APA 6th Referencing

In the lecture we spoke about APA 6th Referencing

Why we reference:

- To show the research you have done and what you have read

- To show support points

- Enables readers to follow and read the original text

- To get a good mark (if you don't reference can get in trouble for plagiarism)

Things you need to reference:

- Quotes

- Reference statistics

- Definitions from the dictionary ( you need to go beyond that and see what experts say about the literature and go further)

- Still reference if you put something into your own words. The idea are from somewhere so it needs to be referenced.

In text citations - Reference list at the end

Using citations in sentences 

At the end of a sentence (Brown, 2001)

According to Brown (2001) then sentence.

Brown (2001) then sentence


Referencing websites 

Oldham has a population of 217,237 (Oldham Council, 2003) 

If there is no date, instead of the year put n.d. 


Interactive reference builder on hud uni website. 

EasyBig barcode scanner 
Summen cite

Referencing images: Figure 1: Title of image (if artwork doesn't have title put un-named or if it is a image of a random thing just name it yourself) Then add reference after title (Emin, 2006)

Direct quotations:

Small quotes: Less than 40 words

Brown (2001) complains of trend that he calls "the dumbing down of modern society" (p.26), and claims that this directly caused by the invention of television.

^ Need page number if it from a text based source. PDF count the pages for example. Any text based should have an indication.

Large quotes: More than 40 words.  They don't have quotation marks. Have indents.

Drop in sessions 10:15 to 12:15
         

         

Motion Go - Calder Graphics live brief

After the motion graphics workshops I have participated in this year for process and production, I have wanted to push myself further. I have learned some useful techniques in the animation workshops, and off my own back when trying to produce more motion graphic pieces.

I have joined an extracurricular group called Motion Go, which is made up of a collection of students that are interested in completing projects in their own time in order to improve our portfolios and learn new skills in the Adobe suite.

Sara managed to get us a live brief with an art supplies shop in town called Calder Graphics. I was very excited for this opportunity as it would allow me to work with a product of my choosing that the shop has to offer. After having a meeting with Stuart (The owner of Calder Graphics) about the ideas that we had as individuals and a collective, I chose to focus on Posca Colouring paint pens.

An area of animation that I wanted to try out was stop motion, as I have seen some spectacular results created from the frame to frame process. This would allow me to work with cameras in the photography studio and test how speedy I could be creating a whole project from start to finish in one day.

Calder Graphics Posca Pen Brief. from Jack Pomfret on Vimeo.

This is my final piece. I am pleased with the outcome and believe it has helped in improving my animating skills through the processes I used in order to complete the project.

Process and Production - Colaborative type mural + stop frame animation

For our final process and production with nick, we were to firstly split into three groups to create a mural. We first had to pick a word out of a hat.  When putting the words in the hat together it made up the sentence L'imagination prend le pouvoir (Imagination is power). My group selected L'imagination, which we then all had to draw out a typeface individually on a sheet of paper with a grid that represented the larger mural that was set up for the group task to come.

Once each member of the group had drawn out their idea, we then made a group decision of who's design was the favourite. My design was not picked on this occasion, however, the design I voted for was. After this was picked, we got together as a group and discussed what the best plan of action would be in order to transfer this design from an A3 page onto the large mural. It was decided that we would firstly use a pencil to draw out the design onto the mural, and then paint after that.

We all had a column that would be our own responsibility, which helped the team know exactly which area needed to be done by them, and made the whole process a lot smoother. As part of this task, we were only able to use one colour. We used red for our section of the sentence, however, we decided that just merely filling in the typeface in one solid colour wouldn't be very interesting. Therefore, we incorporated a checkerboard effect onto the mural with the paint, having some areas of the text filled in, and other areas of the negative space filled in opposed to the typeface.

When creating the stop motion for this mural, we decided that we wanted it to start as an abstract piece. The idea was that the word would not be recognisable until the end of the image sequence. This added a little bit more interest in my opinion.

