PP3: Showreel Professional Feedback

I figured that if I am to contact professionals they are to assist me in providing me with constructive criticism on my showreel. Furthermore, if they happen to like it, they might suggest it or me as a practitioner to someone they know about a project. For now I have messaged Fraser MacLean and Jorge Zambrano of MRZ Productons and am awaiting their response.

Thanks to LinkedIn I got contacted by Manqaro Corporation about being a 2D animator working on their new app Multickle that allows people to put their face on animated characters. Upon their initial contacting, I inquired about the details, the specifications, and the contract regarding remuneration, and am still awaiting a reply. Alongside this, I got contacted by a web developer by the name of Dev for possible future projects where he recommended me to his peers. Although both of these contacts are not set in stone, they might turn out very beneficial to me.

All pictures are within the "Studio Brief 1" folder of my submission in order to avoid any privacy infringements.

PP3: Possible Studio Internships

I have contacted two studios for potential internships. Both studios are located in Zagreb, Croatia, making them a lot more easy to commute to and/or temporarily move to if I land an internship. Alongside this, I have a friend of my father living within Croatia which could potentially help me with accommodation and orientation should I get an internship and decide to briefly stay there. I contacted these studios because they fit my near future post-college plans. First studio is Bonobo Studio: an independent studio of experimental filmmakers and animators. Their multi-faceted nature of animation allow me to fit as a generalist or 2D animation intern within the studio. They do both independent films and commissioned work, either of which would fit my MO if I get an internship. The second studio is Adriatic Animation with a similar style. Under their production the film Life With Herman H. Rott was created, grasping my attention since the very first MAF I attended. I had known of this studio for quite some time, but just now considered contacting them in this window of opportunity. Although they did not specify anything about an internship on their website - asking only for ideas and pitches, I procured one from them in hopes of getting a response. Even if they decline, this studio might serve as a springing board for fueling an idea for an animation in the future.

PP3: Gallery Space/Bar Idea

Mock-Up for logo

One of my future considerations for expanding the art culture in Macedonia is through opening a creative space/bar, which would be one of a kind in Skopje for the time being. Many of my friends are staying in Skopje post-graduation, three of which are very interested in such a proposal for their future investment. One of them is my cousin who studies economics and business, perfectly fit to put his studies into use through opening up an establishment. In order for the freelance art scene to reach its post-modern peak, enabling a lot of digital artists to easily sustain their practice within the country, I believe that platforms for promotion need to be created, hence the exhibition/bar space. Taking advantage of Macedonia’s jovial drinking culture, the bar would more likely attract people to an exhibition when it is associated not with white perforated walls and cheap wine in a frenzy, but with a lively, organic atmosphere splattered with vivacious colors and culture. I’ve already made a mock-up design for the logo to try and capture the vibe with the name “The Four Gems” that we all agreed can be fitting for the space. At every exhibition of young artists I’ve been to there has been a deficit of people and enthusiasm, for the modern human needs a lot of versatile stimuli in order to engage with artistry and not perceive it as a pretentious façade. This project would go into action a year after I graduate in order for my partners to graduate as well and invest themselves into this idea full-time. Lastly, I am perfectly aware that this is not going to be a definite realization, however, all of us will do our best to try and manifest this bar into being.

PP3 Research: Freelancers Back Home

Be it animation, graphic design, or illustration, my personal desired practice revolves around freelancing within Skopje (generally, and a bit abroad). Considering that I have already made a few contacts and have already done some commissioned work successfully, the first step is complete. With my new business cards I am to expand even further to sustain my personal practice and try to find some artist with whom I may do an independent film for one of the festivals (note: I already know of some people that are up for it, nothing set in stone though). Thus, the best way to even more so expand this vision is by analyzing freelancers' practice and then attempt to establish a connection with them.

Mihajlo "The Micho" Danailovski
I've mentioned him so many times before due to his unique style of illustration and completely freelance-sustained career. I have already talked to him (hence he is also the art director of Lynx Animation Studio) and am planning to go into more detail with him so that I may find more connections and contacts with whom I am to collaborate or for whom I'm going to work for. Furthermore, he can teach me about self-sustaining practices since his artistry is featured on Kickstarter, which he uses to fund his work and maintain his prolific craft. The Micho's creative practice is successful because of its consistency, his prolific drawing, and his style that stands-out amongst others'. In light of the interview from last year, what I've learned from him is to keep drawing and not believe that I tools (such as the Wacom) will in any way augment my drawing skills - learning from the roots is the best.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/512772051/rise-to-nobility/description

