Toshiba Timesculpture

This advert interests me because of the technique it uses to shoot it. It is the same technique used to shoot the 'Neo bullets' scene in the Matrix, and uses a room full of cameras creating a 360 degree view on a rig of scaffolding. The advert works really well with the white crisp room and the colourful people moving around in the middle, there slogan is redefining the way you watch tv because the content we watch is changing all the time. I think the idea works for this advert very well.

I found this interesting article whilst researching for my Issues and practices text, it is quite light hearted and funny in places but it does also have some good advice of what to look out for when pitching to clients, after reading this I think I would be slightly more savvy to clients trying to rip you off:

Top 10 Lies Told to Naive Artists & Designers

Mark W. Lewis © 2005

1 "Do this one cheap (or free) and we'll make it up on the next one."

No reputable business person would first give away their work and time or merchandise on the hope of making it up later. Can you imagine what a plumber would say if you said "come in, provide and install the sink for free and next time we'll make it up when we need a sink." You would be laughed at! Also the likelyhood is that if something important came along, they wouldn't use you.

2 "We never pay a cent until we see the final product."

This is a croc, unless the person is leaving the door open to cheat you out of your pay. Virtually every profession requres a deposit or incremental payment during anything but the smallest project. Once you have a working relationship, you may work out another arrangement with a client. But a new client should not ask you to go beyond an initial meeting and, perhaps some preliminary sketches without pay on the job!

3 "Do this for us and you'll get great exposure! The jobs will just pour in!"

Baloney. Tell a plumber "Install this sink and my friend will see and you'll get lots of business!" Our plumber friend would say "You mean even if I do a good job I have to give my work away to get noticed? Then it isn't worth the notice." Also the guy would likely brag to everyone he knows about how this would normally cost (X) dollars, but brilliant businessman that he is he got if for free! If anyone calls, they'll expect the same or better deal.

4 On looking at sketches or concepts: "Well, we aren't sure if we want to use you yet, but leave your material here so I can talk to my partner/investor/wife/clergy."

You can be sure that 15 minutes after you leave he will be on the phone to other designers, now with concepts in hand, asking for price quotes. When you call back you will be informed that your prices were too high and Joe Blow Design/Illustration will be doing the job. Why shouldn't they be cheaper? You just gave them hours of free consulting work! Until you have a deal, LEAVE NOTHING CREATIVE at the clients office.

5 "Well, the job isn't CANCELLED, just delayed. Keep the account open and we'll continue in a month or two."

Ummm, probably not. If something is hot, then not, it could be dead. It would be a mistake to *not* bill for work performed at this point and then let the chips fall where they may! Call in two months and someone else may be in that job. And guess what? They don't know you at all.....

6 "Contract? We don't need no stinking contact! Aren't we friends?"

Yes, we are, until something goes wrong or is misunderstood, then you are the jerk in the suit and I am that idiot designer, then the contract is essential. That is, unless one doesn't care about being paid. Any reputable business uses paperwork to define relationships and you should too.

7 "Send me a bill after the work goes to press."

Why wait for an irrelevant deadline to send an invoice? You stand behind your work, right? You are honest, right? Why would you feel bound to this deadline? Once you deliver the work and it is accepted, BILL IT. This point may just be a delaying tactic so the job goes through the printer prior to any question of your being paid. If the guy waits for the job to be printed, and you do changes as necessary, then he can stiff you and not take a chance that he'll have to pay someone else for changes.

8 "The last guy did it for XXX dollars."

That is irrelevant. If the last guy was so good they wouldn't be talking to you, now would they? And what that guy charged means nothing to you, really. People who charge too little for their time go out of business (or self-destruct financially, or change occupations) and then someone else has to step in. Set a fair price and stick to it.

9 "Our budget is XXX dollars, firm."

Amazing, isn't it? This guy goes out to buy a car, and what, knows exactly what he is going to spend before even looking or researching? Not likely. A certain amount of work costs a certain amount of money. If they have less money (and you *can*) do less work and still take the job. But make sure they understand that you are doing less work if you take less money that you originally estimated. Give fewer comps, simplify, let them go elsewhere for services (like films) etc.

