The Neighbourhood Placement Review + Portfolio Presentation

Over Easter I spend my 2 week holiday working at the company The Neighbourhood and honestly I can't think of any better way I could have spent it! What an experience and I don't think I could have got anymore out of it. I have made some fantastic contacts there and friends which I am hoping will help my future and I will be able to keep in close contact with. If I was to write up about the whole thing this would be THE mother of all blog posts so..... I kept a day by day diary while I was there, recording my thoughts and experiences.

A cracking read!

This alone, is the best thing I have found about doing the PDP. This experience has been the best thing to have happened to me in my design life. Everyone at the studio were so helpful and so welcoming. You can't have a better compliment that someone saying that you fit right in to their family and that they hope you can go back, visit and work in there studio again at some point.

Thanks again to everyone there and hopefully see you all again soon! All the best,

Steve

The Neighbourhood Portfolio Visit 2:

On the last day of the placement we sat down with Stuart (Animator) and Jon (Director) who we sat with last time we had a portfolio visit to look at our work and how we had changed over the year. They were in very impressed with the changes made over the year. Stu said that he was impressed with the work last time but there is noticeable changes this time and that I have upped the quality. This was a great confidence boost as I thought going back with not a lot of different work could be weird.

My Newest Showreel

After looking at this we then went on to look at my final major so I could get some feedback on that and see how I could improve it in the last few weeks. After being there for 2 weeks and sitting through a few presentations I decided to present it properly so they could see that I also think about that aswell.

Click Here to see it: THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PRESENTATION

They gave me some great feedback about how I can improve my final pieces and how I could get the most from it possible, so that is something I can definitely work on. It was a great end to a great fortnight and hopefully thats not the last time I will see them all as I would like to take my stuff back in once it has finished to show them what we have managed to create. We have been invited back to show them and they are going to come to the end of year show which will be great for them to see how everything has ended up.

Tandem Film's Studio Visit

One of the group visit's we had in London was at a studio called Tandem Films. When we got to the design studio we were pleasantly surprised to find it was a converted terraced house located in a really nice area of London. We were all meeted and greeted by the Oscar winning Daniel Greaves! It's one thing to visit his company but it is another for Daniel to show us around himself. We had a great couple of HOURS there and it was a great experience to see what they have to offer. Well look at these photo's at how cool the studio looks and make up your own mind! :-

We were all shown around the studio at the workspaces everyone had. As you can see from the photo's above the studio is a kind of dated greenhouse with parasols inside to keep the sun off the employees and sun/rain off their work. It helped give the studio a relaxed feel and everyone was chilled out. After the tour of the studio we had the chance to chat with some of the freelancers and designers about what they were currently working on. These were jobs for companies such as Nokia, William Hill aswell as working on the Simon's Cat comic strip that Tandem are famous for.

After this we went down to the editing suit downstairs where we all sat around and watched their newly edited showreel. It was great to see how companies still change showreels and keep them up to date and its not just people trying to get into the industry having to do this. Plus it is just the chance to show off. Part way through though I sat up and noticed that they had a piece but The Neighbourhood in their showreel which I was a bit like "What's going on here?!". But little did I know they are the London representatives for The Neighbourhood. This I found very interesting as I have been in contact a lot recently. We then sat and watched more of the work that Tandem had completed and got the chance to speak to another director. One piece of information I was very interested with was that the directors were welcome to go and work at other companies as long as they weren't directing the pieces. This was because Tandem didn't always have enough work to keep them busy so instead of paying them when there was nothing to do it made sense to let them work for others and keep they're hand in.

It was a fascinating visit and great to meet Daniel and have an insight to see what working somewhere like that was like. It was completely different to a company such as Rushes or The Mill as it was on a smaller scale and much more relaxed working environment. Hopefully this is a good contact and hopefully I can keep in touch with all the companies I have visited and maybe some of our paths will cross again someday!