I enjoyed this workshop for a few reasons. One was because it allowed me to work as part of a team in order to create a larger piece instead of completing an individual task like many other processes and production workshops entail, which helped with team-working along with adopting a  leadership role in some ways. Secondly, the concept behind this workshop was interesting as I had never made a mural before and it was enjoyable to create something such as this with the help of peers. Finally, because of the nature of the project, it was very social and ended up being a fun activity to take part in. My group all got along throughout and ended up creating a nice piece. 

Process and Production - Stencil Prints 1 colour abstract type

In this session of process and production with Nick we were to use typefaces to create abstract prints. We were provided with the typefaces Baskerville Bold, Cooper Standard and Courier Bold. I created three prints, one print for each typeface. 

The first print I created was with the typeface Cooper Standard. I wanted to create a rustic loom, making a messy print with the typeface having block colours as well as negative letters as well.  

The second print was created with the typeface Baskerville Bold. I went for a similar style to the first poster, however I made the letters a lot smaller. I wanted to create a shadow effect with the poster being dark in one corner and light in the other creating a gradient like effect. 

For the final poster, I used Courier bold. I wanted this to be different so I decided to create a cleaner look by having half of the poster with a white background and half with a black background. I wanted to create a mirrored effect, therefore I placed the type in the same positions on both sides as if it was mirrored. 

My favourite out of the three was the final poster I created with Courier Bold. I think the opposite halves worked very well and makes the letter forms stand out. 

Researching into Stop Motion Photography

I needed to look into the perfect set up for stop motion photography as I am producing a stop motion for a Graphics Shop in town, as part of Motion Go (a motion graphics club).


I found a good source to find out what information I needed on Youtube, from a channel called"The Slanted Lense".

Lightroom

After watching the video I have a better idea of how I am going to produce the stop-motion piece. Firstly I will be using Adobe Lightroom to take the pictures as this will allow the camera to not be triggered manually, therefore creating a more stable process. It will also allow me to see all of the images I have created together and to spot any discrepancies in the imagery.

Frame rate 

The source also talked about frame rate. Cinematic stop motions are usually done at 24 FPS however, pieces created for Instagram that usually have a more bouncy feel are usually done at 10 FPS, or for a slightly more cinematic experience when still keeping the bouncy feel to the piece, 15 FPS is a good framerate to go with. I have decided that I will go with the 15 FPS, as I feel this will create a fun feel to my piece when still looking professional.

Lighting

Many different lights can be used when using stop motion, However, continuous light is what is used in the video. This opposed to window light that can be unpredictable and take a lot of post production to create a satisfying piece. I have decided to use continuous light as I like the effect it has in the video. I too am planning on using a light pad.

Camera Settings

It is important when setting up the camera for this process that the camera settings are fit for purpose. As I have not used cameras a lot in the past I wanted to find some research on the correct settings to use in order to create the best result. From the source, I intend to use the same camera settings. These where an aperture of 6.3, shooting at a 10th of a second (however this may need to be a 15th of a second if I am working at 15 FPS. I will ask the camera technician) And finally 250 IOS.

I am feeling more confident about the shoot tomorrow after some research and hopefully, it will turn out to be a successful project.

Process and Production - Cinema 4D lesson 3

In the third production session with Jay, we continued to learn about the 3d program Cinema 4D. We were provided with the files that were needed. In order to make the Illustrator files work in Cinema 4D, the illustrator files needed to be saved into an Illustrator 8 format.

I merged the files into Cinema 4d and ungrouped the items then renamed the paths to body and top.
Created two lathes and added body and top into each lathe which created a 3d can. It produced a horrible mess in the middle of the top of the can. In order to fix this, I deselected the top lathe and selected the points tool on the left of the screen. This allowed me to select the middle point and use the arrow selection tool to move the point a fraction to the right, resulting in the top of the can becoming smooth.

