End of Module Evaluation

This module has been the most important and useful module of my degree. It has prepared me for life after university, including how to create a creative CV and how to prepare for an interview. I have finished the module with a creative CV ready to hand out, a fully functioning live website and a 20 page professional portfolio so I feel prepared to apply for jobs and opportunities that I wouldn’t have been ready for until now. Although other modules have been more fun in that they have involved lots of making and playing, this module is the finishing touch: I have the information and the core skills I need to start my career.

I started this course with little confidence in myself and even less confidence in my work. I was very anxious and worried that I wasn’t good enough. I would constantly compare myself to others on the course. I feared that I had wasted my time and was on the wrong course. I was still struggling with this anxiety until halfway through Level 6 when I started to gain confidence, realising that my work didn’t have to look like anything else and that being different actually gave my work an advantage in that it had a unique selling point: it was unexpected and broke the conventions of what illustration is.

I have finished the course with a much clearer understanding of where my work fits (somewhere between illustration and model-making) and have developed my creative presence to suit this specific practice. I have responded to the advice I was given by speakers at the Hanbury symposium - that Instagram accounts should be curated (so I have been uploading in collections of three images in a row) and that personality is key (hence the use of a video of myself making work on my website, and the title ‘Welcome to the Jayniverse’ reflecting my passion for world-building and imagination). I have also established that my dolls are very much a part of my identity as a maker, so my Self Portrait image features a doll version of myself (also wearing a crown, a recurring story in my practice that I am the Queen of Jayland) and I plan to create Jay dolls to be given away as part of my CV (as seen in my presentation boards – promotional material) to make myself and my work more memorable. As I enjoy presenting and writing, I like to call myself a ‘Storyteller’ and my presentation for this module will be a performance. This approach to a presentation might not be suitable or professional for others, but it is definitely relevant to what I do.

 As a result of this module, I have prepared a plan for after graduation. This includes location – I decided that I didn’t want to work or live in London and was worried initially that most illustration agencies and publishers are based in London so by not moving there I would be missing out on work, but through talking to practicing illustrators (such as Adam Higton and Tim Budgen) I have discovered that in the age of the internet it is possible for illustrators to work remotely from anywhere in the world. I also realised that it isn’t actually illustration that I would be looking for a career within, it is actually model-making/prop-making for animation and although there are lots of big studios in London, there is a huge Northern animation industry in and around Manchester. I am aiming to find a job within prop-making and model-making, this could be full or part time, but whilst I am looking for this job I will be working part time at a stationery shop in Ripon and making dolls to sell through Etsy, shops and fairs as a sole trader.

It was within this module that I discovered that the BBC offer work experience placements. I applied to work with the BBC in Children’s Design in Salford and was accepted! I had such a brilliant time working in the design team for Cbeebies and CBBC presentation; I learned so much from the people I worked with and it was fantastic to make props that will be seen on TV. This was a brilliant first step in gaining experience in the field and I have made some new connections with professionals through doing so. Going to the BBC was a huge deal for me and a year ago I don’t think I would have been mentally prepared enough to go, but I am so proud that I achieved this and know that I am ready now.

I have used this module as a chance to network with professionals, learning from their approach and asking for advice. I have gained friends (Tim Budgen, Maggie Rudy, Lucy Jean Green), mentors (John Cockshaw, Abi Hynes, Sadie Brown) and clients (Liz from Karma) as the result of networking and I hope that building my connections may lead to future opportunities within the industry.

Presentation Boards

PRESENTATION VIDEO AND NOTES

Level 6 PRESENTATION from Jay Stelling on Vimeo.

Portfolio

1000 WORDS NOTABLE MOMENTS BLOG REFLECTION

September:

Newby Hall: I had a very busy summer with my first solo show at Newby Hall (here) and (here). I was referring to myself as a ‘maker’ and a ‘storyteller’, the beginning of my identity and branding as ‘Jay Stelling: Storyteller & Model Maker’; I was starting to understand what it was I enjoyed doing and how that could be used in a job but I was still overwhelmed at this point, avoiding thinking about the future and just making as much as I could. It was after this exhibition that I realised I was more interested in entertainment than products: ‘I'd rather charge people for coming into a space, to experience the art and have a good time than to make things for them to buy.’ Selling my art and dolls brings income but it was the opportunity to curate and have my work exhibited within a space, a ‘world’, that was exciting to me.

Far From the Shire: I was invited to participate in a collective Tolkien exhibition with my friend Guy Brady and local illustrator John Cockshaw (here). It was great to be involved in a bigger collective project, especially as it involved international, published illustrators. Guy and I are just students but the rest of the group were all professionals so it was great to get this boost from our friends in the field. John took us under his wing and mentored us for this exhibition. This was my first experience of collaboration, not in the sense of working hand-in-hand on a project but in helping to promote and learn from each other, which informed the rest of this module in which I contacted, networked and asked for advice from other practitioners.

October:

Manifesto: In my initial statement manifesto (here) I declared my ambitions to ‘continue constructing worlds and telling stories’ which is definitely what I did in Extended Practice this year and I also said that I wanted ‘to be recognised and respected for being a creator’ which is what I have explored in the planning of my future and career through PP3.

November:

Task 2 Websites: Task 2 was all about investigating websites (here, here, here and here) and how they can be used to present and promote artwork, this was integral to my understanding of how to capture interest on a web page and how I could make mine more engaging.

Task 3 Descriptions of my Work: ‘Magical, characterful, with storytelling and narrative at its core. It’s all about creating worlds in which these dolls and figures exist. Everything has a handmade feel.’ Recognising how other people see my work (here) and what my strengths are was a real confidence boost that helped me to think of myself as a professional.

