Study Task - Networking: Who, what, when, where and how?

In this study task, we aim to identify festivals, competitions, volunteering opportunities, premieres and openings where we can have a chance to gain potential experience and connections from. Moreover we were tasked to set up a Linkedln account to help us network with people in the Animation industry. 

1) MAF [Manchester Animation Festival]

• Although there is an entry fee, Manchester Animation Festival is a great way to indulge in various animation shorts that are produced by various creators  

• Good networking opportunity as I will be able to connect to both students that attend as well as creators that showcase their work during the festival

• There is no current date scheduled for this festival in 2020

2) KINOFILM Manchester International Short Film and Animation Festival 

• There will be a fee of £25 to enter the festival

• This festival will be held at Manchester and all showcase 300 shorts selected from 1000 submissions

• This festival lasts for 9 days and will be held at 4 different venues, meaning that there will be more places and opportunities to network with a lot more creators as the length of this event is extensive

• They feature films that are produced by students and professionals this will allow me to gain potential exposure amongst professional film producers that are featured in the festival

3) Animafest ZAGREB

• There is no entry free and the festival will be held on the 8th of June to the 13th

• The festival features various categories of films from animated shorts, children shorts to experimental and even site-specific VR, introducing a wide variety of animation and short films 

• Potentially network to a wide range of different type of creators which can potentially be beneficial to my self projects

4) ANIMAYO: International Film Festival of Animation, Visual Effects, Video Games

• The entry is free and the festival is from 5th of May till the 9th

• This annual animation festival features a huge range of different categories of animation, from documentaries, music videos to VFX shorts and 3D shorts; this will let me gain insight on the huge variety of creators and types of films they produce

• This opportunity will allow me to network with people who produce VFX, special effects and maybe connect with some that are working for gaming industries 

5) Literally Short Film Festival

• This animation festival has an entry fee from $35 - $65 [USD] and will be between the 3rd and the 7th of June

• Sponsored by Literal Magazine, this festival aims to bridge all cultures and stimulate international artistic expression 

• Good opportunity to get into a festival with a prize

6) Animex International Festival of Animation and  Computer Games

• This festival will be held from 11th of May till 15th of May

• Features various types of animated shorts and even games

• Good opportunity to dive into the gaming industry and see how animation and game industries can collaborate and initiate potential projects together

7) Hiroshima International Animation Festival

• An Animation festival based in Japan, Hiroshima, the submission deadline for this festival is on the 1st of April 2020 and the festival will be held from 20th to 24th of August. 

• The purpose of this festival is to pursue mutual international understanding and internal peace; this would definitely be what I could potentially pursue as both music and animation is a universal language that can definitely promote a narrative of peace and international interactions. 

• This festival also offers spaces for promotion and exchange of ideas between animation professionals at "Nexus Point" and students at "_Frame in". This festival will allow me to gain tremendous amount of insight in the animation industry internationally. 

My Linkedln Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-lam-529826182/

Study task 4 - The Art Of...

As we're approaching the end of the project, I decided to take the initiative and make the art book for the group project "Mystery Arcade". Early on, I've made one purely with images and some video figs showcasing some test animations, however I believe that was just a first rendition of the art book which can be improved upon. 

First rendition PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cICw-CZj1V-VTrjHfM153A08zKt56YhE/view?usp=sharing

In the finalised version, I hope to make it simplistic and only include relevant images that are able to tell the progress from character concepts, refinement, environment art and concept art. I will also add add descriptions and credits to images I will be using within the art book. 

Whilst working on the final version of the art concept book, I took inspiration from existing art concept books. In the final render, I decided that the theme of the 'pages' will have subtle colour hints to the group mates respective works based on the colours that are placed within the page; hinted on the cover page of the art book. 

The cover page features the title of our project, "Mystery Arcade" as well as colour coordinated names based on arcade player colours, red, blue, yellow and green. The colours are based off of the roles as well; director, producer, lead 3D animator then supporter. The formatting of the art book is organised from initial character arts/concepts, to side character concepts, 2D and 3D assets, 2D and 3D backgrounds, concept arts, 2D preproduction scenes and finally 2D and 3D animated scenes. Pages that feature 2D work have a white background and 3D work have a black background, as 2D works are done mainly on varied colour backgrounds and shows better on white, whereas 3D works mainly has very neon and vibrant colours and work best on a black background for showcasing. 

Overall, my final version of the art concept book is comparably better as the concept of the art book is able to provide credit in an artistic way whilst being able to showcase work in an orderly manner. All in all the format is clearer and more simplistic, making it more aesthetic 

Final Art Book PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jn7VPvctj_8_qecsvGBUXqJ2OkukOZxk/view