Zoran Cardula
Cardula is a Skopje based graphic designer that uses his art not only for commercial purposes but also in events that highlight the awareness of social issues within the city. Recently, with the occasion of the 3rd of December being the International Day of People with Disabilities, he released an illustrated book with the language and writings of his autistic daughter Erato. The book contains 47 made-up words by Erato, translated in 19 languages, as well as 47 illustrations that 33 different artists annotated in accordance to the words that she had created. Cardula uses his art to not only collate artists together for a common cause, but to also highlight issues and send messages of love to the masses instead of just using it as a commercial tool. I wish to conduct an interview or a casual get-together with him so that he may give me some advice and tips on any upcoming such projects that I'd love to be a part of. My uncle, which is a project manager, has already assigned me an infographic project for kids with special needs as my first cousin (his daughter) is affected with a disability that is now, through his activity, catered to around Macedonia. With the assistance of Cardula, I believe that I can add substance to my artistic practice and assist the community as well as create my own independent practice, much like this visceral Skopje artist does.

https://www.selfdevelopshop.com/artist-father-gives-his-autistic-daughter-the-most-unique-present-imaginable

Гуш и Бац - Hug and Kiss - The illustrated book of Cardula that raises awareness for people with special needs through a visual and engaging manner

PPP2 - Fiverr and Behance Account

In hopes of slowly but surely establishing my name and skill as a brand alongside developing a comprehensive portfolio, I've started up a Fiverr and Behance account. Considering I already have a Vimeo account where I share and post all of my animations, which has proven to be a versatile and effective tool in getting my work across through friends as well as professionals, I thought that a Fiverr might help me gain even more experience commission wise, whereas Behance might serve as my non-animation portfolio. Nonetheless, the Behance account is not as new as the Fiverr one, for I have already posted my Orchard Pig Responsive project there through Alex Zorita Santana's collaborative project invite on the website, which I found out through him to begin with. Having this in mind, as I have heard plenty of times during networking presentations, I shall next make and maintain a Linked In account in order to have a broader scope of exposure, which will in turn provide me with more opportunities through a passive manner. As I went over The Micho's (the creative practitioner I interviewed) answers to my overly zealous questions, I even more so digested the necessity of persistence as well as establishing all types of networks and contacts, providing me with even more motivation to establish such accounts. For Fiverr, I do not expect to gain something substantial during the first moments of the account's expansion developments, although I can predict a possibility of such growth in the near future once I input more "gigs" into its repertoire as I will have no college modules during this summer, giving me more time to indulge in this motive. All in due time, I shall develop my presence as a creative practitioner in a substantial format to secure a future in work through hobby as a freelancer, seeing as I cannot fully fathom working in a routine studio environment, much like The Micho.

Fiverr - https://www.fiverr.com/vvoinovski
Behance - https://www.behance.net/vladimirvo079e

PPP2 - Club Photography

During my final week before submission, I gained an opportunity of practicing a paid photography assignment of a relatively new V.I.P. Lounge in Leeds. Recommended by a Photography student in LCA through the group LCA Collaboration on Facebook, I was assigned to capture the ambient of the night life within the Kudeta Lounge Bar, effectively proving to be a thorough chance to practice environmental photography, networking, as well as post-production. The dim lighting within the premise proved to be quite a challenge for me in terms of adjusting the white balance, aperture, and shutter speed so that I could make use of the fluorescent lighting present at the scene without the use of the sterilizing effect of flash. Luckily, I was able to mend the ISO to the standard fit for grasping the atmosphere and vibe of the bar. However, I understood the necessity of a controllable light-gun upon finishing the job for the sake of the sharpness of the image without the loss of the ambient light, which is something I would require to acquire if I am to do any such future jobs. Nonetheless, once I had picked out the most plausible images, with color balance through post-production, I managed to get them to a more-than-sufficient standard. The employers were elated with the final product, having me connect with them through social media. This endeavor is where my personal practice comes to terms with the outside world - upon discussion, the employer learned of my design practice and arranged a meeting where I am to discuss the design of a cocktail menu and perhaps a promotional video for their new bar. Moreover, as I have 3 years worth of experience in mixology, the employer offered me a paid opportunity to work behind the bar and design signature cocktails for their establishment. With me having a thorough experience in this field as a personal passing, alongside design and animation, I am aware of not underselling or overselling myself. Thus, this whole endeavor proved to be a more-than-effective network-establishing opportunity that seized me future jobs through my own practice.

