Self Promotion

I have been looking at art and Graft's shorts to promote themselves where they show a small animation that displays their style, however climaxes to a self promotion logo.
I was considering doing something like this myself as a short self promotional style clip in which i would consider my brand name for myself and design a logo perhaps and then create a short  animation to promote this image.
Here are a couple of clips that Art And Graft has produced that inspired this idea:

Art&Graft Intro - Woodsman from Art&Graft on Vimeo.
Art&Graft Intro - Landscapes from Art&Graft on Vimeo.

Along with a brand name and logo i think of i could incorporate these into a website to promote myself also.

I decided to try making a logo ident for myself as a short promotion animation for my self and to also show a bit of my skills while doing so. I will possibly use this as an intro to my show reel when i come to making it (which i will use to send to employers when i come to looking for employment):


i drew up some quick designs as a guide line for how i want my logo to look and decided it would be best to see how i go when making them from this point onwards to decide on a final logo for myself:

I ended up with a combination for the logo designs in one using elements i liked the most from each one and chose the R and D logo as the main base as i liked how the shapes together made a connecting and curvy overall shape. I kept the colours simplistic but made the shine high to look good quality, because of this i decided to use cinema 4d.
This was the first render i made and although i thought it looked effective when i was modelling and key framing the animation, i decided that i didn't like how the yellow shape intersects the logo.



I came up with the idea for the animation because i wanted keep it simple as the logo is quite simple and i thought too much animation might over power this. the logo to have some kind of reveal which is why i had the shapes pull out from the background and then i thought the opposing spins the two shapes make worked well together and then they finalise at the end to make a balanced composition.

I re rendered the animation out after fixing this and this was the result:


I then took the logo footage into after effects and added the shadow strip across the centre of the design to add a bit of depth as it defines some of the shadows more (so it doesn't look as washed out) but with it only being small still keeps the logo nicely centred:



this is my first attempt at my showreel using this logo design at the beginning to establish myself.
I tried to keep the edits fast passed to keep the viewer enticed and wanted to see more and to make it look like there is lots of work to show. I used clips from practically all the pieces i have made since my first year on the degree to show the variety of work i have been able to produce with regards to the programmes i can use and the range of methods i have gained experience in. I still need to add sound and will use a song for the sound with potentially some of the original footage sounds underneath (such as the pig squeal in the orchard pig clip) to add a bit of depth. I will used an energetic and upbeat song in this to reflect my approach to this profession and my enjoyment and enthusiasm towards my work. In this video i also made sure i added my contact details along with my name and my position of study to provide viewers with some more information.


Vimeo:
My Vimeo:
https://vimeo.com/user37010813

I have made myself a Vimeo account to use for my self promotion as this is a very effective and easy way to send my work off to other designers to look at or potential employers as it is a quick link i can give them to my videos lists or to a specific video (such as most likely, my show reel) and by doing this also offers the option for them to look at the rest of the work i have published on my vimeo. Its low file size to send a link and is quick to access and therefore would be less likely to off put people from looking at it.
To keep this professional and as a means of self promotion i have only included my finished projects on this site unlike my youtube account which i have put all sorts of making of clips/ first drafts of animation etc for me to use to upload onto my blog to talk about my exploration and progress within the projects and my work.

End of Year Exhibition:

Venue - Leaf Gallery :

Although this is being arranged by the college and students across multiple courses, this is going to be a good form of self promotion for my work and myself within the industry and to get myself some recognition potentially from employers.
To prepare for this opportunity to boast myself and promote my self as a designer i am going to have to consider what work i am going to show and how i am going to show it. I had in mind that what could work well for this depending on the space is potentially to have one of my pieces projected onto a wall to grasp peoples attention with some still prints around it and then have my show reel on a small screen near by and some business cards. Obviously i am going to have to visit the space that the work will be being displayed in and consider the size and lighting of the room that i will have to work with and will also have to consider that some compromise may have to be made as i will be sharing the space with other students as well.
Opting on displaying only one of my project pieces along side with my show reel (instead of multiple projects) allows me to celebrate this one piece more as i will have more space for it as opposed to if i displayed more than one project and will more likely catch peoples attention if i do this, and then i have the show reel which shows small elements from each of my projects through out the year which could hopefully create interest and make the viewers want to see more which is where the business cards with my contact details will hopefully come into play.