January

Hanbury Symposium: I researched and prepared questions for the visitors (here), made dolls to give away to relevant professionals ‘I decided that giving away one of my dolls would be a nice gesture - something physical with a FACE that you would feel guilty putting in a bin... however, these can't be printed and made in mass, they take time and that's the beauty of handmade objects. They're one of a kind. The professionals should know that these took a while for me to make’ (here) and prepared a goodbye speech for the event (here). I took notes at the symposium, then spoke to some of the professionals afterwards and reflected on the advice they gave me (here, here and here). It was when a representative from BlinkInk mentioned that they need makers for animation that I started looking into jobs like this one (here) and then found and applied for the BBC Children’s Design work experience (here).

Website: In my website, I wanted to do something different (here) ‘As you scroll down the page, I wanted my characters to 'pop out' and meet the visitor. Although this website would probably be visited mostly by clients, I wanted to make it suitable for a child audience and suited to the charming children's book tone of voice that recurs in my work. The pop-out characters make the site really engaging and friendly, something different to the sea of conventional sites of portfolios out there.’

March

Workshops: The CV workshop (here) and the Interview workshop (here) were useful sessions that helped me to apply for work experience at the BBC and will help me again when I apply for future jobs.

Chatting with Ben about the future: ‘Collaboration will be important - keep making connections and use these people! Make puppets for someone else to animate? Get involved with bigger projects.’  This was great advice that I took very seriously and went on to collaborate with Stacy Straub for Extended Practice, then to work with the design team at the BBC. I kept making connections, using LinkedIn to connect with everyone I met at the BBC and I interviewed Maggie Rudy (here) and Sadie Brown (here).

May:

BBC: I did a lot of research before going to the BBC, finding out about the different roles and responsibilities involved (here and here). I had an incredible time which I talk at length about HERE. ‘There was no comparing or feeling inadequate as I sometimes do in the uni studio because we were all working together and the results are the shared work of us all.’ ‘I enjoyed working in a busy studio. Not a noisy studio because there was only ever 5 people in the room at once, but surrounded by creativity, a bit of mess and everything you could ever need for making props with. I felt really comfortable working in this environment and being able to ask 'what would you use to make this?' or 'would you do it like this or this?' when I wasn't sure about something.’

Contacting Professionals

These are the people I have contacted and spoken to through this module:

BBC
Abi Hynes (art director)
Liz Culley (design team)
Lauren Jackson (design team)
Laura Hopkins (design team)
Lucy Jean Green (design team freelancer)
Nigel Pentland (floor/stage manager Cbeebies)
Caroline Broom (floor/stage manager CBBC)
Karim (CBBC Presenter)
Phil Fletcher (Hacker puppeteer)
Ben Cajee (Cbeebies Presenter)
Jess (runner)

Maggie Rudy (author and illustrator)
Sadie Brown (DHMSM writer and miniaturist)
Tim Budgen (illustrator)

Newby Hall SOLO SHOW
Louise Scott (organiser)
Kate Bankier (organiser)

Far From the Shire COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION
Guy Brady (illustration student)
John Cockshaw (artist and illustrator)
Jemima Catlin
Soni Alcorn-Hender
Thomas Hijo

Visiting Lecturers
Laura Carlin
Adam Higton

Hanbury
Lucy Bourton (It's Nice That)
Helen Parker (Blink Art)
Greg Burne (Big Active)
Nicola St Louis (Anthropologie)
Ricky Richards

Assembly of Doll Makers
OVER 100 MEMBERS INCLUDING... Bethany Handfield, Kerryanne Boulton, Shauna Henry, Anna Northrop-Smith, Lisa Thompson, Jo Carter, Georgina Verbena, Monica Rodriquez...

Cop3
Sanctum Aetherealis
Pantovola
Leeds Museums
Katherine Baxter (Leeds Discovery Centre)

Liz Hall (Karma shop owner, Ripon)
Gaynor Gray (Gray Finch shop owner Ripon)

WORK PLACEMENT: DESIGN TEAM AT BBC CHILDREN'S

I have had a really busy and exciting week at the BBC working with the Children's Design team at Flix Facilities in Salford. Salford, especially media city, is a beautiful place and somewhere I'd love to work. It's so pretty and not too far from home. Well connected with tram links and buses too.

I think I was expecting a more official-looking building, older and more business-like staff? Because it's the BBC I just thought it would be a lot more formal and officious but I arrived at Flix (a set of  warehouses) and was met by Abi Hynes, the Art Director for BBC Children's Presentation. Abi was really young and friendly which surprised me a bit - I just wasn't expecting that!

The workroom is a big, messy warehouse filled with props and materials, quite an overwhelming amount of props in boxes, on shelves and all over the floor.

The design team consists of Abi, Laura, Lauren and Liz (again, all really young and cool!) The team is responsible for making props and dressing the sets for Cbeebies House and CBBC HQ. Almost everything that the art department do is for links - the presenters' dialogue in the Cbeebies house between shows. It's crazy how much work goes into designing and creating these links that only last a few minutes and are probably not even noticed!
Little things like making a cape for one of the Cbeebies yellow bug chairs - we spent five minutes in the corridor trying to decide which way the cape should blow and children won't even notice that!

The team is also responsible for dressing sets for Cbeebies birthdays (where cards are read out on set) and Cbeebies Bedtime Stories. There are more props needed for Cbeebies than CBBC. The briefs come through emails: Cbeebies come as a props list spreadsheet whereas CBBC send a paragraph of information which is less organised and has to be broken down to understand exactly what they want.