The Mill Portfolio Visit

The last portfolio visit London was at the world famous Mill. After the timings and struggles of finding the last 2 visits I thought I get there very early. Find The Mill then hang around the area until it was time to speak to someone. When I arrived I saw the building and how fantastic it looked. Now I had found where it was (funnily enough it was near the Pizza place that Goolge told me was Rushes studio) I had a little wonder round to see what else was around as I know how close all the studios are together. After 5 minutes I stumbled across the studio of BBH which was another of the companies I asked to visit as they produced the advert I used for my research for my Nexus project.

BBH Studio

ANYWAY... Back to The Mill. I went back and turned up a little earlier than arranged but I thought being early just shows how keen I am, hopefully working in my favour. I sat in the reception area waiting for my contact Kate Hopkin to meet me. I sat there and watched the hustle and bustle of the vast studio. Even the customer area I was sat in (next to an Oscar) was huge with space for tenants to work and just gave me a clue into the scale of the whole company. It had a great welcoming feel to the company as people were asking after me and making sure I was ok. This is great to see even in a company that is world renowned.

I was then joined by Kate and Lisa and we sat in the tenant area and they asked about me and what I did and where I saw myself in the future. I'm not sure if they do this with everyone but it really made me feel like they were trying to get to know me before they started to show me around the studio. I asked what they did and they were there to look after the new talent in the company and make sure everyone was happy in what they are doing. Immediately I knew the opportunity this was to impress and see what the industry was like.

They passed me onto one of the runners at the studio called Robin who took me around the whole studio and showed me what to offer. It was a great opportunity, he showed me all the different sections, right from the underbelly/technical side right through to the smoke and flame suites. I used this time to ask him about the experience of being a runner and where he came from and how he got the place. I was really nosey but you have to be to get the most out of the experience. One point that really stood out to me at this studio was that it was a 24 hours a day studio, they work day and night as a lot of their customers are overseas with huge time differences they want to be flexible to the customer. This is great for their customer relations but must be hard on the staff. I was told about the rotation they were one and the kind of work they do. They are basically there to ensure the welfare of all the employees. They make food for people all over the studio, take people around, move things from different sections of the studio and then they also get to sit with someone and actually learn from them too. Robin mentioned that in they're spare time they are welcome to find space to work and work on they're skills and that they are asked which area they are most interested in and that is the area in which they can learn.

After this I was taken back to Kate and Lisa's office where they had obviously had a little chat about me and what I was like as they offered me a week's placement commencing the 20th July. What an oppertunity that is, Kate offered to give me details of places to stay and they have offered to pay for my travel on the tube so this could be a fantastic experience that I snapped up. It's something I can really look forward to and I have found when I have mentioned it to people in the industry it really makes them sit up and listen so hopefully this could help me in all kinds of ways.

Rushes Portfolio Visit

While in London I had a portfolio visit at the post production house Rushes. After walking around the centre of London following Google maps I decided it is probably best to ring the company to find out exactly where they were as they were not the Pizza shop Google was telling me it was. Anyway after a nice chat with the lady on reception she informed me I was 10 mins walk away.

Once I arrived I was directed up the stairs to the customer area and sat waiting to be met by my contact Warwick Hewett who started off as the VFX coordinator and was now a VFX producer. While I sat there I saw the new showreel Rushes had put together and realised they had been involved in much more than I thought. The technical breakdowns in their showreels really stood out to me as I started to think how I could show how I was going to layer up my final piece. Warwick came to collect me and took me up to the animation studio upstairs. I didn't realise the scale of the company until I was walking through it. It was vast and as we walked through all the different sections I realised all the different areas they operated in from print right through to animation.

We continued through the rooms until I met the guys in the one of the animation studios. The MGFX studio here I sat with Mark, Costas, Seb and the guys. Here I spoke to Mark about where I saw myself in the industry and where I wanted to end up. It was interesting to speak to him and all the guys. This was without shadow of a dowt the most helpful portfolio visit I had had. All the guys were genuinely interested in me, what I do and where I wanted to go. I spoke to them about where they had come from and how they had got to the level they are at at the moment. One thing I really wanted to ask about as it is somthing I needed to start thinking about was how do I get into the industry? How do I stand out? What stands out to them? They answer these questions and so many more. Like I said they wee so helpful and brutally honest with me which is exactly what I was after.

