Summer School & Bruce Dunlop Associates

I recently filled out an application for McCann Erickson's Summer School program in Macclesfield. This could be a great opportunity to gain work experience. Here's what was said:

1. What was the last big idea you had? (Not related to advertising or business.)

My wife and I have two daughters, so I would say my youngest daughter was the last big idea.

2. What bribes/qualifications do you have that would convince us that you’re cool enough for school?

Since the early 90’s I have worked as a record producer, remixer and globe-trotting DJ (this pays enough to fund my return to education). Years of travel have given me a real insight into spotting global trends plus a good understanding of the universal language of branding.

3. Have you any idea of what you’re getting in to?

I think I have a pretty good idea. Brainstorming, team-playing, and good old-fashioned hard work should factor highly.

4. Where would advertising be without the internet? (Max 100 words).
Oh and what site do you visit the most?

I would say that good advertising has always been about fresh ideas and timing. In recent times however, viral marketing/advertising has revolutionized advertising, breaking the stronghold of the major TV stations and their biggest shows. This means more quantity and variety in advertising, (the best ideas can as easily come from a college student or a huge agency). The internet also has a global reach. The mainstream ad agencies are starting to re-appropriate the best viral/p2p ideas.

My most visited site is http://www.motionographer.com/ - A design portal which concentrates on Motion Graphics. Many of the world’s best ads, idents and music videos are posted here.

5. You’ve just entered the Dragon’s Den. Use no more than 100 words
to pitch your award winning business idea.

Natra-Pak - Biodegradable packaging for food: Kellogg’s annual turnover alone is $100, thus creating billions of tons of waste via packaging. My business has pioneered 90% biodegradable bags, made out of vegetable matter. These bags have a standard zip lock to reseal the food product within for freshness (the handle part can be snapped off and re-used on further bags).

The manufacturers can choose to place these bags within cardboard boxes (which can be recycled), or simply sell in branded bags.

6. The Dragons seem interested. Explain how you would reach your customers
and then how you plan to expand your business in the future. (Max 100 words.)

The product would be initially sold to the big cereal manufacturers, upping their virtually non-existent green credentials, thus helping them to be seen as ‘saviours of the environment’. The current pressure on businesses to be seen to be doing something about the environment will grow over the next decade, and this product will help pre-empt this problem.

The big cereal manufacturers such as Kellogs and Nestle’s upfront investment and early use of this technology (which will surely become industry standard in future) can be used as a big publicity stunt. Patented technology will enable us to license the product globally, used across many more types of food packaging.

7. Tell us about a trend that’s going to change the way we look at things?

Integration and synthesis; the recent shift towards higher, cheaper bandwidth, and cheaper technology will mean more screens. The combination of images, video and sound, once restricted to television and movie advertising can additionally be shown to similar effect on any screen from mobile phones, electronic billboards and any modern computer, all connected to the web wirelessly. I predict that it will be increasingly difficult to avoid these in any urban environment (this is already happening, but this is just the tip of the iceberg).

8. Our swimming pool is redundant 99% of the time – what would you do with it?

Throw it open to the public, free, as an advertising stunt.


9. And finally, why do you not want a proper job?

I do. This is to help get me one!

In addition to this summer school, I have made arrangements to work at Bruce Dunlop Associates Sydney office for a week whilst I am over there touring. Final etails are yet to be arranged, but this is a bonus for me as I will already be out there doinga small DJ tour which will pay fairly well. In the past I had always spent the week between gigs chilling, but I didn't want to waste my time this time. This solution is ideal. I will be massively jet-legged whilst being dropped in the deep end with a real firm. lovely!

Conclusions

I have written up my conclusions to my professional studies assignment on my main PDP blog.

Grunshaw

Neil Grunshaw is another outstanding motion designer I like from the UK. Like Dstrukt he has his own decidely British take that resonates with me more than some of the more flashy American stuff around. His reel speaks for itself!