PPP2 - Atmospheric Sound Design and VJ Aspirations

As of recently, I have created a Soundcloud account where I will post ambient music I've created as background tracks for animations. The only song I have for the time being is "Obsidian Sea" whose soul purpose was to serve as the background song for mine and Luca's Applied Animation animated documentary. As this is escalating to be my personal pursuit seeing as I have been working with music for 6+ years now, nothing has come close to this; I've always done rock or jazz in live performances, but never have I recorded anything of that sort. Thus, I believe as I will gain more free time during this summer I will thoroughly engage in making analog ambient music through the means of instruments (as this song's raw format is that) instead of using synthetic generation. Perhaps, this would tie into my VJ potential interest that I plan on pursuing alongside this during the summer. This raises a possibility of defining my extended practice next year as I am thoroughly interested in how the synthesis of sound and visuals in a "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts" can have a sublime potential in narration. Many songs have an inherent story-like structure, with the lyrics refining this notion. In terms of performance, the amplitude-sensitive visual animations that can be manipulated through an MPC AKAI or any such simple analogous sampler triangulate between all the sensory conventions of narration in an epic-like manner. Thus, I started conducting research on how to execute this desire. Initially, knowing a peer that practices this (Oscar Barany), I talked to him so that he may give me the general details of this art form. By using Resolume (similar to After Effects in interface), one can set the thresholds of the intensity of any animation one can create so that the visuals fluctuate based on the dynamic of the sound. I did not know that it was this flexible of a practice. Moving along, I found a book that thoroughly expands upon the culture and art behind VJing (VJ: Audio-Visual Art and VJ Culture, by D-Fuse), using Kraftwerk's performances as one of the best known examples of this phantasmagoric aspect of performance. Need I say, I then proceeded onto watching recordings of Kraftwerk performances as well as dissecting the power behind their appeal through individual interpretation. I believe that I need to delve deeper into their art, which is why I have ordered the book Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop by Sean Albiez and David Pattie with the hopes of corroborating what it means to have an omnipotent control of a performance's visual appeal that makes full use of the world of multimedia.

Obsidian Sea - https://soundcloud.com/user-930204941/obsidian-sea

PPP2 - Poster Designs

Inspirational poster from Faith No More gig

Lucky enough, I got contacted by a friend and event organizer alike for the recurring underground Macedonian band concert that occurs annually for the third year in a row. I had been commissioned to design the poster as well as some of the band logos last year and due to the satisfaction of my client I was spontaneously called for the same job yet again several days ago. Anything music or performance related instantly catches my eye since it is a broader collaborative aspect that always hails quality. With the only mandatory prerequisite being using the preexisting signature logo in the poster, I wanted this year's poster to reflect the event's whimsical and multifaceted nature. The concert promotes different types of bands that have not yet quite seen the light of the stage properly, and because of this I wanted the poster to give off that free-spirited rock and roll vibe. Initially, I had a design on the top of my head inspired by a myriad of festival posters I've seen throughout the years along with the DIY minimalist punk-rock posters of the 70s and 80s. This design was something I did as an intended suggestion since the client asked for an engaging poster with no concrete preferences and it hinged on the duo-chromatic style of thresholds in images being drawn over to adapt a cartoon style. Instantly, right after I sent him the style suggestion he IMMEDIATELY liked it and told me to go that direction and provide him with a draft of what I think might be a good final version of the poster. Honestly, I was amazed at this level of candor and trust he had with my artistic style, something which I found flattering. Nevertheless, I kept working on it and have constructed several designs for it after he told me that I am to use an actual picture of the venue for this year in order to shift the style. I don't know why but the aesthetic of posters always grabbed my eye along since it gave me a general feel of how the atmosphere at the event is going to be. Based on this most recent draft of the design, I believe that every color duo-chromatic has a different effect and it either repels the eye or captures it.

