Portfolio Crit

I had a Portfolio Crit this morning with Malc. Malc does a lot of graphic based work, however he also creates animation. He said that a lot of the animation work that he creates revolves around animating logos and idents, to be used in things such as presentations. He's also been working on something which I found really exciting recently, which is flash animated cartoons. A lot of the major newspapers are going online and in sight of this they are transforming the classic comic strips into animations.

I think that it's interesting as it shows how aspects within the field that we are learning are developing and the way that different areas within graphic design and illustration are moving into the field of moving image. After discussing some of the things that he was involved in I showed him some of my work. I decided to choose a few pieces of work that I have created over the last year. The feedback that I recieved was really helpful as he spent quite a while talking through my pieces with me and I managed to show him quite a few of my pieces of work.

Discovery Channel Ident:
The first piece that I showed Malc was my recent Discovery Channel Ident. I started off by talking about the background behind the piece and how I decided to choose what I did for the Discovery channel. He liked the piece and was intrigued to know how it was created. When I told him it was made in 3d, but that I still wanted to achieve the line vector style, he thought that it worked well.

Competition Piece: "The Ever Changing, Mutating City"

I then went on to show my competition piece. This was one of the pieces that I really wanted to get some feedback on. I spent, what seemed like, so long creating and reworking the piece that I wanted to know what someone in the industry thought of it. He loved the parallels that I had used between the bookshelf and a city. We discussed the way that I would like to revisit different elements within it and pay more attention to the way that I execute introducing the book names, but he thought that it was a great idea.

Where will you draw the line, (10 Second Ident):
After explaining the background to the 'Draw the line' event, I showed him my 10 Second sting. He liked the simplicity of the way that the piece ran and offered some suggestions on how to enhance the question mark at the end. He suggested that maybe I briefly introduce an additional circle below the logo to emphasise the question being asked, definately something to consider.

Water Project:
Although there are things that we as a group have already decided that were going to change with the piece I decided to show this piece anyway. I felt that as we took this project on as a group project and it was different to the other briefs we have set, that this would be interesting to have a talk about. He loved the work and asked me to pass the feedback onto Steve and Luke. He said that the piece works really well in terms of narrative and telling the journey of the process. Interestingly, he thought that the length of the piece wasn't too long and if we chopped it up too much that it might loose something. He liked the music that me had used, but suggested that we consider the use f font and the way that the type is brought onto the screen. Maybe that it animates on either letter by letter or word by word, to fit with the flow of the piece. We were considering editing the length of the piece , however maybe its more important that we asses the way that the type is used.

Personal project, (Pedicabs 3D animation):
As it's a little different, I decided that I would show him the modeling that I did for the guy in London, (http://mattgeelingmi.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-edit.html), at the beginning of the year. He thought that this piece worked really well and we discussed the way that the model could and has been used as a way of quickly mocking up new designs, with different advertising panels on it.

I decided that although I wanted to show him the work that I've created this year, that I would also show him my 'New Way of Looking' video that I made last year. I decided to do this as the rest of the work that I showed him was animation based and because I think that my new way of looking video has strong idea and concept about it. He liked this video and we talked about the potential for taking the idea further as a campaign and the ways that the piece could be extended into other mediums, such as viral, print etc.

Although he really liked the production quality of the pieces one thing that we talked about was ideas and how important having a strong idea for a piece actually is. He said that one thing he liked about some of the work I showed him was the ideas behind the pieces.

Overall the experience was great. I was a little apprehensive about showing someone my work, however I found the experience to be a positive and quite motivating one. I found the feedback useful and it's made me want to go back to some pieces and re-work them.

Contact report

John from 'Full View Media' got back to me earlier on today, with some feedback on some of my work.

3D packaging: Very nice, the effect of floating works well. I would like to see more of the bottle. You could even some spray out of the nozzle. very good. Can you tell me what software was used for the final video.

I like the water movie, it keeps you watching until the end. I would like to see the pipe moving all the time and maybe be followed. The house looks good. also maybe cut the length about about 2min. Very very good.

Show reel: Very very good, nice professional feel to it. I could see a company commissioning something like this. I like the ballon at the end, very soft effect but works.

Portfolio Visit

Contact Report

Full View Media

This company is a design company based in Spain. They offer a wide variety of services including Graphic Design, Web Design, Animation, 3D Modeling and 360 Photography.