Props are sent over from Flix to Dock10 where the sets are (just over the road) on big trolleys. The bedtime stories are mostly on set in the Cbeebies House set, but sometimes they are filmed on location. Last week Abi went to London with the BBC to dress the set and provide props for a Bedtime Story with Elton John.

This week was a really busy week in the studio! They were preparing for dressings sets for royal wedding themed presentations, Eurovision links and a themed superhero week in Cbeebies next week. We've had a lot of work to do, Liz Lauren and Abi had courses, Laura has been off this week, we had a health and safety assessment and there's another busy week next week that we have been trying to prepare for! Since it's been so busy, my work experience has been less than conventional. Usually, they would go through each task chronologically with me, showing me through from brainstorming to prop lists to breaking them down, pulling props, making props and handing over at the studios. This week it's been so busy that I've just been thrown right in to tasks mid-make, straight into dressing sets without even seeing a props list and it got to Thursday without me seeing a handover yet!

First Day: 
Made 6 felt superhero masks for teddies to wear on the set of Cbeebies House for Superhero week
Made a Eurovision hat for a presenter and a matching one for Hacker, the puppet dog.
I helped to dress the Cbeebies set for a park scene. I was nervous at first to start moving things about, not knowing how it's usually done or what the producer would be expecting but it was a lot of fun to transform the studio and then step back and see the result on the camera.
It was really great to see the inside of the Cbeebies House set! So colourful and just as comfy as it looks on the screen. The design team can dress the set pretty much however they want - they can hang things from the lights, stick images behind the frames on the walls and rearrange the House Pets.

Day 2:
This week I also met Matt and Lucy who are freelancers who just come in when it's busy and they are needed.
Freelancing seems like a great compromise between a 'proper job' and having the time to work on my own artwork? This is definitely something to look into.
Lucy is a freelancer so she comes in when they are busy or need extra hands but the rest of the time, Lucy is self-employed making kinetic paper bird sculptures. Freelancing (usually a few days a month but sometimes she works for full weeks/months) makes her enough money to give her a semi-consistent wage and then she gets to work on her own art and attends craft fairs/shows with this.

I painted the edges of cloud props for Superhero week
Cut out and spray mounted Cbeebies characters onto foam board (kappa) and then cut out again with scalpel
Spoke to Ben (Cbeebies presenter)
Met runners
Met Floor manager Nigel
Dressed a CBBC set for a Eurovision link

Abi's role as Art Director involves quite a lot of admin. Some days she spends a lot of her time emailing and calling producers, buying props online and doesn't do much making. I don't know if I'd like this, knowing everyone else is making but having to reply to emails all day.
I asked Liz if her role involved emailing too because all of the designers had a Mac on their desk and she said yes, after she got back from her course (just three hours) she had 30+ new emails from the BBC!

Day 3:
Made a drawing of Danger Mouse to look as though it was done by Ben (presenter)
Used paint to 'muddy' a teddy bear to look as though it had been run over (for a Bedtime Story)


Lucy worked on the CBBC 'eggs' sketch today. This involves working with the presenters (Karim and Hacker today). The audience are asked to suggest a character to make into an egg and the designer has about 5/10 minutes to decorate the egg before it's due back on air again. The eggs she made today included: a red arrow plane, Phillip Schofield and the young dancer with big hair from Diversity. She said that one time she was doing this she accidentally got caught on camera with an egg (this is a live show). The tone of CBBC is very humorous and silly so with the Eggs, the stupider and more outrageous they look the better. Because Hacker is a live-action puppet, he often knocks things over and today this resulted in the Phillip Schofield egg cracking but this just added to the humour of the presentation.

I was working a lot with Liz today so asked her a few questions:
Do they have much to do with the other departments? Is it frustrating to be over the road?
The art department don't have much to do with other departments because they are on their own in a separate building. Although it's annoying for the team to be over the road at Flix (out of the way)
they do enjoy working in their own space!
Because they are separate from the rest of presentation, they experienced people not taking design seriously and they sometimes didn't get respected for their role in the production. Directors ripping apart a prop to make it work how they want it to - they wouldn't do that to a light! They don't respect how much work, money and time goes into prop making.
There are also issues like the design team being asked to work on extra shows like Mashup but not being given extra staff or money - just being added onto their workload.
They have only just started doing 'standby' on set whilst filming, before it would be down to the runners to fix/change props if anything went wrong mid-air. Since they have started doing these standbys they have got to know the rest of the presentation team more and are getting recognised for the work they do.
How many props do you make per week?
Liz said it really does vary... When they have a quiet week or day they are preparing for when they will be busy again, getting ahead on props lists in advance.
Do you get the chance to work on other shows?
Sometimes but not often and it is mostly about opportunity and connections. Laura is interested in sport and because knew people in the team she got the chance to work on a Sports show in the BBC. Opportunities come from knowing people and being in the right place at the right time.
What is your favourite part of your job?
Liz enjoys dressing the sets the most. Sometimes she gets given a 'make' that she has fun making but she generally loves set dressing. She thinks this is because her background is in visual merchandising and her previous job involved dressing windows so she definitely has an eye for layout and presentation.
Interesting to learn that although all of the team have art backgrounds, they did a variety of courses, not all specifically film design. Abi studied design for theatre and film but Lucy studied 3D Product design and Laura studied Fine Art.

Day 4: 
Last day! A way quieter day today. Because we'd spent all week working so hard today there wasn't much to do, just finishing off and sending props over on the trolleys. Plus eating food (real food, not the props) from the Royal Wedding Street Party set we did for Cbeebies the day before.
I made a little card to say thank you and they gave me a card and a bar of chocolate. Really emotional to leave but they told me to stay in touch and good luck with my course.

