Saturday 25 September 2010

Modul, Maxim Zhestkov

This is the piece I looked at with Rick that showed me what I could do and how it could look. Now I have to see how I can interpret this and make it my own. I still want to show how chain of events could occur and how one action could change the chain and in turn, the future too.
I love how this piece is put together and how a story can be told with such a simple shape. Suggestions can still be made using these simple shapes and the message doesn't always have to be obvious.

Maxim Zhestkov

Maxim is obviously at the top of his game but I love his style and the fact he can give something so simple like a ball in a box a narrative. Like I said in my previous post why does my work have to be obvious maybe I should respect my audience more and let them work the piece out and take it their own way...

Anyway these pieces have heavily influencing what I want to make. It has also helped a lot with the style and how i want to make the piece.









New Direction

Yet again I am taking a new direction with this brief. I never thought it would be so hard to sort my ideas out with a brief that is basically, "do what you want to do (obviously within reason).

So now rather than looking at script writing and a conversation between to guys. I've gone right back to the storyboard and really looked at what I've liked over summer and why I chose chain reactions in the first place. After a discussion with my tutor I have decided that maybe an abstract, not so obvious interpretation is better. So I've looked at some artist that have influenced me for a long time...

This is a piece called Recursion by Maxim Zhestkov. Obvious the standards are high for me to try and interprit but I need to push myself don't I?


Thursday 23 September 2010

Double Negative on Visual Effects


When looking into Double Negative I found this video that interviews some of the team and asks them about they're backgrounds. I shows how people from all different areas and all works of life can come together to create the great work seen in films from all over the world. I think this is quite an inspirational video.


This piece has made me really think if this is the right area for me because some of the qualifications these guys have are in completely different areas to where I am. I do still want to get into the film industry but recently I have started talking to others about my choices and how they had been put off. There are some things I had not taken into consideration. Also having a lengthy talk with Christina (one of my tutors) she said she couldn't see me getting lost in the works of a large company which made me sit up and say I don't want to get lost but realistically that could be exactly what happens. This has made me look deeper into the industry and where I want to end up. I feel this is important before I start heading to studios to discuss with them my ideas and where I see myself.

Wednesday 22 September 2010

Studio Research - 5

Mill


The Mill has offices in New York, London and LA and has been going since 1990. It has it's own CG department with over 20 workstations and renderfarm in London alone. They have made ads for companies such as Honda and Weetabix and have just been working on the new tetlys ad. The have also worked on the Ridley Scott film "Gladiator" which is one of my favorite films. It has been named one of the most awarded VFX companies in the world by Shots Magazine in 2007. I missed the opportunity to visit them last year but when heading to London this year I am going to see if a can get a visit to see how they work and how they produce these pieces.




APA Diamonds 2010

The Mill was awarded 10 diamonds for the following spots:

Honda ‘Everything’
Director: Scott Lyon
Prod Co: Outsider
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy

Nike ‘Write the Future’
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Prod Co: Independent Films
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy

Guinness ‘World’
Director: Johnny Green
Prod Co: Knucklehead
Agency: AMV BBDO

As you can see this studio is world renowned and when we head back to London next year I would love to visit it. Similar to Mainframe I didn't know the work they had produced until I started looking into them. This company is more advertising based that either Frameworks or Double Negative but they still have a large team and have still worked on such productions as Gladiator.

I have been primarily looking at large studios recently and I have been encouraged to look at smaller ones and is the reason why when doing my visits I would like to see some smaller companies. I think it is important I look in all directions before deciding where I want to head in the future. I know it is a lot to think about in the early stage of the year but I have a feeling that things are going to become very really very rapidly over the course of this final year.

Studio Research - 4

Psyop


Psyop is a motion graphics company based in New York and LA. It has over 120 people working in it's offices and has been a part of groundbreaking adverts such as the recent Coke ad and the UPS advert where everything is made to look like it is made of cardboard. The company has been going for about 29 years and is going strong. They work on films, adverts and kinds of different special effects.


I was lucky enough to visit the company in New York and I decided that that is where I want to end up. I know that is bold statement but I have never seen anything like it. Even thought the weather was miserable and we had been travelling for a while it was still an amazing sight. It is my ultimate aim to work there and live in New York I think. Obviously it is quite an ambition but I think it is always good to have something to aim towards. I love the community they have and the good size team they have. It didn't feel like anyone was being left out and that everyone had a part to play.

We had a lot of time to sit and see how the work was broken down and it was really interesting to see how each section was worked on and brought together in the final composition. I think there is a lot of scope for British designers abroad as we tend to work differently and bring something to the table that other designers don't. It would be great to travel and get experience from all over and is something I want to consider but I think it is important, wherever I end up, to get experience and continue learning what the industry is doing. Until this I hadn't previously thought, you have to take into consideration what is and isn't acceptable in other nations when producing work such as ours. Otherwise all our hard work could be for nothing if what we produce is not relevant or insulting.

