Fix8Group

I went to visit fix 8 a company based in stockport that does visual productions and event management. and create complex live environments incorporating projection and LED mapping, 3D interactive Design, immersive presentations, production lighting, video design, programming and operation and content creation.
They have different sector within the studio that specialise with the different technicality that they approach such as the lighting and electronics team and the digital creative team, which is who i went to meet up with for my work feedback, and then events organisers and managers.
I met with Directing manager Neil and head of 3D design filipe.

Some of the projects they have worked on:

 FIX8 were asked by Iain Whitehead of Production North to come on board as lighting and video programmers for LD Peter Barnes, for the Girls Aloud 10th anniversary tour.
They explained that for this project they built a 3D model of the visuals in 3ds Max which allowed them to build lots of looks and basic cue structure for the show. Matching lighting colours to the graphics on the LED screens gave them a head start in creating a more polished look so that when the girls arrived for rehearsals on the second day after load in, they already had a good first draft of all the lighting. Of course things changed and a few late nights were required but the hard work was worth it and a dynamic pop performance was created.

They also worked of the sett up and lightings for Eurovision and Michael Buble concerts:

I brought some of my work to them to get some feedback and advice for improvement and showed them my show reel and some of the clips from my most recent project at the time that i had finished.
i was told that my show reel was interesting and kept a good pass with keeps it interesting and that the song that i have put with it works well as it is upbeat and lively and the lyrics relate to the desired effect of the message for a show reel.


They said that some making off clips inside my show reel could be effective.

I also showed my silhouette animation which i was told was very aesthetically pleasing however would have been nice to have more of a narrative in it and some kind of climax which is the kind of feedback i have been receiving on this piece from a lot of designers that i have shown so far. One thing they did mention for this piece was to maybe cut it shorter or add a spoken narrative story to give it more depth and have the voice lead the story, so that it is still enthralling but does not take too much time to add too as i have already moved on from this project.

After having this meet up i was also offered the chance to start going in for some work experience with them which i agreed to go in for two days a week there.

I started off by being given tasks such as modelling practise in which i would be given a physical object in front of me to model with filipe helping me if i needed it or got stuck.

some of the first tasks i was given to work on was to try modelling certain objects that i was given, such as a light box, and i would model it digital from looking at it in real life. I also had a ruler that i took measurements with to try and create an accurately sized model.

This is another object i was given to model that was a bit different to give me experience with all types of shapes:

 I also did some lighting and materials exercises:

This is another model i was given to create focusing on the helix shaped mesh on the from of the speakers as being one of the things to work on. I used alpha channels in the texture to do this.

I made this texture on photoshop and used it to make the helix mesh for the speaker using the alpha channel option so that on the part of the model that i placed it onto, only the black shapes were present:

 I also had a go at experimenting with dynamics and some animation and made this dripping paint style shaped animation which the string falls from the top of the frame then folds and overpass itself once it hits the ground.

 This was based on one of the centre pieces they made for a previous job they had done to give me some understanding and testing with uv mapping. I had to create the helix shape for what would have been the centre piece at a show they were working for and then there would be lighting animations running down the sides of this helix shape, meaning that the uc mapping layout had to be correct in order to do so. Doing this gave me a good practise and understanding with the uv mapping tools and techniques indie cinema 4d:

I worked on my own project work quite a lot while here as well which they would help me with if i got stuck or needed advice with anything.

Design Bridge Project Feedback

On the 23rd march i visited Design Bridge Studios in london and met up Art Director John Sherwood.
Design Bridge is an independent brand design agency and have studios in London, Amsterdam, Singapore, and New York, too.

The studio mostly works with graphic design and prints for clients such as cadburys in which they have an ongoing contract with and design the branding and marketing schemes for. However i was shown around the studio and introduced to the motion team who worked with the likes of after effects and cinema 4D. Cinema 4d was used mostly for the 3D modelling of stills for their advertisements such as modelling the product and packaging for bottles or foods that they have clients for.

I was shown a a piece that had been put together by their motion team that was used for their show reel that was made on after effects and was told that the transitions are what makes a show reel flow when i come to thinking about doing mine, and also that it is best to try and use the sharpest quality pieces all the time to make things look professional. 

