I am fairly pleased with this. I think that I have been able to show a story through the animation. I think it generally fits in well with the music, as I tried to make each scene beginning and end in time with the rhymth of the music. I had no trouble picking the section of music to use. After listening to it I felt that the beginning was the only part dramatic enough to fit with my animation and I think that the quieter end works well as the image fades away.
I think I was able to show my three words in the animation which were heat, tension and western. I think the vibrant colours of the sunset and the lighting (I used a lamp and also placed my animation next to a window) really give the animation a feel of heat. I think the characters and general storyline make it clear it is a western and I think the camera shots and the way they go with the music give a sense of tension.
I put quite a lot of effort into trying to keep the movements smooth but it wasn't quite as good as I had hoped. One problem I had was that my camera moved every time I pressed the shutter button to take a photo. I needed a way of keeping the camera still when I took each photo.
I feel it is slightly rushed at the end and doesn't quite flow as well as the beginning. It seems to end fairly abruptly. I think I could have improved it if I had a longer amount of time for the animation, or if I had cut out one of the scenes.
I think maybe a slight amount of movement would have worked better in some of the panned scenes but I wasn't too sure how to make it work using the effects in After Effects.
I would have liked to have more time to experiment and find some tips for making my stop motion a bit smoother and less jerky. Overall I really enjoyed this project!
