Added in personal commission -2010 Phonetic Arts

The most recent commission for a client which I have completed is for a games software company called Phonetic Arts. I completed some work experience for the company over the easter holidays and while I was there I completed various work which they asked of me.

However, please note this commission has been added in from 2010 as opposed to previous commissions I have worked on.

I had got in touch with the company myself and had asked about some work experience at the company after hearing about what they're company does I was quite interested. After sending in my CV of work, some recent examples of work and a covering letter with the CV, I was asked to go in for a meeting with the head of the company, Paul Taylor. Below is an email which shows the arrangement of the meeting. As you can see, the client is asking about previous experience and skills so in relation to an overall commission this process is quite similar.

After the meeting, the company got in touch and offered a 4 week work experience placement, starting from 6th April. Below is the confirmation email of the work experience placement.

During the work experience week, I undertook a number of tasks which the clients at the company had asked of me. The two most important tasks which I can show evidence of are the two tutorial videos I created for the companies generator voice software. The two versions of software were called Generator and Composer and generated voices for games companies.

I was personally asked to create two tutorials explaining the game software to any other trial users. I had a voiceover file for each video which needed to be edited to flow with the videos. I created the videos on a editing program called Camtasia Studio, and created the videos by recording the screen of the computer while demonstrating the software on the tutorials. This was done in the Camtasia Studio editing program as well and in this way I could easily drop video files in and add the audio. Below is an example of the tutorial I created, showing the process of choosing a character voice for the software.

After I had created these two rough tutorials, I had a meeting with head of the company and client for the commission Paul Taylor. He watched the tutorial videos through and suggested improvements such as pace of audio, pace of the video, what else I needed in the video and what I could take out. This is similar to the rough cut process of the general process of a commission.

The two videos were then completed after client feedback and the two tutorials can be seen below, click on the hyperlink to view.

Generator tutorial - http://www.phonetic-arts.com/welcome/support/Generator_tutorial.mp4

Composer tutorial - http://www.phonetic-arts.com/welcome/support/Composer_tutorial.mp4

I thought this commission showed a good example of my previous work in commission and showed clear characteristics of a commission process, with the initial meetings, the decision, the rough cut, the feedback and the final projects.

Overall, my work for Tony Jones as a commission helped me in this future Commission because it allowed me a personal insight into what working in the media industry would be like and working fora client also.

My Implications for future work

The show reel and changing spaces project has been very influential in terms of my work and working with a client. In terms of implications for future work, the commission project has ensured that I take care and specific attention to the demands of the client and their personal opinions.

Even though sometimes these may differ, (such as the difference in my opinion to Tony Jones regarding the punting in Cambridge on the initial show reel) I have learnt that while working with a client it is always necessary to take notice of their opinions and sometimes, they may be making a good point.

I also learnt during the commission process that sometimes when the clients and my personal views are very similar or the same, we can create a very effective finished product which we are both happy with.

The commission process has ensured that my managerial skills, negotiation skills and confidence when pitching various ideas has been substantially boosted. In terms of working with clients in the future, I think the commission project has put me in a much better position than previously, as it has boosted the skills above and has meant that I now take greater care and consideration into the views of the client.

I also now due to commission, have a wider knowledge of deadlines and time limits working in the real life media industry. Although I normally always meet the deadlines set because I do not like to fall behind on work, in the commission project - the show reels, rough cuts of these and pitches and ideas had to be in for set deadlines which were much stricter than deadlines I had ever worked on before; this consequently led me to take more attention to deadlines and work harder to meet these and get everything successfully completed.

Another thing boosted by the commission project is the method of sticking to the brief of the client. While various other projects had been slightly more lenient with the brief of work, such as the interaction project and the music video project, this commission project had a concrete brief which also meant a lot of limitations. Therefore, this project has boosted my skills of working towards a brief with little limitation and this is something I will take into consideration when working in future commissions.

Influences from the changing spaces commission

In terms of further influences from seeing he changing spaces program, after research I came across some audience members that have been widely influenced by the changing spaces project and the idea of brightening up empty shops.

This also shows my commission goes further than just a project, because people are still being influenced by the idea we originated in shop windows with Tony Jones.

Below is the main influence I could find from my changing spaces commission. I personally thought it was quite interesting and I am glad the project has influenced many others to go further and brighten up empty shops themselves.

Influences throughout Cambridge

There have also been many influences throughout Cambridge due to the changing spaces project which I was involved in. I think the initial show reel showing inside the habitat shop really got the audience interested and shops throughout Cambridge have flourished from the project, as shown below.