Official Website:

http://www.mgfxstudio.co.uk/?#/20

I showed Matt my showreel but all the other guys stopped what they were doing to comment on it and see what I actually did. It was great to feel that welcomed and to be told that I would fit in there, with they're team is the biggest compliment I could have hoped for. I have made many contacts on this visit, got so much feedback and the confirmation that I am going ito the right business for me. What more could you want from a portfolio visit?

Man Vs Machine Portfolio Visit

After struggling to find the studio for Man Vs Machine and ending up being 10 minutes late after walking past the office 3 times I finally got buzzed up to the top floor of large building overlooking a small courtyard in the centre of Shorditch. When I got up to the door of the studio and saw all the fixed gear bikes hung on the walls and as well as the employees jackets I knew I was in the right place.

I was greeted by Tim, the owner of the company, at the door who took me into the first room which was which had a great working atmosphere. The room itself was quite long with about 10 work stations in it. The guys working away in there but all chatting and helping each other as they were working on the same project passing files between each other. I was shown some of the work and programs they were using for the job they were currently working on. It was good to see they were using After Effects and maya which I have been working in over the last couple of years. I had the opportunity to watch a couple of them and see how someone would be working on a shot and then pass it over to the compositor. It was interesting how they split the team up and got each person to work on separate areas before it was all brought together in After Effects.

Tim said that the business started as a multimedia studio where they worked on the branding and the graphics paper based side of things as well as the motion graphics. This is down to his background as that is where he originally started. They were now purely a motion graphics studio with a great reputation all over London. They are producing the highest quality work even though the studio and team only consists of around 10 people. Time showed me into their meeting room which was at the far end of their 2 roomed studio where we sat and he showed me some of the work they have been working on. I asked to see how they pitch for ideas and the presentations they give to win the pitch. I didn't realise how much they put into the pitch for the job. They put alot of high quality test together as well as style frames and mood boards.

Put it this way the stuff they were producing for their pitches I would have been happy with for my final pieces! They really put forward how it is going to finally look and the high standard of work they would produce.

When showing Tim my work he liked the ideas behind it and encouraged me to go along the stylized route for my final piece as it would really stand out companies in the field. He also mentioned that I should try and stay away from realism as that is where the industry is heading and what everyone is wanting at the moment. If I try to do that style, it always stands out to people like him as that is what they do day in and day out. Even if they tried to look past it, they would always subconsciously pick up on it. For example, I showed him my Nexus piece which he did like and thought it was a good idea but the shot of the lighting on the warehouse roof (even though it only lasted seconds) really stood out to him as he noticed it wasn't as realistic as it could have been.

This was a very helpful visit and loved meeting Tim and the guys. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to get to speak to them in the future and I aim to be able to produce work of this standard. It is the best work I have ever seen. Everything looked so realistic I was gobsmacked.

London Trip

This weekend we are heading town to London to visit some studios a get some feedback on our work. Over the last month or so I have been in touch with companies trying to get some appointments to show them my work as well as seeing how they operate and produce their pieces. I got in touch with as many people as possible as I knew I was going to get some rejections. I think I ended up getting in touch with about 14 companies but found it wasn't until I started ringing and speaking to people I started to get somewhere.

I ended up getting portfolio visit with the following:

Man Vs Machine

The Mill

Rushes

Tandem Films (Group Visit)

I am really looking forward to the trip and showing people some of the work I have produced, my ideas and how I can get into the industry when leaving my course. I think this week is going to be very beneficial. I hope people like my work and can help sort my mind with where I want to end up and how to get there.

Matthew Davies Portfolio Visit

Last Thursday Matthew came around to the flat to look both my and Matt Geeling portfolio's. It was a great to get feedback from a guy who also directs and edits project but maybe looks at it in a different way.

