Manchester Studio Visits

Within the group we visited Manchester to visit the alternate studios and agencies that are there, I felt this successfully allowed us to have a personal insight into studios by not only viewing what they do online but actually interacting and witnessing the designers in their studios and natural backgrounds. They also supplied us with some sound advice on how to begin working, and how exploring different medias and projects begins with experimentation and just trying new things.

The Neighbourhood
http://www.the-neighbourhood.com

Installation for Bruntwood International Festival

Our first visit was to 'The Neighbourhood' a studio that describe themselves more as a "Creative Communications Agency" On joining the studio, it was obvious that they offer a diverse range of media elements, and they stated the fact that they like doing the "meaty" section of work, with directly working and collaborating with the client instead of a restricted given piece to produce. This means that they can work with more adventurous creativity rather than being restricted by certain requirements.

Haatch- an informative 2D video

As well as producing a range of Graphic Design posters and branding designers, they're also working with Architecture and with some Moving Image work. They showed us a range of work that they produced, showing us the diverse amount of work they make such as things for exhibitions and installations.

Through the course of their introductions and speech to us all about the work they do, they showed us some of their work that they have produced one of which is the JD Sports Christmas campaign, a visual piece for advertisements, for billboards, advert posters and television. They spoke to us about their close collaboration with the commercial CEO of JD Sports, and how that they had specifically asked to use a Manchester based company rather than a London based one for a more Northern based choice. JD have previously used London designers but apparently they weren't able to collaborate closely with them and therefore didn't get the result they wanted or asked for.


There are 3 different sorts of footage that add up to an overall ad for television. This example is the juniors section of the JD range, adopted with the pixelated game style cubes surrounding the actor. Also part of the range, there is the women's and men's sections, the designers said that they'd applied alternate styles but still the same theme to ensure that they looked like they were for the same series but still reflected the audience in each.
Each segment of the advertisement included a snow scene with geometric and simplistic background, a futuristic look to match the client's requirements for the ad to seem 'cool' and 'edgy'.
Women's- Same sort of music as in all 3, however has more curvaceous background shapes, circular, curved edges to add a feminine sort of edge to the advert, also replicated in the posters supplied for JD.
Men's- Again keeping with the same theme of music throughout to ensure it still replicates the series, the men's has more rugged square and oblong shapes for a more masculine edge to the design. 
Juniors- As mentioned prior to this, the designers and client agreed to use some pixelated, game like shapes to appeal to a younger audience as well as different camera angles to keep it mixed and edgy.

As well as sharing the pros with us on such work, and sharing their pride in the work they have produced, they also shared with us the stress that may have developed and the fact that it had to be a full group job, where most of their designers (about 32 and freelancers) had to help at some point due to the mass size of the job. They also discussed the aspect of pitching the ideas they'd come up with to the client, and how process of thought and elimination are equally as important, they initially were going to use animals in the ads but the clients disagreed etc. all adding to the main components in the final advert, to ensure that they all were in agreement before adding to the design, ensuring client approval and satisfaction. To help pitch ideas, they discussed how they each make quick sketches of their ideas, however for the client they bring in professional storyboard illustrators who produce a professional looking storyboard that the client will most likely understand more than the initial sketches.
The background elements were added in with a green screen, although the actors when filming were also stood on white podiums that were then developed into platforms in the adverts. The aspects of snow were also added in, they discussed that they were going to use physical real aspects of prosthetic snow and throw it over the actors however they said this was proven too hard to control via editing the series.

Centre Screen Productions Ltd.
http://www.centrescreen.co.uk

Centre Screen Productions was the second design studio we visited, a more established design firm, they produce a vast amount of historical animations and interactive design work for museums, exhibitions, events etc around the world. A leading multimedia company, they strive to produce both visual and audio interactions for a wide range of venues. The collage aspects of some of the company's work appealed to me, particularly with the current project that we are studying with me doing my Story about my Great Grandfather through the aspect of collage animation.
The company specialises in more installation type work, which I also withhold an interest in as these installations supply a different mood and feel to an event, such as in a museum, exhibition or performance.
When visiting the studio, they pointed out the struggle that designers, especially with the multimedia aspects that they specialise in, have to keep advanced and with the times i
n order for successful outcomes. They pointed out their past struggle with the quick advancing technology, as they produced interactive app like technology before the touch screen phones etc. were produced, once corporations like Apple came along, it was harder to determine how they could make such animations more appealing.