Introduction
-In term one, we have two units that have to be completed. One of them is of course our dissertations and the other is of course this Portfolio unit. We have to create a solid and well researched piece that represents an area of work that we are genuinely interested in.
-Attendance is also registered but I was planning on attending every lecture anyway. (need at least 70% to pass the unit)
-No more Mike! we pretty much just have Dan and Josh tutoring us this year.
-Check the timetable regularly!
-Submission dates: Sumative hand in- 11th December (skills pitch- 9th November, Ideas pitch- 7th December) In the ideas pitch, we are talking about an idea for the FMP unit in terms 2 and 3. We need to discuss the skills that we require.
-Assessable elements:
Portfolio of all designs in this unit- 50%
Research Blog- 40% -This includes the personal progress review and has to be done by Christmas hand-in.
Industry engagement- 10%- This bit isn't graded till may, but I still need to get a lot done by then to achieve the 10%.
-By Christmas I should also have a finished piece of work for a client, additional showreel or a festival competition.
-Marking Criteria or portfolio: Subject knowledge, Experimentation, Technical Competence.
-late hand-ins will be capped. D- is a low 3rd degree.
-Create an "about me" section on my blog.
-Fill out PPR form ASAP
-Formative- Week 4- October 19th October. They will ask where I stand in: 1) Research of companies, 2) online Presence, 3) Showreel piece, 4) CV, plus finish my free lance piece with a render and 3d turnaround of the room I made.
-Targets (2 of each) what do I aim to achieve? (That will improve my personal experience) These are based upon my piece for this term.
---Personal targets
---Industry targets
---Educational targets
-Optional: book tutorials with my tutors to learn things when they are free.
-Do 1 and 5 for next week
Portfolio/FMP Pieces
-For this piece, I will need constant constructive feedback from people in the industry, plus maybe miserable people, who normally give a true response to stuff. Do something different with your work, or work harder, so that people recognize you. Sometimes try to complete a more whole, but un-polished piece, earlier so it looks like you have more content even if its at the same stage overall as everyone elses work.
-Don't be too precious about my work either and self evaluate all the time.
-Cheating is good too as long as I know what I'm doing! (maybe look into cheating in a good way)
-The actual portfolio piece needs some serious development ideas. I need to draw out an absolute ton of stuff. Perhaps I should model the same thing multiple times, and work out exactly how fast it will take to do something. I can then accurately tell the client exactly how long a piece is going to take.
-Don't focus too much on concepting the "perfect scene" straight away. Only spend variable amounts of time, e.g. minute sketches and 30 minute ideas. Never spend a whole day on just one drawing.
-Always consider whether the piece will actually be beneficial to my portfolio. Maybe try something new in my specialist area for example texturing or rendering.
-I need to think about other peoples skills for FMP when I stand up and present my work. What could other people do to my work in a positive light. Either ger others to help with my own piece or work in a group of course. If I'm in a group there is going to be downtime where I'm not actually putting any work into the group piece (when the models are done). In this period I should focus on other elements of the FMP unit. If I am working on my own, I still have to use the assistance of someone else, no matter how much work im doing myself. It benefits the other people too. If i actually help someone else that actually can go towards my own personal project!
-Talk to the architecture students about stuff related to my modelling.
-Compare the eleven steps we have to follow with my notes.
-Be honest about my work.
-Consider the music industry too (music students) plus maybe logos?
-Think about the style of models I'm going for, whether its photo-realism or cartoonistic.
-Work on my rendering skills.
-Medium: How im making my piece.
-Document EVERYTHING i do.
- Concepting is taken very seriously too.
Talks/Festivals/Competitions
-I need to attend or take part in at least 3 live talks/festivals/competitions by Christmas time. However, festivals can be problematic sometimes with work submissions, such as you not being able to use a piece of work for your own use for a certain amount of time even though you technically did the work. If I do want to apply for festivals however, Dan said that he is more than happy to assist in the entrance fee. Ravensbourne on the other hand, does not own my work.
-Think about where I am getting the rights from for everything. Provide sources or prove that I did the work myself.
-Google "animation events in london". The more I go to the better.
Freelancing
-Dan told us that after we finish uni, regardless of what degree we get at the end, we are most likely to be doing freelance work for possibly half a year until we can find a stable job that fits what we want to do. Its going to be a five to ten year stretch at least to get into a high end job. Until then, I will have to work for smaller companies consistently building up my show-reel and my reputation.
-I should try to do as much work for clients as physically possible to get used to how ill be working after I graduate.
-GOAL; try to work for 4-5 clients by the end of my third year.
-Sometimes you need to brief the clients on their own ideas, because they don't actually know what they want sometimes. Then brainstorm extra ideas to clients. They may pick your abbreviated idea over their own based upon the acceptable amount of time it will take to complete the project.
-Meet the clients needs. Even if you don't like the project. If you fuck up, it can affect your reputation really badly. Don't waste time on a client that won't help to further my career path.
-Ravensbourne have a profile of me that they can share with clients which could assist me in finding a job.
-I won't necessarily find work where I expect, look into architecture, product design and Medical stuff.
-Consider re-using clients ive already used if I can't find anyone new.
CV (this counts towards research too)
- For the CV, I need one page (11pt font size) and a link to my linkedin profile page (with 3 linkedin groups)
-I need to research and design business cards to reflect my skills. (create at least 3 variations)
-Create a web presence. Perhaps create a website or somesort of online portfolio which is active on a regular basis. Create an account on instagram, Dropmark, Artstation, vimeo, youtube and twitter. I can also use my university website.
-documentation of working with a client.
-150 word profile which conveys your personal Brand and is aimed at potential clients.
-knowledge of business start-up and freelance activities. Tax, finance and legal frameworks are to be included, along with further research into these areas. Also research into three sectors that are entertainment based.
Research
-Don't steal information, use it to assist my own research. Write at least 500 words per piece of research to get the full depth of information. Be creative though and branch out my ideas.
-List contacts (clients) and potential collaborators.
-Schedule has to be Mega epic (massive) but also very tight and strict.
-Look at other peoples blogs for additional ideas. Graduates from last year, but also perhaps my peers.
-As always, research colours and lighting. Why did I pick these.
-Think about how my resources (using other people to assist me) will affect me money wise.
-Racketing: Learn the roles of others too.
-Research into R&D of my piece (modelling area)