Web Design:

3D Modeling:

Died Young Stayed Pretty

On Friday we watched 'Died young and stayed pretty' in the lecture theatre. This was a documentary on underground 'Rock and Roll' posters. I really liked the film and I found the fact that it was 'real' and they weren't afraid to say exactly what they feel, made it seem honest.

A lot of the film consisted of us seeing the artists studio spaces and their reams upon reams of doodles. The film inspired me to start doodling again and I got a real buzz from seeing the little drawings that they all seemed to do. I thought that the film was amusing in places and I really enjoyed watching it.

Organising Portfolio Visit

I have been in contact with a designer called Peter Stack, here is a link to his website, (however it appears to be down at the moment) www.toolsforleadingchange.com

He has his own design company that he runs with his wife and he was a lecturer in moving image and photography for 20 years, so I don't think I could have asked for a better contact! I spoke to him the other day and he asked if I had a website. As I am currently setting a site up I sent him a link to my blog as he said he would be interested in taking a look at some of my work. I will be arranging this visit in the next few weeks.

Design By Day: Update

We are going to see Design By Day on Monday. I'm really looking forward to going to see the company as I have been on a few studio visits now. I think it will be good to gauge an insight into a range of different companies, whether that is in size or the type of work. Hopefully the visit will go well, so further post to come ...

Design By Day

Olivia from Graphics passed on the link below to see what I thought about their work and if I would be interested in a joint portfolio visit.
http://www.designbyday.co.uk/

Here's their show reel:

DBD Showreel 2010 from Design By Day on Vimeo.

They seem to have a really nice balance of both 2.5d work and 3d, which is where I see myself fitting into the industry. Were going to contact the company and see where it leads! Later post to come ....

Email Contact: Evan Lentz

Whilst looking at show reels today on various websites I found this site: www.MrLentz.com. I liked the work that he had within his portfolio and was intrigued to know a little more about the way that he composites 2.5D and 3D work.

Motion Graphic Artist + Photographer

www.MrLentz.com

I've replied to him asking if he will take a look at my work and he says he will so when he replies i'll post his response.

Container plus Lecture

Louis Vormittag

http://www.containerplus.co.uk/

Earlier on in the year Louis Vormittag from 'Container Plus' came to give us a talk. It was around the time that were were doing our cross pathway collaboration projects. Louis talked a lot about working in a team and the benefits and downfalls. She told us about the collaborations that she had been involved in and the problems that she'd had.

She showed us various pieces of her work which included various types of work from 2d Design, Shop Displays, Installations, through to web design.

Web Design:

It's interesting to see a different approach to web design. Combining illustrations, with photography and turning it into an interactive piece of work.

Illustration/ Photography:

I included these images as I thought that they highlighted the variety in the style that 'Container Plus' have. Although there is similarity in the style taken in both the web work and the installation pieces.

The main thing that I took away from this lecture was the insight that she gave us on working with other people in collaboration. Since the lecture I have collaborated a few times with different people and it has been enjoyable each time. I found this lecture useful and interesting and have refered to it since.

Psyop & Massmarket

Studio Visit: Psyop and Massmarket

12/11/09

Whilst in New York we got the opportunity to go and visit the studios of sister companies Psyop and Massmarket. We were shown around the studio, where there were lots of people working. These included flame artists, 3D designers and compositors we were shown a show reel of their work. The work was extremely professional and interesting to watch. Both their range of work and the type of work was varied and their were a few pieces that stood out to me.

We were met by a lady called Kimmy when we arrived at the studios, who was involved with the PR side of the company and had been there since the start when it was set up by the companies founders. It was a great experience to be within the studio as this was the first time that I had been on a proper studio visit. It was a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, however it was still clear that they had a lot of respect for the fact that they were in a professional environment too. They even had dogs running around the studio, 4 or 5 if I remember rightly, which gave the studio a real family orientated feel!

This is one of the pieces that they have created and by far was one of my favourite piece that they showed us:

It was an intriguing session and was an eye opener into the industry. Kimmy was interested in asking us questions and getting us involved and said that she would be happy for any of us to send our work over to her to get feedback on it, which is good to know.

Shellsuit Zombie

Shellsuit Zombie
01/03/10

On the Monday night whilst in London, an evening was put on for us by Shellsuit Zombie, which is a project that is run by a group of graduate students. Their project is described as 'encouraging dialogue and ‘bridging the gap’ we hope that they will fall in love once again'.