Studio Research - 3

Framestore




Framestore has founded in 1986. Since then it has worked on a huge amount of films as well as television ads, stings and music videos. In 2004 Framestore opened a New York office who have made ads for companies such as Coke, Pepsi and Smirnoff which have won awards such as Emmy's and VES's. Framestore have managed to gain all sorts of awards ranging from BAFTA's, Academy awards to technical awards. They have also worked on films such as Clash of the Titans, Salt and Prince of Persia and are one of Europe's biggest visual effects and computer animation companies.


I heard of these when looking into double negative as it is their main competitor. They have also created some of my favourite pieces such as the Guinness surfer and the title sequence for Casino Royal. I have always wanted to work in a company that works on films and would love to get involved with them. Framestore would be ideal for this as they have large departments dedicated to film work.


As I said In my studio review of Double Negative this is another company that really interests me for similar reasons to Double Negative. The film industry is such a large part of society and is in no danger of being forgotten about. It is something I would love to get involved with. Also when looking at this company and the fact they had done the Titles for Casino Royal shows there are many areas in which I could work. I need to start looking into where I see myself in the future but I have no doubt I will end up trying to get into the film industry at some point in the future.

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Studio Research - 2

Mainframe


Mainframe is a motion graphics studio who specialise in animation and graphics for ad's, promos and branded products. Adam Jenns founded mainframe and have been producing work since 1998. They produce a wide range of work which have been produced for cinema, online use and mobile media. They have a team 18 strong and are located in both London and Manchester. Mainframe has produced work for companies such as Huggies, The Courteeners, Nike, Living TV and Argos.

Living TV

Huggies Ad

Nike

I found out about this company last year after seeing their ad for Colin Mcrae Dirt 2 and I was really intrigued to how it was made. I found that after looking at their website and pieces they have made over the last couple of years I actually knew quite a lot of their work. There is office of Mainframe moved to Manchester recently and I have decided I would try and get in touch with them again to speak to someone and possibly show them some more of my work as Chris Hardcastle gave me some very helpful feedback last year. I like the way they combine 3D work with the live camera footage and make them sit together seamlessly.

Match-moving is something that interests me a lot and I think it is an important part of moving image and a possible area I could go into. This is something I would like to consider later this year and a possibility for my final major as I have spoken to a graduate from here and he said if you can show skills such as this then companies will start to sit up and listen to what you have to offer.

Studio Research - 1

Double Negative




Double Negative is based in Soho in the centre of of London. It was setup in 1998 with just 30 staff which has now expanded to 750 which makes it Europe's largest visual effects company for film. In 2009 Double Negative branched out and created an office in Singapore which has a team of about 55 people. They work on films whether they are large or small and produce the best work they can on the budgets given. They have worked on films such as Sherlock Holmes, Scott Pilgram vs The World, Inception and Iron Man 2. They have won an array of different awards which include a VES award for Sherlock Holmes' visual effects.

Sherlock Holmes

I found out about this studio last year after a past student of ours got a job there and worked as a runner. This really attracted itself to me and I researched more into the company after. We had the chance to visit this studio last year which I found amazing. The studio was such a friendly working environment and everyone seemed to be working together but I didn't realise the scale. We stayed on one story looking at what was happening there but they were woking all over the building. After going to this studio I felt as if I knew exactly where I wanted to head in the future. My love for the film industry and the large scale jobs got me very excited when thinking where I could end up. It is studios such as this and Mainframe that really get me excited and make me want to just get straight into the working environment now.

Thursday 16 September 2010

Rich Hall's Fishing Show


When thinking about my 2 guys talking and planning with the illustrations above them i immediately thought of this show that i saw on DAVE a while ago. Rich Hall and his friend sit in a boat fishing talking and trying to right the worlds wrongs. Its funny some of the subjects they manage to come up with. In my piece I really want to focus on the 2 guys and what they are saying so having them in a location like this really draws the focus in as there are no other distractions in the piece. I need to experiment how i can do this in my piece but i also need to write a good script to keep the interest of the audience as its the only thing drawing the audience in.

Outside The Box, Joseph Pelling



After a group tutorial where I discussed how I wasn't happy with my idea and that I wanted to have a project I could get excited about. So I found myself discussing what got me excited over summer and what I could focus on. I have written a script for a film intro that I wanted to do and I have the idea of maybe doing that for my final major later in the year. It was then suggested that I use his project to practice and build skills towards that. After explaining the basis of the story we all spoke about how it could be changed and developed into a project for the negotiated brief.

I explained the treatment and the script I'd written over summer and decided the new direction in which to go. After talking Rick showed me this which sums up where my project is heading and what areas i need to research now. Im focusing on the conversation between 2 guys and whatever they are discussing appearing in diagrams above them. This is a perfect starting point.

Monday 13 September 2010

Domino City, Sony



This is great example of how a chain reaction can be built on a huge scale and shows how one event can change a whole city. Obviously this ad is about the colour Sony Bravia TV's provide themselves with but it can be seen in the terms of society. I like the idea that everyone contributes to the final outcome and it wouldn't end up the same with a missing link. Looking at the idea of votes, these blocks could be a physical representation of a vote.