Matt is a freelancer and is currently working at the BBC filming a new programme. He came around after he had finished for the day which were long hours he told us. After seeing him film in November for a web advert we were interested in what else he worked on. It shows the scope, he can work on. He mentioned that he works along side some other guys who build up a small team. This team had just got the contract to make 10 music videos for an undisclosed artist which he is directing. Work is going well for him as he is very busy at the moment and has jobs lined up as some end.

When looking through my portfolio he did seem impressed. I started by showing him my showreel just to give him a general feel to my work before I showed him a couple of individual pieces. I then showed him a variety of different pieces of work. I started with the big draw sting which lead him to ask how it was done. For this I showed him the short making of and the setup I had rigged to create the piece. After this I showed him the 3D title sequence and the negotiated project Nexus which he really enjoyed. He asked about sound and how it had been put together. I explained that I animated to a piece I had found before sending it off to a composer to write to.

After this we sat and spoke of opportunities. We spoke of where he had been since he finished his course at Salford and how he had worked at Sky and ESPN before getting to where he is now. We all spoke of a business that has freelancers on the books which is a possible opportunity while looking for jobs after graduating. We also discussed the possibility of a collaboration in the future and completing a job together. This is something that could be developed in the future and hopefully a good route to explore once the course is complete.

Studio Babelsberg

When we arrived at the worlds oldest large scale studio Babelsberg we were greated by our guide and given a bit of information about the studio itself. It has been producing films and working as studio space since 1912. It has been the set for huge films such as Metropolis, Inglorious Bastards, Valkyrie and The Bourne Ultimatum. It offers services such as a replica Boeing plane with removable walls and cockpit as well as the worlds larges indoor water tank.

After we met our guide she took us to see all the separate areas of the studio. The studio is vast and the size of a town itself. Even the streets were names after famous directors and producers. We started by looking around the prop houses. It when you see all these behind the scenes workings you can truly respect the amount of work that goes into these huge productions. These prop houses were unbelievable, I have never seen anything like it. There was row after row of catalogued objects that could create or recreate any scenario you could think of. I couldn’t believe the work went into making the scenes.

After this we were shown the costume department and the rows upon rows of clothes and costumes such as military outfits all the way to cabaret. After spending our time trying some costumes on and looking through the vast collection we entered a room with the famous costumes in that the celebrities had worn. We saw costumes from Inglorious Basterds and Jude Law’s outfit from Enemy At The Gates. From here we went on to see the carpentry department and the plastering departments that created everything from huge ships to the mask used in V For Vendetta.

The last 2 areas we saw were the most impressive. First we went into the second of the 3 large filming studios where there was the some of the set left from the filming of The 3 Musketeers that had taken place there the week previous. This was by far the best part of the whole trip to Berlin! I cannot go into much detail as to what was inside the studio until the film is released as we said we would not reveal details but the set we got to walk around was unbelievable and the fact they had built it all from scratch. After seeing the rest of the studio I think I could finally understand what effort had gone into building it.

The last section we saw was at the other side of the studio and was a complete street that had been created on the side of huge containers that were stacked over 3 stories high. The street resembled a typical street and could be changed to directors wishes. It had been used in films such as Inglorious Basterds and the Pioanist.

All of this made me think of earlier in the year when I really wanted to get involved with film. Looking around all these separate warehouses showed that there are many areas in which you could get into the film industry. This just shows the amount of opportunities this studio has as well as showing the true scale of the place. I could be quite easy to get lost in the huge teams working together to create these scenarios but that is what this studio is all about. Everyone, every department are working with all the others to create one final outcome.

I am so happy I got the opportunity to see this studio. I made me think a lot of where I wanted to end up as it brought back thoughts of wanting to go into the film industry. The whole studio was fascinating but when I sit back and look I realised thatyet again it would be easy to get lost in the movie business and end up just doing the same thing over and over. I want to work on projects that I can see through until the end as well as working on the ideas rather than just being a production boy. This is the reason why I feel I would be best suited going into the advertising industry.