This shop is near bridge street on Cambridge and was previously 'Manon interiors' an interior design shop. What I like about this shop personally is it is in one of the most public parts of Cambridge right by the river and the punting attractions and would therefore get a lot of attention. This showing of artwork in Cambridge was influenced by my initial show reel and the evolutions of the changing spaces project I worked on for this commission.

This shop previously was a mr shoes shop, and since the company has gone under administration the shop has been let out for the changing spaces project. Here you can see some more artwork with various members of the public, who yet again seem very interested.

This shop is directly beside the Cambridge market square which I focused on in the initial show reel. Therefore this shop gets an immense amount of public walk by and is in my opinion an excellent place to showcase work, along with the Manon interiors shop near bridge street and the punting attractions.

This is another shop in Bridge strret near Manon interiors and also showcases some artwork for the changing spaces project. Shops such as these in my opinion have been widely influenced by the commission project I worked on when introducing the changing spaces project by the show reels I worked on.

Personal budgeting sheet for Commission

Here is my personal budget sheet for the Commission project. It shows the projected costs of the items we used and the actual costs. Most costs were not asked for because the Cambridge film trust was a charity organisation and therefore people were prepared to lessen or eradicate the costs for this, which was extremely helpful.

Click to enlarge image and view.

Feedback from Tony Jones for my individual show reel

In terms of feedback from Tony Jones and Paula Beegan (partner in the project) for my individual show reel, there was not as much feedback as the main show reel.

However, this was inevitable because the individual show reels were much shorter and we had a list of what Tony Jones would like on the show reel in a specific order so in this way, I was very much listening to the demands of the client and going along with a set brief.

In terms of meeting the demands of the client, my individual show reel contained the footage of pig farming in Cambridge which Tony Jones had specifically asked for in the emails, and therefore Tony specifically liked my show reel due to this reason.

Here is the email from Tony Jones about the pig farming footage used in my individual show reel.

Here is the overall email showing the clients demands and what parts he liked of the cambridge archive footage and the overall videos.

Other than this, because I had steadily met the demands of my client for the individual show reel there wasn't much feedback apart from well done on meeting the demands, and that the show reel may be shown at other changing spaces participating shops later on this year.

Overall though I think this is good feedback from the client and I feel I met the demands of the client very well in my individual show reel.

Also, the fact of a possible showing of my show reel is a very exciting prospect and I cant wait to see if it does get shown, Tony Jones expressed his willingness to use these show reels during the 29th annual Cambridge film festival, which would be a fantastic achievement if this does get shown. Nonetheless, even the possibility of a showing at the festival would be a great achievement in my opinion.

My finished second show reel

Below is a clip from the finished video of my personal show reel, which was created in a pair with Alex.

Overall, I think this show reel was again a success and demonstrated my clear ability to communicate and work well with my client, Tony Jones.

This show reel was easier than the main show reel because we were given the material to work with, therefore this made feedback from client Tony Jones a lot more positive because he had given us the material.

Tony Jones client requirements

This email above contains some specific client demands from Tony Jones. It includes what he likes in the archive footage and other videos such as the Buster Keaton video.

This helps with my commission immensely because it shows clear feedback to myself about what Tony Jones would like in the show reel, and this would really help when making my individual show reel because I will have some element of what Tony Jones would want specifically, and I can simply add this in to meet the clients demands.

Further show reels

As a result of the main show reel, I was then asked to make a shorter version of a show reel, containing different footage from each area, for example Buster Keaton and another part of archive footage. The class would each get into groups of 2 and then create the show reel, which will be a vital part of my commission project as well as the main show reel.

In my opinion, this would be a little easier than the main show reel as I will have the parts chosen for me with Alex, and would simply add them together effectively. My show reel was created on the wednesday 24th June, working with Alex in a pair. We had to create our individual show reel, including 3 parts of archive footage, an animation from Depict 90 second videos, and a Bjork music video.

We had to include paperwork to list what was on the showreel so that it could be checked with the council and legalised. The showreel had a specific order, including logos before each video etc. Below is a copy of the paperwork for one video.

Measuring audience response and feedback

In terms of the feedback from the audience and their response, I have decided to generate some data through pie charts instead of just rough note tables, which is what I took when we went down on the day of the screening to interview people for audience feedback.

I thought using pie charts analyses the data better and makes it clearer for information to be seen and shown.

The first question I asked the audience was how long they stopped for to watch the show reel screening. Obviously I asked them this as they came away from the screening and simply asked how long they had stayed for. Here is the response.

