Yesterday me and couple of others went to visit 'The Neighbourhood' for a portfolio visit. A friend from last year recommended that they would be a great visit to arrange, so when we decided that we were interested in the studio we felt that a joint visit would be a appropriate.
When we arrived we shown to there waiting area. Whilst we were waiting for Sarah, the studio manager and Jon, (the companies creative director), we had a chance to get a feel for the studio. Out of all the studios that I've been to visit, this one felt most homely and inviting. They had only been in the studio for 6 weeks and there were still boxes around and frames ready to hang up on the wall. The building itself had been restored, however they had decided to keep a few features such as the original wooden doors, and some of the architecture. They had decided the keep this feel throughout their studio and had traditional style chairs and table. The way that the studio had been designed was a great first impression of the studio and looked great. One of the first things that I spotted whilst having a look around was that in their meeting room their windowsill was full of awards that they had achieved, this gave the impression that we were in one of the studios which were at the forefront of design in Manchester.
Sarah, Jon and Stuart, (one of the companies artists/3D designer), soon came across to us and took us through to their meeting room. After telling us a little about themselves as a company they started asking us about our course and how we felt it was going. We told them about how we were doing and about the course itself, which they seemed very impressed with. When we told them about the types of briefs that we work on and the facilities that we had available for us to use they were impressed.
We took it in turn to show them our work, when it got around to show them mine I decided to show my showreel first. This had worked well when I had started off by showing my showreel at other visits so I decided that it would be appropriate to do so. I wanted to show the new brief that I had been working on for the 'United Utilities' brief. As I hadn't had any feedback on this brief yet I was happy when they liked it and liked the method that I had chosen to explore what not to flush using typography in the way that I had.
The feedback that we received was extremely helpful and since the visit I have used some of their feedback in order to help with the process of refining my piece. Out of all the portfolio and studio visits that I have been to, I felt that this was the best and most helpful experience. The studio environment was relaxed in terms of the atmosphere and the people were so friendly and happy and seemed happy to help. To say that they had only been in the studio for 6 weeks the feeling that I got is that they could have been there for years. I think that this only shows the strength of the agency as a team.
Just before we left they showed us a piece of their own work. Stuart had been exploring the use of 3D and creating animations giving the 3D experience, so when they asked if we would like to watch it on their new 3D TV with 3D glasses I was really excited. The piece was great and I think only highlights that they are ahead of the game.
Here is their latest (apologies for it not being in 3D)!
Studio showreel. 2010. from The Neighbourhood on Vimeo.
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