1-3 slides) The last slide should have representative still images or GIFS of the final project. 

The Script - Instructions for the Post

Andrew Todd Marcus

The primary purpose of your Presentations  at NuVu is to describe the creative and technical journey you undertook in developing your project. In this post you will write what you are going to say, slide by slide, for your Final Post.   During your presentation you will not read from this script. It is here to help you frame your presentation and give insight to website visitors. 

Remember, you are encouraged to make your narrative as compelling as possible. All of the content below should be included, but if you would like to rearrange the material in order to tell your story differently, work with your coach.

Feel free to organize the post by slides in the presentation. The example below if for a build studio but the concept holds for a film/animation studio.

Slide 1: Write out your title and tagline.
Slide 2: Describe why your project exists, who it is for, and how that relates to the evocative image.
Slide 3: Write out your thesis.
Slides 4-15: Walk through each iteration, from initial concept to penultimate design

  • Discuss how each precedent inspired/informed your design.
  • Discuss your  sketches - how they arose from your brainstorming and how they informed the start of your design process, and how they changed and your design changed
  • Discuss each prototype - Briefly describe major design changes and how they effected the overall project arc and design.

Slide 16: Explain your use diagram - how is your your project used or function in the world.
Slide 17: Explain your mechanical diagram. Walk through how your project is put together and functions mechanically.
Slides 18-20: Walk through each of the final images and describe the overall use/design of project. Discuss the final prototype, what was a success, and where your project might go from here.

Your Presentation will:

  • Introduce the general context of your project
  • Present the thesis or design problem and how you approached the solution
  • Using precedents, begin to tell the story of the genesis and development of your actual design.
  • Describe the overall design concept.
  • Delve deeply into the heart of the design process through a description of major design iterations.
  • Thoroughly describe the final design technically and functionally through the reference to your diagrams.
  • Walk through the final images, discussing how everything came together.
  • Discuss the conceptual and technical challenges you faced. These should be broad view issues, not hyper-specific technical issues.
  • Your vision for where your project can go.