We then created some materials to make the 3d model look more aesthetically appealing. Added “reflection (legacy) and fresnel” in the reflectance tab. I then opened “layer fresnel” in the sliders and changed the options from none to Dielectric. After this, I added the label provided in the process and production pack.

Had to change the mapping to cylindrical and then fit the texture to object through right clicking texture tab on layers. After creating another texture for the top of the can, I used reflectance again.
I then added a background and floor and changed setting in in tab dropdown, in cinema 4d tags, Selected compositing.

I then added lights and changed the coordinates placing them in the correct area to light the scene in a nice way. I added another light with the intensity of 50% also which created a soft feel to the scene. Then added a shadow with mapping (soft). This created a nice soft shadow behind the can.

Group the layers from the can and change the null name to can. Then drag this group into a cloner and change linear to grid array. Then it was just a case of changing the count and size in order to distribute cans.

This was the final result of the cans. I find it interesting how this can be created from two paths in illustrator. 3D software is something I want to look into more in the near future. 

After creating the cans, the class moved on to learning how to create a bottle. We went through the same process of using the lathe in order to create the 3-dimensional objects. I created the bottle cap separately. In order to create the glass material for the bottle, I used a material that was already downloaded as a preset and changed some of the settings to suit the means needed. The same lighting was used creating the soft shadow. 

Finally, to finish off this process and production session, we were instructed to create a box. I created a cube and started from there. I the created a material and added the graphics onto the texture layer as I had done on the other two objects. 

I think I have learnt a few new skills in Cinema 4D after this process and production session. I am excited to bring some 3D work into my own projects. 

Process and Production - Showreel

For the final process and production with Sara, our task was to create a showreel out of the pieces we have created this year. I decided to incorporate my self negotiated brief that I did for Calder Graphics as well as I used the techniques I learned in my process and production lessons throughout the year. The music is used for the showreel was produced by a friend.


Showreel 1 from Jack Pomfret on Vimeo.

Business lecture - summary 2

We started by looking at the different types of firms. These included sole trader/self employed, partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability and public limited liability. 

Knowing your costs is paramount, ALL YOUR COSTS. You can not correctly gain profit without knowing this. The taxman will asses your profit, and he will take a proportion of it. If you do not keep a handle on your costs, this assessment by the tax man may be bad for you as they will take more money, and it is hard to dispute once the taxman has made an assessment. 

Costs

Costs can be broken into two distinct groups. The first group is the general costs, also known as overheads. This could include heating, lighting etc. Te second group is project costs, which will be the costs related to a specific project. You will have to take into account the time on the project etc. 

Your value:

If you are self employed designer: £35 per hr. 

If as a mac monkey: £18 per hr. 

This value may rise if you merit it, special jobs for big clients, etc. 

Process and Production: Infographics Animation

In today's Process and production with Sara, I created an animation based on infographics about my trip from home to work. I looked at an artist named Nick Felon for inspiration.

I first created a map in Illustrator which I saved on separate layers which then allowed me to import it into to after effects and create separate paths. I used the a generated stroke layer as a path on after effect with the pen tool in order on selected reveal original in order to create the moving line.

I untucked the link button on the scale and changed the anchor point position i order to create the bar chart. Blinds where used to create the effect.

Infographic Process and Production from Jack Pomfret on Vimeo.

Process and Production - Typesetting 3 - Templates

In the third and final workshop with Aiden, the task was to create templates that could be used as a quick layout tool when presenting work.

Process and Production - Roto-scoping

In the workshop with Sara, I learned how to roto-scope on After effects. It is a really simple method which can have very nice end results. Roth scoping is defiantly something that i think is going to come in handy in the future when i am animating.

In order to rotoscope, you first create a solid layer on after effects, selecting the colour that you want the shape to be. Then, using a short clip as a template, draw around the edges of the shape you are creating with the pen tool. This creates a mask. After doing this, it is just as simple as moving forward one frame and editing where the path is. You need to keyframe each individual frame, and once it is played together , it creates a seamless movement.

