Billy Goat Entertainment-
The first industry talk we had been from a small company called Billy Goat Entertainment and William Barr introduced us to their new game Supermarket Shriek and we were able to play a demo version.
This game looked really fun but also difficult as the boys weren’t flying through it as I thought they would be. I loved the multiplayer version of the game as it takes both people to control the cart using the left and right buttons to steer I thought this was a really good idea and was executed beautifully.
The overall style I really liked the environments that were built were beautiful of course the game was still being processed so the game wasn’t complete yet but overall from what we got to see it looked really good. I think overall what I learned from this presentation is that almost every business will fail but to keep on trying anyway. William talked a lot about failure and pushing through it he briefly discussed a project he was working on previously that didn’t quite work but he didn’t let that stop him and continued on to create Supermarket Shriek.
Deepa Mann-Kler
Our next talk was from an artist that took us through her life’s work I really enjoyed this talk as this is what I picture for myself doing for the rest of my life a bit of everything. The work she showed us was absolutely beautiful I really loved her balloon dogs overall all her neon work was absolutely beautiful I really like neon and I’ve never met an artist who specialises in working in light installations.
She also touched on working in VR which probably has inspired my group now as they would like to venture into a horror VR game. The VR game as she describes below is fun and playful her VR game is exploring different worlds we only got to see the demo but it looked lovely and Little Mo was an extremely cute character for this game.
Game Industry Portfolio Talk-
One of the slides mentions what was the industry looking for? and two off the applications mentioned was Trello and Slack too which I’ve been using for the past projects. I find these apps really good as I can keep work together and organised and it is really helpful when working in a team as you can rely on the Trello as it keeps all of the work together and is easy to locate when looking for work that was done a couple of weeks past.
What I wasn’t expecting was the game industry looking 3D artists as this is an area I have thought about continuing on to do but I never connected gaming to that area as I have no interest in gaming and know nothing about the gaming industry this talk had helped me get a better understanding of gaming but I still have no interest in gaming as I’ve always loved film.
Overall this talk was quite insightful and has definitely has opened my eyes in terms of the gaming industry I think this is an area I will have to research more because I would like to keep all doors open to new experiences.
Groom Presentation-
I’ve never heard of Groom before and I didn’t quite know what to expect but it all seems quite interesting I never thought about the hair on a model this could be quite useful as our character for is a bit and obviously they have hair this could be interesting to have a practice at.
Overall I definitely think this is an area I will be looking into as I know very little about this area of the pipeline.
Enter Yes Presentation-
Below are my notes for this presentation what I love about this was the previous day I was researching animation studios for the professional practice homework and this was one of the studios that I had researched so I was very excited to see more about this studio as it would probably be one of many places I apply to for placement.
Notes-
Careers Talk –
The career talk was extremely useful in getting a better understanding of what an employer is looking for in our cv and possibly our show reels. The talker specifically highlighted the importance of explaining how you have the skills that you claim to have, it’s one thing to say that you have a skill without any physical evidence that you actually do process this skill.
We also went through a job application were we had to highlight what the employer was looking for, this exercise was very important as it showed how to narrow in on exactly the employer was looking for and how to apply your skills to fit the job application.
We also went over what is the best way to display your work whether you’re a modeller, animator or whatever whether it be through showreel or a portfolio for this semester I will be supplying both as I think most of my work is 2D based through my concept art project and through stills of models that I’m most proud of.
Overall I’m glad we had this talk as it was extremely helpful but also encouraging.
Priya Mistry-
Priya is an illustrator, animator and occasional art director. Priya has worked on various projects on various platforms doing a lot of different work from character design to illustrations for games with virtual reality. When I think of my future as an animator this is what I envision my work to be like, like a mixed bag of goodies.
I love that Priya has worked on various projects due to the fact that it shows that she is extremely versatile in working in any environment in any field of work. This is what I would love to do in the future as it always keeps doors open when you are willing to work in different areas. I also like the fact that Priya has dedicated some of her time to enjoy self-directed projects as this is something I would like to experience in the future as well.
Taking in what Alec said in a previous lecture having time away from work is just an important as doing work. Priya was a great example of this as she explains how having a set time for work and play is vital to her in her life and I hope to do the same with mine. Last year was a great example of this as I felt like I was working extremely hard staying up all hours to ensure my work was perfect but I never got any further forward as the work was never completed in my eyes there was something I always thought should be changed. I guess this when you have to take a step back and be done with a piece of work.
Unfortunately I was unable to go to the last talk due to being ill but overall I believe that some of the talks really helped me this year in opening my eyes to the opportunities within Northern Ireland, I’ve also learned a lot about how to write a CV, a cover letter. how to produce a showreel that’s relevant and more importantly how to produce this items to a high standard to show employers. With all the great help I got I am extremely grateful.
Shannon Murray - University of Ulster Animation 