The Neighbourhood Studio Visit

The Neighbourhood Showreel 2010

After ringing the project manager Sarah Baker last week myself and 2 others went on a portfolio yesterday morning to The Neighbourhood's new design studio. After turning up at their new Lever Street Studio I instantly loved the new place they had just got for themselves. The building itself is fantastic as it has been modernised but still keeping some of the traditional elements of the build. When walking in the studio we were greeted by one of the designers and we sat in their waiting area while the creative director Jon Humphreys had finished in a meeting. From here we could see the studio and the fact they had just moved in the week previous as there were pictures ready to be hung and boxes to be sorted. Even though they had only been there a week they had already made the space their own by adding traditional furniture and creating a coffee table out of old books. This is one of the best studios I have been to as it felt like The Neighbourhood had a home. Some of the other studios I have visited have been quite empty and almost office-like, where as this you could tell they are a design company and they wanted to express that.

After a few minutes we saw the meeting room empty and Sarah (project manager), Jon (creative director) and Stewart (animator, designer and 3D enthusiast) come across to great us and introduce themselves. We then followed them into their new meeting room and sat around their huge traditional dining table. After looking up and seeing all along the wall the awards they had won from various competitions I knew I was in one manchester best design studios. We spoke to the 3 designers about our course and what it was we actually do. They were very interested in what we had to say and where we saw ourselves in the future. They asked where abouts in the country we saw ourselves heading after the course had finished and after we all showed interest of staying up north and hopefully at a design studio around this area they explained that that is where a lot of the business is moving and that we should definitely check out around here before venturing south.

You could tell that the designers liked how we spoke of our work and how we presented them our work. They expected us to take along disks and to use their Tv to show the work but when we said we had brought our laptops to show them our work I think they could tell we were making an effort to show what we were all about as individuals. After the others had shown their work we had a conversation with Jon about how we had recently produced showreels to show the work we had been producing over the last few years. He explained how they can sometimes do more harm that good and that it was important the amount of content you put in as you don't want them to seem repetitive and that a designer only does one way of working. After this Sarah, Stewart and John all looked towards me and I decided that I was still going to show my showreel I had produced. I am glad I did, they were all impressed by it and Jon mentioned he liked the fact I showed my working methods in there as well as my work. After this I showed them my Big draw ident and making of to explain how I put it together and the effort I went through to get the results I did. Also I wanted to show I could do a range of work from Maya to stop-motion. After this is explained the ideas behind ad showed my title sequence which I think went down well.

To finish with they showed us a piece of their work that Stewart had recently made 3D post-production. We all got handed the 3D glasses and were shown how the design world is changing and how ahead of the game The Neighbourhood were. They have been ready for some time for these types of jobs to come around and produce work of which I have never seen before. Stewart explained that making a piece 3D is something else he has just put in his toolbox much like other techniques such as using depth of field. After this we left as we had already taken up plenty of their time and they have deadlines to meet. It was a fantastic studio to visit and I hope one day I can work in a place just like it. The people were friendly, talented and just as passionate about the subject as I am which, is what I want when I leave. This is definitely a studio I will keep in touch with as I think they will be a great contact for the future and hopefully I will be able to go back again sometime.

Sehsucht Studio Visit

When we went to Berlin this November we went to a Studio called Sehsucht Located to the north of the city. They are the newest Sehsucht office as they have a larger office in Hamburg.

The company was very welcoming but that was probably amplified because of how cold we were when we got there. We were greeted by the managing director of Sehsucht who had previously work at Psyop (a company we visited and I personally loved in New York). The studio space was very similar to that of Psyop and that is probably one of the reasons I liked it so much.

This is the piece the studio had recently finished. While we have had street view on google for some time, out there they have not so this is a campaign to advertise what it is. We had all seen this before we headed out there but when we arrived the managing director had a breakdown of how they put it together (which is underneath). He walked us step by step through the process of making before we were shown the studio where they had filmed it. All the props were still out from filing and we were very impressed with the results they managed to get in such a small space.