This night was all about getting us involved in thinking about whats next! Trying to get us to consider the options after we graduate. Although this was intended for the third years, it was a good oportunity for us to start considering our options.

After talking to us and explaining a little about their own history they asked us to get into groups in which we had to have a go at putting together a capaign. We were asked to choose at random, two different pieces of paper. One with a celebrity and one with a product. We got 'Katie Price' and 'Guns', (will say no more about that), but it got us to look at how we could work as a group to quickly come up with a range of ideas.

The group weren't shy of speaking their mind which was great because they have been in the same position and they came across as being very honest. It was a great, productive night!

Lauren Moriarty

Visiting Lecture: Lauren Moriarty
05/03/10


On Friday we had a visiting lecture by textile/product designer Lauren Moriarty. Although her work is primarily textile based, she experiments a lot with materials and how her designs can be used as products. As I studied product design at A-S and A Level it was interesting to see how she took her original designs and modified them to suit the needs of a consumer.

Although Lauren Moriarty is a textile/product designer I found that her lecture was informative and relevant. I think that it's important within design to have interests and influences not just from our pathway. Although she operates within a different area in design than we do, I felt that a lot of what she was saying was relevant to the way that we work.

One of the main things that she talked to us about was the way that she promotes herself as a designer and how she uses her website to sell her own work. I found this part of the lecture extremely interesting and found myself make lots of notes, (maybe too many)! She also talked about funding and the options that were out there for students requiring funding for art projects.

Unlike some other lectures that we've had I found that she really wanted to help us and provide us with a as much help as she could.

Barbican Exhibition London

Gallery Visit: Barbican
01/03/10
After the studio visit to 'We are Seventeen' we went across to the Barbican. Whilst there we saw a couple of different exhibitions.

The first one was:
Céleste Boursier-Mougenot
New commission for The Curve

This exhibition was 'very out of the ordinary'. When we walked in we went through a curtain of beads and walked down the middle, there were screens on either side which were playing videos, however as we went around the corner there were lots of birds flying around, landing on guitars. This together as an installation formed a very interesting sound and in turn a piece. It was interesting to see an idea that didn't mind moving away from the norm.
http://www.barbican.org.uk/thecurve/blog/index.html

Ron Arad Exhibition
The second of the exhibitions that we went to see was the Ron Arad exhibition. This was a furniture exhibition, which featured lots of different types of chairs. The exhibition was split into two levels the ground floor and the upper level. On the ground floor there were lots of chairs that we were able to sit in and even a table-tennis table for us to play on.


The second floor showed a range of interesting chairs which ranged from traditional to modern ideas, using oil drums for example.

Overall the exhibition showed a variety of different chairs, which even thought it is quite far way from what we do as a pathway was still exciting to look at.

We are Seventeen

Studio Visit: We Are Seventeen
01/03/10

On Monday last week we went to see design company 'We are Seventeen' in London. Before visiting their studio I had taken a look on their website and liked the work in their portfolio.

After taking us through to their studio they got started straight away. Initially they started talking about their work and how they go about working on a project. The visit didn't feel too formal and they encouraged us to get involved in conversations about their work, which was great. There was a relaxed atmosphere in the studio which allowed us to feel comfortable, however you could tell that they were extremely passionate and professional about their work.

As we are creating Channel Idents at the moment, the work that they were showing us was very relevant and the visit couldn't have come at a better time! They showed us initial designs, presentation boards which they presented to their clients and the actual final outcomes. It was great to see the way that they go about working on a project from start to finish and how the way that their work has parallels to the approach that we take to our work.

It was mesmerising to see the amount of detail that they had to go into on one of their current Ident projects. Working with an AD Agency they had to create a set of guidelines in the format of a book, which would enable the clients to use the work that they had created in the correct and legal ways. Sometimes I think it's easy to forget about the minute details, so too see this being used in relation to their work was refreshing to see. I think that from looking at this it's definitely encouraged me to break my own ideas down even more, (even if this is just in my sketchbook breaking down my own ideas for my benefit).

It was also interesting to see that they were using the same programs that we use. The way that I enjoy working and the way that I think I would like to continue working, is using a mix of both 2.5D and 3D in my work. A lot of the work that they were showing us was 3D work taken into a 2.5D environment, or primarily 2.5D work. This type of work is definitely the way I see myself within the industry.

I think that this visit to London was great for us as 2nd years as we were able to visit the studio and galleries. Although we didn't have portfolio visits we were able to talk to the 3rd years about theirs. Not having the pressure of the visits ourselves made looking at industry not seem as daunting and actually the prospect of showing someone else my work a little more accessible.

