London Trip: Studio Visit

Introduction 

After Unit X, the animation course took a trip to London to visit studios there including: ‘Framestore’, ‘Double Negative’, ‘Cartoon Network’ and ‘Industrial, Light and Magic’. This gave us the opportunity to meet the employees, see how they worked and provided an insight into how to be a part of their teams.

Framestore

First we visited Framestore, the studios responsible for effects in: ‘The Jungle Book’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, ‘Gravity’ and many more. [http://www.imdb.com/company/co0103818/] They have won an Oscar and an Emmy for their work. When we arrived we were taken downstairs to a screening room where they showed their showreel. I found their work on Gravity stood out to me as I had no idea the space suits were CG. They used references from suits provided by NASA and they were added to the actors after filming. After their showreel there was a short Q&A with a recruiter and a current employee.

Double Negative

After that we went to Double Negative, responsible for the effects in: ‘Ant-Man’, ‘Ex-Manicha’, ‘Terminator Genisys’ and many more. [http://www.imdb.com/company/co0105115/] They have won multiple awards found in their cabinet in the reception. We had to sign a contract to say that we would take photographs and share information on their latest projects that we didn’t even know about. Their building was very nice with multiple floors where employees were working on several projects at once.

After visiting both studios we stayed in a Hostel where we were given the opportunity to meet employees from these studios in a casual manner. However I was not feeling well on this night and was not able to attend.

Cartoon Network

The next day we went to the Cartoon Network studios where they were creating the Amazing World of Gumball. This studio was very different compared to the previous two because this was a studio producing a television series by the company they’re working for rather than producing effects for clients in their films. We were given a presentation and a tour of the studio which I found very enjoyable and inspiring. We were shown the different departments of the production pipeline and how the employees worked. 

Industrial Light and Magic

Industrial light and Magic are the largest and most well-known company for their special effects in: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park and many more. We were taken downstairs to a screening room where we were shown a 55 minute documentary of the studios. Detailing from when the studio was created, how Pixar was created and how they pioneered special effects. I found their documentary very informative and enjoyable. We also had a Q&A with a recruiter and two employees from 3D and 2D departments.

Photos

Conclusion

Overall I found the trip enjoyable seeing the sights of London and visiting these amazing studios. I would say Cartoon Network was the most appealing studio for their creations, how they work and the friendly, creative atmosphere within the studio. It was nice seeing how personal the spaces were on each desk to each employee, this made it feel comfortable to be yourself. From this trip I have gained insight into these studios and how they work. I have also gained information on how to prepare myself through my work and how to approach these studios in the future. 

Animator's Sketchclub Challenge: May 2016

Dance Dance Dance

The Animators Sketchclub is a facebook group I earlier this year, they release challenges every month which exercise creative skills.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/animatorssketchclub/

"OK, so here's your MAY Challenge folks! This time we're getting back to our nimation roots and principles through an exercise I've called 'DANCE, DANCE, DANCE'! Push it as far as you can as the very best animated expression is always expressed beyond that which is seen in the real world. (Although its totally based upon it at the same time!) You have until Sunday, May 29th at Midnight (Pacific Time) to submit your drawings. (All on 1 single page file please!) 'Good luck' everyone!"

This month's challenge is called 'Dance, Dance, Dance' which involved researching a video of Fred Astaire, we had to draw three poses which we find the most important that define core elements to the story of the dance. I watched the video multiple times over the past two weeks analyzing which poses to choose, I was also balancing the Unit X installation which can be found in my previous posts. 

After watching the video again I found that these poses stood out to me. 

Because I found this challenging, I drew the poses that stood out to me the most through the expression of the pose. I felt that I could express emotion through these actions which could convey a story. 

