Evaluation and Reflection

Weekly Reflection 1 -

This week marked a very positive beginning to my project. I made a strong start on my dissertation and focused heavily on researching the story and historical aspects behind the narrative. Alongside the written work, I also began constructing my stop motion set by creating props and cutting out pieces of cardboard to build the environment. I was extremely proud of the work I produced because it felt rewarding seeing both the academic and practical sides of the project beginning to come together.

One of the biggest challenges this week was balancing the written coursework with the practical production work. The stop motion side of the project felt much more natural and enjoyable to me because I prefer practical and creative tasks. However, the dissertation required detailed written analysis and constant organisation, which demanded a completely different mindset. Trying to divide my attention equally between writing and physically creating the set was difficult because both aspects required a large amount of time and concentration. Despite this challenge, I felt motivated because I knew the effort would improve the final outcome of the project.

Weekly Reflection 2 -

During this week I quickly realised that the stop motion process was going to affect my sleep schedule significantly. Since natural lighting changes constantly throughout the day, I found that filming at night was the best way to maintain consistent lighting across scenes. Because of this, I began spending most of my nights recording footage instead of sleeping. I understood that if I wanted to continue producing work at the pace I had started with, I could not afford to waste valuable hours during the night.

Although the late nights were physically exhausting, I was still very satisfied with the work I managed to produce. I found myself genuinely enjoying the stop motion process despite how demanding it was becoming. Watching scenes slowly come together frame by frame felt rewarding and gave me confidence in the direction the project was taking. Even though the workload was beginning to impact my routine, I remained excited and enthusiastic about the project overall.

Weekly Reflection 3 -

This week I began noticing just how much time stop motion animation actually consumed. Most nights I would begin working around eight or nine in the evening depending on what time I came back from the gym, and I would often continue animating until four or even six in the morning. The process required huge amounts of patience because every movement needed to be adjusted carefully to create smooth animation. As a result, the lack of sleep and constant concentration became physically and mentally draining.

Because of the project, I also had to reduce the amount of time I spent training at the boxing gym. I found myself sacrificing training sessions in order to dedicate more hours towards animating and completing coursework. Despite this, the stop motion itself was progressing very well and I was proud of how effectively I was able to place the ideas from my imagination onto the camera. However, the written coursework was much less enjoyable because of the amount of analysis and writing involved. Mentally, it became fatiguing because I naturally prefer a more practical and hands on approach to work.

Weekly Reflection 4 -

This week I experienced the first major disruption to my production schedule. My dad had invited family friends over to the house, which meant I could no longer use the space I normally animated in. This was frustrating because stop motion requires consistency and concentration, and suddenly losing my filming area interrupted my entire routine. I attempted to move my equipment and props upstairs into my room, however the situation happened with very short notice and I could not reorganise everything properly in time.

As a result, not much filming was accomplished this week. Although this was disappointing, I still tried to remain productive by continuing with my coursework instead. I spent time adding smaller details to written sections and catching up on tasks I had previously neglected. Even though this week was less successful creatively, it still allowed me to make progress academically and prevented me from falling too far behind.

Weekly Reflection 5 - 

This week the family friends had finally left, meaning I could begin filming properly again. Although I was relieved to return to production, my sleeping pattern was still extremely poor and I was struggling to balance sleep, filming and training. I started trying to develop a more effective routine that would allow me to manage all three responsibilities more efficiently. At this point it had been around three weeks since I had attended the boxing gym, which made me feel anxious because training is usually a major part of my routine.

Despite the stress, the week was not entirely negative. I managed to capture additional footage and also spent time creating new props for upcoming scenes. Working on props allowed me to remain creative while improving the realism of the set design. Although the workload was still difficult, I felt more optimistic because I had finally returned to filming and was beginning to regain momentum within the project.

Weekly Reflection 6 - 

This was by far my most productive week so far. I successfully filmed four entirely new scenes and was extremely proud of the final outcome. The footage looked cinematic and professional, which gave me a huge confidence boost after several stressful weeks. I felt that my understanding of animation, camera work and set design had improved significantly because of the amount of time I had invested into the project.

Seeing the scenes play back smoothly after spending hours animating them was incredibly rewarding. For the first time, I genuinely felt that the project was beginning to match the vision I originally imagined in my head. Although the workload and lack of sleep were still difficult to manage, the quality of the final footage made the sacrifices feel worthwhile. This week reminded me why I enjoyed stop motion animation so much despite the pressure involved.

Weekly Reflection 7 -

At this stage my sleep schedule had become almost completely nocturnal. I was spending most nights animating because the consistent lighting conditions made filming much easier and more professional looking. Despite this, I still managed to return to the gym for some paid sparring sessions. I had the opportunity to train within a professional fighter's training camp ahead of his British title fight, which was exciting and motivating because it demonstrated the rewards that come from hard work and dedication.