I emailed him these questions:

1. How much percantage of your stuff is screen design and how much animation? (percentage wise). and where should i conecntrate my time studying over the next year?
2. Is motion work stuff reasonably well paid, or is it truly a labour of love?
3. do you have any early influences? (i'd like to be able to get a glimpse behind the ideas that make up todays motion graphics, search them out)

and got these answers:

100% of the stuff on my reel was animated by myself, and a good 75 percent was designed by me too. As a freelancer though you do end up doing more actual animation rather than design for the simple reason that the pay is better! Remember, companies don't get paid for pitching. Also, there are surprisingly few good, quick After Effects people out there, so our skills are in demand!

Obviously good design is at the heart of everything we do but practically you should spend time learning AE inside out. It's a huge program, you can literally do anything you want in it, nothing is impossible! Clients know this, and they'll really push you to your limits. Also, use of a 3D package is pretty much essential in my opinion, it makes life a lot easier, and it makes you much more employable and indispensable to clients. I use Cinema 4D for it's simplicity and top-notch After Effects integration.

Motion graphics can be well paid, but usually only if you are freelance. I charge £***!!xx per day (rate removed at artists request). Staff jobs are notoriously badly paid, especially for a junior. Only thing is, you really need 3+ years in a production environment to gain enough experience to go freelance, and the only way to do that is as a staffer. I didn't study graphic design at uni, I did fine art, so I started out as a runner at Addiction. It was really hard work, but I gain invaluable experience, not just in the graphics side of things either, you gain a real insight into the whole production process. You could study design at the best college in the world still end up having to be a runner to get a foot in the door so be prepared for that.

If you are serious about a career in motion graphics, you pretty much have to be in London, unfortunately. I wish it wasn't like that to be fair as I don't like being tied to one place, but that's the way it is. Media folks are very short sighted that way!

I don't really have design influences, I tend to be influenced by music and comedy, and everyday stuff I see around me. I LOVE retro in all it's forms too, If I had my way i'd live in the mid 1960s. I'm a big fan of lo-fi too, I can't stand wanky uber-design! Retro influenced work doesn't date badly, either. My advice would be to find a look and go for it!

Hope this helps, don't hesitate to email me if you have any more questions.


This is invaluable to me, as it's my "non-reality" based ideal direction. It all looks ok, except those two big bits about having to be in London and being a runner and grafting for buttons for a while.. oh well. still, I'm still keen to be honest, but I'm sure my wife won't be. shite. arse. oh well....

Universal Everything and the possibility of Freelancing.

Universal Everything was founded by Matt Pyke in 2004, after 8 years at influential studio The Designers Republic where he designed music, retail, fashion, architecture, advertising and broadcast projects worldwide.

Universal Everything is a multidisciplinary
creative studio, with members worldwide collaborating on web, film, print, fashion, interior and curation projects for an international range of clients including
Nokia, Nike, MTV, Adidas, Samsung and Warp Records

Since its birth, Universal Everything has
exhibited in Barcelona, Paris, Hong Kong and New York
and has featured in numerous publications worldwide
including Wired (USA) / Creative Review (UK) / Idea Magazine (Japan) / StashDVD (USA) / Chinavisual (China) / Refill (Australia)

From what I have seen on Matt / Universal Everything, he seems to work from his house in Sheffield, collaborating with designers/animators/illustrators/coders etc from all over the globe for worldwide clients. Matt is profiled on the Apple Pro Site and from this an insight can be gained into how he works (obvoiusly most of this film consists of Apple hyping, but I dare say he gets lots of free stuff in return). His client list is in the main those huge name brands that are seen cropping up elsewhere except he does work from a normal looking house in Sheffield. The public face of Universal Everything looks like it's this big studio, and in reality it is in terms of the services they can provide, but modern technolgy enables UE to operate as a virtual multidisciplinary set-up. This is where I begin to see parallels between what he is doing and my previous work as a record producer and remixer:

I remixed over 100 tracks over a 13 year period. Many of these acts would have been underground artists or mere ephemeral pop acts, however in that time I was half of a team which remixed amongst many others: U2 (for Island Records UK), The Killers (Island Records NYC) and Underworld (for V2). Every one of these remixes were made in recording studio near Wrexham, across the road from one of the finest fish and chip shops in the UK. I can see now that the same kind of thing could be done in the design world if the work is good enough. As a younger man I have certainly been ambitious and willing enough to make things happen, but I could throw all of my energy into that kind of thing then. The whole idea about retraining and returning to education was so that I didn't have to live for work to the same extent. Maybe the design world isn't so different from the music business!

