My CV

I usually update my CV every 6 months, if not more often if applying for jobs, so this task was relatively easy to complete as I had already got most of the written content.

With my past CV's I have usually included small illustrations around the edges, and made them more colourful as it reflects my work and personality more. However for this one I wanted it to be more professional whilst still reflecting my style. To do this I put more emphasis on what I have done in the past, filling a whole column on the right hand side, and split the left hand side into contact details, education, the software that I use and a small list of hobbies. I added colour by making only the titles black, and the actual written content in a dark blue. I also added red bars to divide the sections making it easier to read and digest fully.

It was really hard to not add a little illustration of a panda in the space left at the bottom left of the page, but overall I am proud of how professional it looks and how much I have achieved in the last few years.

Pop Up Show

I was unable to take part in the organization of the pop-up show or the event itself, as I had to take time off during that period of time.

I feel really upset that I was unable to have any involvement in it, as I have past experiences in event management when I worked for the University magazine 'NEST', as well volunteering at larger events.

The worst part is I feel I let my group down, as I was unable to produce the finished work for the show, so now I am looking into other ways to show our work once it has finally been properly finished.

My Showreel

Sacha Frampton - Showreel from sacha frampton on Vimeo.

Here is my first ever showreel, with little snippets of work I've created over the last three years of being in Leeds. There is so much I've missed out but I chose work that I felt showed my personality more, as well as the type of work I like to make. When editing it together, I made sure that it flowed well, ensuring that your eyes always follow the main action.

Networking task

After our networking session, we were set the task to think about our own network, on a local, national and international basis. I have also done a list of websites and social media which I used to keep in touch with these people or talk and network with different people.

Local-
University (Leeds College of Art)
Northern Film School
Leeds College of Music
Saturday Art School (tutors)
Impact Films
Glow Films
Leeds Inspired
Manto TV
Rabbitportal
Leeds International Film Festival
Bradford Animation Festival

National-
Disney Channel UK

International-
Production International
Skwigly

Online-
Flickr
Pinterest
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Etsy
Deviantart
Blogger

Networking

For this PPP task we were asked to get into small groups to discuss networking and write down everything we can think of about it (why, how and where were the main discussion points). Below is My groups mindmap (I worked with Meg and Stu).

Here are a few little extra notes I took during the session-

Having already attended various networking events, animation meet ups and talking to fellow students and animators in the Skwigly chatroom and Twitter, I feel that I already know what types of networking work for me, but it was useful to recap on other ways.

Animation Documentaries

When I was looking for animation pre-production references I came across a great Pinterest account called Character Design References just as it first started out. Since then animators and illustrators all over the world religiously follow the accounts posts/pins and is considered one of the best collections of varying reference material. One of the boards is called Animation/Documentaries, which I hadn't previously looked at before, but the other day I noticed it again and decided to watch through a few of the videos they had on there. I ended up spending hours watching various different posts, and felt really inspired afterwards to animate and get better at animating. This is a really great link for any artist, and I am sure there is a video on there that everyone would relate to or be interested in, maybe that's just me being bias towards it though!

http://www.pinterest.com/characterdesigh/animation-documentaries/

Sacha SWOT

During our second PPP2 session we looked into how we could use SCAMPER and SWOT analysis methods when critiquing our own work, and how mind-mapping can be beneficial to idea generation. Below are some possible things to think about relating to digital media work when using both analysis methods.

Substitute- equipment, materials, character, location, plot
Combine- characters, time management, skills of other people
Adapt- change discipline
Modify- contexts, emphasis
Put to another use- audience, research
Eliminate- streamline ideas, reduce content, economical
Reverse- swap roles, look at the story back to front, sequence

Strengths- (internally controlled) selling points, resources, skills, ideas, location

Weaknesses- (internally controlled) things that need improving, timescale, commitments, reputation, planning, ability, knowledge

Opportunities- (externally controlled) networking, audience, skills, research, markets, development, influencer

Threats- (externally controlled) time management, competition, technology, distractions, audience, expectation, legistration, environment effects, limitations from funders

We were then encouraged to use the SWOT analysis theory to apply on our own practice as freelancers. I really found this task useful and insightful, especially in setting achievable goals for myself to turn negative issues into strengths.

Strengths
-Multidisciplinary
-I have the Adobe Creative package and Microsoft Office packages on my own Macbook Pro, as well as a Wacom tablet, meaning I am able to work in a number of places.
-I have experience in different areas of creative work and have a good foundation of work behind me
-I am imaginative and enjoy exploring different ideas
-Being based in Leeds I am able to work across Yorkshire, as well as having family links in the West Midlands and London allowing me to spread my work opportunities across these areas
-I have a good reputation in Leeds for my Art Department work, and have made many contacts through different projects
-Versatile working

Weaknesses
-Not a specialised practitioner (sometimes)
-Reluctant to use 3D animating software and needs experience in this area of work
-Busy timetable due to University commitments and working on Saturday mornings
-I need to strengthen my abilities and learn new transferable skills
-I have a specific target audience and style and struggle occasionally to adapt to fit other people's needs if very different.
-I have no editing software on my laptop, and need to look into getting Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Dragon Stop Motion so more reliant on University resources

Opportunities
-Already got a good network around me
-Growing need/want for well animated and beautiful animations/storybook apps for children
-Chance to widen my network on every new project I work on - more work may come from this
-Adapting briefs to my own wants and needs within my personal work development

Threats
-I may run out of time and energy to take on many more projects, risk of getting burnt out
-The amount of animation and film courses are rising within the UK as well as world wide, which means more competition when graduating and applying for graduate schemes and apprenticeships.
-Technology is always developing which means I need to constantly be learning and updating my skill set or risk falling behind in the industry
-Having to compete with graduate animations from Gobelins and CALArts there is a high expectation to produce work to a 'Disney' hand drawn quality and skill, and whilst learning other skills this may not be possible in the timeframe

PPP2 Brief

• 20 Module brief
• Deadline is the 23rd May 2014
• More critical and more professional than last year, focusing on business skills and marketing yourself and your work
• Hand in:

1. Blog (portfolio of study and ten tasks)
2. Competition/Live brief
3. Pop-up exhibition (4th February)
4. Showreel, art portfolio, business card, CV
5. Learning journey presentation (10 minutes long)

• Attend events/festivals/trade shows
• Resources you've found or used
• Meet up/Eventbrite
• How much would you charge when working
• 20 blog posts minimum

Summer Presentation

Here is my presentation I created about my summer.
http://issuu.com/sachaframpton/docs/summerpresentation