This is what i created using this animation process:

Rotoscope from Jack Pomfret on Vimeo.

I think it has turned out well for my first try. I added a texture to the background along with a hue in order to create the contrast between the figure in the centre and the background. I intend to make use of this method in part of my animation i am creating for my live brief.

Process and Production - CC Paper roll on

Sara's Process and Production lesson started with us watching an example of what we were to base our piece off. The animation below "All we ever wanted was everything" is an excellent example of how the tool CC Paper Roll On effect in After effects can be used.




In the workshop with Sara, we looked at another effect that after effects has to offer, which would create a roll on effect for the vectors that we were to create. The theme that my group was given was "Huddersfield". The first thing that I thought of when thinking of huddersfield was the train station, as this I use it a lot traveling from my hometown to huddersfield. I started the workshop by creating a vector of the train station on Adobe Illustrator.

I am happy with the way the vector image turned out. I think the colour scheme works well. I saved all of the layers separately which will allow me to create a delayed roll on effect with the different layers, which will hopefully result in a aesthetically pleasing animation. I wanted to add something else to the animation. For anyone who knows Huddersfield, there is a statue in front of the building of Harold Wilson. I created this in Adobe Illustrator also.

In order to use the roll on effect, it was as simple as selecting the layer, and selecting effect, distort, and the CC paper roll on. It is then just a case key framing the Fold position and fold direction, making sure that the controls are on Classic UI so the the page turn is from the bottom. The fold direction must be set to 180% also.

This is the final outcome:

Process and Production - CC paper roll on from Jack Pomfret on Vimeo.

I am happy with the result of the animation. I think that having the purple on the back pages of the layers helps to create a nice contrast between the layers that have already finished turning onto the page and those that still need to. I enjoyed this workshop and think that the CC page turn is very powerful toll that could come in useful in future animations.

Process and Production - Cinema 4D Lesson 2 - Generative patterns

After being introduced to Cinema 4D with Jay, and completing the 3D Logo, we moved on to generating patterns using this powerful software. The first thing that we were taught to create was a striped funnel with balls moving down the centre which created a trippy, illusion effect.

In order to create this piece, I first created a tube and removed the caps in order to create the hollow tunnel. We then added a twist effect and added texture. In order to create the stripes we used the checkerboard texture, and then reduced the amount of columns which in turn created the strippy effect that can be seen on the animation. We then added the sphears, adding reflectence in order to create the glass like texture. Dynamics was then added in order to make the balls travel down the the tunnel, allowing the balls to boune off the sides.


Lesson 2 Twist and Sphear (Converted) from Jack Pomfret on Vimeo.



We then moved on to creating a generative texture. In order to create this, we added stripes in illumines colours to a plane, and added noise. We then added a subdivision surface modifier which smoothed the edges and made the pattern flow as you can see.

The final task was to create multiple panes in post modernistic colours that would move in random directions due to the use of the emitter settings. This changed the speed and direction of where the panes moved. We also added some text with MoText.   

Post Modernism from Jack Pomfret on Vimeo.

Process and Production - Stencil prints 2 colour image and type

For this weeks process and production with nick, the task was to create out own stencils for a sentence and a word that we picked out of a hat. The sentence that I ended up with was "Drown me in your sweet submission" and the word for the image was "Grenade". I was happy with the combination I selected as it did not look strange together as submission and the grenade complimented each other. Some people got things that did not go together at all.

I created the templates for the typography and the grenade. The typography was based on a stencil font I found online called Gunplay which I thought was appropriate. I then created two posters with a roller and paint.

This was the first poster I created in portrait, using the blue and red paints that were available. I think that the poster turned out well, and like the fact that one of the grenades is hanging off the page, leaving enough room for enough negative space, so the poster doesn't look to crowded.  

I decided to create the second poster in landscape, and incorporated three colours instead of two. I think that the yellow works well with the blue and red, and the landscape orientation allowed more room for the type to fit on the page comfortably. 