Although I made decent progress with the stop motion this week, I was not entirely proud of some of the footage I produced. I had spent many hours working through the night only to feel disappointed with certain scenes afterwards. This was extremely demoralising because stop motion requires huge amounts of patience and effort. Spending entire nights animating only to feel that the footage was unusable affected my confidence significantly. I hoped the following week would be more successful and allow me to regain momentum.

Weekly Reflection 8 -

This was not a good week creatively or academically. I realised that I had fallen very behind on my written coursework because so much of my attention had been focused on animation. I spent huge amounts of time filming scenes, however much of the footage did not turn out the way I wanted. This was frustrating because stop motion requires enormous patience and failed footage can feel like wasted time and effort.

Eventually, after taking some time to mentally reset and reorganise myself, I managed to complete three scenes successfully. However, after finishing those scenes I struggled to continue filming smoothly and once again felt as though I was back at the beginning. Because of this frustration, I shifted my attention towards creating props and improving the set design in order to give myself a break from animating. Outside of the practical work, my coursework organisation was also poor because I kept delaying written tasks until the last minute. At this point it honestly felt as though everything was beginning to fall apart around me.

Weekly Reflection 9 -

This week I received a reminder about the project deadline and quickly realised how far behind I actually was. This immediately caused me to panic because there was still a huge amount of work left to complete. I began trying to finish the next few scenes as quickly as possible while still maintaining a high standard of quality within the animation. The pressure became intense because I knew that rushing could negatively affect the final outcome of the project.

Despite the stress, I still managed to make decent progress overall. I pushed myself to remain disciplined and focused even though the workload felt overwhelming at times. I began organising my time more carefully and prioritising the scenes that were most important to complete first. Although the pressure was mentally exhausting, it motivated me to work harder and take the project more seriously moving forward.

Weekly Reflection 10 -

This week was outstanding in terms of progress. I reached the midpoint of my animation and felt extremely proud of how far the project had come since February. The scenes I produced looked cinematic and detailed, and I could clearly see how much my skills had improved throughout the process. Reaching the halfway point gave me a major confidence boost and reduced some of the stress I had been experiencing previously.

Overall, things were going very well during this week and I felt optimistic about the future of the project. I was finally beginning to feel more organised with both the practical and written aspects of the coursework. Although there was still a large amount of work remaining, I believed that if I continued working at the same pace I would be able to complete the project successfully.

Weekly Reflection 11 -

This week took place during the Easter holidays, which gave me significantly more time to focus on the project without the pressure of attending classes every day. Because of this extra time, I managed to make very strong progress with the animation and completed several important scenes. I also used the opportunity to refine previous scenes and improve details within the animation because I finally had enough uninterrupted time available.

Although the Easter break helped me progress creatively, I once again neglected parts of my coursework and left sections until the last minute. I became so focused on filming and improving the stop motion that I failed to properly manage the written side of the project. Despite this issue, the holidays were still extremely productive overall because I was able to significantly improve the quality and quantity of my animation work.

Weekly Reflection 12 - 

This week was emotionally exhausting because I sat a CITB exam and unfortunately failed. I felt extremely disappointed in myself and felt as if I've just killed all my progress after receiving the result. To make matters worse, I was also given a warning and placed on report because of my attendance. The combination of academic pressure, lack of sleep and stress from the project became overwhelming and left me feeling frustrated and demoralised.

I attempted to explain to my teacher that the stop motion project had severely affected my sleep schedule and daily routine. Many nights I was barely sleeping because by the time I finished recording there would only be a couple of hours before college started again. Although my teacher reminded me that I still needed to manage my responsibilities more effectively, I felt angry because of the amount of effort I had been putting into the project behind the scenes. Despite the difficult week, I still continued filming and managed to make strong progress while also catching up on coursework. Looking back, the pressure and criticism may have actually motivated me to become more productive and focused.

Weekly Reflection 13 - 

This week was horrible and extremely stressful. Although I managed to complete the main scenes for the animation, I still needed to film the flashback sequences for my characters. I immediately began working on them because I knew the deadline was getting dangerously close. During production I faced several problems involving set design, construction and finding suitable camera angles for filming. These issues slowed down the process and made the workload feel even more overwhelming.

Despite the difficulties, I refused to waste time and continued pushing myself to complete as much filming as possible. I constantly felt as though I was falling behind because the deadline was approaching rapidly and I had not even started editing yet. The pressure of potentially not finishing the project became my main motivation during this week. Although the stress was exhausting, it ultimately pushed me to work harder and remain determined to complete the animation to the best possible standard.

Weekly Reflection 14 -

This week was particularly gruelling as I spent the majority of my time focusing on the practical side of my project. Despite the workload, I made significant progress by completing all of the flashback scenes for my stop motion animation. Finishing this section of filming was a major milestone, as it means that all of the required footage has now been captured and everything is in order from a practical perspective. This has given me confidence that the creative and production elements of the project are on track and ready for the next stages of development.