10 "We are having financial problems. Give us the work, we'll make some money and we'll pay you. Simple."

Yeah, except when the money comes, you can expect that you will be pretty low on the list to be paid. If someone reaches the point where they admit that the company is in trouble, then they are probably much worse off than they are admitting to. Even then, are you a bank? Are you qualified to check out their financials? If the company is strapped to the point where credit is a problem through credit agencies, banks etc. what business would you have extending credit to them. You have exactly ZERO pull once they have the work. Noble intentions or not, this is probably a losing bet. But if you are going to roll the dice, AT LEAST you should be getting additional money for waiting. The bank gets interest and so should you. That is probably why the person is approaching you; to get six months worth of free interest instead of paying bank rates for credit and then paying you with that money. Don't give away money.

Now, this list wasn't meant to make anyone crazy or paranoid, but is designed to inject some reality into the fantasy.

You are GOING to be dealing with people who are unlike yourself. Their motivations are their own and their attitudes are probably different than yours. There are going to be demands, problems, issues and all the hassles that go with practically ANY work/job/money situation. Too many times I see the sad example of someone walking in to a situation with noble intentions and then getting royally screwed, because what they see as an opportunity and a labor of love, the other party sees as something else entirely, not at all romantic or idealized, but raw and simple.

How can you deal with this stuff and still do good creative work? Good question. THIS is why an education is important. You learn, out of the line of fire, how to deal with the art at it's own level and also how to deal with the crap that surrounds it. You may have tough teachers and think that it can't be worse, but wait until a business person has a hundred grand riding on your art! Then you will know what "demanding" means. You will then thank all those tough teachers for building up the calluses that enable you to enjoy the job rather than just feeling like it is all a big waste of time!

In the end, working commercially, being a terrific artist is about 25% of the task. If that is the only part of the task that you are interested in, do yourself a favor. Don't turn "pro."

Too many design graduates?

As I am rapidly approaching the end of my degree, I will be shortly looking for a job and try to get myself into the design industry, unfortunately for me thousands of other students will be thinking the same thing which means that there is an incredible amount of competition for the few jobs that are actually out there.

It is a very competitive industry and according to a UCAS poll a whopping 70 per cent of graduates coming from design based courses don’t go on to work in the industry, partly because they don’t want to, but mainly because the supply of graduates exceeds the number of jobs available.

The possible reason why so many people head for these sort of degrees is that they are labelled by some as a ‘soft option’ degree, as apposed to something like mathematics or engineering, and the fact of just having a degree under your belt will stand you in better stead for any job application you go for (usually) regardless of its sector. Personally I disagree with this stereotype as I believe people who don’t really have their heart set on working in design tend to either just do a foundation course or a diploma and then go and get a job elsewhere, or take a degree course and drop out before they graduate anyway.

Of course the current economic climate doesn’t help the matter either, with more and more companies cutting down on costs and some actually losing staff which is drying up some of the potential opportunities that were possibly available in the few years before.

Lots of design magazines write numerous articles about graduates trying to get jobs, in the August 08 issue of Computer Arts Lawrence Zeegan (p35) explains a few steps that could put you ahead of the pack:

Firstly, ‘Understanding the industry’, meaning researching what different jobs there are and where you think you fit in to this, find out the difference between an art director in an ad agency and one in a magazine publisher.

On our visit to Mainframe in London, Adam Jenns also talked to us about this subject and mentioned that aswell as doing research into the company you should adjust your showreel to match what they do, so if they are mainly a 3d company there’s no point showing them all your 2d animation or stopmotion work (unless obviously they have stated they want to branch out into other areas) and if they are a post production house there’s no point showing them all your interactive work.