Google Street View Ad

Making of Google Street View Ad

After our meeting we were aloud to walk around the very friendly working studio speaking with the designers and I managed to show one of them my showreel which he seemed impressed with. This was great but I was more taken aback by the stuff they were doing. They were showing us the work they were currently working on and how it was separated into sections between them. It was impressive to see the results they were getting and they all knew what everyone else in the team were doing and the stage they were at.

This was a great studio and I would love to work somewhere like this in the future. The small team meant you could work on a piece from start to finish. The team was separated in 2 though and I can imagine that there could be some rivalry. Im not sure if it could be healthy rivalry or not but that could be a concern. Other studios have everyone together which personally I think is better even if your working on different projects as you can bounce ideas and techniques off each other. After seeing this studio as well as the others I have visited I'm definitely sure I want to work in an advertising studio doing a wide variety of jobs.

Mainframe Studio Visit

The week before last I went to Mainframes design studio in the Northern Quarter of Manchester and spoke to the managing director Chris Hardcastle. After walking to there studio on Silk Street and finding there attic studio I met Chris and sat with him at his meeting table. We started by talking about the industry and the kind of things I as interested in and the area in which I wanted to head. We spoke about how until a couple of weeks previous I wanted to get into to film industry and work on large projects but recently I had turned more towards the advertising industry. I mentioned how I wanted to see a project through as opposed to just being another cog in the works who ends up doing the same thing all the time. 

This is a screenshot taken from Mainframe's Huggies (For The Journey) ad

We spoke how he had done that when he was working down in London and that the larger Mainframe studio in Soho is more like that too. It was very interesting listening to him how there Manchester studio was a stand alone office or sister company as opposed to working on the same work in both offices. He was interested in where I wanted to work, whether down south or staying up in the north. I mentioned that I would like the experience of London at some point but would not be upset about staying up in Manchester or Liverpool if the opportunity came around. Chris mentioned how they are wanting to expand the business up here and are trying to keep designers up north as opposed to them all heading south. He mentioned a company called The Neighborhood which are their closest rivals and there main competition.

This is a screenshot from Mainframe's COI sexual health ad

After we spoke about the industry we moved onto my work  and questions I had. At the end of last year I asked Chris for a portfolio visit and unfortunately it wasn't possible because of the work they had on at the time. He did say I could send some work through to him and he would send me some feedback back. Because of this I didn't want to show him the same pieces so I showed him the new showreel I had just created (which included the 2 pieces to refresh his memory) and my Big Draw ident as well. He was very positive of my work and suggested some small tricks to improve my work and make me stand out from the crowd when it came to job hunting. This was the question I asked him funnily enough. I wanted to know what he looks for when hiring and how people stand out. The main message he said was to make the work speak for itself and have it finished to a high standard, then the employer looks towards the person themselves and see how they could get on with them in the working environment. He was also interested in the timescales in which the pieces were done in to see if results could be got quickly and deadlines could be met.

This was a great visit and I enjoyed meeting Chris and seeing a professional studio space much like MI's. Hopefully Chris will have the chance to see my end of year show as he asked to keep in touch and let him know when it was. Hopefully this will be a good contact for the future.

MI Portfolio Visit

This morning I went to MI's studio and sat and spoke with with their managing director Tony Denton. I showed him a few pieces of my work which by the sounds of things he liked. I saw the studio in which he works with his colleges. It was a great working atmosphere with the radio on in the background and everyone laughing and joking about the days jobs. It was a really welcoming environment with very friendly and polite designers. It is the kind of studio i could see myself working in in the future. Tony said that the reason it was quite relaxed was because they have just sent off a piece they had just finished but it can get hectic.

This is a screenshot of a piece they have just completed. It is of the trailer for the new Nascar Game being released on multi-platforms.

