Letter to a freelance writer

Hi there Ian, my name is Kelly Cantrell, and I am studying Digital media at Leeds college of art and design. Your probably wondering why I am contacting you then? well as part of my final year work I have to present a business plan on how I would get myself started as a freelance artist, where I would get funding from and who my market is and all that sort of stuff. My strength throughout all of my projects has been my ability to write a narrative or come up with plenty of ideas, and my tutors have always told me that "I am a writer", in fact I have known this all my life, even as a child I would write short stories and poems, and I would always go WAY over the specified amount of words! because I just love to write! I blog, write film reviews and short stories- in fact if I didn't write I think I would go insane! I can't imagine living a life in which I did not write! Anyway sorry to waffle on there, I am actually writing you to see if you have any advice you could give me on starting out in the industry? I want to write narratives for gaming, film, TV & Radio, childrens books, interactive content, reviews, magazine articles, in fact any thing that needs writing I want to do it! I got a distinction in creative writing last year and that was kind of my turning point, I am still interested in digital media and animation but I feel my core skill is the writing element involved so want to pursue this are although I do not have a writing degree or any english based qualifications- would this hinder me? and can you set up as a freelance writer if you are in debt? I mean who would give me a business loan or funding? do you still need a regular job alongside your writing career, or can you earn enough to live on just from writing? Any advice, tips and guidance you can give me would be very much appreciated when you have the time. Thanks very much for taking the time to read this and I hope to hear from you soon, Yours Kindly, Kelly Cantrell. http://kellybruce.blogspot.com/

PPD2 company research

As part of our PPD2 brief we have to contact potential employers ans establish a list of companies we would like to work for with details of the managing directors or who we need to speak to.

As I am very seriously considering moving to Buxton I decided to start there, I have found 2 studios there who deliver visual solutions for other companies.

The first are called: NCH audio visuals, they were formed in 200 and have 20years experience in the industry, they are a family run business. The guy I need to speak to is called Nick Hollis and I have information about his previous work in the U.S and his contact details.

They specialize in tourist videos, training films, events, promotional films and weddings etc.

I plan to contact them this week to arrange an interview or meeting if possible to show them a show-reel of my work, (something I haven't done yet, maybe a DVD of what I have done so far would be better as I will be doing a show-reel at the end of the year anyway which will have all my work from Digital media and access on it)

The second company are a division within the health and safety executive within the government and they are based in Buxton, this is the main site and is 550 acres in size, they also have smaller field offices spread throughout the UK.

I recently found about about the HSA and HSL on my hairdressing course, so it's funny that a few weeks later I find that I will be speaking to them directly about future career possibilities!

I will be contacting the visual presentation section who work on videos and photo's of accident sites, they also research accidents and create 3D mock up's of potential accidents for educational videos. (I wish I had paid more attention in Maya now!) they have a FAST editing suite and use silver? I will have to find out what that is exactly because I haven't used it before, oh and they also make PDF's, something we have not done, but I am interested in writing and scripting so I may be able to utilize these skills in that or other areas.

They have a roland RD7 MP3 recorder and a microdrome, these sound interesting so I will look into what they are and what they do a bit further, and they use adobe premier pro- again something I have not used but I will ask about at uni/college.

I have already spoken to a relative that works there, so my next step is to contact the head of VPS who are expecting my call and arrange a date and time to go and see them.

I am nervous and excited at the same time! I just need to pick up the phone tomorrow and sort something out, I rang today but missed him so I'll try again tomorrow.

Best geta dvd made too so they can have a copy of everything I have done!

Who Am I??

after reading my "about me" description in the post above this one, well below it now! I decided to have another go, after all that was just a quick BLAH that came out of my head and into my fingers in the early morning hours! I was high on tiredness, yet half asleep so here are 2 more attempts at getting it right:

1. I am currently in my final year of foundation Degree Digital Media at Leeds college of art, making this my 4th year at the college. I can't really define my work as having any particular style as everything I've done seems to be different and random. (Like me!) I get alot of different ideas and so my work could end up as anything! I would say I am inspired by cartoons and comics, but also little things like this strange women on the train the others day, the little things that most people don't notice or maybe don't have time to see, like the way a silverfish freezes up when it feels vibrations in the hope it won't be noticed! or the way the train station itself seems to be most alive at night when there is no one else around! I pick up on these things and write about them, or store them in my head for reference. I like creating narratives, I like my work to flow from beginning to end, even if it is only 20 seconds long it has to have a story, somethings that people will remember or at least want to watch to the end to see what happens! My strength as a digital designer definitely lies in my passion for creating a narrative and a mood, I am interested in the visual construction between image and sound and I like to animate using 2D software and my own hand drawings. I want to bring "the world" to life using digital media......

2. I am currently in my final year of foundation Degree Digital Media at Leeds college of art, and I specialize in story-telling using a range of mediums including interactive based content. I would say I am inspired by cartoons and comics, but also the little things that most people don't notice or maybe are not bothered about, like this strange women on the train the other day, I imagined her whole life in 2 minutes! or the way a silverfish freezes up when it feels vibrations in the hope it won't be noticed! OK so I admit I have an overactive imagination, always have, but that is what I like about me and I feel this only helps me in my line of work. My strength as a digital designer definitely lies in my passion for creating a narrative and a mood, I am interested in the visual construction between image and sound and I like to animate using 2D software and my own hand drawings. I want to bring "the world" to life using digital media.....

I'm using the 2nd one for now as it's shorter and more to the point!

Who I am

We were asked to come up with a quick statement that represents who you are as a digital designer today, I wasn't sure up until that point as I want to do so many things, but for some reason or another it just "clicked" in my brain today what it is that i'm good at, but where I am going with it I am not sure but I have a few ideas...

here goes:

"My name is Kelly LeBronc, and I specialize in 2D animation and moving image. What drives me is my passion for story-telling, which I like to adapt into my work. To me everything is a story waiting to be told, and I am there to tell it! the way I see it is that people like stories, they remember them, they stick in your head for years to come, so why not use this method to promote your products? my aim is to create tailor made narrative solutions using the medium of digital media, photography, and interactive based content to produce something that is completely unique, engrossing and extraordinary, If you are ready to change your posture and want to adapt to something different and innovative, click the contact me button and get ready!"

finished! god is that cheesy and sales pitchy! well I'm not 100% sure if that is what I was supposed to do, it's 2.22am and I am having a cuppa and going to bed! so I'll worry about it tomorrow at least I did something!

PPD2

I've been searching for studio's on the net that specialize in motion graphics and video editing etc that are in or around Buxton as I plan to move there when I finish this course, there is only one company there and it is family run! but I have got the name of the person who runs it and their contact details so when I have the money to get on a train I will give him a call and arrange to go and see him. I plan to question them about the industry, setting up your own business and if I could do a placement there. I will also look around Leeds and other areas although I don't think they'll be any good to me. It's a good job I am undertaking a secondary qualification because the job market seems scarce!

I have also been looking at some title sequences but I will blog about them later as all the files are at home.