However, while concentrating so heavily on the practical work, I completely neglected the written side of the project. I became so focused on filming and organising the animation that I forgot to update and improve my written documentation. As a result, I have created additional stress for myself because I now have a large amount of written work to complete alongside the editing process. Looking back, I should have managed my time more effectively and balanced both aspects of the project to avoid this situation.

Weekly Reflection 15 -

This week has been challenging due to a number of technical difficulties. I began working on the editing process but quickly encountered storage issues that prevented me from making the progress I had planned. Because I was concerned about potentially losing my work, I spent time trying to download the project and save a copy on my phone as a backup in case the original file was accidentally deleted or became inaccessible. Although this was a necessary precaution, it took away valuable time that could have been spent editing.

As a result of these issues, I have only managed to edit the opening scene up to the title card. The editing process is taking much longer than expected, and the technical setbacks have made it difficult to maintain momentum. At this stage, I feel that it is becoming highly unlikely that I will be able to finish editing the entire project before the deadline. This has been frustrating and has increased the pressure I am under, but I will continue working on the project and try to make as much progress as possible within the time available.

Weekly Reflection 16 -

Evaluation - 

Throughout this project, I have experienced a range of successes, challenges, and learning opportunities that have helped me develop both creatively and academically. Creating a stop motion animation required me to combine practical production skills with planning, research, and written evaluation. Although the final outcome was not completed exactly as I had originally intended, the project has provided valuable experience and highlighted both my strengths and areas for improvement. Reflecting on the entire process has allowed me to consider what worked well, what could have been done differently, and how I can apply these lessons to future creative projects.

One of the aspects I enjoyed most about this project was the freedom it gave me to be creative. From the initial planning stages through to filming, I was able to develop my own ideas and bring them to life in a way that reflected my personal vision. I particularly enjoyed the process of experimenting with different concepts and finding solutions to problems that arose during production. The project also helped me develop practical skills related to stop motion animation, photography, organisation, and production management. Being in complete control of the project meant that I was responsible for every creative decision, which was both challenging and rewarding. This level of responsibility encouraged me to become more independent and confident in my ability to manage a large scale creative task.

Despite the positive aspects of the project, there were several elements that I found difficult and frustrating. The biggest challenge was the limited timeframe available to complete such an ambitious project. Alongside the practical work, there was also a substantial amount of written documentation that needed to be completed. I often found myself prioritising the practical side because I enjoyed it more, which resulted in the written work being left behind. Another issue was my own forgetfulness and lack of organisation at certain stages of the project. There were occasions where I became so focused on filming and production that I neglected important written tasks, creating additional pressure later in the process.

Looking back, I realise that I was overly ambitious when creating my production schedule. At the beginning of the project, I genuinely believed that I would be able to complete all filming, editing, and documentation within the allocated time. However, I underestimated the amount of time required for each stage, particularly the editing process. Stop motion animation is extremely time consuming, and although filming progressed well, the post production stage proved to be much more demanding than I expected. As a result, my schedule gradually fell behind and the remaining workload became increasingly difficult to manage however the editing is still ongoing but won't be ready yet

The most disappointing aspect of the project is that I came extremely close to completing my original vision but ultimately had to finish the project prematurely because I could not complete the editing in time. This is particularly frustrating because the majority of the practical work had already been completed and only the final stages remained. Knowing that I was so close to achieving the outcome I had planned makes the situation even more disappointing. In hindsight, the issue was not a lack of effort but rather poor time management and unrealistic expectations regarding how long certain tasks would take. This experience has shown me the importance of creating realistic schedules and allowing additional time for unexpected difficulties.

To ensure that I finished the project and achieved the highest possible grade, I could have implemented stronger planning and organisational strategies from the very beginning. Breaking the project into smaller stages with individual deadlines would have allowed me to monitor my progress more effectively and identify potential delays before they became serious problems. I also could have created a dedicated editing schedule rather than assuming that the editing process would be completed quickly. By setting aside specific periods of time each week for editing and written work, I would have maintained a better balance between all aspects of the project.

Another improvement would have been to regularly review my progress and adapt my plans when necessary. Instead of continuing to follow my original timeline when delays began to appear, I should have adjusted my schedule to reflect the reality of the project. Keeping multiple backups of my work and resolving technical issues earlier would also have reduced unnecessary stress during the final stages. Most importantly, I should have devoted consistent attention to the written documentation throughout the project rather than leaving significant sections until later. This would have reduced pressure and allowed me to focus more effectively on completing the final edit.

Overall, this project has been both rewarding and challenging. Although I did not achieve the fully completed final product that I originally envisioned, I am proud of the progress I made and the practical work I was able to produce. The experience allowed me to develop creative, technical, and problem solving skills while also teaching me valuable lessons about organisation, planning, and time management. The difficulties I encountered have highlighted areas where I can improve in future projects, particularly when balancing practical and written work. While it is disappointing that I was unable to complete the editing process, the knowledge and experience gained throughout the project will be extremely valuable moving forward and will help me approach future creative work with greater confidence and preparation.