Initial template design whose style the client liked

Second design, needs a bit of polishing up

PPP2: Reg Isaac's Insight into the Industry

Although I don't much envision myself to be a fully-functioning part of the industry, the future foretells no definite destiny so one is to learn about every aspects regarding their practice from different perspectives, just in case. Reg Isaac solidified this claim with his story as to how he became an animator as well as how he tackled the parameters of the animation industry. I was flabbergasted to find out that he initially wanted to do photography but because of a small quirkish problem (there not being any more space in the photography department where he studied) he became an animator. It just goes to show that life is as flexible and unexpected as is the nature of the nomad. What I found personally applicable was Reg Issac's life drawing holiday on which he managed to improve his drawing skills - which is what his first goal since becoming an animator was. Furthermore, I empathized with his necessity to improve his drawing and gain confidence in his lines, which is why I found his tactic of using only pen without an opportunity to undo any movement very invigorating. I believe that I am to use the same tactic for drastically improving my line seeing as I am interested solely in 2D animation and the flow and form of character designs. Alongside this, the insight into how the roles in the animation industry are split really belabored the importance of details as he had been hired as an inbetweener several times where he only worked on completing the movement of the characters. Another one of his jobs consisted of him fixing the line details of every character's frame to perfection, which informed me of the specialization that is instilled in the workflow of the studio. I believe that understanding how the synchronized workflow of a studio work will both destroy any expectations I have as well as giving me experience for a future such endeavor.

PPP2: Fraser Maclean: Insight Into the World of Animation

I firmly believe that this talk was the most invigorating one so far hence Fraser Maclean turned out to be quite a facetiously witty animator that not only knew his practice but the parameters that orbit around it from a commercial point of view. I was flabbergasted at the rhetorical analysis he gave of the art of painting and how it synthesizes with the storytelling aspect of animation. Furthermore, he uncovered the commercial reality behind animation by giving examples of practitioners that survive off doing advertisements and such, not necessarily sustaining themselves through the whole-hearted preference of work. Nonetheless, the main points he drew were three such points revolving around animation - what we shall be working between: art and creativity, technology, and money, with the latter being divided into "dirty and clean money". I perceived this as the broken model of the visual industry where the actual practitioners work solely according to a temporary contract. Fraser Maclean belabored the point of openness to collaboration since the whole industry is such a practice no matter how much one tries to avoid this. With examples of the processes of how traditional animation was made where people were divided into very specific departments (with Maclean doing just the cartoon character shadows of Space Jam, for example) he was able to portray the intricate, well-oiled machine that is the animation industry. Furthermore, character animators are only a small puzzle piece in the assemblage as the same importance lies behind concept artists, background artists, layouters, although the mass perception places emphasis on only character animators. With a bit of personal insight, Maclean showed us how animation and the demand for different media of animation has evolved throughout the years. Finally, out of the plentiful points of advice he brought up, I reveled at the notion of "what does not benefit the flow of the story is redundant" no matter how much it makes the scene look better - unnecessary bits need not be considered. Through his life story and progression of profession the concept that Responsive brought upon us - an animator does not have to do just animation - was fortified. For example, Fraser Maclean worked for Sands Films as a sound organizer through the initial wish of being a filmmaker, whereas he then spread to animation for Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Space Jam. I found his entire life endeavor very exuberant as it showed the flexible path of not an animator, but a creative practitioner that is amenable to work with a team and cooperate fully to make a vision a reality all through the concluding piece of wisdom he shared - be nice!

Book Maclean suggested for young aspiring animators

PPP2 Presentation - Ideas, Generation, and How To Protect Them

With another presentation inbound, I furthered my reflective manner of professionalization, where this one tethered to the protection of intellectual property - ideas. The lecture enveloped the many factors surrounding idea generation along with a bit of history to strengthen the argument. With people using different types of stimulants throughout the ages to aid them with idea generation, discussion, and collaboration, it has been established that ideas function like a network in a rudimentary sense. Having this in mind, it is quite safe to say that through exchange of concepts, the best ideas in history have been concocted. With the concept of fordism hindering on the notion of specialization, a great example was given at the presentation: the complexity of a computer mouse. It consists of a plethora of different parts made from different materials originating from different regions, and for its generation amongst thousands of people have collaborated serving as a synthesis of different ideas. It was at this point that the lecture became quite relevant since it covered the basis of Copyright, refreshing the knowledge we already have about it from last year's PPP sessions. Paper is what can protect one's ideas since it dissolves their intangibility, validation is what can maintain them from becoming stolen, scrutinized, or plagiarized, as the creative industries do have murky departments in terms of sharing work. I believe that no work with a commercial purpose should be adhered to the concept of trust - evidence must be had. This lecture reminded me of the hardships one may go through without asserting copyright for many people search through the loopholes of this not-so-fortified system, and one must do what's best to protect their work. What I believe that they failed to mention - something quite quintessential to alternatives - is Creative Commons which has more flexible parameters that govern the distribution or recreation of one's work, giving people more choices for consideration.