As I said before, I was sat with Tony and we spoke about the industry and he asked about where I see myself in it. I spoke about Double Negative and Framestore, which he had strong connections with, but explained that I don't want to fade into the background and I want to follow a project through to the end. He explained his experiences with the larger companies and how you can quite easily fade into the background doing the same old thing. The conversation with Tony was fascinating, listening to his experiences and how other people come through the ranks and how it is harder to do so in a large company. It has made me rethink where I want to be and what job I want to go into. I would love to be in a small team where you know everyone and can get on with everyone. I suppose it is a bit like the course I'm on. I wanted to be on a course where I knew everyone and could connect with everyone, therefore ensuring I learnt more.

A lot of the work MI do is architectural based and is completed to a very high quality. He gave me some examples to go away with, which is great resource to have.

To finish on he gave me loads of advice for when leaving university and looking for jobs and going to interviews. He told me the kind of thing he looks for in a employee and what gets people noticed. Tony suggested that I keep in touch over the next year and that I could go back which I certainly will. With talks of a possible a placement when I finish the course I am already very excited about working in the advertising industry, if you can't tell that already. All in all it was a fantastic studio visit and I hope it wont be the last time I step through MI's door.

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.

Thoughtful Portfolio Visit

This lunchtime I went to the Thoughtful Studio to have a portfolio visit with James and Stuart. I showed them some of my pieces and asked for some feedback. Obviously I could have asked that via email but it is always better when you talk to companies in person to get a more personal response. This ensures you can completely explain your ideas and what you wanted to communicate.

I think I came across well in the meeting and to start with Stuart told me that they were impressed with what they've seen of my work previously. They mentioned how well and mature I came across in presentations and how I seemed to explain myself well. This was very kind of them to say but also a great boost in my confidence before I presented my work to them this time.

VH1: I started by explaining my ideas behind the VH1 and what I wanted to show with the piece. They really liked the piece and told me that they liked the way it was done and at first they thought it was a mixture between real footage and maya work. I told them how I have redone the lighting to make the whole piece lighter. James disagreed and said he liked the lighting and it went well with the materials and the distressed look of everything. They both thought the music went well with the piece and really summed up the channel. The only thing they really suggested was maybe putting a foot in with the pedal.

E4: I showed the guys my ad that produced for the D&AD brief and they were very impressed. They liked the fact I hadn't just used 3D and stuck with that. They understood how hard it is to organise people and get locations which to film in. They thought the piece showed the guilty pleasures thing well. They also mentioned how good it was that I included the purple theme throughout the piece. All in all they respected my organisation skills.

Threat Of Exposure: After the E4 add I showed the guys my title sequence. I explained the brief and the plot. They understood and were impressed with my ideas and how I showed that in the piece. At this point Stuart asked me what my influences were for this title sequence. He mentioned Kyle Cooper which I agreed with using Se7en as an example. I also told them about Delicatessen which they saw the connections between. The only criticisms they had with this piece was that they suggested I filled the wall with newspaper clippings and didn't just have a few. They also agreed with Chris Hardcastle and thought I should distress the desk and the wall objects more to make them look like they've been torn out, creased and well used.

After speaking about this we spoke about how I would improve as I'am only a second year. We spoke of combining live footage with the 3D elements. This has made me think more about what I want to do for my final major next.

DO Lecture: To finish with I showed them the work I am currently working on to their brief. This was the intro and outro for the DO Lectures online web lectures. They were very impressed with what I had produced and they really want me to continue with the idea and maybe incorporate a strap-line and music as well as the natural sounds in the background.

After talking about my work, we were talking about their future projects and future work. I enjoyed hearing their ideas and how they are going to go about their next projects. I look forward to seeing how it turns out and seeing what they do in the future. I will be heading up to see them next year to see what other projects they get and their plans on how to tackle them.

Mainframe Contact Report

After contacting Chris Hardcastle at Mainframe he sent me back this contact repart after looking at both my title sequence and my VH1 ident. His constructive criticism was very helpful and I agree with every word he said and while I have some free time over the summer these are the areas in which I will try and improve!