The studio was a very big size and had lots of inspiration all over the walls of each floor and lots of product references such as Smirnoff bottles and  prototype models. 

John explained that there were about 250 designers working at the studio and so they had different sectors that work on different projects and they have a large number of projects that are running at each given time so they all have seclude time tables to keep on top of their work. 

Dogs Bollocks awards:

He also explained that they are quite active in the creative industry and social networking and that they often make competition brief for students and amateur designers to get involved with, and also use this to seek new talent and create a creative community. 

After being shown around the work space and find out a bit more about the company and what they do i went into one of the offices to show John and his colleague some of the work i have been working on so far for some feedback.

As They are actually graphic designers he explained that he would try and give me feedback as best he could based on design aesthetics. 

So i showed him my silhouette animation:

He explained that the aesthetics are really great and from a graphic design point of view are very interesting. He said however it could be interesting to even further amplify the strange shapes to make the parts of the forest out of such as curling the branches of trees more or exaggerating parts of the landscapes in abstract ways.
I thought this was quite an interesting viewpoint on this piece as on of my inspirations for style;e was tim burtons nightmare before christmas and corpse bride for the landscape design and it was interesting that John was kind of picking up on this region of the style as tim burtons landscapes have exaggerated symbolic shapes to make up they landscapes in an abstract manner.

He said that he really liked the use of sound as well as the subtlety of it added to the tension and overall atmospheric feeling making the piece feel more ethereal and solemn yet intriguing.
For my show reel he mentioned that my introductory logo was really nice but felt it could reflect my style slightly better after seeing my work that i had made he explained that it was probably not bold enough to really show my style and nature of working although he thought it was creative and looked visually very pleasing and had been done well, just as to reflect myself as a designer maybe to make something else or edit it to reflect this.

My show reel logo:

i thought this was an interesting and very good point as i had not considered this i had made the short logo animation of just a means of introducing my showreel however he makes a very good point and i think it would be a lot more effective to use a design that does amplify the bolder darker style of my work. 

Nexus studio visit

On the 22nd March i visited Nexus studio while i was visiting London.

We met up with Luke Youngman one of the head directors at the studio.

He showed us some of the work produced by the company and explained that Nexus is an agency that  connects the client with a designer with regards to what the client is after and who will be the most suited.

I hada tour of the studio which was a very big size with floors of rows of designers, Luke explained that the designers usually are put together with regards to who is working on which projects so that the communication is better.
The studio is led by a team of technical directors, animators, designers,coders and artists backed by an animation and VFX pipeline capable of producing multiple high-end 3D projects. It also provides the creative and logistical support to our live-action and stop frame productions.

He showed us some of the work the company has produced for clients and explained that they always have numerous amounts of projects running at one given time and that it takes a lot of organisation between the employees there in order to keep on top of everything.

As a means of advice for me as a student he mentioned that sending in a show reel that i have made sure to have up to the highest standard i can and not just a half hearted pice is needed, as well as a good length, of about a minute, and to use the appropriate names when emailing, not just a copied an pasted email that looks like it has been sent around to lots of studios and sending of the most recent work i have been working on as well would be a good idea as its shows how i have been active with my work.

Because of the dynamics of the studio and the ability they have to pull in lots of different designers and people to work for the clients they produce a large amount of work and a very varied style of work which broadens the pool of clients they work for.

Examples of some of their work:

Pure Imagination from Nexus on Vimeo.

Radio Jones And His Robot Dad from Nexus on Vimeo.
Vodafone 'Surprise' from Nexus on Vimeo.

Matt Gealing

I met matt at the Glug animation festival in manchester that i attended on the 9th of February and arranged a portfolio crib meet up with him.

He is a 3D animator and designer from Fuzzy Duck Studios in media city, and explained that there is 17 people that work at the studio who all have different regions of techniques in which they specialise and this makes for a diverse spread of skills when coming to creating work for clients and exploring new ways of approaching the work they produce.

I went to visit him and i had the chance to show him some of my work that i have been producing and get some feedback on it from him which was very helpful especially at this point in my course as i am coming towards my final deadline and therefore need to make sure all of my work is the best i can make it, and i will be going back and tweaking some of my older projects to achieve this.