PPP2: Manchester Animation Festival Highlights of Study

As Manchester Animation Festival marked its 2nd year of existence, I managed to enhance bits and pieces of my knowledge through the versatile and vivacious panels that featured animations, talks, masterclasses, and films. Every animation that I watched had relevance in context of technique, but also of idea, as I pensively analyzed every animation I liked in order to self-didactically discover the technique and generate an idea. Luckily, I came back from the festival full of inspiration but also confidence hence I differentiated between the student and commissioned animations and compared them to my current skill. Nevertheless, since I am much more immersed in the world of animation, every panel provided a segment of knowledge relevant to my practice - something that I had not known before.

Masterclass: Phantom Boy (Folimage)
During this masterclass the narrative importance of sound was highlighted. In other words, it emphasized the workload of narrative sound can minimize if done effectively, hence it can tell what needs not to be animated in order to drive the diegesis. Furthermore, I got an insight in the dynamic of the sound and how it can insinuate the location of actions within the animation, how close they are happening to the POV, and how big of a driving force they are.

Masterclass: Studio AKA
Although I wasn't interested at first, this masterclass gave a thorough perspective on commercial animation conducted by professional studios that specialize in crafting short animations that fit advertisement briefs. I believe that being able to tactically work within given parameters is an effective skill for an animator since it improves the chances of working flexibly within studios. I was amazed at the polished and smooth embrace of both 2D and 3D animation by this studio, as well as the colloquial straightforwardness of the speaker

Fellowship Award: Aardman
Most important idea I pulled out of this was: "have a crack at something, see where it goes". Other than that, I was profusely inspired by the old stop-motion animations that Aardman have done, specifically the ones that intertwined pixilation - I love that aesthetic because it is more reminiscent of the art of film than any other technique, along with the olden "noise" of quality and the effect it brings.

PPP2: Interpreting and Responding to Commercial Briefs

"Simon the Cat" - example of successful crowdfunding

With professionalism being the main key revolving point of PPP, this lecture set us on the right path in terms of identifying our opportunities and advising us to make the most of them. Furthermore, it gave insight on how to avoid drastic and fatal mistakes within the "toxic system" of the creative practice through organized points and examples. I believe that this lecture had been one of the few where the emphasis was placed on us as individuals and the value of our work (indirectly, focusing on how WE need to value our own skills). Moreover, it stressed out the three situations where a practitioner might work for free - a practice that in itself demeans the value of the individual set of skills an animator, illustrator, or graphic designer has that differentiate him/her from the rest. With charity being a noble cause, one must research the circumstances - is the organization or someone from the organization getting paid? Exposure is promising, however, it is a passive notion that comes on its own, especially to us now as we are in college and have opportunities to get our names out. Finally, the biggest slippery slope of them all: the promise of future work if the work now is done for free. Considering there is no legal binding contract, who's to say that the "work promiser" is not to find someone else and use the same ploy on him/her? With the perfect example that John gave where he jumped into deciding his price for a job without estimating the job cost or doing background research to find out the set standard (or to base it on a personal guideline for a monthly division of income), he got underpaid. This example kind of frightened me and gave me chills because one thing I am afraid of is undercompensation - I have the right to receive the optimum for my work, lest I overwork myself for nothing. The main point being: estimate vs. quotation of price - always go for an estimate and never jump to any conclusions without conducting research priorhand. Everything comes back to research in the end, for being knowledgeable means being in control!

PPP2: The Creative Industries

All these PPP presentations evoke a notion of pensiveness in me every single time, making me more and more inquisitive about my whole practice as well as the industry that surrounds it. This latest talk began with a direct connection to the previous one where the evolutionary phenomenon of creativity was elaborated upon: creativity has been prevalent from the chronicles of man up until this day, only changing in the accessible technologies that have shaped historic and modern cultures. For example, in archaic eras cave paintings and Da Vinci's schematics for war machines signified the creativity of man through paragons, whereas now the same practice can be evidenced in graffiti and blueprint designs of products and war machines, as well. Nevertheless, the most important questions asked in this presentations were, as follows: what is meant by industries? where do I fit in? how do I develop networks? All these questions were asked during last week's presentation as well, however, regurgitating them evoked in me a more concrete, thorough answer - I fit in wherever I can and want, I develop networks for collaborative and interdisciplinary work that fuels my professionality as well as my interest. I believe that the second part of this presentation was much more effective since it introduced a bit of history around the formation of the school of arts, around which an ongoing debate circles about the principles the schools of art adapt in relation to the industry. The presentaton was informative in so that it provided the evolution of the school of art and how it became aligned with the capitalist methodologies of the 21st century from the Atelier System in the 19th century that emphasized the adaptable technique that students assumed. However, I too believe that there should be a symbiosis between the studies and post-bachelor professional practices in such a way that both style and technique are embraced in order to drive students towards focusing on using their specialities for attaining a job. As a closer, we were told to assume cunning and witty strategies in order to pitch and/or make connections, hence the entirety of being a practitioner does not reside behind one's practical skill, but also behind one's social skill to form networks.

