Software to keep me on track

Here is a list of tools i have been examining to help me stay on schedule.

• ACE PLANNER, Planning and tracking software has a 3o day trial period.
• Work Centrics, Planning and tracking software has a 30 day trial.
• Time Meter,Planning and tracking software free 30 day trial copy.
• Countdown Clock, Countdown reminder software.
• Alarm Clock Pro, Versatile reminder software.

Test Run Take Two

Creating Intro for Show Reel:

This is the second test of my new strategy.  This time the project was to create an introduction to my showreel.

Step one.  To begin I completed a compact pre-production, this included research into existing showreels and the creation of a storyboard for the intro.  I looked at a number of showreels and analysed how they are layed out, their timing and use of typography.  I came to the conclusion that many do not have a dedicated introduction, and if I included one on mine it might give me an advantage.  After consultation with my lecturer Michael Agzarian, I was advised to use an existing static design of mine and animate it.  The design was of a pair of 3D thongs positioned to create the shape of an aeroplane.  Michael suggested I break apart the plane and animate it re-forming with my name and logo imposed over the top.  From this advice I created a storyboard of the animation.

Step 2 was creating a list of tasks I needed to do to complete the intro, each task was given an estimated time.

• Model Thongs – already completed
• Texture Thongs – already completed
• Create rough animation – 2 hours
• Tweak animation – 2 hours
• Create smoke effect – 2 hours
• Set up lighting and rendering – 3 hours
• Render out layers and passes – 10-12 hours
• Composite scene – 1-2 hours

Overall the time necessary was around 22 hours, however as I could render whilst I was asleep a more accurate prediction was around 11 hours.  The deadline I set for myself was 5 days.

From this I created a schedule and a GANTT chart.

The Schedule:

GANTT Chart:

Once again I found the process to be helpful.  The process of breaking down the overall task into smaller chunks makd the project much more doable in a short time.

By creating the project piece by piece I was able to spread it over a number of days rather than cramming it into one or two.  This allowed me to work simultaneously on other assignments/projects with a lot more ease.

In this project I found the GANTT chard was slightly more helpful than the Anime Club Logo.  Some of the tasks were dependent on others.  The GANTT chart was able to visualise this, which allowed me to reschedule some tasks foreword whilst other dependant tasks had to wait.

The project did not run as smoothly as the Anime Club Logo in terms of meeting the deadline.  The client was myself, so there was no outside pressure on me to get the job done on time.  This led to me spending too long on certain tasks (rough animation, lighting and rendering, compositing).  I found myself being caught up in the tasks I enjoyed and wasting time perfecting them to a level most people would not even notice.

The finished introduction sequence.
After both test runs of my new strategy I have found it still needs some work.  The breaking down of the project into easily manageable pieces, and structuring them over a period of time has been very beneficial.  However without an outside influence keeping me on track my discipline can waver.  My next research will be into tools to keep me disciplined and help me to stay focused on keeping to my schedule.