For my senior project I looked into the questions How does street art impact NYC, from its culture to its residents as well as How I can further my animation skills through this form of storytelling. Though many of my peers had to go through refining their senior project and changing their essential questions, I was lucky to not have as much altering done to the project. Yes, I lost the live-action part which created many more challenges in completing this project but for the most part the project stayed the same. The only part of my question that was changed in some way or form is that in addition to my main questions I was also figuring out “How can I effectively and efficiently animate this short film given the new restricting circumstances, and how can I better fill my time”. I found the answer to that through trial and error. I figured out that animating to the flow of the words, and fluidly transitioning between still images is great content for the documentary, and the best way to fill my time was focus on the project itself at that point (granted that the main research phase which was crucial for the introduction of the project was complete).

 

In this project I expected to learn more about street art as a whole, learn about the individuals who make street art the art form it is, and I was able to answer that through my interviews. In addition, I intended to further my animation skills. I’m unsure if I improved, but I learned a lot more about video editing and animating based on audio tracks so I guess in some ways I did. The senior project experience will change how I look at a task; if there is a goal I’m trying to get to, I’ve learned I cannot hold myself back: I cannot let procrastination and my inner self-critic control the outcome I strive for. From the Senior Project Experience, I want people to know that I put a lot of work into the final product. Though the shots look simpler than say, SpongeBob for example (a universal animated show), it is still difficult to work, especially for a one-man crew.

 

Looking back at my essential question I was fortunate to answer it. It perfectly framed my project, and because it was such a specific question it was easier to answer in my opinion. The one thing I’d change about the question is I’d do more exploring into animation techniques and animation as an art form rather than glossing over that and focusing mainly on the product than the process of animation.

 

In terms of my initial plan, I lost two big parts. Initially I had an internship with the New York Times as well as one with Dark Igloo. I was able to have one of the journalists look over my questions, and I was able to be a part of some of the online meetings Dark Igloo hosted but I feel I was robbed of many of the experiences I would’ve had being in those physical spaces. In addition, this project was supposed to introduce me to film and it’s equipment, in order to further my skills in that area. Yes, I’ve taken one of the LREI film classes, but I’ve never focused on documentary-style filming or editing such a large project on Premiere Pro. Those were the main parts of the experience I had to adjust.

 

I did meet my goal, overall, of making a short about street artists, but I feel I failed because I didn’t put in the detail I would’ve if we weren’t experiencing COVID-19. I think the whole situation has physically and emotionally drained me making this project harder to achieve and harder to put full effort into. So all in all, yes its a completed short, but no it isn’t as good as it could’ve been. That brings me to my challenges. The biggest challenge was myself and navigating through this situation. There are some days where I was asleep the majority of the day and did my minimum four hours, and other days I’d put off work for another day. That was my way of dealing with this historical time: sleeping out the sorrows (for lack of better words). 

 

The biggest risk I took was doing this project in the first place. Trying to do a film all by yourself whether short or long is a challenge. You have to rely on yourself and your own thoughts, and the only critic you’ve got is your mind. I mostly overcame any personal issues through my cohort group. Having their feedback was very helpful for the amount of time we’d meet. The risk was worth it, as I love challenging myself, so overall I’m glad I pursued this.

 

I grew a lot during this project through my comprehension of telling a story. I learned that it’s important to only include what’s necessary and leave out filler content. The experience has slightly changed me as my approach to tasks has been altered, and I think my understanding of motion and transitions has improved. I know my animation skills have a lot of room for improvement but I’m happy with where I am so far. I was surprised during this project to be so enriched by the interviews I conducted, I learned a lot about art, and I learned a lot about the artists and I’m very appreciative for that.

 

This experience has raised the question of which, how has corona impacted street artists given that their income is based on that interaction of people, which is no longer viable in these circumstances. In terms of personal questions, I want to know is there a way I can better my time management, for institutional, I wonder if in society it is necessary to rely on cookie-cutter jobs (the generic), can you depend on yourself? On another note, Senior Project has definitely just motivated me more to become an animator because there is just so much more to learn and so many skills I’ve yet to acquire.

 

I am most proud of getting everything done; I really didn’t think I could, but I’m most disappointed on the journey, and how long it took me to finish up. If I could do Senior Project differently, I’d hope it’s not during a pandemic, and then I’d be able to do the merged animation/live-action aspect of it. If I could do it differently but under pandemic circumstances, I’d do zoom meetings instead of phone calls so I’d have more footage to work with.

 

The hardest part of the senior project process itself was figuring out what I’d do each day, the scheduling though helpful was difficult given that the process was very dependent on meeting these goals every single day. In terms of the hardest part of the experience, I found it challenging to actually fill in time because I felt like I had less to do now that corona was happening. The most rewarding thing was that I learned more about my strengths and weaknesses; for example I’m terrible at time management, but I work best under a deadline. After this entire experience, the best way to demonstrate my learning is to continue working on my animation skills, furthering them every day so I can get to my ultimate goal of running my own animation company in the future.

 

So in conclusion, How does street art impact NYC, from its culture to its residents as well as How I can further my animation skills through this form of storytelling, well, street art can be brushed aside, as having no impact to some people, being nothing but a noise or a sight in the back of their mind, but it can also save a life, enrich a day, make life all the more vibrant. For my animation skills, I can further them by shedding light on more underrepresented people’s stories, and that’s truly a beautiful thing.