PPP2: The Wisdom of Mike Mignola

As I youngster I was infatuated by the immersive realms that comics brought forth to my creative mind as I had a tendency to avoid reality and enshrine myself in fantasy. This phenomenon that I experienced as a kid vested in me the now eternal interest in animation and narratives as I maintained that childlike sense of awe and wonder. Having said this, yesterday Mike Mignola, the eclectic creator of Hellboy along with a myriad of other inked spectacles held a talk at Leeds College of Art - a talk that I found quite invigorating and helpful to my personal practice and development of thereof. He gave insight into his personal growth and experience as an illustrator, pointing out that he had been bad at comics when he had initially started, providing him with the motivation necessary to engage in practice. Furthermore, with his openness to the arts, he went on to try to taste all different ranges of art, not only comics - something that has been time and time again emphasized during our PPP lectures. In other words, just because I study animation does not mean I have to specialize and pursue solely animation - I am a creative practitioner that has the capability of experimenting with interdisciplinary endeavors as art is a whole. Carrying on, one of the most important insights he gave was about the loss of confidence he experienced for 6 years where he got off comics. I say most important because it explored the problem of individual indecisiveness - something that impacts a consecutive and rhytmic practical habit that every practitioner should have - draw every day! Moreover, he showed that personal interest is the absolute best driving force towards developing a solid career: he had made a comic solely for money once, and that turned out not to sell properly. The most important part of this talk was the Q&A session which encompassed around 70% of the whole event - something I was really happy about since he got to answer fellow students' questions as well as one of my own. One thing I really adored about Mike Mignola was his colloquial and straightforward approach to every question where he answered from the heart and did not assume a pretentious proffessionality, but instead came across as a rigorous and honest artist (where he even stated that his design for Mr. Freeze was practically a rendition of an older drawing someone had made for the DC Universe). My question to him in a simplified demeanor was: how do you generate ideas? He stated that he did not pull out ideas from his dreams (as I do) but instead did so from observation of everything around him - bits and pieces. Nevertheless, the most important factor for him was his interest in folklore, demonology, and cultural theology as he is in possession of a library full of books on ancient cultures, from which he not only derives ideas but acquires names for character as he disdains fabricating names (Hellboy being one of the only two he has ever conjured up). Finally, he concluded with his scripting tactic which revolves around him creating the beginning and the end, and then working everything in between. All in all, this was one of the most lovely talks I've been to and it helped me understand the conventions of an individual's practice that reflects my own profusely.

