I have had some very small experience working for other people with my work for Fuzzy Logic but when at university and constantly working on projects for yourself or your assessors it definitely felt different to make work for competitions and other clients. And in itself too working for competitions feels different to working for clients despite them both being live briefs- with competitions although it is made for someone it feels more free- I feel competitive and enough pride in myself to put a lot of effort into projects but take them more at this point as an opportunity to try and push something new in a relatively quick brief. I felt this notably in regards to War Horse, diving straight into the final images painting when I hadn’t done very much of it before. I wouldn’t say it’s the completely correct approach though! But this way I did learn that I very much enjoy painting.
Compare this to Fuzzy Logic and Coffee Shop North. Notably, I didn’t take on Fuzzy for Responsive but rather it was work that came along whilst I happened to be doing this module- I didn’t want it to be considered part of the main chunk of this module so took on enough other projects for it to instead be considered a side project, but included it here because I undertook this work during 503 and felt I had still learned something from it. Regardless, with Fuzzy and CSN I find myself being a little apprehensive when creating work for it, with less (but still some) desire and inspiration to be experimental with techniques and ideas because of limited timeframes but mostly perceived expectations from the clients. Dan Saul Pilgrim from CSN found my work through the Off the Page exhibition, and with it I was a little concerned he was expecting something just like what I had had in the exhibition.
Studio Brief Two saw me work creatively in a group which is not something I’m wholly used to. I had worked quite successfully in a group for OUIL502 PPP’s Life’s A Pitch project but this was entirely creatively focused and involved making rather than just being theoretical. I found it hard to share creative focus and struggled with feelings of inadequacy compared to animators- but overcame this when I actually discussed my technical issues with them! Even though I’m not sure the final videos suited the Dazed aesthetic and objective (as discussed in the project report) I think it was a successful animation in itself and I came away from it having learned a lot- about working in groups but also technical things like filming, stop motion and animating.
I picked briefs out of personal interests. I have interest in working in editorial and publishing, so The Guardian and The Folio Society’s competitions seemed like prime opportunities. I took on Secret 7 mostly because it sounded fun which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing- I’m at a point in my life where I can take on fun projects just to do that! Coffee Shop North wasn’t something I would have thought of or maybe even taken a second glance of given the title (I like coffee but am no connoisseur) but being given the opportunity to be published is great I think. Maybe this is a sign that I should pay attention to briefs that don’t have fancy exciting titles- after all a project is what you make of it.
I’m starting to think about how audiences aren’t necessarily divided up by age or gender but rather interests and focuses. War Horse was written mostly for children in mind but I’m sure there are plenty of adults who enjoy it, and when combined with the context of The Folio Society and their types (and prices) of books suggests a collector audience. I think I’ve covered a good range of audiences and contexts through Responsive but wonder if I could have challenged myself a bit more. Admittedly my work for Secret 7 felt so open and non-specific that I felt like I was just completing it for the sake of the module, and at once I didn’t want to limit it by forcing it into a set but also felt that it was directionless.
As I go along I’m also learning more about ‘communicating with clients’, which sounds a bit silly but I think it’s worth thinking about consciously. Many times I have rewritten emails because after a pause of looking over it I realise I’m being too apologetic, or too rambling. It seems weird but I think you need a certain assertiveness when talking to clients! Be simple and direct.
All in all I feel like I’ve learned a lot and have largely enjoyed myself. I’ve learnt a lot technically and about where I want to go- the editorial and publishing briefs were what I enjoyed and quite possibly were best at, so might well be worth keeping up.
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