OUAN502 - Animation Studio Research

The aim of the animation studio research task was to enable us to look into and think critically about how to analyse a company that we would like to work in. Based on what they produce, the companies background, ethics and a variety of other factors. The task was given to us with an aim to work for one particular company, and during the process where it applied it was expected that we attempt to contact the studio, asking about potential employment options and opportunities there. To do this we were recommended the approach of finding a contact or contacts to connect with through social media. Beginning an engagement with the studio at this stage means that we are creating contact and forming relationships with the industry that can be furthered at places like festivals for example. Any conversations had with companies should also be evidenced in your presentation or demontrarting the proactive approach towards the goal of getting a placement or job when we graduate. The companies looked at could be anything from 'Disney or Dreamworks down to the small and quirky studios producing innovative IPTV or YouTube Channel output.' The research should also include information on the history and key people in that studio, so who the owners of the studio are perhaps.

The presentation itselt must be 10 minutes long and presented on 1st December 2015 and above all we should show an interest and an enthusiasm. For my presentation I chose the studio 'CoMix Wave Films'. CoMix Wave Films is actually a Japanese animation film studio and distribution company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. I didn't actually realise until the day of the presentation that we were meant to choose a more viable option in terms of the company we want to work for. I acutally chose one that I liked the style of in order to demonstrate the type of work I'd like to do and give an example of the size of the studio I would like to be part of. In particular, the studio is known for its anime feature films, short films, and television commercials. The most famous of which would be those made by director Makoto Shinkai, a director I'm sure that most of the class would know of and if not, would be able to recognise his work. I did allocate a portion of the presentation to discussing exclusively Makoto Shinkai's work as he is a very prominent figure within the company and his style is unique. The company itself was 'founded in March 2007 when it split from CoMix Wave Inc., a company initially formed in 1998 from Itochu Corporation, ASATSU (now ADK), and other companies.' Aside from the main figures, the work they've produced and the history of the company I also talked about the process they use to create their feature films. I was surprised about how much information was available on the process of the company so I made a point to include as much as I could about that as it's quite insightful for people to know about. The process involves storyboarding, rough scenes and refining the scenes further with a mixture of background and character drawing too. I finished the presentation by talking about the future of CoMix Wave Films and where I thought they would go - I think with Makoto Shinkai involved the company will continue to grow with him at the forefront.

Below are the individual slides that I created for the presentation:

OUAN502 - The Cost of Living

Todays PPP session was about looking at costs of living and specifically what it costs for us to live a year including food, living and luxury items. I had to be fairly appropximate with the way I filled in certain amounts because it probably varies month to month and year to year. I generally put more than I think I would spend to account for any increases in cost over the course of a year. In total after everything was filled in that was necessary it suggested that it would cost me around £6,665 to live for a year. The vast majority of this cost is attributed to rent with the second being the cost of food, and then travel. Aside from this other items listed were items that weren't essential such as books, eating out, and buying new clothes for example. In a lot of cases the items aren't technically necessary but at the same time may be important and help in a lot of ways.

This was quite an insightful task because although I generally keep track of money that I spend it was informative to see it laid out infront of me with an estimation of what I spent on a yearly basis. I actually expected it to be more than this, but I suppose £7000 for a year is quite a lot of money anyway and that excludes things such as a car and keeping a car running for example, which is a large cost if I ever needed to incorporate that into my finances.

OUAN502 - Personal SWOT Analysis

During our PPP seminar with Martin we were informed about a concept called; SWOT. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. As individuals we were asked to review the characteristics of SWOT and apply it to ourselves. By doing this it would mean we were being critical of ourselves and recognising our own strength and weaknesses etc. By doing this it meant we could identify specific traits and then use it to work to our strengths and improve or work on our weaknesses. It also means we can recognise opportunities whilst preparing ourselves for any threats we may face as practitioners. We reviewed these criteria in four different areas: personal, interpersonal, technical and artistic.

In terms of my strengths I would say that I was;

• Organised
• Versitile and adaptable
• Good at communication
• Reliable in a group environment
• Good at working in a variety of ways

In contrast to this, I think my weaknesses include;

• Don't have a specialism yet
• Lacking confidence in work sometimes
• Can become obsessive about meeting goals

Opportunities that I idenified are;

• Being at LCA
• Meeting potential employers and clients through social media
• Establishing myself within a creative network
• Attending festivals and conventions in order to meet people

• Other people competing for work in the industry
• Losing motivation
• Losing confidence in my work
• Being unable to connect with people in the industry

After this task had been completed on an individual basis we were arranged into groups to discover what other members of the class thought about our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. People suggested that I was good at giving presentations and communicating during crits for example, also that I was good at drawing (and creating images). It was also mentioned that I was good at working digitally, and in general using a variety of mediums to produce work. Some of the weaknesses that were listed include, having more of a social media presence as well as being more vocal in general outside of crits and presentations. Overall I think this seminar was quite interesting. It made me consider what I was good at and aspects of my practice that I needed to work on as well as realising from other people's perspective things I needed to improve on that I may not have considered.