I am most likely at this point (unless my next project is better somehow), of using my utopia in decline project to display at my exhibition as it is the largest project i have had and i think probably the best piece of work i have produced on this course skill wise and would therefore be the best piece to show to sell myself. And also has the strongest theme that i based the project on. The title of this project i think creates intrigue and the style i have used is bold and so all these factors are good qualities for sticking in peoples minds and making my self recognisable and rememberable. This poster i have made for the project utopia in decline could be used as a good intro before the start of my animation and i could maybe animate this as well to swipe the text and boxes off either side of the screen and have the particles move away and swipe into the start of my animation as these particles are actually a still shot from my forest scene in my animation where the particles do move and so it is also relevant to the content of the animation.

I am going to visit the space at leaf gallery that i will be having to work with sometime in the near future to start getting an idea of how exactly i will be able to lay out my work in order to make appropriate preparations for this and keep on track with regards to what i need to produce in time for this. I have some time to prepare for this after my project deadline's as well and therefore will make any further adjustments on my project pieces that may need to be made even after the marking process of my work is done as the exhibition standards of my work could get me employed.


Business Card:
Another form of self promotion i have to consider is my business card, which i will be making available at my end of year show where i will be exhibiting work as the design on the card is something i need to consider as well because if people do end up taking my cards with them the design on the card could be the selling point that makes them remember my work or sell myself to remind people to potentially contact me.
i need to consider creating design that is relative to my style and recognisable to what the viewers will see of my work so that the connection will be made and this can be used as a signifier of myself and what my work was.

this is one of my first designs for the front of my business card:

I have so far chosen to start with using the particle shapes again that resemble those of the particles in the utopia in decline poster so that it relates to that piece of work and would be recognisable as my business card as an individual. I also like how the particles suggest movement as my profession is within the world of motion as a motion designer and animator.
I also like how the style is bold and shouts at the viewer to hopefully again make it stand out and be recognised by viewers.

I do think however that the style is a little bit too bold maybe and perhaps a bit too cluttered.
Another point i should take into consideration is that a lot of designers i have met have mentioned to me that it is good to see a female designer starting to join the industry (when talking about myself) and that there is a lot to be said in having a touch of femininity brought into the design process and approach to working. The style for this card is very masculine based with the straight edges shapes and strong colours and it could be worth toning it down slightly and trying to make this look slightly more feminine to reflect myself more truly and play up to this slightly although again without moving my self too far away from my own particular style (which i think probably does have a slightly more masculine feel overall) however i do also think that this is a good point to consider as it has been mentioned to me by multiple animators within the industry.

I also think that i should consider what it is that i call myself as thus far i have given myself the title of motion designer perhaps due to the fact that this is the course title that i am studying, however this is not necessarily what i need to declare myself as and i should consider how people would best recognise what work i am capable of creating and what it is that i do with regards to how i define myself.
Potential titles:
Motion Designer
Animator
Motion Graphic Designer
3d Designer
2D designer
3D/2D motion graphics
Motion Designer/Animator i think this is probably the best well rounded form of recognition for my self as it signifies to the majority of people what i do by saying i do animation as this is probably the most recognised title however by also saying motion designer it bring in the idea of the creative element and process towards my work whilst still signifying that i create motion pieces it still suggest i have an understanding of the foundations of the design process such how people would assume graphic designers would and this is an important aspect of what i do. (considering how thing looks nd work together and the rise en scene of my work/ also how i am portraying themes and feelings/moods in the piece and how i am communicating these across).

I have had a look at what some of the designers within the industry are calling themselves and how this reflects their nature of work in order to best consider how to define myself and my work:

Natalie work has a lot of character animation involved in it which i think is what most people do actually think of as well when the term animator is used.



Jack wood cocks style of work is reflected by his title i think as the work he showed me does involve a lot of graphic image pieces moving across screen and text motion as well.

Steve swan boroughs work does have an in-between quality to natalie and jacks work and therefore i would think that this is why he has defined himself as an animator and motion designer.

Business cards:

Show Reel - Rachel Fielding from rachel on Vimeo.

In my show reel now that i have finished my major project and my live brief project i am going to add more scenes to my show reel relevant to my current work for my end of year show as i have been told by designers that it is good to keep your show reel up to date as it makes you seem more active and proactive with the world.


Website:
I have set up a website using square space that i am going to use to promote myself on i will include ethos web address on my business cards for people to find my work on.