Going to see 'We are Seventeen' made me feel excited to get into the world of work, however scary that may be! I emailed them later on last week just to say thanks for a great visit and was surprised when I received such a quick email response from George at 'We are Seventeen'. In the email he said to keep in touch and send over work at any time. So later on in the year/ course I think I will definitely take them up on that!

Thoughtful Talk

Visiting Lecture: Thoughtful
16/02/10

Stu and Chris from Thoughtful came and gave us a talk in which they ran through their history as designers and how 'Thoughtful' came about. I think out of all of the talks that we've had it was the most honest. They weren't afraid to tell us the problems that they have had instead of just the positives.

They started of by introducing the different things that interested them, not just design realted but also other asspects. One thing that they said was that they keep scrapbooks, which is something which I started collecting stuff for a while ago but never got around to it. Maybe I might do now! They said that sometimes when your stuck for an idea going back to one of the scrapbooks could be the perfect way to get them out of a rut.

They showed us videos of how they went about projects in the form of a video diary. This is something which they said had been important to them and something that they wanted to continue doing. Not only does it show them engaging with the brief, but that there getting involved to the nth degree.

Thoroughout the presentation they had video questions from designers and people of interest. These acted as words of wisdom and really broke the presentation up. At the end of the lecture they were happy to answer any questions, evern after that lots of us stayed behind as they wanted advice from us on how the presentation could be better as they were doing it again later in this month.

Ian Macklin

Ian Macklin came into college yesterday. As Rick was in Holland for the week we were lucky enough to have Ian support us for the day. Early on Ian talked to us about his background and work and showed us some of his projects. I'm quite interested in VJing so looking at the type of concert visuals that he was creating was interesting. He created not only backdrops but pieces to go across the floor underneath where the acts stand.

We were still at the ideas stage within the project and we all sat down as a group and discussed our ideas and how to take them further. It was interesting to get someone else's opinion, not only as it was a set of fresh eyes on our project but because he's a designer working within the industry.

Thoughtfull Portfolio Crit

A couple of weeks ago I got the chance to spend the day with thoughtful upstairs in their studio. It was a great opportunity to see the way that a real studio environment works. As a result of a chat on the day, they were interested in the work that I was producing in Moving Image. It seemed that they hadn't worked with anyone from Moving Image before, so they were intrigued to see some of my work at some point.

Last week I decided that it would be a great opportunity to get some feedback on my work and interesting at the same time getting feedback from people who work primarily with a graphics background. So I emailed Thoughtful and asked about the possibility for a Portfolio Crit.

Here's a copy of the email I sent them and their response:


First of all I'd just like to say thanks to James, Chris and Stuart who all sat down with me when I turned up in their studio last week. This was a little daunting at first, but nice to get all of their opinions. When I sent the email last week I wasn't expecting such a quick response, which meant that I had to spend the majority of last week finding a range of work that I could show them!

After creating our websites for Kodak last year I've been wanting to have a play with creating a portfolio site, so last week I put a little one together in order to present my work. I came to the conclusion that if I didn't put all of my work in one place, that I'd turn up and would be searching frantically for work and not knowing where to look, (which I didn't think was the right impression give!)

I decided that I would show them a range of the work that I have created both on the course last year/early this year and some of the things that I had the chance to get stuck into over summer. Work that was 2D, 3D and also the Video project that we worked on towards the middle of last year.

The feedback that I got on my work was good to hear. They liked the range of pieces that I took to show them and told me that they could see the amount of time and effort that I had put in on the pieces.

They asked me whether I felt comfortable with the the technical side of my work, as this is obviously an important element in the production of work. Ensuring that if they were asking for work to be created, that it could be produced at the right size and in the right format for example. I felt comfortable in talking about my work in terms of the technical side because I think the technical aspects of work are one of my strengths. But it's interesting to hear how important that is in the considerations of getting someone to carryout a brief.

They gave me some great advice, to make sure that don't just primarily just rely on working on screen. To actually get involved and create some stuff myself. Which was nice to hear because I really like organic and handcrafted design and for a while now have wanted to bring a bit of printing into my work. For example using printed background as backdrop for example.

It was insightful to have people who aren't moving image based give their opinions on my work because they probably look at it from a slightly different point of view, being print based.

Cheers again to Thoughtful!