Teamworking

In class, we watched a video of a symphony performing, and then filled out a psychometric test, checking which roles were most like us. In the performance, everyone has their own responsibilities, some more prominent such as The Soprano or Conductor, yet all as equally important for making the performance complete. 

 

A team of designers work in a similar way, with the art director conducting a group to achieve a common goal. Some roles are more hands-on, but everyone’s contribution helps to form the final outcome – similar to the musicians in the symphony.  

 

 

My psychometric test response, based on the symphony video

I feel like I am a mixture of a few. I can assume a leadership role, such as The Conductor, when I am comfortable with who I am working with, but if not, I prefer to be in The Chorus or another background role where there is not too much focus on me, and I can blend in amongst others. 

Planning the beginning, middle and end keyframes of my flipbook scene.

We were then assigned roles in class for a group project. We had to create individual flipbook scenes where a caterpillar moves from left to right and eats something. Once done, everybody’s scene would form one long story about the caterpillar eating foods. James volunteered to be the group leader and assigned roles to us based on seating order, so he began the animation and Lewis ended it, while the rest of us created the middle sequences. 

 

I drew a basic storyboard highlighting the key points of the animation. My caterpillar comes in from the left, eats a strawberry and moves off to the right. I was able to base the rest of my animation on these three scenes, acting as tweens to reach these points. I did struggle with consistency as I was drawing the same thing over and over again, just moved over slightly, and it felt tedious at times. I tried to line the sticky-notes up to create a seamless movement effect, and took some consideration into how the caterpillar’s body would shift up and down as it dragged itself along.

 

 

My part of the flipbook task, shown as a GIF (click to view)
Each individual sticky note drawing laid out in order.

I numbered each sticky note and photographed each one using a stop motion app. I made sure to end with my caterpillar leaving the frame, ready to emerge at the start of the next person’s scene, as we were all contributing towards a bigger animation, so it was important to consider how my part will transition into the next person’s. It also made a looping effect when playing my part alone which looked effective and created the illusion of a continuous video.  

Overall, the task went well, and we all managed to work together towards a common goal. In the future, I would consider trying out a more forefront role since we are only a small group, and I am familiar with most of my classmates now so I may feel more comfortable. I’ve updated the psychometric analysis to reflect my thoughts following this session, where I think I fit more into the role of The Chorus as there were a number of us working on the middle segment together.

Updated psychometric test. Red checks indicate my new response.

References:

 

DR Koncerthuset (2018) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Live) [Video]. Available online: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Live) – YouTube [Accessed: 19.02.2024]