Staying in Touch:
I followed all of the design team on Instagram as well as some of the runners I worked with. I connected with Ben Cajee (presenter) on LinkedIn but the design team didn't seem to have LinkedIn accounts.

What was my favourite part of the week:
I enjoyed working in a busy studio. Not a noisy studio because there was only ever 5 people in the room at once, but surrounded by creativity, a bit of mess and everything you could ever need for making props with. I felt really comfortable working in this environment and being able to ask 'what would you use to make this?' or 'would you do it like this or this?' when I wasn't sure about something. A friendly studio so chatter and discussions but everyone is productive and getting on with their work. There was no comparing or feeling inadequate as I sometimes do in the uni studio because we were all working together and the results are the shared work of us all.
I also quite enjoyed tidying the studio, being able to rummage around all the props that I hadn't seen before, seeing what they had made for different links and asking questions like 'what is this made of?' 'who made this?'

Would I want to work somewhere like this?
Definitely. The team were so friendly so I would be happy to work with them again and get to know them a bit more. I enjoyed the working week and think I could still manage to do some of my own art (Laura is a fine artist and had an exhibition AND a live puppet show this week - she took the week off for this but is always busy making her own work).

What's next?
Keep an eye open for opportunities. Waiting for a job vacancy!
Look for similar opportunities at different companies? Maybe in theatre/other television companies/films.
Make more PROPS. I'm feeling inspired to make make make! I want to have a go at making some fake sandwiches with sponges because they were so realistic. It would be useful to have a portfolio of examples.
Work with local drama group to make some props for performances?

Because most of the content is filmed 2 weeks in advance, I haven't seen much of my work on the tv yet but this clip of Karim and Hacker was filmed live in the 'Eurovision' themed CBBC HQ set I helped to dress. There's nothing here that I made but it's still cool to see something that I helped to put up and arrange on tv. Watch Cbeebies next week to see the props I made!

LinkedIn

Trying to be a bit more active on here... I've been maintaining my online presence with Instagram and my art Facebook page but LinkedIn still feels quite alien and cold. Everything feels forced, clinical and business-like. Perhaps I should be using The Dots more?

Really I should be updating and using everything! At least if someone finds my LinkedIn they'll know I'm active and can see what I've been working on.

Lucy Green Jean - Freelance Prop Maker

Lucy was one of the designers I met at the BBC this week. She is self-employed as an artist but also works freelance as a designer at the BBC in Children's Design when she is needed. I was intrigued by what she does in her personal work because the sculptures I had seen her make in the studio here were so incredible.

This is a tower bridge she made a year ago but was used again in a presentation this week so it was out on the worktables. It's made completely from lollipop sticks! I was blown away and asked who made it.

I searched her name and instantly found her website and Instagram. She has a strong online presence so she wasn't hard to find.  http://www.nameandcolour.co.uk/about.html

Lucy graduated from Manchester School of Art three years ago (2015) and now makes kinetic paper sculptures, specialising in birds and nature.
Working freelance gives Lucy time to work on her own art (she wouldn't have enough time to do this if she worked full time) but also contribute to the presentation design team. She gets on really well with the rest of the team and by spending some of her time doing this it means she's not working in isolation all the time.

Lucy has an online Etsy store which is really important for her as it enables customers all over the world to purchase her sculptures and share feedback. Her price point is in the hundreds (which sounds like a lot, but isn't at all with the amount of time she puts into what she makes!).
She takes her art to fairs and shows, with smaller pieces at lower price points for browsing visitors.
She also does custom commissions and has created kinetic sculptures for shop window displays (another way in which model-making can be applied to the outside world).

She exhibits her work too. Because her art is physical and so intricate it has to be protected and looked after, which is why bell jars and glass cases are such a big part of her displays, but the immense scale of her larger pieces such as this one is so impressive that it has to be seen in person and exhibitions are exactly where they should be showcased.

Lucy lives in West Yorkshire so it would be great to meet up with her again, visit some of her shows and see what she's doing next. I could ask her for more advice on working freelance, organising shows and we could even collaborate/exhibit together.

BBC Children's Research

Just a bit more research before my first day tomorrow! I've arrived in Media City and I'm getting settled in my very cheap hotel.

Shows that are filmed/made in Media City:
Cbeebies
Swashbuckle
The Furchester Hotel
Justin's House

CBBC
Newsround
Blue Peter
The 4O'Clock Club
So Awkward(?)

Laura Carlin

Laura Carlin came in as a visiting lecturer today! We were all quite excited to meet her because she is a fantastic illustrator but isn't on social media so she can be quite enigmatic and difficult to track down.

Advice from Carlin on voice: 
recognise what was around visually when you were younger - understand what it is that gets you going (Laura's presentation was a visual archive of things she found funny, illustrations she hated as a child and other artists she admires.

At uni, Carlin answered briefs with sketchbooks - it's scary to step back and be honest about what works. She was told you can't just do that... it's not a job to make sketchbooks you need FINAL products. Carlin admitted she sulked for a bit (I'm reminded of how I sulked after being told my dolls were becoming samey). After uni she found inspiration by travelling and making big zines, using architectural photocopiers / newspaperclub. This isn't all that relevant to me as I don't really make zines but I know a lot of my peers will want to look into this (Bronte!)
Carlin then worked full times as waitress - less pressure than trying to be a full time illustrator