I am going to attempt to speak with Matt Pyke and try and get him to answer a few brief questions.

My sensible short to mid-term ambition is to get a proper job with an employer, as self employment can be tough (I have been self employed since 1992), however I can also see that freelancing could be viable at some stage, possibly a bit fourther down the road. I must therfore find what kind of start up grants are available. (although I already run my own limited company, so I could simply trade from that).

The only other concern is that I definitly have it in my plan to do the 3rd year and gain a BA as one of my career options could be as a lecturer. This would mean I wouldn't be leaving NWSAD until summer 2009, and any grants available now could have changed by then.

Wyld Stallyons

Wyld Stallyons was born on the first of October 2006. Comprised of animation director Chris Sayer, illustrator Richard May, Pixelsurgeon cofounder Jason Arber, motion designer Chris Hewitt (aka Dstrukt), and financial director Ian Trisk-Grove, we create Moving Image work for the music, broadcast and advertising industries.

KEY STAFF:

CHRIS SAYER
Formerly of award winning moving image and design house Intro, Chris has worked on music videos for bands such as Orson, The Doves, Joss Stone and Pet Shop Boys, and broadcast title graphics for numerous BBC productions. Chris was Director of Animation on the BBC funded feature-length animation, The Snow Queen.

RICHARD MAY
Black Convoy illustration collective and Pixelsurgeon.com cofounder Richard May has produced hundreds of illustrations for a diverse range of editorial, publishing and corporate clients, such as Wired, Vogue, Peugeot, British Airways, Nordstrom and Waterstones.

JASON ARBER
Jason is a highly respected industry figure, holding senior positions at NOWWASHYOURHANDS, Carat International, and Green Cathedral. Jason is an experienced graphic designer, web designer, photographer and writer, and is also co-founder, and Editor-in-Chief of Pixelsurgeon. Previous clients include Adidas, Vodafone, MTV, The Arts Council and Daihatsu.

CHRIS HEWITT
Working under his Dstrukt guise Chris has produced work for a variety of big name, international clients, including MTV Networks Europe, Channel 5, BBC, VH1, Vodafone, Rolls Royce and Discovery Channel. Featured in numerous industry publications and presenting at various design conferences in the UK Chris has received critical acclaim in both online and traditional media.

Thier work is the kind that really inspires me. I think this is because they are a collaborative multidisciplined group working on well relised ideas for the compemporary market. I have seen plenty from Chris Dstrukt before now, and knew that it was all too good to be just the work on one man alone! This must be true of many of these type of operators, e.g. i see the typography designs on one persons site, then on another person's showreel the same work is being animated in a motion piece.

I am realising that it is impossible to be great at everything (unless you are the design world's equivalent of Prince or Stevie Wonder), therefore I think I will need to work out what I can make my speciality so I could become a great part of a team in future; I have always thought being a great typographer would always be handy, especially if I could create fresh logotypes form non standard commercially available typefaces. The only problem is that at the moment I don't know if I'll be good at it, as I haven't tried doing any yet. If Alan and Adam want to set me work like that do over the summer, that would be handy.

I have been trying to email a few of these people, and have had no joy, however I will be in London staying within half a mile of Wyld Stallyons office, so I will try and see if I could actually pop in to see them.

UPDATE - I got an email back off them:

1. how much of your work is motion graphics, and do your designers / illustrators etc. do much work outside of this area?

All our paid work is motion graphics, although I run Pixelsurgeon outside of Wyld Stallyons, and *that* is a labour of love!

2. does it pay enough or are you all in a labour of love situation?

It pays. Perhaps not enough just yet, but we've only been in business for six months.

3. do you all still have to work very long hours or does that calm down after you get established?

We still work long hours; but occasionally we get to see our families. We work long hours partly out of necessity and partly because we love it.

4. any hot tips?

Do it because you love it.