Firstly i showed him my show reel as this is something i have recently put together alongside while i have been working on my project briefs. He told me first off that the length of the show reel was a very good length as if it were to be longer than a minute/ a minute and a half it is generally too long as designers do not really have the time to spend more than this amount of time watching the clip, and so keeping it a shorter lengths is a good way of making sure that it will most likely get seen all the way through, which is what you want when showing your work and skill sets to potential employers.





He also explained that he thinks it is good that i have shown a variety of skill sets and techniques in the work i have created and shown in my show reel as this shows how i can be diverse with the work that i produce and how i produce it which is appealing to the industry as it shows how i can adapt my region of work and have some understanding of multiple techniques which is useful when coming up with ways to approach creating a piece of work relevant to the brief and with the freedom to then create a piece of work for this, as i am less likely to be restricted by the technique if i have some experience with a broad spectrum of work skills.
He also explained that this variety of techniques shows my interest toward the approach to working and makes the overall feeling of my show reel more interesting as it is more diverse and keeps the viewer interested.
He did mention, however that it is noticeable in my show reel that my skill sets and interests in techniques are leaning more towards the world of 3D animations, which is correct and i thought was quite interesting that he could pick up on this just from watching my show reel as it is not something i had noticed myself or thought about when i was making it but he said is a good thing as well as it gives the viewer a feel of who i am and how i am progressing with my work.
I was also very pleased to hear him say that he thinks my 3D work is very impressive considering how long i have been trying myself with it as well and said that its not just the 3D aspect with regards to skills that can be seen but he said a good design and creative approach is still present in my 3D work which is a really good combination as he said that there are lots of people who have the skills but not necessarily the creativity or design thought process involved but this is perhaps even more important that the skills when being able to come up with and produce work for the ideas that would make clients happy with the work that they receive.

I showed him a couple of clips from my most recent project i have been working on (as it was still unfinished at this point but i had some scenes for the piece rendered and finished that i could show him) because he was interested in seeing a bit more of the 3d work i have been making and he said that my character rigging especially for the wolf that i animated for my forest scene was really good with smooth movements and considering that character rigging can be particularly tricky at time i have done a good and effective job of it.

He also at this point explained to me how he tried to do a similar thing for his final piece animation when he was studying at stockport college in which he chose to create his animation using cinema 4d and that he uses cinema 4d in work now. He explained that the cross over between maya cinema 4d and ads max are all fairly similar but he prefers cinema 4d.

I did also show him my previous finished piece from this year (my silhouette animation) and he said that he can see the progression of my character animations and rigging from 2d to 3d and said that it is interesting to see where my skills in this area have evolved too.

He said that he likes my depth of field in this animation and it works quite well and he said that the cuts between scenes and transitions to the cuts work well as well.
He said regarding to how i could improve this animation that i could draw the eye of the viewer to the second tree that is shown in the first cut of the animation and to make it seem more like it is still the same area the characters are walking through the same area, to move the camera angle into the environment more so that the second tree becomes slightly visible.
He also mentioned that there are some parts of the animation where the boy is floating slightly and it could be a good idea to just tweak those keyframes slightly so that it dosnt happen.

Matt also said that i could send any of my work over to him for him and the other people he works with to have a look to get more freed back.

DBLG

While i was visiting London i visited DBLG studio and met with Grant Gilbert who i had the chance to speak to about the studio and the work they produce there as well.

I was shown the process and steps taken with one of the major projects they produced for channel 4. It was very interesting to see the stages of pitching ideas to the clients and how they cam up with the idea of breaking down the channel 4 logo into shapes and breaking it apart to come up with a new brand identity for the channel.
It was also interesting to hear about the various different aspects for the channel that they had to make designs and components for such as in the instance for the queen dying, along with the usual up next screen loading and the intros to particular shows on the channel such as the Simpsons channel 4 logo they made.

Grant explain that the rebrand they came up with was to reflect the channels public service and focused on innovation diversity and taking risks. They designed an identity that was playful and expressive and ever changing as the elements could move in anyway they wanted them too or could be positioned however they wanted and they could even change the count and number of segments that they used so it was very flexible and diverse yet kept a fluidity across the channel and signified the channels identity still. This new direction was the foundation for the Channel’s new Idents Directed by Jonathan Glazer and within the new bespoke font created by globally renowned design agency Brody Associates. They incorporated the blocks into the Channel 4 News identity and meeting room vinyls. As massive thanks to Steven Qua and 4Creative who we collaborated very closely with to create this project.




