Claymation Reflection Essay

Over the last quarter our class has been working on claymation videos. These are movies made from hundreds of still frame photos played at a high speed. We have finished this project and I am going to tell you about my favorite part, the most difficult part and the most important thing that I learned while working on this project.

First of all the most enjoyable part of this project. I have to say that the best part has been learning about the iMovie software. I had heard of the program but did not know what it was capable of or how it worked. This project was done almost completely on the iMovie program so I learned the just of what this program could do. I was very impressed, it has everything from special affects to pitch changing your voice. For claymations this is the best and simplest way to create a high quality movie. I loved the fact that all I had to do was take the pictures, then I could do the rest on iMovie. I like to learn as much as I can about computers, because I am not very good with computers and I want to be. Another thing that I liked about using iMovie was that I could put music and voice into it so easy. I hope you can see why iMovie was my favorite part of this project.

Of course, this project wasn't all easy. The most difficult part was working by myself. Everyone else had a partner but I chose to work by myself because I thought it would be easier, IT WASN'T! Not only did I have to take all the pictures but I had to do all the voice. Sure the voice isn't that hard but I had to change my voice for the different characters. This was very difficult because I had to be constant with the different characters. Another bad thing about being by myself was that I had to buy all the clay. Also where other groups have one person taking pictures while the other moved the clay I had to do it all by myself so it took twice as long. There was one good thing about working by myself and that was that I could take pictures at my house and not have to be dependent on anyone else. Well maybe I will reconsider next time and have a partner.

The most important thing that I learned while working on this project was that I work better by myself. Even though it was more challenging and even the most difficult part of this project for me. I learned that it made me feel better that I didn't need to depend on anyone else to get me a good grade. Also the fact that I could work on it at my house in my own time made me work harder on it. I talk a lot, and if I had worked with a partner I probably would have talked the whole time and failed the project. Well after learning that about myself I would only have a partner on a project again if they felt the same way. I always get stressed when I have to depend on someone else, especially when they don't care as much as I do. I have to say that working by myself did make the project much more work, but it was worth it to be able to take pictures at home and do everything at my standard. I am very glad that I learned that about myself and that I will be able to use that to my advantage in the future. That is why it is the most important thing that I learned while doing this project.

In conclusion, I have learned a lot while we were working on this project. About myself, the computers and iMovie software, and the pros and cons of working with partners. From all of the things that I have learned from this project I will be able to do much better on future projects.