Just in case you think I'm getting down on your work, Flight, I think what you've done is really good indeed. The brief you were given is a very hard one, and I think you've done really well.

Not at all I love the very intense criticism I completely understand when you know so much about a particular subject you tend to notice the tiny details which are incorrect much easier.

The brief is here, although the dates are half a week out, not that that affects you.

In relation to etthemonkey's post:
#1 Was a simple editing error which I didn't notice until I had uploaded the video to youtube by accident.
#2 I know that he doesn't physically find the keys but he knows where they are, so he's not going to keep looking if he knows that his searches are going to return nothing. While this isn't exactly how a while loop works, I felt that it was close enough and gave the ending a bit of an unexpected twist with a surprise ending to remember.
#3 I have actually have had quite a bit of trouble with. Getting the balance of having it true to all the technicalities of the code and keeping the film interesting enough to watch. I had a few development movies before I got to the stage it is now that had a bit more repetitiveness about them like shots from similar angles and similar areas. But it got a bit too repetitive as a short film, something that like I said has become one of the hardest parts of this striking that balance.

The way I decided to resolve that was to make the music more repetitive to give a feeling of repetitiveness but not make it too over whelming. This is one of the things that makes this course quite so interestingand fair. Like you say it isn't staying completely true to a while loop but that's because simply recreating a loop which would have been much easier to do, isn't very interesting and as long as we have made concious design desicions as to why we have omitted or done something a particular way and explained why then it's not that big a deal.

This is still only my first year at college/university so a lot of the pedanticness does end up being quite wasted when I see how little thought others are putting into theirs. I had a quick skim over your PhD research and it seems very complex and clever, I am going to have to have a good sit down to read and comprehend it all.

ElvenNinja wrote:

You could put post-its in the pieces of furniture you have searched, as a "log" of the locations where you have been and thus where you do not need to look again. Once all the flat has been searched, then you look at another location (looking outside the window). I agree with eatty, he has explained what I tried to say in a way that can be actually understood! For me, he hasn't got the keys, so either he crashes because it is an impossible task (there are no keys in the apartment) and keep repeating the same action over and over and over (maybe put again post its on top of each others in second and third searches); either he moves location (street) and look for the keys, since he knows they are there but he still needs to make true the "having the keys" bit. I also agree that the repetition needs to be shown to understand the full "while loop". Video looks really good, what have you used to record it and edit it?

Not a bad idea, although it could be quite hard to show and emphasis them - I thought that the fact he was looking for his house key was quite obvious initially but apparently not and that was quite a large sign I had made especially for the scene.

Like I said to eat I know that he doesn't physically find the keys but he knows where they are, so he's not going to keep looking if he knows that his searches are going to return nothing, that's just common sense. If you see someone drive off with your keys you aren't going to keep looking for them in the hope that you might find them. It also was a bit of a desicion to make the film more interesting and less predictable I know that a computer doesn't have this kind of common sense but maybe the problem is more the conditions of my while loop? Instead of does he have his keys it should be as eat said are the keys found, because the keys have been found, in the hands of a thief driving away from them.

Also I don't think that I said but the explanation is also presented with the film to give a bit of insight into what is happening.

I just used our family's digital camera, it's relatively new - a Canon Digital Ixus 120 IS, just a typical little hand held thing that can record in 720p, nothing too fancy and I used Sony Vegas, it's the video editing software on the University computers.

Anyway I have handed it in today so wish me luck, I have made some extra slight changes to it, like fixing up that accidental colour scene and including a bit more repition in my choice of shots othewise I didn't really have time to try and implement your post it notes idea Seyel sorry.

Hopefully my reasoning makes sense but I feel quite proud of it anyway and it really made me appreciate the intricaciesof a while loop. I really appreciate the feedback though both of you it has been very helpful and has definitely improved my project.

I have put most of my reasonings behind what we have talked about onto my blog which is our development diary. Like you said I have tried to best explain why I have made the desicions that I have, and what it has sacrificed in way for keeping true to the code and making the movie better.

The design process is one of the main things that they seem to be reiforcing in the first year making sure that you go through the process of re evaluating and changing things as you go. Rather than what a lot of people tend to do, is to go into a project already with an idea of what they want to achieve.

Thank you very much again, I really appreciate it. I am still amazed at how perfectly suited you were to be critiquing it.