This is the data for how long the audience stayed at the screening. In this pie chart, you can see the actual numbers of people who stayed for periods of time, all together I asked 50 people. In the pie chart below you can see the data percentage wise.

Here you can see how long the audience stayed in terms of percentages out of 50 people in total. From the pie chart, you can see that the majority of people stayed for 5 - 10 minutes - which I think is excellent. There were quite a few who stayed for a minute or less but I think this is due to being busy in the town centre.

Here you can see the age of the audience who stayed to watch the screenings. From the data, you can see the majority of the audience were middle aged 30 - 40 year olds, and this may be because they enjoy hearing about the history of Cambridge and comparing it to when they were little.

Here you can see the age of the audience who stayed for the screening, but you can see the actual numbers of people as opposed to percentages in the last graph.

Here you can see the problems with the shop screening and the numbers of people who thought these problems. The survey was overall out of 50 people.

On both of these pie charts, you can see what the audience felt the problems were with the shop screening. The majority of people thought that the music was too loud and repetitive and that

it was too bright to see the screen as effectively as they would have liked. Personally these were the two main issues I identified with on the day of these interviews so this wasn't suprising.

Here you can see the data I have collected which shows what the audience liked about the shop screening. This pie chart shows the percentages of people and what they liked out of 50 people in total.

Here you can see the actual numbers of audience members and what they liked about the screening. From the pie chart it is easy to evaluate that the main attraction to the screening in Habitat, Regent Street was that the footage was eye catching and interesting. The next is that the shop boasted something new, modern or creative as opposed to the other shops in the town centre.

Audience feedback - rough notes and tally charts

While the audience interviews and data were being received, I took some tally charts to show a clearer way to collate the audience feedback. The pictures below show clear tally charts and rough notes from the audience interviews.

Hopefully with these tally charts I should be able to create some pie charts or tables on the computer to show the information a bit clearer, these rough notes however are a good measure of what the audience thought etc.

Audience response - 12th June

In terms of the audience response, on the day of the screening we as a class went down to the Grafton centre near Habitat on the 12th of June (the shop where the screening was being shown) to get some feedback and audience comments. The shop screening ran from the 11th of June through to the 27th June.

I personally asked the audiences about what they liked about the show reel, what they didn't like, how long they stayed for and how old they were.

Here you can see some of the class in the town centre.

Here you can see the audience outside Habitat, and you can see them watching the show reel on the screen.

Here you can see the busy town centre and some of the audience members we asked for some feedback from.

Here you can see what Habitat was like long BEFORE the screening, this boosts no attraction what so ever.

Here you can see a picture I took of the screen from the outside of the shop. Some audience feedback was that they could not see the screen very well and from this picture and the show reel on the day of the screening I agree that it was quite hard to see, perhaps this would be an improvement for a shop screening of the show reels next time.

Media coverage of the project - 11th June

Concerning the project, there was various media coverage which also shows that as a community, Cambridge themselves were very interested in the changing spaces project - to such an extent that there would be news coverage by the BBC concerning the project. The link for the BBC news broadcast concerning the project, with interviews from Tony Jones and media students in my class, the link is on this hyperlink.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8101099.stm

Here you can see the start of the video and the BBC news website which streams the news broadcast about the project.

Here you can see an interview from the client for this commission project, Tony Jones.

The link to this website also led to me another website, called 'emptyshopsnetwork'. The website shows all the empty shops in the UK and shows plans for what is going to happen there.

I thought this was personally very interesting as it showed all the artists details and information for each shop that is empty and being temporarily used by these artists.

To see the link for the empty shop network, the link is here.

There is also a Cambridge Evening News article about the project, shown below.

My personal response to first show reel

The first cut from wednesday 10th June (PM) showed that some improvements were needed. While watching the show reel rough cut, I identified the following points as improvements.

• The animated logos, (completed by the visual effects team) were a bit too

advanced and ‘flashy’, perhaps being more simply animated would be better for the show reel.

• One logo appeared twice and some of the effects on the logos were a bit unnecessary.

• The music did not fit with the archive footage and calmer music may have been more suitable.

• The Buster Keaton video needs to be de-interlacing, and there were straight cuts through the footage which sometimes cut too soon. (Perhaps fades would be better for the transitions between each part of footage)

• The music sometimes ends abruptly and the cut at the end of the archive footage happened too soon.

• There was a bit too much Long Road students work, and the archive footage was meant to be the main footage showing.

