personalbrandingba2b

[personalbrandingba2b]

Weekly Summary (Week Beginning 8th of May)

This week was mostly finishing off the website, getting it put together and filling it with all of my work and relevant information. I also recieved some feedback on the site and showreel during the week, some of which I was able to act on and others it was a little too late to do so.

Overall this project has been fairly decent, and though I would like to have had more work to include in my showreel and site I feel as if they have both been fairly successful.

[personalbrandingba2b]

A link to the website I made, I feel this website is succesful in what it needs to do.

I chose a template from Wix, but I altered it - removing the welcome area so I could have my showreel as the centre piece. This allows potential employers to find the relevant work straight away, whilst keeping things such as my contact information in view. It then goes onto the about me section, I chose to keep this section brief and only to outline relevant information - rather than having it be my life story. This was one of the main things I took away from looking at other websites, was the about me section was in danger of being too personal and going into unecessary detail about their lives. The next section of the site included some of the projects from the showreel in their entirety. I then have the contact area, giving my details. I also included a little message to encourage contact for any reason, not just for employment - I hope this will make the website feel a little bit friendlier as the rest of it could come off as a little impassionate.

I chose that particular colour scheme as it’s not too bright and bold, but it has some highlight to it, rather than being all black. The colours are also fairly low impact, so they make the site feel more calming in my opinion.

I chose the font as it is clear and easy to read, while also looking fairly professional and again it isn’t too flashy. I wanted to keep the site grounded and somewhere to showcase my work, rather than a shouty site to try and impress people. I’d rather let my work speak for itself and the website be a toned down environment.

Overall I feel the website is fairly successful, though I feel maybe it could be a bit more ambitious, as at the moment it could be a little too bare.

[personalbrandingba2b]

Weekly Summary (Week Beginning May 1st)

This week was mainly about constructing my showreel, with some research before diving straight in, I think the showreel works fairly well - it shows off my work while providing relevant information.

I also began looking on Wix at its design templates and what I’ll need for my website, I gathered all of the things I need writing out my contact information, writing my about me section and creating a CV to put on there.

Overall I have been making progress towards getting all of the submissables completed.

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The showreel I made up to put on the website - I tried to keep it concise and use only work I think reflects my skills, I ended cutting out a lot of work as it didn’t seem good enough to include. I edited in an intro slate and ending slate with relevant contact information on and my name, and then went straight into some of the animations. I tried to edit these to the music as best as I could throughout, I chose the track as I thought it was lighthearted but not too blatant or  distracting. I was conlficted about including the modeling section, however I don’t feel I would have had enough to fill out the time - which goes a little against some of the advice I got but it is relevant enough to be used to fill out the time I feel.

Overall I feel the showreel ticks the right boxes, but I would prefer to have some more polished work to include.

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More showreel advice, all of these articles seem to be presenting the same points of only including quality work.

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More showreel ‘tips’. Again more importance is placed on quality of work and not including anything considered ‘okay’ and to cut out anything not up to scratch. Overall I feel as if keeping it concise and consistent is the most important thing.

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I started looking for some guidance on making a showreel, this list is fairly useful though it seems again the importance is placed on showing quality work, rather than any other aspect of the reel, though this list touches on all areas of a reel and some of it is useful, such as talking about appropriate music.

[personalbrandingba2b]

Weekly Summary (Week Beginning 24th of April)

This week I mainly researched for and planned out my website and showreel. I looked at a number of sites that allow you to build your own website for free, though often offered paid alternatives, and decided I would use Wix as it had been recommended to me.

When looking at showreels I noted the most important thing was mainly to have confident good quality work, though it is also important to edit it well and detail important contact information in the intro and the end. Music also helps as long as it fits and is edited well to the piece. But overall, editing it well won’t disguise the level of work displayed but it will, I imagine, give an edge over someone with the same level of quality but a more poorly edited reel.

Overall I was mostly planning and researching so I can begin making my showreel and website.

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Another showreel, this one had really confident work and the music chosen was okay for it - however I feel it could have been more concise.

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This showreel was really good, the music fit the scene’s shown pretty well and there was a good amount of variation in the work shown, including the pre-production work towards the end.

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Another showreel I looked at, this one was edited pretty poorly, which is a shame compared to the quality of work on display - but the jarring cuts and unsure order make this one difficult to appreciate. Also, the lack of music makes it feel a bit empty. They could have included more in the way of contact information as well, as they only gave an email.

