The second year of Digital Media Production has again been one of development and expansion of my skill set but more importantly my work process. Each project has changed the way I work significantly but more importantly it has made me think about the direction I will be taking when I finish my third year in 12 months time. On all of the projects, this was a considerable priority when designing the work, whether it was see if that area of design was worth pursuing further in the overall scheme of things.
The future cinema project was the first project of the year. In many ways I tried to look at is as a chance to try my secondary passion which was film making. My working partner designed a system that allowed users to talk about the content as it was stream, therefore the video needed to be different every time. Ultimately I felt it was important to do some form of crime drama as this was much more expansive when it came to doing multiple endings and turnings as well as ‘what-if’ scenarios. Realising that many students and tried and failed at this genre before I did my best to research how forensic groups work which was an integral part of the work. Costume and prop acquisition was paramount to a good production and thus a large amount of time was invested into it. This was an arduous process but it made me sure that this kind of research was hugely important to end result down the line. However, at the start of the project we were warned that a major issue from previous iterations of this project was that there was no clear divide between who did what. I unfortunately took this to the extreme and made sure there was a clear divide between my work and my co-workers. This meant that the content didn’t really sync well with his idea which set our marks back and lessened the impact of the project. What I learned from this was that its important to make sure there is synergy with both sides of the work and on top of that, let the blog define how the work was divided and instead focus on the production value of the project. I also learned that I still cant rule out working in a film environment rather than video games.
The performance video project was a very difficult learning curve for me. We had originally intended to do exactly that, create a performance video based on a musical interface for people to enjoy. We tried to make sure we looked at as many avenues of possibility and in the end we went with an instillation piece. I choose this path because I had yet to explore this type of work and thus it would not only be prudent but an experiment to see how I faired in the more physical side of building. Went built upon a childes’ ‘entertainment theatre’ which they could interact with, an could even tell stories. My role as build and set designer saw me building the final model to present, which in turned became a futile effort as my apparent lack of building expertise made a less than brilliant end result. It was not the bad decision in role allocation that was a downfall on this project but choices we made in the design. We tried to be experimental, educational, original and creative at the same time, which in the end resulted in our project not really following any kind of real direction or purpose. We needed to have a clear idea of what we wanted to achieve and we didn’t, which was the real reason we didn’t do as well as we’d hoped. Therefore on the following project I tried to have a much clearer idea from the start and to develop it rather than continually change it throughout.
Our research essay for this year was different from the other projects in that felt few mistakes were made. I attempted to approach this project as academically as possible, trying to take all advice under thought. I had originally planned a piece on visual effects and narrative but I felt it was better to save for a dissertation next year where more detail could be achieved. I thought it was important to stick with the case study first and then develop and idea from that. For me, I needed to focus on narrative regardless of what I did as its what is integral to a lot of my work. Once I had my theory I planned out how I would structure my essay as well as time planning so I could get it done well in advance of the deadline so as to correct any mistakes I may have made. This project showed me the benefits of thinking much more academically, at the very least it gave me a stronger base of knowledge of narrative structure but more than that it forced me to watch how I managed my work load and planned over time. Which was one of the contributing factors to what I believe was a successful professional project.
It was during my professional project around midway through, that I hit a realisation. I was concrete in my wish to work in a 3d environment whether it was film of video games, but at the current state my work was nowhere near the level necessary to get a job in the area I wanted. To rectify this, I have planned to work through as many tutorials as I can over the summer so as to develop my skill to a necessary level. In addition to this I hope to gain some work experience within a visual effects art department such as Eon or at “The mill”. The idea will be to create a visually stunning and diverse portfolio, some still renders of different environments and obviously what I manage to build during the third year. From the perspective of a prospective interview, I seemed to come out reasonably well. The only thing I really need to work on is my confidence in my skills and my portfolio. What I have is good, I just need to be at a level where I can portray this quality in a professional manner.
The professional project was obviously the main part of our second year, designed for us to showcase our respective skills to clients, build a good relationship with prospective employees and also build upon good work ethics. Our end result in many ways exemplifies these goals. Learning upon previous mistakes, the first action after acquiring a client was to sit down and carefully plan out how we would manage our time. Leaving good amounts of room for contingency was a good idea, as this allowed us to take on further projects mid way through. We learnt that a strong base of communication was vital to keeping the client happy not only by updating him often but also making sure any changes we did have to make he was aware of and acceptable. We encountered issues within projects including a cancelling of the first project. This type of freelance problem also reinforced my need to work within a larger company, with a much more structured and rigid work environment with greater job security. The fact that all of the work was heavily based in 3d design made sure that this was the type of work I wanted to do later on in life and whilst my skill level wasn’t yet at a required level I am determined to work within this industry. Finally this project taught us to take pride in our work, and helped break down some of the confidence issues mentioned previously. Tutorials and student feedback is constructive and does help, however receiving compliments from someone who has hired you to do a job to exacting standards is a great boost and has spurred us on to take our animation and story making to the third year.
Overall this year has been successful at the very least in developing the way I work within projects. Its also managed to push me into making a decision as to where I want to be heading at the end of university. It’s key to make the most of this summer, using it to act as a bridge into the third year, planning the major project and building upon it now so as to be able to create something high quality for the end result. Either by self tuition or work placement I intend to make myself a venerable 3D artist so that my future productions are something I can be proud to display and are also an attraction to potential employers. In closing it is by the planning and good communication that a project is built upon, the skills that are needed to create such a piece should come naturally.
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