The second point Zeegan mentioned was ‘Getting your foot in the door’, he says: “The very best way of getting started is to undertake placements- smart designers began the process as students, not graduates, but its never too late. Don’t look down on placements because you work for free- the reward will be getting your name and portfolio about town, as well as valuable work related experience and a true insight into designing in the real world.” Placements, internships and runners jobs can be a really good way of gaining experience and building up your skills and portfolio but I feel that from speaking to people and what I have read, that there are very mixed opinions on this way in. There are lots of articles and blogs including this one that tell horror stories of nasty companies taking on runners and unpaid interns, making them work for free, take advantage of them and never promoting them, although from what I understand some companies are ok and some are worth avoiding. Ex student Paul Greenwood for example had a good experience of being a runner at Post production house Double Negative in London. He was taken on after graduating and he really worked hard and learned a lot from the experience and then 6 months down the line he was offered a great opportunity in the match moving division which he had been learning.

Zeegans third point is ‘Making the right impression’ he writes: “When it comes to contact, whether its by email, letter or online application form make sure that every single word, sentence and paragraph is read through numerous times for poor grammar. …you are looking to work in communication design, so make sure you are communicating correctly!”

Something everyone has said when I have visited studios, Mainframe, Studio AKA, Double Negative and Nexus all said that to make the right impression you should make your portfolio easy to read and navigate, keep it simple and keep your showreel short, they will know that you’re a graduate so they will know that you might not have loads of work to chose from, so don’t make a long reel repeating the same clips of certain pieces over and over.

Overall after researching into the subject I think that it is possible to get a good job after graduation if I take the advise I have pointed out, but I need to be prepared to hunt around and research a number of companies instead of just diving right in like many students will no doubt do.

E4 E'stings Competition

As some of you are probably aware, or if not you will no doubt have seen them on tv, E4 had an E stings competition, where people could create there own versions of the e4 idents based around the logo, alot of the entries are then played on tv and you can vote for them online. Anyway the competition has ended and you can view the winners here. What I really like about the competition is the huge range of ideas people send in, the wackier the better! here are a few of my favourites:




The Shadow puppet one is my favourite at 1:16!!

Bupa advert

I saw this set of adverts a while back and after our trip to London, and Studio AKA, I found out that they produced them, I really like the way that they have very cleverly brought the simplest shapes to life through the slick animation and soundtrack they chose, This really interests me as a motion graphics designer as lots of the work I have done requires bringing an object or character to life, for example my Dave ident that used letters, using the same principle movements as the Bupa advert. I think this set of adverts shows exactly what it takes to be a top animater/designer, being able to bring absolutley any object to life and make it enjoyable to watch. It also reminds me of the lost tribes of new york video I posted earlier as that uses the same concept.

AndWhyNot Photography

I discovered this guy when I was working on my competition brief when i was looking into lightwriting. He is a proffessional photographer who makes a living shooting weddings and other special events but his passion lies in shooting night photos, especially using cars and lights. He prides himself on the fact that almost all of his pictures he takes now are straight out of the camera and not messed with in photoshop or iphoto etc. which personally I think is very impressive because it is easy enough to take an ok photo and make it look great by manipulating it but it is a real skill to produce straight from the camera, I know this from trying to attempt the same results as his night photos, myself using torches, led lights, glow sticks etc! I think he has a similar style to Andrew Brookes who I wrote about earlier on in this blog, here are some of his photos, I love the use of light in this first photo as he points a torch at the floor whilst shooting on long exposure, and walked round the car to make the ground glow, this really brings the focus point to the middle of the bonnet, and the cars driving past have added to the composition to keep it balanced. This has really influenced my work as I love taking photos and trying to capture the flourescent colours 'AndWhyNot' seems to manage. Now I like to take photos that look out of the ordinary or have a different point of view.

CGart

Someone in class told me about this website ages ago and I think it is a great source of talent and inspiration, it has a very easy format of just having thumbnails of peoples work that is regurlarly updated, After Andy Lyster told me you could submit your own videos for entry I recently submitted my Tomorrows World advert to the Administrators to see if they thought it was good enough to be added, and a week later I was very pleased to see that it had, since then my advert has had over 550 hits on my vimeo page and also lots of contact requests and 'likes', and I would recomend anyone to do the same with their videos.