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I also went to the website of the animator whose showreel I looked at previously, and it’s interesting as it is pretty much just his showreel and some links to his social media and how to contact him. It’s bold to have a very empty site, though the work they have seems to indicate they have a high level of experience anyway.

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Looking for some animation showreels for ideas, this one is really good - the music in it is well edited to the shots, though it wasn’t always the most pleasant sounding, and the rest of the work was really solid and fit well - though it was a little long, but not by much.

[personalbrandingba2b]

Website builders

I looked at some website builders:

https://www.sitebuilder.com/

https://www.wix.com/

https://www.weebly.com/uk

https://www.squarespace.com/

https://wordpress.com/

I’m still unsure how much of what I looked at might be locked behind a paywall, but there seems to be a decent amount of options with each provider. I think I will try Wix for my first attempt, as it has been recommended over the competition. Though I did like the look of what Weebly had to offer especially.

[personalbrandingba2b]

Weekly Summary (Easter Break)

Over the easter break I have researched numerous example animation websites and analysed them. I have come to the conlcusion from this research that I should prioritize clarity in my site - having one central page with the showreel being the first visible aspect, rather than cluttering the page. It should be easy for the viewer to navigate and get all of the relevant information.

I also looked at example job adverts I would pursue in the future, to attempt to tailor my website to them and research into the companies themselves to try and meet their expectations. This was mainly having a strong showreel and trying to seem passionate yet professional.

I also gathered some material for my showreel from previous projects, and will begin putting them together soon.

Overall the break has been mainly about research and bolstering my understanding before creating my website.

[personalbrandingba2b]

Another animators site I looked at, this one is okay - the design isn’t perfect but it’s tidy and gives you an insight to their design style and personality. I also appreciate it is all one page, with a plethora of links to other sites and social media presences. The first thing seen when opening the page is the show reel and the design of the page - I’m not a huge fan of the colour palette, I think the pink either needed to be consistent or not used at all (for example, adding it to the ‘portfolio’ banner to the right. The showreel itself is decent, a nice length with a fair amount of decent work - however the music didn’t fit at all, the editing could have been a bit tighter and the attempt at slow motion wasn’t well implemented. Scrolling down there is more work shown, including some life-drawing which is a nice inclusion, some employers mentioned that in the job adverts I looked at. Further down is the ‘about me’ section - which is prefaced with “Moi! Hey There!” which I think is a bit too informal and a little strange to include on a website. The about me section reads:

“I'm a CG animator working at Jellyfish Pictures on a new original children's TV show Floogals. I graduated from the University of South Wales in July 2014. I'm interested in anything from animation to cinema, art and music. Alongside animation I enjoy rigging, lay-out and pre-viz. The best thing about animation is to be able to tell engaging and entertaining stories and hopefully change the world bit by bit, frame by frame, animation by animation. If you don’t find me at the computer, I’m either out and about at art galleries or at the cinema, playing my uke or drawing and people watching in a nearby café. Oh, and my 'drug of choice' is tea – the greener the better.”

This is okay, however the writing doesn’t flow all that well, some of the sentences could have been longer and less staccato, though that is a small discrepancy. The content of the writing is pretty good until the second half - the ending bit is a little too informal, however including her interests and skill set, as well as mentioning education and previous work is nice. She also includes a picture next ot her about me section, for some reason I feel this doesn’t work as it just feels a little out of place, kind of informal and more likely to be included on a social media page. The next section is the ‘contact me’ section, with a little bit of writing:

“For any enquiries please use the form on the right. Also constructive critique is always welcome! I’d like to thank you for your time and I hope to see you back here soon! If you have another minute or two, click on the links below and see what I've got everywhere else around the Internet! “

It’s nice for her to include room for constructive criticism and thanking the viewer for looking at the site, it makes it feel open and welcome. However at the end of this section she writes:

“Stay tooned! Moikka!”

This doesn’t work for me, using ‘tooned’ - presumably in a humurous manner, comes off a little awkward, I would use correctly spelled words and stay away from those ideas to keep it safer.

Overall I think this is a decent website, it’s quick, easy to read and tells you everything you need to know - even if it’s not perfect.

I think I will try to include something similar to her ‘contact me’ section, thanking people for viewing the site and welcoming critiscism.