Advice on children's books:
as you get older it gets harder to play
play is really important for kids books
Carlin finds the most effective illustration is observed people and art that leaves questions
you would ruin somethings if you tried to illustrate them Some text DOESN'T NEED images.
important not to be patronising to kids
trying not to repeat the text, offer something more
Great illustrators are the ones that merge reality and imagination - brilliant at BEING A CHILD
unless you believe the environment really exists, the audience won't believe it (as someone interested in world building I think this is REALLY GREAT ADVICE!)
we should all be looking at things differently. Look at things in the real world but make them better for your world. worlds are unique, it looks different from yours but you can visit each others
you want people to want to turn the page - use devices that keep energy and interest up such as pacing
when trying to illustrate a text: TAKE ON THAT WORLD, THEN TAKE THE WORDS AWAY.
Carlin often struggles with publishers because they say a child won't understand that... she thinks they will!
CHILDREN'S BOOKS ARE BOTH WONDERFUL AND DIFFICULT.
you have the power to show people how you look at the world

Social Media:
social media didn't work for her because she found she was too insecure
calls herself 'old fashioned', NOT being on social media is part of her BRAND and IDENTITY. The fact she is a bit harder to track down and isn't so accessible is part of her allure.
I also asked a question about this, saying that we had recently had a lot of visiting professionals who use social media and that her approach was very different and refreshing in comparison. Did she think she might be losing sales and missing opportunities by not being online? Yes, she thought she probably was, but that they probably weren't the type of briefs she would want to work on anyway. The briefs still come if they WANT HER.

The project Carlin talked about that I found most interesting was her illustrations of iron man. She made cut-out illustrations and built a paper set, working with photographers to capture the images. She had never collaborated at uni but said she found it so exciting to work with different skills and tastes Collaboration opens doors, brings opportunities and pushes you to work beyond your limits

On Agents:
No pressure to have one. Not necessarily essential. If an agent's client list, approach and brand speaks to YOU, if they are RIGHT FOR YOU, then yes you should work with them. But if not, don't. It must be the right partnership and there are lots out there, do your research first.

On Ceramics and Process:
'I am not a ceramicist I've only leaved what I needed to learn' (this reminds me of the Smallfilms approach - where Oliver Postgate learned the bare minimum about animation and the janky, amateur quality of his animations is what gave them charm)
Your work can start getting stale if you don't mix it up.

Presentation Plan

FEAR NOT! I am the storyteller!
I'm here only to spread word and bring to light. This is only a story, but please, open your eyes and come along because this story takes us on an adventure.
It will take us on a path that was carved right here where we sit.
It might be familiar to you. Perhaps you too have crossed this path, travelled the same roads, accepted the quest.

The story begins somewhere under the grey mist of North Yorkshire, tucked quietly away in one of the oldest and smallest cathedral cities in England, there is a house upon a hill.
Perhaps a house, but if you imagine... a fort, a tower, a castle...

Inside the house, the Stellings rumble awake. Ever early, ever collecting and ever making.
Five little Stellings raised in flowers and hand-me-downs.
Surrounded by toys and objects, curiosities within the magpie's nest.
There she is, the third child, sandwiched in the middle.

A girl who believed in magic and witchcraft, making potions and casting spells.
A girl who imagined fairies and wrote stories, who sat in her wardrobe until her bedroom transformed into her own little world.
In this world, she is the Queen.
*tumpets* *MAKE WAY FOR THE QUEEN OF JAYLAND*

Heather Colbert

I found Heather Colbert's animation in a Skwigly article and was interested in how she applied puppets and animation to music videos. http://www.skwigly.co.uk/heather-colbert/
In the article, Colbert discusses her intentions: 'to temporarily take the audience out of the ‘real’ world created by the stop motion.



'I knew I wanted to create a stop motion world that looked like it had been there for years, and I’ve always been fascinated by the life of performers on and off the stage. But in order to create Courage to Make a Fool I had to learn as much as I could about stop motion from YouTube, and the rest by making mistakes. I embraced what was possible with my lack of experience, and focused on learning how to convey the emotion and the story through these puppets.' Colbert's background is in illustration so she had to learn about stop-motion before embarking on briefs. I admire her approach of 'embracing her lack of experience' and independently learning new skills on her own.

I really love this logo/signature she uses as a masthead on her website! It's almost Victorian, classic and old fashioned but also illustrative and fluid.    

'The way textures of real materials interact with the light is the most exciting thing about stop-motion for me. Watching programmes by Small Films as a child, such such as Bagpuss and The Clangers, really ignited that fascination with texture.' Smallfilms also embraced their lack of experience in animation and their janky approach is what made their work so charming and fun, so the influence on Colbert is obvious.

BBC ONLINE TRAINING COURSES

I spent at least three hours doing these online courses for the BBC!

Flix Facilities

My first day with the BBC will be at Flix Facilities in Salford Media City

http://www.skwigly.co.uk/slumberless-interview-with-director-simon-partington/

Actually written by an animation lecturer here at LAU (Steve)!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-partington-03494271/

PORTFOLIO DRAFT

I found a surprisingly fun and relatively easy task. It all just seemed to come together. Open my folders, find a project and I'd have at least four images in my photos somewhere to choose from so they covered a spread each...

BBC ACADEMY Getting into Design: Lisa Hall

http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/production/article/art20130702112135523

Three industry professionals talk in this podcast: costume designer Howard Burden, make up artist Catherine Scoble and production designer Lisa Hall.
Since I am most interested in production design (set, props etc rather than costume or hair), Lisa Hall is the professional I got the most from in this podcast.

Job:
Lisa Hall is a production designer with a passion for nurturing talent and is the creator of the UK Film Design Mentoring Network. Her production design credits include This Is England ’86 for Channel 4 and Holy Flying Circus for BBC Four, Random for Channel 4 and Uberto Pasolini's Still life.

The art department is responsible for:
visual storytelling
interpreting the script
sharing emotions
moving the plot along
creating atmosphere
There is wide range of disciplines within the art department.

