Backwards planning

To start the 703 unit I first began with completing a backwards planning task, for this task I thought about what I wanted to have achieved by the end of my master's degree, and then planned back from there the things I would have to do in my masters. 

To start I thought about what I wanted to have 2 months after finishing my master's, this planning included 

• What I wanted to have achieved - 

• What I wanted to have learned -

• What was the situation -

• What my next steps were -

It focused on the goals and objectives I wanted. The goals - are the dreams, and the objectives - are how I would get there. I first needed to set the goals and then plan back and create the objectives that would get me there. I needed to work all the way back to the present which would then mean I could create a solid list of objectives for what I need to do in trimester 1 and the 703 unit. 

I broke the task down into areas and sections that I would consider these were: Career/ Employment, Creativity/ research, Technical/ skill, Screening and festivals, and Funding.

I created a list of these criteria and then added my goals to each section 

Area	Goal	Objective
Career/ Employment	Teaching at university Working with studios to do projects Studying a PhD Conference paper/ published written work	PhD Proposal Conference paper Published paper Professional contacts
Creativity/ research	PhD Have a puppet and tests A VR piece	Finished Puppet VR test piece Digital skill PhD Proposal
technical/ skill	ZBrush Maya Unreal engine Coding Photogrammetry 3D Scanning	Digital skill
Screening and festivals	Show VR at conferences	Conference paper Published paper Professional contacts
Funding	PhD	PhD Proposal

I then took each of the objectives and broke it down further into what I would need for each one. 

Objective	Breakdown
PhD proposal	A written document outlining the proposed project and research A place to do a PhD A supervisor A job that supports it Industry contacts Tests to show the theory
Conference paper	Written paper Conference list to go to Test piece to show Research case study log Public website  Business cards Publication list See how to have work published Have a document to publish
Professional Contacts	Attend conferences Attend festivals Sort linked in Email people Create a professional and public website Create business cards Create or get a logo
Finished puppet	Sculpt a puppet and learn how to cut it for 3D printing  Find a 3D printing Design a character for the finished puppet Test puppet materials for 3D scanning and photogrammetry Test armatures
VR test piece	Have a VR test piece Have a puppet and set Have tested input methods to an outcome Have learnt software and skills needed Have tested in different VR headsets and systems
Technical skills	ZBrush - Sculpting, tools, zremesh, how to make a head to print, how to make a body and pose and change expressions Maya - How to put in sculpts and scans, How to model terrain, how to animate Unreal - how to create VR in it, how to input footage Coding - basics for what I need Photogrammetry - Somewhere to do it, software, how to do it 3D scanning - software, how to do it, how to put in, outputs, materials testing 3D Printing - How to create files, where to print

Once I had broken down the objectives I started to look at the 703 and 705 units and what the outcomes were that I need for each of these. I decided that at the end of 703, I want to have a collection of tests from different software. These tests will be used to learn the skills I need for the 705 unit. I also want a written document that can be used for conferences or for a PhD proposal.

For the 703 unit I have to hand in 3 pieces of work I broke these down to:

1. Log - Blog or website with a record of all tests and findings. (also needed for a conference) 

2. Animatic - Collection of videos that show outcomes of tests or show the testing process (screen recording) 

3. Pitch - Either/ all (?) - PhD Proposal, Conference doc, written published work. 

From here I created a list of the first steps I would need to take

• Break down software into categories - choose from each to concentrate on first

• List all selected software in order that will need them in the project. list in order that should be easier to learn.

• Work out what I need to learn in each software (don't need to learn it all now) just what I need for the project to work.

• Do a schedule/ plan of when to learn this software

• Source software, assets and materials to start testing/practising with

• Start learning software

• Record software on the blog and record as learning or the outcomes

• A professional website that can have a record or research undertaken for conferences and for hand-in. 

• Professional platform and associated materials - Website, logo, business cards, bound dissertation, proposal etc 

• Find structures for written and break down