PPD2 show-reel notes

Notes to accompany my showreel.
by Kelly Cantrell.
Digital Media year 2.


This is a show-reel of my work over the past 2 years on the Digital Media course at Leeds college of art. Previous work from the access course is not present in the show-reel as I was advised not to put it in, however I would have liked to have put some of it in there as it was a part of my learning process and I feel some very creative work was produced during that period, however I cannot access the original video files in any case but some of this work can be seen on you tube under my account which is Graphixqueen.

The main theme that seems to run through each of my projects has been narrative, I find that my enjoyment of writing and thinking up stories has provided a strong underlying element in all of my work and it is this core ingredient that I aim to push further and work on in my third and final year on the course.
With regard to media, I find myself drawn to animation, although my drawing skills leave a lot to be desired I still find I prefer to work in this medium, closely followed by film, but as I prefer to work alone, animation is a perfect platform for me to project my stories and ideas without the need of a team or heavy equipment and transport etc. Whilst I welcome the assistance of another animator, it is not 100% needed which is what I like about it.
If I am to use flash as my platform I would like to brush up on my drawing skills and become proficient in flash language and scripting in order to promote myself further.
I feel the use of a website that demonstrates my work would be most useful, but of course other promotional methods would be needed in order to direct potential clients toward my site. I would utilize things such as business cards with my website address and contact details which I would hand out at events and festivals, galleries, open evenings etc.
I am also aware of other avenues such as the writers guild and the BBC writers room, these are other organisations that I can join in order to promote myself as a writer for Digital media as well as using my animations so that my stories have a visual component that can always be improved upon with the assistance of more skilled drawers and character designers.
So although I will be alone in my writing, when it comes to taking these ideas and stories further and into other industries such as gaming, animation, interactive and TV it will be important to be able to liaise with and work with a variety of individuals from different backgrounds and with different areas of expertise.
I feel it is important for me to remain as unique and individual as possible in such a competitive and ever changing industry, but it is also important to recognize change and where it is and isn’t needed at different times according to industry trends and technological advances.
One element that I think is important is my brand name and identity which should always be kept the same regardless of the content I produce and I am very happy with the current name and image I have come up with, I feel it epitomises myself and my core values and likes and that is important to me as a designer, to be able to connect with what I am doing and have some kind of a personal link to my work in some way.