Grant explained how they have been working a lot with the 3D printer they have and how the client often likes to have somthing physical to see and to hold when pitching an idea and so this is a good means to communicate this. The example he told us was that when they were pitching the idea of breaking the channel 4 logo into pieces and using this as an interesting and creative was of representing and identify the channel that they printed out the segments of the shape of the number 4 with the 3d printer and threw them onto the table and let the clients move them around themselves.

Grant explained how they collaborated with typographers to create a font for the channel that reflected this new identity and they came up with the idea to cut of sections of the text using the blocks they made so it was symbolic even in the text of the channels identity.

They could also break down the blocks and use them as guide to place text inside to signify whats up next on screen. 

They had guides that they used to keep the style and over all aesthetic looking neat and organised and structured whilst still showing the identity, however because of the flexibility the identity offered they could use various colours and lay things out differently to some degree still. 

They also made lots of various screen sliders and because of the flexibility again were able to offer a huge range of different options.

Bear on stairs is a stop motion animation they made as an personal project using 3d printed models of a bear at different stages of a walk cycle walking up a set of stairs. This short video actually went viral as well due to the uniqueness of the approach at the time.



Due to the fact that they were making this animation using stop motion they had to print out around 50 models of the bear at different stages of walking up the stair and then they looped the animation so that it looked like it was on a never ending conveyor belt of stairs.

Grant explained that before they printed out the models, they made the animation in cinema 4d to see how the dynamics would work at to track the poses and motions the models would be in and to get an idea of how it should move etc. 

Again they said that cinema 4d is a programme that they use here which was interesting to find. However they also use after effects and live footage and showed us some of the work they made using a huge crowd of 1000 actors to create a piece for Freeview after pitching ideas to them.

They worked in partnership with Anomaly and created a set of commercials for the new freeview campaign, as freeview will run hundreds of short contextual films in TV ad breaks that comment on the storylines of programmes happening that day they wanted to connect with the viewer by creating a commercial that was warm and human. Using no VFX, filmed entirely in-camera they captured the collective energy of over 1000 people. To compliment the tone of the Freeview voiceover they also created over 30 charming visual worlds filled with mesmerising movement and colourful patterns. Never boring and always fun to look at.

 This is showing how they work with a range of different technique to meet the needs of the client.

The trip to this studio was again very interesting and gave a good insight into how they approached projects and worked through them. There is a lot of communication involved for these projects that they were working as there are a lot of regulations required for the channels that the client needed to go through with them and to keep up to date with them through out, however there was a level of freedom involved due to the ideas that they had pitched an decided on being quite diverse and open.

Glug Manchester Meetup Event

On February 9th 2017, i attended Glug Manchesters event, in which various designers meet and attend as well as presentations which are hosted in which people within the creative industry were talking about their journeys and work processes, this meant that it was a very insightful event and also a good chance to network slightly with people who are already current within the industry as this lead to me being able to set up two portfolio crib visits with two separate designers who i got talking to on the night.



On the glug manchester website they state "We are a fan of storytelling and sharing, seeing ideas come to life, viewing successful projects and hearing about first jobs that paved a career. For this reason we bring to you great speakers who are willing to share their experiences" and this was certainly the case.


while i was at the meetup there were 4 presentation talks lead by 4 different designers within the creative industry.

Matt Geeling - Head of Motion at Fuzzy Duck was the first speaker, his presentation discussed how he approached the placement of work and considering how it is to be viewed by an audience when projected in various surroundings such as when he was explaining how his studio made work for the likes of history museums and instalments. And it was interesting to hear how he approached some of the projects he has been working on, how long some of them took and the environment in which he works in a fuzzy duck with regards to the creative playful approaches to how they come up with ideas for project ideas,such as the magic mirror that used face mapping technology to make people turn into mice in the reflection and the movements of the viewers face was copied by the characterised mouse on the screen. Image of the mirror in its exhibition for Tatton Park, families scare fest around the haunted Old Hall for Halloween. Children had to find all the ingredients for Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker from Roald Dahl’s, The Witches.

