Studying a new course can be an exciting and challenging experience. For my third subject of my “Degree in me”, I decided to take a course on animating collages with After Effects through Domestika. Although I enjoyed the course, there were some challenges that I encountered along the way.
The Challenge of Language Barriers
The biggest hurdle for me was the fact that the instructor was a Spanish speaker and, as an English speaker, I had to rely on subtitles to understand what he was saying. While I appreciated the effort to make the course accessible to a wider audience, it made it difficult to keep up with the pace of the lessons while also trying to figure out how to use After Effects.
Creating the collages: selecting and cutting images
To create the animations, I began by selecting the pictures I wanted to use from my own photos and some old picture from public creative commons-sites. And then I started cutting them in Photoshop. This process was straightforward and I felt confident that I could assemble the scenes in After Effects. However, as I started to work on the project, I noticed that I couldn’t see the same view as the instructor did in the course. I tried to adjust the settings, but I still couldn’t get it right.
After struggling for a while, I eventually had to give up. It was frustrating because I had invested a lot of time and effort into the project, but I realised that I didn’t have the patience to sit in front of a screen on my “creation days”. I already do this enough with my day job.
Frustration and acceptance: knowing when to give up
This experience taught me an important lesson about myself. While I enjoy learning new skills, I need to be mindful of my personal preferences and limitations. I need to work in a way that is comfortable and enjoyable for me, rather than trying to fit into someone else’s mould.
In conclusion, studying a new course can be a rewarding experience, but it can also come with challenges. While I may not have been successful in creating an animated collage, I learned a valuable lesson about myself and my creative process. I might come back to this project though, so stay tuned 🙂
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