Career Path:
Knew that it was what she wanted to do. School plays, designing sets.
Degree in television production design at NTU.
Straight into NFTS.
Into industry. Straight into leading rather than working through art department.

There is no shortcut to the top. As a leader, you have to understand all the tasks of everyone in the team. Assist, know what the team involves. If you find a niche, work hard at that and it may turn into some more niche jobs... It's up to you but you do have to do your hard graft to get there.

Core Skills for being a Production Designer:
Be the storyteller
Need skills - drawing, drafting, modelmaking
visual communication skills
Communication with team
People management - making things happen
Be a good business person
Organise

The artistry won't make you a great designer
It's telling the stories, and doing that with the tools of the people you have around you. 

CV Tips
References - people IN THE INDUSTRY, names they might recognise
Name in the file name!
Name should be LARGE in the CV doc
Make an effort.

Most important things to do are:
network, get in front of people
physically go and experience art for yourself!
connect to fellow colleagues and people who are interested in making short films

We need to nurture the new talent

Portfolio Tips
Don't overload, be succinct
Only put in your best work that you could talk about
Follow the brief! Show that you can problem solve and follow instructions
Creative individuals - not just ticking boxes! What are you going to give me that no one else can?
Make contact PERSONAL, not cold calling.

Advice:
A team needs a balance of quiet and loud! Balance personalities.
Don't neglect storytelling, explore all creative avenues
Absorb yourself in how we tell stories! Educate yourself.

Royal Television Society: Making it in TV Design

https://rts.org.uk/sites/default/files/making_it_in_tv_design_tipsheet.pdf

The BBC Academy referred to this site where there are even MORE resources for those of us budding to get into TV design! So here we go, more useful tips and tricks. I've selected just a few from this huge pdf tipsheet which I didn't already know/hadn't thought about before.

Get a Kay’s Art dept. diary. This lists prop houses and other specialist TV and film companies and is an art dept. bible!
I've never heard of this but sounds similar to the AOI address book, a list of professionals and contact details in the industry... could be really useful but a big investment.

Try and mix with people who are where you want to be. For example; while you’re trying to break into the industry, if you need to make some cash by working in bars or restaurants, you’d be better off in a location beside the BBC or ITV etc.
Very good point... if you can't get into the building, then work at the cafe/bar/shops nearby and MINGLE. 

BBC ACADEMY Television Design

http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/production/article/art20140502163041659
Advice from industry professionals on getting into television production. So useful to find this and I do feel a lot more prepared and relaxed after hearing these professionals talk about getting into this work and what they want to see from new talent... they just want friendly faces and people who will work hard. I can do that! I can do this.

Top tips for getting into the industry:
Be DETERMINED
Persistent
Research the people you will be working with
Have an understanding of what they do and how what you do fits in with them
Put effort into cover email/CV - make it relevant to the job
Be visual (visual CVs are great)
Keep working, keep collaborating, keep busy
Have something you can talk about when you do meet people
Keep your chin up!
This one's a bit scary. I am worried that it might be too much for me as I struggle with anxiety and pressure but I am doing so much better and I think I'm about ready to be an adult...

Soft Skills:
Ability to work as part of a crew
Attitude whilst working as part of a crew
Be happy, sunny, busy, willing and hardworking!
BE A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH
Adaptable, flexible 
Ready smile and positive attitude
^^This is what I need to demonstrate next week at the BBC. I need to be the best Jay possible and just give it my all.

Advice:
When on set, be quiet, listen and work really hard
Trust your instincts
Be prepared for every situation
When approaching company / head of production etc KNOW WHAT THEY DO AND WHO THEY ARE
Be humble and have aspirations
Be yourself

BBC ACDEMY Production Trainee Scheme

http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/en/articles/art20130702112135871
A group of trainees picked from the BBC TalentPool. They all have different levels of experience, come from different backgrounds and have different ambitions within production.

What did the application ask for?
PROOF OF THEIR PASSION FOR STORYTELLING

Advice:
Watch, read, listen! Take in all you can from creative things everywhere... it can be anything!
They thought they had the skills/knew what they were doing but have been pushed to be better storytellers, be different and make NEW content.
Don't be TOO confident, be open to LEARN and IMPROVE.
It's all about IDEAS! 

Children's Global Media Summit 2017

I didn't go to this but I've just found this video with highlights of the event on the BBC website. Some interesting discussion about the role and the responsibility of the media and technology in the lives of children.
'The media is changing and children's engagement with it is developing at an incredible rate.'

Some of the most important issues/points I took from this specifically about television production:
'There's power in media, and there is a responsibility in it. There is a responsibility in all of us here to make a difference in the life of a child.'
'You are creating the programmes that help to form their thinking about who and what they are in the future.'

Claire Rudkin

https://www.clairerudkin.com/film--tv--commercials--promos

Interesting to find one of the art director's professional website. Both personal work and television projects with the BBC listed on there.
Still manages to make her own work and do her own creative projects!
It must be really exciting to see these shows on TV and know the secrets behind where the props came from and how the space looked before/after. A real transformation is shown in this behind the scenes video of Old Jack's Boat. I didn't think about how much the team would have to change, move and hide when using Staithes as a set for their 1930's themed show. They are an art department but they had to do a lot of moving, logistics and carrying on set here!

BBC ACADEMY Verity Scott: Props Buyer

I've already looked at what Verity Scott does as an Art Director but there was another page on the BBC Academy website which explores her role as a prop buyer.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/production/television/production-design/article/art20130702112135897
The job of a 'props buyer' sounds less enticing to me than an art director or a prop maker because it sounds less creative, that there is less hands-on creativity involved - but it is very closely connected to all of these other jobs and does involve creatively answering a brief and understanding the aesthetic style of the production.

