Saturday, 4 December 2010

Presentation Design

Here is the design for the presentation. As you can see I have took into account that we was going to use Prezi.com to present our presentation. We decided that we wanted an image that we could place all the information into but was completely relevant to animation. That lead us to producing a storyboard style image which works quite well. As you can see we have left empty spaces to allow us to write the information needed.





Richard Collins

Tuesday, 30 November 2010

Summarised '2D Job Options' Research

2D Job Options

Skillset listing of jobs within 2D animation

The link above is to a website listing of a range of jobs within the 2D animation area. This includes all areas, from pre-production through to post-production. While this list is extensive (38 in total), there are only a few that graduates would be able to apply for. These include Animator, Assistant Animator, Junior Animator, Inbetweener and Runner. An animator’s job is fairly self-explanatory, they follow directions from a director, animation director or key animator. They work either alone or in a team, supervising the work of inbetweeners or assistants. An inbetweener produces the stills between the previously drawn key poses. Their responsibilities include making sure they produce the character(s) on model, that they are neat and accurate, and that they produce a smooth animation. They must be capable of working in a team and following directions. A runner is in effect, an assistant to everyone. Their tasks can include anything from making tea and coffee for staff, replacing batteries and lightbulbs, and tidying up, to checking time sheets and keeping the showreel and reference library. Whatever a runner’s job is, they should always be watching and learning. However, within this list are several options in both post production and pre-production that myself or other people would be able to do.

This leads on to what Peter Dodd answered one of our questions with. Question 8 of our questionnaire was ‘What was your first professional job within 2d?’ He answered by telling us that he started off designing props and storyboards, and eventually moved on to producing animations. Prop design and storyboards are part of the pre-production of any animation, so the fact that Peter moved from pre-production into full time animation is evidence that the change from one area of the process to the other is possible.


Aaron Hodder

Summarised 'Getting your Name out There' Research

Getting your Name out There

There are many ways for an animator to get their names known. The most effective are as follows:

-Showreel
The most important thing for any animator is to have a showreel. A showreel is a short video which shows a person’s best work, usually accompanied by a music track. Tips which I have picked up through various lectures include:
            -Keep your showreel to less than 3 minutes
                        This is because you may have a huge collection of work, whoever you send it to won’t necessarily have the time it takes to watch it all, so keep it short.
            -Make sure any lip syncing included can be heard over the music
                        This will allow you to show off your lip syncing, and the viewer will be able to see your skills. Usually, people dim the background music while the voice is played above it.
            -Show your best work first
                        The viewer may not have time to see the full showreel, and if your best work is at the end, then they may be left unimpressed by the rest of the reel. If your best work is first, they will see that no mater how long they watch it for.
            -Identify your work.
                        This applies to collaborations and group work. If multiple people worked on a scene, identify in your showreel what parts you made.

-Networking
Websites such as Facebook and YouTube, which allow video uploading, are popular among anyone who strives to get into the industry, as it allows them to upload their completed work and people can view it. With over 2 billion videos watched a day, YouTube is the most popular video sharing website, and it is almost guaranteed that if someone uploads something, someone somewhere will watch it. Facebook on the other hand, while it allows video uploads, only the person’s contacts can watch them. However, if a person creates a separate page for their work, people outside their contacts list can watch it.
Photobucket is another website which allows video sharing, but as the name suggests, it has more emphasis on images. The part of the site for videos isn’t as popular as Youtube, but for people who produce high quality images as well as videos could use this site.
Websites like Twitter are aimed more at simply keeping in contact, but many people use Twitter, and with the right contacts, one’s work can be spread through word of mouth.
Aniboom is another video hosting website, dedicated to animations. This website is also useful as it’s purpose is an online animation production studio. This gives it a slight edge over YouTube as a method of finding work, as YouTue has more viewers, it is more likely that someone looking for an animator will visit Aniboom.

-Personal Website
Having a personal website isn’t necessary pivotal in promoting oneself at the beginning of their career, it is extremely advisable that people have their own websites. This is because it allows people to see your work, you can have a website in your own personal style, and it generally makes you seem more professional. There are a wide range of website hosting sites, such as Justhost or 34sp.

-Contests
There are many short film contests on the Internet, and they can be great way of promoting yourself, with the bonus of winning money if you win. The 11 Second Club has monthly competitions, although they are aimed at character animation, not short films. Another website, BigStar, offer monthly prizes for short films. While there isn’t always a designated animation contest, animated films are allowed in all their contests.

-E-mail
Another great way of getting your name out there is through e-mailing a range of different companies. It is a good idea to attach a showreel or have a link to an online showreel, as the viewer may take the time to watch it.


Aaron Hodder

SWOT analysis - Aaron

Here is my SWOT analysis:




Aaron Hodder

SWOT analysis - Richard

Here is my SWOT analysis:




Richard Collins

Presentation Website

Here is the link to the website we used to create our presentation. This allows you to freely roam round the presentation at your will.

http://prezi.com/48t_y1lpylxt/2d-animation/

Presentation Screenshots

Here are some screenshots of our presentation. As we have done it on a presentation website I will link the website in the next blog.










Aaron Hodder and Richard Collins