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I looked at another animators website, this one is a bit different however - as it features a lot of aspects previous websites have not included. Firstly the site is a little bit unappealing when first opening it up, there’s a lot of grey and an overwhelming amount of text and sections to click on. One thing the site does well is feature the show reel in the centre as one of the first things you see. The showreel itself isn’t great, the content is good - however the intro is too long and doesn’t start with their best work on display, also the music changes a quarter of the way through - which is a bit disjointing. I though the editing was pretty good, showing off the process rather than just the finished project, with wipes down matching the beat of the music revealing the different layers involved. The logo is also pushed a bit too heavily, and the design of it isn’t great, also the end credits drag on for longer than they should. There is a small section under this saying:

“Welcome to my freelance 3D design portfolio, a place where you can browse through my 3D art, obtain quotes for freelance 3D Design and 3D Motion Graphics projects, and where existing customers can keep track of progress. Looking through my online 3D Design and Animation portfolio, you will find examples of my freelance  work in areas such as CGI, 3D, 2D, Animation, Motion Graphics, Art, Illustration, Design and VFX “

it’s a description of the site, however it’s a bit much for you to take in at once - like the website. The next section of the site is a ‘log-in’ area - a nice feature for clients to track their project and so on. The portfolio area is okay, but should probably be further down on the main page, rather than a seperate tab - it’s also a daunting amount of scrolling, the portfolio page could be set up as a grid rather than a list for better accessibility. Then there’s a quotes section, tutorials section, downloads section, blog section (which has not been kept up to date) and an about and contact section. The about section is way too wordy, it reads:

“My first computer, a RadioShack TRS80 with a Microsoft DOS operating system, was handed down to me when I was only eight years old. Accompanying this was a book, about the size of a small novel, that contained ream after ream of computer code. I spent weeks (literally) copying and correcting this code into the machine. When the efforts of my labour finally came to fruition, I was presented with two vertical white lines that moved randomly from left to right. The challenge was to use the arrow keys on the keyboard (mice hadn't yet been invented) to move a little square from left to right and prevent it from hitting the two white lines. This was my first introduction into software development.                     At around about the same time, I was also drawing pictures of my favourite films. Felt Pen drawings of Star Wars and Ghost Busters are still clear in my memory. And with these pictures I was winning competitions. I recall one occasion where I had won first place, and third place was given to my little brother. As a child I was extremely pleased with this, not because my little brother had won something too, but because I'd spent considerable time helping him to improve his image.                     After leaving school I tried my hand at various jobs; sign maker, car body repair, zoo keeper, carpet fitter, estate agent, store manager, restaurant proprietor, software developer... but my heart was always in film. Unawares of how to access the world of film, in 2003 I began a general computing course franchised from Glamorgan University to Coleg Llandrillo Cymru.This HNC (Higher National Certificate) in computing included a graphic design module and elements of 3D animation (using Autodesk 3D Studio Max) and video editing. In 2004, half way through the two year course and before achieving any qualifications, lecturers had been sufficiently impressed with my work/ethic that they offered me a position within the college as a lecturer. In the same year, work that I produced whilst studying web design had been selected as Coleg Llandrillo Cymru's sole representation in the national skills challenge. Despite enrolling on a Microsoft Certified Professional Course, additional modules on the HNC, and all of this on top of my new role as a college lecturer, in 2005 I graduated the HNC in computing with the highest score in Wales.                     As a requirement of my new job (lecturing in subjects such as web design, photography and desktop publishing) I began a PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) in September 2005. Wanting to continue my 3D & CGI sector specific study I also enrolled on a HND (Higher National Diploma) in computing via the North East Wales Institute for Higher Education at the same time. This was with great consequence as despite balancing the lecturing role with two HE courses, in 2007 I was the first (only?) student ever to be awarded with a grade of 100% for a single piece of work. The piece of work in question was a CG animation.                     At present I am pursuing a Master's Degree in Creative Media, with particular focus on 3D animation, at the North Wales School of Art and Design. I am still working as a lecturer with Coleg Llandrillo Cymru (now Grwp Llandrillo Menai) and supplement both of the above as a freelance CG animator and designer.”

This isn’t an about me section, it’s an auto-biography. It’s a daunting amount of writing, that doesn’t actually tell you a lot about the person, just what they did and what they enjoy, a shorter section describing their passions or ambitions is worth much more than this, in my opinion.

Overall this website isn’t great, it has an okay showreel and an overwhelming layout that is a off-putting.