Projection pice instalment that works with its environment without taking away from the architecture and to draw peoples attention to the features whilst still providing interesting and informative information through the animation, which the style of the building and time period is also reflected through.

The Churches ConservationTrust (CCT) is the national charity protecting historic churches at risk. CCT have saved over 340 buildings which attract almost two million visitors a year. Their unique collection of English parish churches includes irreplaceable examples of architecture, archaeology and art from 1,000 years of history.
Keen to increase visitor footfall CCT wanted to reinterpret the way that the churches use their incredible spaces in order to engage with existing and new audiences.

The next speaker to give a presentation at the event was Anna Mullin who is an art director and graphic designer at sneaky raccoon. 

She explained that Sneaky raccoon is her artist name which she promotes herself to clients as. She specialises in freelance graphic illustration and design, bespoke   typography and unique characters.

The title of her presentation was love yourself. She spoke about how important it is to do and make work that you love and how it can shape your career along the way she said that it is not about ego but about trusting your inner design instincts and own self. 

She spoke about how she built up her client list by building up her reputation and taking on any jobs that came her way no matter how big or small and made herself work long hours in order to do all these jobs, however she mentioned that it is important to find a balance between how much work you are taking on and what is reasonable and still staying within the boundaries of your own personal health limits as well. She said that obviously it is good when you are trying to build up your reputation to take on as many jobs as you can but don't let this overwhelm you or compromise the personal standards of how you want to be working. 

She explained that after doing work wwf that her brand became more popular and she started finding more self love for her work and feeling less of the pressure of constantly trying to impress people and feeling that her work is not good enough. She said that there is always going to be someone that you think is better than you but don't ever compromise or underestimate how good your work is or how there are other people that want your unique style as it is desirable to people in its own ways, developing a style is also good for this.

The next speaker was Aymi Duignan. She is a freelance artist who's profession is focused largely on illustration and fine art. The direction of her prevention was to explain her path into becoming a successful artist through the means of social media and how largely it can impact and kick start and artists career and that is should most defiantly be utilised by any aspiring artists as it can give light to opportunities that have not been present in the past.
She explained how she is a big fan of world famous pop artist Rihanna. and would frequently draw her and make pieces of art based around her and on top of this would tag and tweet her in the posts she made displaying her work. She said eventually Rhianna ended up retweeting one of her posts saying how much she loved the piece and she ended up getting in touch with her and actually taking one of her paintings to her concert and gave it to her. She explained that after getting this kind of attention on social media she became recognised and was able to get more commissions for other famous artists.

This is obviously an incredible fortunate unfolding of events for an artists however it just shows how the possibilities with social media can lead to even recognition as large and rewarding as this.


The Final person to give a presentation at this event was James Oconnell, who is a Manchester, UK based creative who has a passion for bringing a smile to people's minds through the use of visual media. There's a need for colour and lines in the world, whether it's to bring a smile to the mind or a sense of warm in giving. His distinctive illustrations set the tone for his talk including touching upon staying true to who you want to be and not even letting the big brands change the style that you have adopted through fear.

At the end of the event he was also giving away some of his prints for free, in which i chose an adventure time print he had made and stylised to meet and show his unique style through. I thought this was also i nice touch for the event. And again this gives the option to approach designers and get talking.



As a result of attending this event i was able to arrange portfolio crib meet up with two different designers so i think it is defiantly a useful means for me to progress my self with within the industry and to get known. i will keep up to date with future events similar to this and will try and make it regular thing.

MOMOCO

On tuesday 21st of march i took a visit to london and was fortunate enough to attend a studio visit to MOMOCO is an EMMY and BAFTA winning creative studio. The firm has produced film design, branding, commercials and animation for 16 years. Well known, world-wide for its main title sequences, Momoco has collaborated with directors such as Richard Curtis, Ridley Scott, Lasse Halstrom, Kevin Spacey and Dustin Hoffman.They are a small studio with big, cinematic vision and LOVE the conceptual process, the storytelling and the execution - all delivered on schedule to budget. The team is led by Creative Director and Producer NIC BENNS with Design Director MIKI KATO.


