Showreels

I have been looking at various show-reels to try and get some idea's about the kind of style that my personal show-reel will feature in the end product. I particularly like this show-reel which I found on the website, "Artstation" which is a more art focused website, due to the fact that it clearly shows his work even though it is in a film with other peoples work by showing the whole scene then focusing on his work on it owns which makes it stand out. I also like the fact that even though he is showing multiple views however the show-reel as a whole has a nice pacing as it keeps you interested throughout and doesn't get boring even though it being a two and a half minute long show reel. Overall I like the flow and feel of the show reel and hope to incorporate some of the ideas.

Benedetti, M. (2015) VFX Showreel 2015, Mathieu Benedetti. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/vfx-showreel-2015 (Accessed: 22 October 2015).

On the other side of the coin I have also been keeping my eyes out for any not so good show-reels that I can learn from and make sure that I don't make the same mistakes, I have chosen this show-reel from you-tube as I feel that it is very slow paced and a little boring as it doesn't have a lot of content which properly shows off his work as for each prop her only has a 360 turntable view and then a view of the UV map with the texture on it, which doesn't properly show off the topology for the prop and each scene feels very drawn out as it is a three minute show-reel for only 4 props. Another thing is that some of the shots go off the edge of the screen so as the viewer you can't properly see the whole asset on the screen at once, it also doesn't give any description of what the prop is or what software he has used to get the end result. I want to make sure that in my own show-reel I don't make the same mistakes and also that I properly plan out the show-reel before hand to make sure that the finished product is to a high standard.

infectedflinch (2015) 3D Modelling Showreel 2015. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5k2WvckCoI (Accessed: 22 October 2015).

Overall I have found a few traits that can be found in most show-reels is that the optimal time that a show-reel should be is between the 1:30 - 2:00 minute mark depending on the work shown. If you have a small amount of work then keep the show-reel short with lots of variations in the camera angles as some of the show-reels that we watched as a group managed to get a little boring when you see the same thing from 5 different shots. I think in my own show-reel I will look towards making it around the 1:30 minute mark as that  seems to be a good time in the middle ground. 

Website Draft

After sorting out my social media profiles, I have gone onto draft out an initial website design to give me an idea in what my personal website could look like as I plan to create one which would house my portfolio and other personal work.

("http://artbywiktor.com/")

I have taken inspiration from other environment artist websites as they all seem to have the same tendencies in which they have bright text upon a dark background with a small splash of colour which makes you focus on the images of their work more than the text while also making it easy to read if you need to go to another page or find out the contact information. I also like the website above from Wiktor Öhman as it shows the images in small thumbnails which then when clicked on takes you down to the larger image. I want to incorporate this into my own website as I feel that it is very sleek and modern while also showing off the whole image at the top and then going into more detail below.

("http://stevenskidmore.com/")

I have taken inspiration from Steven Skidmore with his minimalistic menu at the top of his page as I feel that it looks very professional as it is clear and concise however doesn't keep the attention from the images below, so I also plan on having the top menu bar across all the pages so that you can quickly navigate back and forth throughout the website while also having my portfolio pieces on the front page so that the best work is readily available to see as soon as you go onto the website. I also want to make sure that the website is quick to load when displaying the images as from research I have found that personally the worst thing to stumble across when looking at portfolios is when it takes time for the image to load even if the work itself is good. I think I need to get feedback and also make a few different designs for my website layout and colour scheme before I set one up towards the end of the year.

Social Media

Having looked back over my overall social media set-up I can conclude that I need a large over hall as I haven't really put myself out there on any of the relevant sites such as LinkedIn which is a major player in the employment world within social media, due to a number of reasons that makes LinkedIn stand out over other social media websites. LinkedIn provides a good platform where you can build up your connections in the industry on a professional level from the use of its network connection functions, it also shows you how you are linked to other people via your current network, which is a major advantage as this is an industry where its getting increasingly more vital about who you know. I also like the fact that you can use LinkedIn to search for groups and companies who you can interact with on a more formal level which can help build up a positive reputation while also gaining valuable research at the same time. However I think that LinkedIn isn't the best social media platform for other area's that may help my chances for employment, such as showing my work off as it a very professional site more catered towards showing off the person and not the work. To combat this I will look at making accounts on various social media websites which emphasize more on this aspect such as Tumblr, Facebook and Polycount. All of these social media websites are good for showing off work however for someone without a following or reputation I think I will head more towards Tumblr or Polycount as you can show your work off to anyone and everyone rather than on Facebook you are more held down to only showing your followers or other people in your group.

Therefore I have decided that it will benefit myself greatly to put myself on these sites so I plan on creating a page on a few different social networks such as:-

• Professional Facebook profile
• Professional Twitter account
• LinkedIn account
• Tumblr account
• Polycount account

I have started by creating a LinkedIn profile first as I feel it can be the most beneficial to start building up professional connections earlier rather than later so that I have a larger chance of being employed by having a large network. I also think that this is one of the most professional social media networks in the employment industry which is a very positive thing to be a part of.

Portfolio research

This week we were tasked to look over some portfolio's so that we know what we need to put on our own and also what things to avoid to make our portfolio look bad for a potential employer. One portfolio that I thought was a high standard was Wiktor Ohman's website. He is a 3D Prop and Environment artist, I like his website because it clearly shows all his best work on the front page in a thumb-nailed format that so you can click straight onto an image of his work which will then bring up the large image quickly. He also has clear images of each piece of work which highlight all areas which are laid out well, his contact details are also at the top of the page which are easily accessible for anyone viewing his website. One downfall is that he doesn't have very much information regarding poly count or UV and texture layouts for each image. Overall I think he has a good portfolio as it clearly shows his work.

"http://artbywiktor.com/"

One not so good portfolio that I came across when doing research is a website from Steven Skidmore. I found that he wasn't clearly displaying much of his own work on his website as some of the pages just had trailers on, and if he did any of the artwork in it didn't highlight the parts he worked on. Another bad thing about his website is that he doesn't have any of his contact information on any of the pages within his website not even an email address for a potential employer to get in touch. One final thing if that even though it states that he is an environment artist he has got a lot more props and vehicles that environment art on his website which doesn't back up him being in the environment art field.

"http://stevenskidmore.com/"

I have also been looking at show reels on YouTube and have found one which clearly shows the work in a professional manner and to a high standard while also keeping my interest throughout the whole video being a minute and a half. Even though this show reel is based towards concept art and character development I think that I will be using some techniques in my own portfolio and show reel as I feel that it is very stylish and modern which makes it stand out against a variety of other show reels.

"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUO6Fl2YiAM"

Overall I need to make sure that I make my own portfolio to a high standard and to make sure that I don't overlook and small errors such as not putting my contact information on it.