As I drew these poses I tried to accurately portray balance and the emotion with some added exaggeration.  
If I were to do this again i would improve the face of the character as i do not like the eyes particularly on the third pose. I would change the shape of the eyes as they appear too round and simple. 

smile emoticon

Unit X: Reflection Submission

As a group we took the opportunity to experiment by moving away from our respective practices to create something new. Working as part of a team can both be challenging and rewarding especially on a project such as this. I believe I have been an effective team member throughout the project by engaging in all aspects of the unit. After the holidays I returned with research which greatly contributed to the idea we finally produced despite the challenges I faced initially. I also took the opportunity to attend a number of workshops in preparation for our work including: VJ, Digital Stream of Consciousness and After Effects workshops as well as archive visits including: Manchester Cathedral and The Science and Industry Museum. Even though the workshops may not have contributed to the final product in the end, I still took the precautions before-hand in case these skills would be useful to the team. I may not have been able to attend every meeting as I had medical appointments, I was still able to attend most meetings, sharing ideas and developing our concepts further.

However I would improve how I did not manage the team effectively. I did not take the step to manage the team because I stood back and allowed the team to progress with their respective roles and responsibilities. However this lead to some jobs being incomplete which affected us greatly later on; one example being that the lights were not organised and no-one had booked the lamps. I trusted the team for tasks to be completed without communicating; therefore I should have asked the team what tasks had been completed. From this I feel that I have developed to recognise a team that does not have a clear leader using my understanding of Belbin team roles. In future I would therefore use my initiative to ensure the team has a clear goal, roles are assigned and jobs are completed well before the deadline. This would done through clear communication through our chosen method of communication and regular meetings.

I believe my choices have been just and that I have worked effectively throughout this unit. I contributed through the actions I took such as attending workshops, recognising contacts to gather materials and producing tests to share the results with the team. As other members gathered their materials, I produced tests of how the objects would appear using the materials we had chosen during the meetings. I gathered the materials myself and took a number of photos with changing variables including light and wind on how elements could potentially affect our work. I would improve how I’ve worked by communicating with my team more; this way I could have produced even more tests and gathered more results.

Research of hanging objects post: 

http://georgebowdenmanchestermetanimation.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/unit-x-hanging-objects-tests.html

http://georgebowdenmanchestermetanimation.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/unit-x-hanging-object-test-2nd-edition.html

During meetings I shared my thoughts and opinions on the work and what we should produce. I always wanted to take our ideas further by both producing a visually stunning piece of work with a clear link to our chosen theme. As I shared my ideas on my research involving the mental dislocation of Giselle, I shared ways to visualise this incorporating ideas from the rest of the group. I felt at times the theme of ‘The First World War’ was taking over from the theme of dislocation; I always had the fear that our ideas would advance and develop so quickly that that theme would be lost in a complex explanation. I believe this was due to my own paranoia which only affected myself negatively; therefore I would improve this by communicating with my team clearly and not allow my feelings to affect my work and contribution to the team. I would apply what I have learnt from this unit to my own practice which is teamwork; within animation you work as part of a team. With what I have learnt from this experience I can apply this to future projects to ensure the work produced is what we set out to create and even more.

Research Blog Post:

 http://georgebowdenmanchestermetanimation.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/unit-x-research.html

 I attended a number of workshops; this was made upon person preference rather than team requirements as there were no workshops that directly applied to what we planned to create.

Because our work was a structure the work was very intense during the installation as we spent the rest of the time collecting research and materials; which is very different from my practice which requires a lot of work spread over a long time.

This has informed me in different ways which I could work; in how to manage my personal time and communication within my team. This relates to my practice of animation because animation is regarded as a team profession and these skills of team work and leadership that I have learnt can be applied in future projects.

Unit X Show

Introduction

After four days of preparation the Unit X show had arrived, showing off the work of MMU students from across the school of art. This is the opportunity where we display our work to our peers, tutors and invigilators who I’ll be evaluating our work. As the show went on I took the time to look at the work across the four floors of the London Scottish House. Food and drink were also provided; I enjoyed cold beer and some pretzels. 

The show was also mentioned in the Manchester Evening News:
[http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/property/former-london-scottish-headquarters-transformed-11326966]

1st Floor

2nd Floor

3rd Floor

4th Floor