It was enjoyable to create my own templates as this allows you the freedom to create the poster in the style that you like. I wanted to go for the tradition stencil font style as I knew this would work well theoretically, however, the main reason was to stick to an army like theme to go with the grenade. 

Process and Production - Typesetting Two: Posters.

For the second session with Aiden, we were asked to create 3 posters. The rules where to only use 3 sizes of type, and the posters had to be typography based, without creating any vector work for yourself with the pen tool etc. We were given 

The first poster i created was for the acoustic club. I decided to create a guitar out of type. This is probably my least favourite of the trio i created.

For the Wilson Republic poster, we were given the logo as well as the text that should be included on the poster. It has to match the brand of wilson republic based on the examples that we were given. I think that i have created a strong simple poster in this case, which works with the brand. 

Finally, we were asked to create a poster based on an artist or collaborative group that we like. I decided to base my work on a piece by Experimental Jetset who is a small, independent, graphic design company based in Amsterdam. I used glyphs in order to create a more interesting background, and used Helvetica in upper case as well as lower case.

Process and Production - Cinema 4D logo

This was the first session with Jay, looking into a software that I do not know a great amount about. I was excited to get into some new software, as I have always liked 3D design. To begin the session, we were instructed to create a logo out of outlines, having at least 3 different objects. I saved the illustrator file as an Illustrator 8 file in order to make it compatible with cinema 4D.

This was the logo once a floor and background had been added to the cinema 4D document, allowing a coloured background to be added. I also added the text "Design" in the application with the use of motext. 

After this, it was time to use cameras in order to look at the logo from different angles, as well as incorporating lighting into the design to create the shadow. 

First Cinema 4D Logo from Jack Pomfret on Vimeo.

Finally I animated the scene that I had created, using simple keyframe techniques which reminded me very much of after effects. I have been improving my knowledge in this area, and it was nice to have something that seemed at least slightly familiar in the cross over from after effects to Cinema 4D. I am looking forward to going into more depth with the Cinema 4D program in future tutorials. 

Fredric Jameson and Specluative fiction

Culture isnt science - don't need to prove how film or culture work, you need to look for different levels of entertainment of films. This is what is involved in the making of new films, as they will be veered towards the demographics and ideologies in which people like. References to earlier films in the new can help the discussion.

Fredric Jameson

The logic of cultural creative practices is the emergence of new things. Creating a platform to talk about things in different ways and be entertained in a different way. Needn't confuse it with the truth. Fredric Jamerson sidesteps this by talking about everything being unconscious. Dealing with things that are invisible as creatives, asking the question... How do you know that something on screen presents a certain point?

The master narrative is revealed by literary theorists in correspondence to broader social structures from which the empirical text derives meaning.
Empirical texts - distinctions between SAYING and SHOWING. Overly didactic, showing is visually sophisticated and indirect. didactic description closes the film down (what was the point of the film)

In cultural industries, 5 years later there could be an alternative reading of the film and therefore can be seen in a different way and creates more theories and arguments. Bringing life back into the old. In a way this is what starts to help us close the distance between fiction and reality.

Think of a film as a refractive thing which affects the way we talk about things. In a post-modern view, there is a very refractive relationship in a film and what it tend to address.

WHAT DIFFERS IS THE ATTITUDE OF THE PERSON LOOKING INTO THE CONCEPT.


Speculative fiction

Any animation that involves a story has to be integrated into a plausible world where the narrative can exsist, creating something called a SPECULATIVE FICTION (meta-genre ) , where it could speculative that it is something that could happen in the future, or you can imagine it being slightly true.

Take something from a new genre and give it a new gloss. The first Star Wars films are basically a western with political backgrounds that have been changed from pistols to lightsabers and hats to stormtroopers etc. Appealed to a future opposed to history. The archetype is very close to structures of that genre of film.