Job Title:
Props Buyer/Production Buyer

Responsibilities:
Build up a network of useful contacts and suppliers (prop houses/manufacturers)
Hunting on Ebay/GumTree, sourcing EVERYTHING needed for sets,
Researching era, style and objects
Accounting
'We're creating that history by going out and sourcing it.'

Skills:
Budgeting skills
Research skills
Inquisitive
Versatile
Problem Solving

BBC ACADEMY Profile: Art director

Rosie Jones
It's great to watch videos of someone explaining what they do when it's something they really love and enjoy doing! Rosie definitely has a passion for art direction and the paperwork and organisation required for her role doesn't put her off as this is something she is good at and is confident in. She comes across as a very productive and efficient Art Director.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/production/television/production-design/article/art20130702112135878

Job Title:
Art Director
(CBBC 4O'Clock Club)

Responsibilities:
Planning, organising and controlling visual aspects of a set
Realising the production designer's vision
Control for the budget allocation for building set and buying props
Works closely with production designer

Skills required:
Organisational skills
Creative talent
Communication
"You need to be able to communicate visually, have an eye for detail and have a passion for art." 

BBC ACADEMY Art director Verity Scott: a typical day

Another great resource from the BBC Academy - I'm trying to prepare myself for going to the BBC next week by reading up about the art department and how they work. I want to know about the different people and departments I might be working with so I'm trying to find out as much as I can.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/production/television/production-design/article/art20130702112135153

What is her job?
Art director and props buyer

Responsibilities:
Keeping to budgets and schedules (specific to each production)
60% of her time is spent driving and collecting props!
Works on average 12 HOUR DAYS!

Skills:
Knowledge of where to source items
Bartering
Communication (especially with production designer and art director)

Career Path:
Trained as a theatre designer

Useful/relevant to my position:
'The art department is a very collaborative team and it's a joint effort to make sure that you are able to deliver the sets on time, so each person’s role is just as important as the next. Sometimes you will have months to prepare and other times it may be just days and weeks.'

Set Designing CBeebies' Furchester Hotel

I've just found this brilliant video from the BBC Academy in which the set designer for Furchester Hotel explains her role in television production.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/en/articles/art20161013144009696

It's really useful that the BBC publish these videos and offer insight into the production of programmes. This corporation seem to be interested in finding new talent and supporting them by offering resources such as these. It's also just fascinating to see as a fellow creative what goes into the production! There is so much involved and I think the artistry and effort sometimes goes overlooked - so this is a chance to show off the amazing talent they have in their team.

I've seen Furchester Hotel before on Cbeebies (this programme specifically interested me as it is a practical puppet show co-created by Sesame Street, which is quite a rarity in the mass market of digital animation in children's television at the moment). I had wondered about the size and scale of the set and props but I was quite shocked when Cecchi explained that it fills an entire studio (7.5k square foot!)

The Role of the Set Designer
Cecchi ensures that the design is appropriate for the comedy tone of the show and the specific Cbeebies audience.
Set designer has to understand how the set/props would be built but collaborates with experts in these fields, such as prop buyers, builders and puppeteers.

Most useful skills as a set designer: 
A love of storytelling
A understanding of how script and visuals can interact and complement each other
"You really do need to enjoy saying something with your prop or scenery. It needs to tell a story to complement the script and characters."

Cecchi's Career Path
School - Art College - Window Dressing - Working at Liberty's in London - Studied at Kingston University in Film&TV Design - Red Rhino Design - BBC

Set design isn't something I have much experience in (I've directed/designed/worked as a team to dress a few very low budget, small-scale drama productions with a local youth drama group) but it is something I find interesting, exciting and would be keen to learn more about.

Tim Budgen Live Instagram

Tim Budgen has just been live on Instagram whilst he was working on a portfolio illustration. I joined the group watching/commenting and found it a really inviting and friendly community to be a part of. Livestreaming isn't something I've ever done but it might be a good way to 'meet' and gain feedback/open conversations with fellow artists and followers.
Tim comes across as a really laid back, kind man and this livestream

Mentioned me 'Jay makes stop animations, go check out her work!'
How he balances life (being a dad, paying bills etc) and work
His routine - starts early, lots of tea
His process - uses an ipad with Photoshop. Digital, very different to my own process but
Challenge - trying to draw DIFFERENT things, to test himself and push himself out of his comfort zone. He draws a lot of boys so was practising drawing adults and girls.

A community of illustrators he has worked with/knows/shares feedback with online
UK meetups - another illustrator from Harrogate - Chris Jevons

Presentation Preparation

Desire To Fly - Samantha Bryan from R&A Collaborations on Vimeo.

Samantha Bryan is a sculptor who makes these brilliant little fairy 'inventions'. This video explains what she does and can be used as a promotional tool to advertise her work. I think it's a lovely way of introducing yourself to your audience, as well as selling yourself to clients.

Samantha Bryan uses this video to discuss her: Process, World-building, Materials, Imagination, Character and Performance. A similar video with my dolls and my studio would be brilliant for my final presentation!

DollsHouse and Miniature Scene Magazine 'Inside the May Issue'

Mentions me in this little video. Karl is the editor of the magazine and sums up some of the content in the new issue including my feature!

Feedback/Comments

Great to get some feedback on Instagram! We instantly 'like' images and never stop to explain why/give proper feedback but this comment was from a stranger and commented on how the scene was 'bright and cosy' which is just what I was aiming for with this scene's tone. They also referred to my work as my 'world' which made me smile. I call this my world but it's great to see other people see it as that too.

Collab with Tim Budgen

So after Tim Budgen asked if he could draw one of my characters, I didn't realise it would be 'me'! I love it! Our two worlds collide in this sweet little illustration. I'm so pleased and will have to make Tim a doll in return.