• One Long Road video showed a dead body, this was not allowed as all videos had to be suited to all the public in terms of content, a dead body was a bit extreme to show to the general public. In my summary of notes I knew that concerning complaints, there were a few about visual quality, but Tony insisted you could see it all fine. Tony and the film trust took a gamble and due to this got a lot of publicity concerning the project.

From the production meeting I knew that in terms of feedback for Long Road, there were only 2 complaints, it was more the repetitive nature that annoyed some people, but overall there were not many complaints. In September the film trust would like to get people’s feedback and views, quotes etc.

The second and third show reels followed a more consistent pattern which was more liked. The public etc liked the moving logos, however the soundtrack seemed to be fluctuating, but this was only due to the speakers, and the only part doing this was the fashion show music. The level of sound was a little too loud – and this could be silent in the next programme if there are complaints. Overall, the show reel as a whole was a good achievement, despite the few improvements that would be made.

The footage was eye catching and interesting, so would ensure the public would stop and take a look as they walked past. The footage was organised well and was clearly explained throughout. With the improvements made, the show reel would be ready to show to the public, and hopefully would catch their attention.

My first 'Pilot' Showreel - 10th June

Here is mine and the classes initial pilot showreel, which we produced after the initial meeting with Tony Jones. Overall, you can see some of the shots I had personally suggested to Tony Jones in the initial pitch for the show reel, which is a good sign since it shows clear interaction with the client. I hope this show reel matches the client Tony Jones' needs and after his feedback I should know what to improve.

Changes to show reel after client feedback

This table I personally made shows the client feedback from Tony Jones, and what the issue he brought up was. It also shows how I personally resolved these issues and the actions and changes I made.

As a result of the feedback myself and others received from Tony Jones concerning the show reel, there were a few considerable and noticeable changes due to this feedback. After all, the idea of a commission is that the project done for the commission clearly relates to the clients wishes and needs, and in this sense changes need to be made to address Tony Jones' needs and ideas for the show reel.

With these adjustments, the show reel was made to suit Tony Jones (the client) and was edited more to his liking. I personally thought the show reel looked considerably better once the archive footage was changed a little, and the music was changed to suit the footage.

With the logos more subtle, the show reel focused on the actual footage rather than relying on effects to attract the audience. With more logos at the end rather than at the start, it was more organised and looked considerably better due to all of the adjustments made.

Tony Jones response & feedback to first show reel

After the first pilot show reel for the public, Tony Jones’ had various responses, and a few improvements I could make in order to make the video better for the public.

• He wanted the Buster Keaton video shortened, and to have the idea of Kylie Minogue coming out from one of the shops in the Buster Keaton video. However this was a bit too much so I simply merged the two videos together - so Kylie Minogue followed straight after Buster Keaton.

• After the discussion about too many titles, Tony Jones wanted to tone down the titles, and have them more subtle. He wanted more of Dave’s ‘Peoples Cinema’ title, and he felt there were too many logos at the start, so the class simply had the Long Road logo and the Cambridge Film Trust at the start - all the remaining logos went at the end of the show reel.

• He also felt the soundtrack to the archive footage was too lively, the same as what we felt from watching the rough cut footage.

• He felt the archive footage of punting was too ‘touristy’ for Cambridge, and to have more shops of town and Fitzroy street. With these adjustments, the show reel was made to suit Tony Jones (the client) and was edited more to his liking.

• The show reel looked considerably better once the archive footage was changed a little, and the music was changed to suit the footage. With the logos more subtle, the show reel focused on the actual footage rather than relying on effects to attract the audience.

• With more logos at the end rather than at the start, it was more organised and looked considerably better due to all of the adjustments made.

Archive footage - personal opinion

While looking through the archive footage, I personally think that there were some excellent parts of footage which would be ideal in the trailer, such as the footage of punting to show traditional cambridge, and shots of the town centre and lions yard centre to see the comparisons to today and modern day Cambridge.

This shot from the archive footage i thought was particularly effective, because it showed the old traditional Cambridge and would therefore be very appealing to the target audience especially the older generation who can compare what Cambridge was like to what Cambridge is now like in the modern day.

All of these recognisable shots I thought were excellent to include in the show reel, because they are instantly recognisable as precise points in the town centre and therefore the target audience will be able to relate to them more clearly as opposed to just being general footage.

These shots which I think are effective however, may be different to my client Tony Jones' ideas of shots and footage and therefore I need to pay close attention and be careful when considering the needs and thoughts of the client.