A print that reflects Mignola's style - profuse contouring with ink

PPP2: Interdisciplinary Simulation

One of the more visceral slides from the speech

Although yesterday's session seemed quite unnecessary and bothersome at first, it proved to be quite an experience that enveloped the manner in which interdisciplinary creative practitioners work together towards a synthesized goal. In other words, the session gave me a taste of how the industry functions as well as introducing the solidarity within the atmosphere of professional, interdisciplinary studios. Structured in a well progressing way, first we wrote down (in quite a self-evaluative manner, I might add) our creative skills and experiences, as well as our interests in hopes of encompassing and solidifying what we felt comfortable in knowing. Then, we paired up and brainstormed ideas with our assigned partner on a pitch for a product and then proceeded to compete with the rest on which product and pitch would be the most efficient one to candidate against 3 others (comprised of the best idea on the table and all the creative practitioners on it). By forming a presentation about our product, we competed for the best idea that was going to go against 2 other groups of illustrators, graphic designers, and fellow animators alike in a commercial pitch. This was where the simulation of the industry's busy working day within a studio began, where we pragmatically divided ourselves into sections of craft, me doing the After Effects layout and vignette, another group doing the voices of the commercial, yet another animating annotations, and yet another creating logos and images. However, it was all brought down by a leader from the group that won the main pitch, which was something I found extremely effective and NOT patronizing or demeaning in any way. Quite on the contrary, this gave me effective insight on the necessity of a leader (not a boss, mind you) within a project, one that pertains the idea and disseminates it to the rest of the creatives in a intertwining spectacle of mixing individual skills and strong points for one unanimous resolution. With the division of the huge group, we were able to coherently produce a 30 second commercial for Dog Latex (the outcome being hilarious and lampooning, but the practice effervescent and articulate), which won at the end of the day when all 3 groups presented their products through different manners of pitching. I was amazed to see a full studio with busy heads, all working on separate minor tasks that formed the main effigy of our practice - some getting footage of dogs, others animating dogs, where I composited it all together as the final piece. Just as one of the tutors pointed this out during the concluding talk, at time of rush "you find out skills you didn't know you had", as did I with After Effects through trial and error - I even started sweating. Just as this exercise finished, Simon Harrison addressed the issues surrounding the disparity between design education and the "real world" where he confronted issues DNAD have been facilitating. Furthermore, although the award briefs are predominantly vague to enforce creative liberalism where students can best apply their skills to the brief that best suits their style and technique, judges still look primarily for eye-catching solutions that are based on separate biases. Although Simon presented a controversial perspective on this, I took his word and I agree with what he had to say, thus, am going to utilize the maximum feedback I can get from such organizations like DNAD.

PPP2: Character & Narrative Presentations - Synthesis Between Modules

During these past 2 weeks, we had presentations that informed us about the intertwining elements of film connected with animation. Two presentations in total, one about character and short story design, and the other about acting and reference - both containing and annotating important conventions that add finesse, professionalism, and effect in relation to the audience. In other words, the presentations tackled the multitude of notions that an animator is to consider when creating a full-fledged, visceral animation that has the power to relay any message across. During the first presentations the concept of narration was elaborated upon and it structured it all in a list of animation fragments - what can animation be: computer games, film, television. In order to coherently demonstrate the versatility of animation in relation to narrative, we looked at both machinima - machine cinema (Skyrim role-playing within role-playing) and 2D animation (Cordel Barker's "Runaway"). During the second presentation an emphasis was placed on acting and the use of reference, which is essential to development of practice and the capturing of the human essence within animation. Animation is the most free-form art in film where one must take advantage of it's visually descriptive power in relation to the reality that surrounds us - animation forges a vivacious world that broadens our perspective about the actual world before us. Having said that, I need not hesitate to mention the live-action references Disney have used throughout their existence where acting has solidified their character design and behaviour to the limit, which made me think about my own references. After both presentations were done, I started exploring different animations and films for references. Initially, I started using referential images for grasping perspective of scenes for my Character & Narrative animations, such as an overhead shot of the sea and a boat passing through it. However, I believed that watching actors perform would be a lot better for constructing references. Turning over to Jim Carrey, I watched his movies "Liar Liar" and "Ace Ventura" (again, I've seen them before) and started analyzing his acting and behaviour since it's really reminiscent of exaggerated animated character's movements. For example, the faces he makes are excellent reference for facial expressions in characters with taking the main elements from his face and hyperbolizing them (sort of like a caricature). I also tried drawing faces and expressions based on the Jim Carrey faces picture attached above. When it comes to narrative, I believe there can be two points within the spectrum of straightforward narratives and ambiguous narratives, the former being clearly evident actions that produce a story (for example, Charlie Chaplin's films, or ...) and the latter being symbolically phantasmagoric narratives that are quite amenable to interpretations or difficult to understand due to the subtle themes included (one such would be Jan Svankmajer's "Dimensions of Dialogue"). However, the different styles and techniques differentiate massively from creator to creator in order to assert a tone, atmosphere, and aesthetic to the main dispersion of the story, with a soul purpose for it to be both attention grasping and meaningful to the audience.

Attempt at using Jim Carrey's faces as reference.