Noel Fieldings Luxury Comdey Props

After applying to make props with CBeebies, I was thinking about other shows that would use props and that I could look into helping out with/finding jobs for. I remembered Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy - this has a VERY DIFFERENT target audience to that of Cbeebies and my own work, but I enjoy it as a show and it features wacky, illustrative props so I wanted to find out more about who made them. This show is filled with glitter, bright colours and whimsical themes so it is heavily prop and costume-based. It's something you don't think about when you're watching but now I can't stop wondering when I see these things: how was that made? Who made it?

I found this: http://www.richiemartin.com/noel-fieldings-luxury-comedy/

Richard Martin made the props for E4's Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy. He is a model maker based in East London. Really interesting to find his blog and see his process of making the props from idea to solution.

Since I enjoy blogging and there is so much about the process of making that goes unnoticed, perhaps I could use a blog to document my process, thoughts and development too. 

Richard Martin mentions a few other artists who were involved with the process, such as make-up artists, but it seems as though for this project he was the prop maker and all the props were made by him. It seems a big task and maybe he needs some extra hands just to help with a few things... perhaps I could ask if he ever needs an assistant?

Tim Budgen Collab

Tim Budgen just asked if he could draw one of my characters! Really great of Budgen (successful illustrator, 12k followers on Instagram and 18 books under his belt) to help out a little artist like me by liking, commenting and sharing my name/ crediting me in this collab and helping to spread the world of Whistle-stop Thistle.

What else can I get out of this?
Keep in contact!

Ask questions

FOUR PAGE FEATURE in Dolls House and Miniature Scene Magazine

I can't quite believe it BUT there is a four page feature about my work the May issue of DollsHouse and Miniature Scene magazine! DHMSM is the UK's favourite miniature projects magazine; I was interviewed by the wonderful Sadie Brown about my art dolls and all things Yorkshire. Available from WHSmiths for £4.75

List of 10 Companies I will Contact

I have decided exactly what field I want to go into: puppet design and model-making/prop-making for animation so I now need to identify companies that I could contact to help me get into the industry.
This is a list of (at least) 10 companies I will be contacting asking for opportunities, work experience or job vacancies:

LAIKA - Portland, Oregon (America)
CBEEBIES - Salford
THE JIM HENSON COMPANY - (America)
MACKINNON AND SAUNDERS - Altrincham
FACTORY CREATE- Manchester
YOUNG - Manchester
AARDMAN - Bristol
PASSION ANIMATION - London
A+C - London
SECONDS THAT COUNT - Manchester
ARCUS ANIMATION, Newcastle
KERRUPT ANIMATION - Leeds
LITTLE MOTEL MOTION STUDIO - Leeds (2d but Leeds based so would be easy for me to visit them and talk about animation/advice on setting up a studio of my own)

#artvsartist

I'm not usually interested in Instagram trends but this one made me smile. #ArtvsArtist is a hashtag that artists have been using to share a collage of their work around a portrait of themselves.

I don't share much of my personal life/face on my Instagram as I want it to be a professional portfolio-style account but I do think it's endearing to see a glimpse of the REAL ARTIST, the people we admire and 'follow' every now and again, so this offered me the chance to do so without posting a no-context portrait of myself. I hope that this #artvsartist shows my tone of voice (children's, sweet, adventure, fairy tale), my unusual process (3D illustration), my intention (storytelling) and my personality (quirky, silly, imaginative).

I also find it quite fascinating how artists tend to look a little like their work.

I gained a few new likes and followers from jumping onto the bandwagon so it might be worth doing some more things like this for promo purposes but mainly it was a bit of fun and it works with the rest of my feed so it was worth doing.

Some #artvsartist work I've enjoyed:

Belanorqua - consistent colour scheme, all doll portrait close-up shots but varying in direction. Conveys Belanorqua's gothic, dark aesthetic and macabre subject matter.

In contrast, Lenabekh's #artvsartist image is much lighter brighter. She has kept to her 'brand' of soft, delicate textile pieces and showcased both her work and herself with a plain white background. Very professional and clean.

I like how she has changed the format to fit her images (portrait images taking up more space, not just squares), she has bent the 'rules' and done something a little different which makes her image stand out against the mass of posts under the hashtag.

BBC WORK PLACEMENT!!!!

So, after applying for work experience at the BBC I have been offered a week of work placement at the BBC in Salford working in the Children's Design department! I didn't have high expectations that I would be offered anything as I had heard it is very competitive and I thought there might be people with more experience that would be picked over me but I am thrilled that I will be able to go and work here for a week as it would be experience of working in-house as a MAKER so I should be able to test the water and assess if this is something I want to do after uni rather than work freelance.


It will also be an opportunity to see how studios work, how I can contribute to a team and to network with industry professionals. (I have heard that some people have started with work experience and gone on to be offered a job...)

I will be there from the 7TH MAY - 11TH MAY so I will be missing a week of uni but I hope that it will be a really valuable experience for me. I am staying in Salford and have arranged my own accommodation.

Animation Companies

After chatting with Ben about my plan for post-uni, I have started to look into other animation companies, especially ones that specialise in stop-motion animation and model-making. I would prefer to aim for ones nearby, definitely not London. There does seem to be a real hub for animation in Manchester so a lot of the ones I have been looking at are in Altrincham/Manchester/Salford.

https://www.byyoung.co.uk/about-us

http://www.factorycreate.com/news/

These are a couple that are on my radar... They don't seem to have any job opportunities open at the moment but I plan to contact them anyway and maybe send a portfolio over when it's ready.

Should I ask for any job opportunities or just work experience/internships?