Final Major Project
[ Idea Generation ]
Introduction
I will be aiming to achieve a distinction grade pass throughout the final major project of my Creative Media Production course at Bradford College. Drawing from my previous projects, I believe I have a somewhat advanced skillset within graphic design, whilst grips of photography. I want to improve my experience on working with clients as this is a very important aspect of being a graphics designer, especially because of the collaborative nature of the field. I’d like to think I have an adequate understanding of color, geometry, typography and marketing, all of which can be used when working in graphic design. Presentations will be a keystone of this project, these will be important to show my ideas to my tutors, class and/or client. It will be important for me to feel comfortable and confident when conveying my ideas, this will also drive my production forward instead of hitting roadblocks and backtracking.
Before I started to outline any possible ideas for my project, I took the brief PDF and highlighted everything that needed to be completed, allowing me to mark off each step and track my progress. The brief clearly outlined every necessary task I needed to complete for my project. My first task was to create three ideas that I could base my FMP on.
Ideas
First Idea
To create a brand for a select business, taking their original brand into consideration to preserve their image to already existing clients. I would have to establish an impression upon contact with said business’s director or marketing manager to propose my intentions regarding my final project. Communication will be important as well as presentation skills, helping me move forward whilst confidently expressing my thoughts and ideas. A deeper understanding of branding will be required, I will be expected to work at industry standards to deliver on time with a product of quality.
As an introduction to the project, I will begin to list a series of skillsets that are relevant to the act of branding. I will make a presentation proposing the brief of my idea to show to my tutors and class. For my pre-production task I will need to conduct research with the appropriate Harvard format. Research includes: color, geometry, typography and connotation. These will be taken into careful consideration throughout the next task, production.
Production will showcase my production abilities in organization, time management, communication and graphic design through a weekly reflective journal and a general production journal. All drafts and unused content will be described in order to give context to my thoughts and actions, drawing connections between each step in the production process.
The final task will present a showcase of all my production work via Behance. I use Behance as a portfolio so this will give me the benefit of having one more project on my profile. Further benefitting me in the future. Following this will come an evaluation and viva voce, where I will be able to reflect on my project through the feedback of others or my own personal thoughts.
Some cons of this project could be that the director requests unexpected work which may not fit into the expected timeframe or that my production work doesn’t meet the standards of the business. In this case – I may have to resort to using the brand from a conceptual point. As for timeframes, I will always try to keep the director informed of my project’s progress. This will ensure everyone is on the same page.
From this project, I will also gain an immense variety of experience and assets… from client communication skills, presentation skills, portfolio materials and maybe even a possible voluntary job for further experience.
Second Idea
To create a short film. I don’t think I have the extensive experience necessary to create anything extraordinary, but it would make a nice experience to help me in the future for any similar projects. I may have knowledge and experience within photography, but cinematography is working with frames-per-second, motion, consistent color-grading, framing and lighting. All of which are quite difficult to get right and the equipment can be very hard to move around. The one thing I think I could excel at would be the production of the poster.
For an introduction, I will have to make a mindmap referencing the possible requirements of my film. I will need actors to play the roles of my film’s characters and even additional support to help handle the equipment on set. Time management would have to be kept to an absolute T, as everyone would have to come together at specific times to film specific parts. From this and much more, we can determine that this project would be more challenging than my previous idea.
My pre-production task should show my understanding of storytelling, the necessary equipment and any techniques commonly found in the realm of film production. I will have to produce a script along with a timetable, directing each and every scene.
Production will journal all of my production work, including some behind-the-scenes photos and videos of each set. A video-log may be created to capture each and everyone’s ideas and thoughts on the project after each scene.
Evaluation will be the exact same as my previous idea’s briefing, only this time my showcase will be presented via YouTube.
Third Idea
To create a conceptual product, also known as an act of product design. I feel like my varied knowledge with using Blender will help me bring my concept to life via the use of computer generated imagery (render engineering). Blender offers a render engine called Cycles which can calculate, simulate and visualise realistic lighting scenarios, accompanied by a small collection of physical simulations – making a perfect playground to create whatever sort of 3D realistic imagery you could ever imagine. With some tinkering, you can create a photorealistic image to showcase anything you want. In this case, I may want to 3D render my product.
I did product design as a subject in school, although we only ever worked with wood – it gave me some insight into the important aspects of product design through the theories of ergonomics, materials, fixings, tools, machinery, safety and electronical circuitries.
A fun part of product design is deciding what to create, a key element of this thought process is the question.. “what common problems does the common person face?” and “can I create a product to solve said problem?”… or even “what can I make easier or more accessible to most or some people?”. We could even improve on an already existing design. An example of this could be the coat hanger, they’ve existed for years but yet people are always trying to come up with new versions of the coat hanger to make hanging certain clothes even easier! Or even spoons, knives and forks, they’re constantly being worked upon in order to serve another purpose than just to consume a meal without having messy hands.
Once we have an idea, we can then start to think of the limitations of our design and what materials we should use. Limitations often come into play with size, a product that is smaller can often be quite rugged when the right materials are used. A large product that is made of plastic could be broken easily as there is more chance of the product bending or snapping. These are all things product designers constantly think about and test.
Another aspect is ergonomics, which is usually conducted and applied research of the average person’s relevant properties such as height, weight, width, etc. Ergonomics is important to ensure the user’s comfort and accessibility whilst using the product. A door handle is not very ergonomic for a dog or a cat as they don’t have fingers to grip all away around the handle, but to us.. the door handle was ergonomically accounted for to make the handle small and long enough for us to effortlessly and comfortably grip.
The task scheme for this idea should follow the same principals as the previous two.