PPP2 - Engaging With Visualizations

Still from visualization - before the culminating point

Recently, I've been interested in creating visuals for bands to be displayed whilst performances are conducted much more than I have been in the past. Although I have made such a visual on one instance for a friend's ambient project, I wish to venture further into the realm of abstract and atmospheric visuals that grasp and envelop a band's/performer's music genre and tone. I got inspired during Leeds Light Night where I saw auditory sensitive visuals (made by Level 6 student Oscar Barany) controlled through Resolume (an interactive visual effects program) and an APC Mini (hardware device that controls music connected visuals) and will be aiming towards understanding this form of art and actively practicing it once I get the opportunity to buy the necessary equipment. However, with my initial one (one I made last year) being quite noisy and ambiguous, I aimed for this one to be much more organized and annotated to the peak amplitude of the music. Progressively, I contacted the Macedonian recently-formed band "Spectrum" (whose members I personally know) and offered to synthesize a visual for their newest teaser song, to which they agreed. Although I did not ask for monetary remuneration for this, I will for when I make a music video once they release their debut album, which is something I already discussed with them. Since they were not specific about the details of the visuals, I attempted at trying to express their tone more prominently through the visuals, for which I used an asset initially made for my Character & Narrative animation which had a dark and ambiguous demeanor. Thus, once I imported that in Premiere, along with the image they supplied me with (their current cover), I started experimenting with the myriad of effects on Premiere and thus annotated the initial flow based on the rising points of the song (where I chipped off separate frames and tinkered with their position and exposure to give it a "glitch" effect). As for the background, I reverse looped the stop-motion and changed the tint during the reversed sequence to complement the dichotomy presented by the name of the song (context, nevertheless). All in all, both I and the band consider the visuals to be highly satisfying as this paves the positive way for the further development of this technique. Moreover, I am considering spreading the word around in Macedonia (as well as here) advocating my creation of music videos and visuals.

"Spectrum - Empathy" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3StQO6RaHA

PPP2 Presentation - Who are you? Why are you here?

Interconnecting with Responsive's role of developing a standard practice and making connections with the creative industry, today's PPP presentation brought forth some quite metaphysical, but very engagingly pensive questions. The main gist of the presentations was revolving around subjectivity and the stirring of our inquisitive minds. With questions such as "what do I want to achieve?" following up the introductory title, I found myself questioning the very basis of my practice - why am I doing it. Attempting to grasp this notion within and after the presentation, I started answering the main question posed during the lecture in my mind and notebook. I believe that answering these questions structures my path more effectively and induces motivation and confidence within my practice.

Who am I? - I am a animator in training that is aiming to achieve engagement with the industries in order to professionalize my creative practice.

Why are you here? - I am here to understand how the creative industry functions, to develop my animation practice through experimentation and proliferation of work, and to synthesize it with the theory and context of the art form.

Going forward into a simulating practice, the emphasis for developing our personal professional practice was placed on collaborations within this year, where we are expected to micromanage creative networks through the opportunities given to us (MAF, Lectures and Talks, Contests, and Collaborative Briefs). Rejoice, it is the ideal time for synergy and establishing contacts, and so will be done through dedication, a functional practice schematic, and confidence!

Expecting to establish direct contacts and networks, as well as analyze techniques of animations (and its conventions) here.

PPP2: Research into Form - Gil Alkabetz

Scrolling through a book I checked out called "Animation 2D and Beyond" by Jayne Pilling, I stumbled upon Gil Alkabetz's work and focus on the general form of animation. Alkabetz claims that "if you have a particular style, you create a particular world whose rules you know, so you can play with breaking them". However, he also proclaims that "by not being committed to any one style, you somehow have to reinvent the wheel every time", which subscribes to the notion of the style fitting the narrative, and not the other way around. I've always been interested in narrative oriented animation hence I believe that as an animator one must experiment and explore the different and plentiful conventions of the art form and not just stick to one's comfortable style - nothing is learned in that manner. Thus, I shall start utilizing this schematic of animation where the story is created first (be it absurd and defiant to reality or not) by using a phantasmagoric idea, developing the plot, and then choosing the form of animation which will carry the flow of the story through naturally (in order to perpetuate experimentation). Considering this, I was flabbergasted by his film "Swamp" hence it explored the many narrative levels of animation instigated by color, movement, and flow. The film portrays the absurdity of war, however, it does so in a really abstract and minimalist manner, relying on the suggestibility relayed by action and not by visuals. In other words, the film creates tension between the characters and the environment and uses that tension to drive the unique story along. The swamp that sinks the soldiers is never shown, yet we comprehend its existence solely because of the story's descriptive progression - it introduces us to the environment by having the characters interact with the invisible surroundings. This form of storytelling is imperative to the full exploitation of animation as an art form since it's breaking through the film frame of reality. Afterwards, I went on watching more of his films, giving me an inspiration to do an animation that uses watercolor as the main medium hence I really love the aesthetic of the texture.

"Swamp" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWQ5led8BA0