Upon entering the studio i was shocked to see how small it was with only four designers working there especially with regards to the quality of work the produce and the amount of work they produce. I met with Nic Benns who is the creative team leader and director and producer of the company and he show me some of the work they have produced and some of the work they were currently working on and spoke me through the process and approaches to the projects.


He explained that they use mainly Cinema 4D to create their work which i thought was interesting as this is the programme i have become most familiar with myself. They do also use aftereffects and live footage to create a lot of their pieces and it depends on what the specific project requires with regards to how they would make it however cinema 4D seems to me used a lot.

He mentioned that for cinema 4D they also use the plugins Real Flow and X-particles to create the work.

RealFlow Cinema 4D gives you the best in fluid simulation, directly inside Cinema 4D. So you can achieve high-end simulations with an even easier workflow and doesn't take as long to see what you are creating in cinema 4d which can be an issue when using lots of various deformers or simulations in the programme. http://www.realflow.com/realflow_cinema4d/
x particles is a robust particle system for Cinema 4D that is made for designers. Unlike other particle systems for Cinema 4D, X-Particles doesn’t require that you know Xpresso or know any complicated programming. Like Cinema 4D itself, X-Particles is a particle system that does a lot, but makes it easy and fun to play with and make beautiful effects.
In the same way Mograph revolutionized animation in Cinema 4D, X-Particles does the same for particle systems. In fact, if you are familiar with Mograph, you will be right at home in X-Particles. But now, you aren’t limited by how many objects you have on screen. Animate and control MILLIONS of objects with X-Particles.https://greyscalegorilla.com/downloads/x-particles/

Nic also told me that when they come to rendering out their finished pieces of work that they sometimes use a render farm which is somthing i was interested to hear about as i had not heard of render farms before. A render farm is a high performance computer system, e.g. a computer cluster, built to render computer-generated imagery(CGI), typically for film and television visual effects. And they just send the file off to the render farm and request when they need it finished for with the price varying depending on how soon it needs to be ready for.

He explained that they often work on more than one project and could spend as little as 2 weeks to produce a piece for a client after the initial pitching and planning development of the idea which is very inspiring and shocking considering especially the size of the studio and number of people working on the projects. He did mention that they have a circle of freelancers that they often bring in if they require more help with certain projects.


He also mentioned they they create their own storyboards to pitch ideas to their clients and often spend about a week doing this which again is a short amount of time. He showed us that he uses a 3D programme to make the storybook using wire frame figure to map out where things will be for each scene to give a detailed and easy to understand picture of how the piece will look. I also found it interesting that he mentioned that although they are a very recogised and established company and have made title sequences and movie intros for popular pieces such as hannibal the series and the intro to paddington bear the movie, that they still have to pitch to clients and that the competition is still very high.


He explained that they are soon to be opening a studio in LA as well as the one they currently have in london in order to work more with american clients as it is more efficient for clients to be able to work with local companies in order to have face to face meet ups to discuss the projects they are working on. And so this would be more beneficial for their american clients, this seems like it is a good evoloution for Momoco as well as they do title sequences and intros for american tv and movie producers.


MISFITS Titles from MOMOCO Film Titles on Vimeo.



He also explained that when they are working with a client they are often give some scripts or sequences of the programme or film and information about the content within it to then start coming up with ideas on how to portray the personality and nature of these in their work. Which is why especially with their title sequences they are so incredible as they are an artistic montage of the programme or film itself giving the audience a taste of what is to come. and their approach to this is very good.


I noticed when looking at their work that there seems to be a kind of unique style present in their work although each of their pieces seems to vary somewhat depending on the nature of the programme or film they are making the piece for. It seems to be a sci fi, grunge slightly punk themed style that i really love and has some similarity to that of my style that i have started to broadly develop across the years of making work whilst studying, with the pain markings and particles i often use.


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HANNIBAL Titles from MOMOCO Film Titles on Vimeo.

Nic also give me his email to contact him on in which i messaged him thanking him for allowing me to come and visit and he said i could send him any future questions i have which i thought was very kind considering how busy they are. And overall i thought that the trip here was very inspirational and a very rewarding insight into this side of the industry and this kind of work they are producing is something i would be very interested in pursuing myself.