Godzilla - King Kong poster - holding hands, with the Japanese flag/sun in the background. Been constructed thinking about the symbolic resonance of the image and the ambiguity of what it represents building into the invisible semiotics.

Hello kitty 

No background or story, there was nothing there in the first instance. No real cat, no real story, however, has had massive effects on children's reality in particular. Simulation is a creation of a thing with its own hyper reality. It may have multiple-narratives supporting it that will engage with different cultures and demographics.

GDP

We started by looking at the GDP in relation to land mass across the world. It was not a direct correlation between the larger land masses and where the wealth was, however. More wealth was congregated in smaller areas of the world where the weather people are living and setting up businesses. Looking in capita terms is a more accurate way of looking at, however, both of these have been affected by historical events.

Emerging markets - Problem areas

- Countries and markets that are now developing / potential markets for new businesses.

China
India
Russia             BRICK COUNTRIES  - high potential, high growth, large resources etc.
Brazil

Middle east
China / Taiwan        PROBLEM COUNTRIES - Problem reasons.
Russia

Interconnectivity of Technology

The reason why these things are important is because these countries may be investing in the UK. Some of your clients may well be from these investors who will be a new economic powerhouse.

Key issues with China


South China Sea - Chinese navy has been becoming exceptionalist, taking over land and islands by force.

Donald Trump - Not respecting of china, but with some reason. China needs to adhere to world issues.

India - Much more westernised. better trading with the world.

Budgeting

Budgets 

In today's lecture with Peter, we looked into organisations using budgets.

A budget is an allocation of money (or resource) in order to undertake a particular task. Maybe a project, or a time period, or both. An allocation is only proposed however, therefore a budget is usually inaccurate as it is a guess.

Budget - proposed resource allocation.
Actual - Actual resource used
Variance - Difference between the two.  (Positive, negative, neutral)
Cumulative variance - All of the variances added together.

They are there to help understand where and how your money is being spent which then help to save money the next time around. Over time the information gathered from previous budgets will help to create a more accurate budget for the future.

It is always good practice to create a safety net out of the budget that you receive. An example of this would be getting a £100,000 budget and taking 10% of that as a reserve. You would then have a budget of £90,000 to work with, and if things go wrong somewhere along the line, you will still have money to fix the problem. Your data sheets should always be up to date, always taking the variances that you accumulate off of the budget.

Business planning

We first discussed the purpose of business planning. This was what you as a person want out of the business. Some of the reasons could be things such as having a healthy income, wanting to make some good profit or even having enough money to give to charity and help other people. It is important that you are truthful with yourself about what you want to achieve through the company. 

We then discussed the type of businesses. These include Freelance, Ltd, Semi-partnership / partnership. 

It is also important to know what nature the business is. Obviously, you can not be starting a business that is illegal. You should be thinking what you can be doing and not just what you want to do. As a designer, for example, you may move into other markets and not just advertise yourself as a graphic designer, but as a general designer in general. 

Finally, its is important to think about where the business is going to be located from a geographical standpoint. When starting up a business you need to be realistic, therefore it is a good idea to start in the UK and prove yourself in that market first before moving over to somewhere such as New York. It is a realistic goal to want to open a practice in America, however, that would be more realistic further down the line. 

All of these things need to be carefully thought out. These aspects are fundamental to success as if you have no direction, you will drift and unlikely be able to succeed. If yo have the knowledge of where you are, it will allow you to plan where you want to be. You should not start a business if all of these aspects are not hammered into place. 

Plans should deal with 3 distinct scenarios:

GOOD - What you hope for works. 

BAD - You are making enough to just survive, breaking even. Struggling to keep afloat. 

UGLY - Open for business and nothing happens. 

It is important to address what you would do in each situation. 

You should always split your needs into two groups. 

Group A - Personal life costs 

Group B - Business costs

Co-mingling these figures can make things confusing and can loose your money with the tax man.

To conclude, these things help you to realise when it is time to kill off the business.