Apr
24
Tutorial: MAX ~ Thinking Particles
Posted in: Tutorial - MaxA good beginner/intermediate tutorial on Thinking Particles in Max. Also a tutorial on collapsing a ground plane with TP in Max.
Apr
23
How To Make Sure You Can Show Work In Your Portfolio
Posted in: copyright, General, Labor issues, Licensing, rights, RIghts Management, Work-For-hire
Can’t say Title (confidential) by Sebas & Clim
You’re in the midst of production — the style frames you designed were approved, the work-in-progress animations you’ve sent along to the client were received well, and you’re rapidly approaching the deadline. You’re really happy with how the job looks, and everything is working smoothly. The client is happy, too. This will be a great piece for your portfolio!
But what happens when your client doesn’t want you to use the finished work in your portfolio?
The Problem:
Asking on Twitter, I got a ton of responses from artists who, through one set of circumstances or another, did great work they were proud of but were asked (either by the studio they worked with or by the end client) not to post it — and not always politely! Lots of those issues are unresolved, with the artists just backing down and not wanting to get into a fight with the studios and clients who hire them. Lots of those jobs will never see the light of day, since the clients who own them don’t want to put them out. But if you can retain the copyright to the work, you may be able to salvage something out of it, or re-use your hard work on your own project.
Too often, when you are on staff or freelancing, eager to do the work, you rush into a project without reading all the details of the contract. This is where artists get burned. It’s always a good idea to read your contracts and deal memos through thoroughly, speak up to the client or studio and make sure to declare your desire to show off your work as early in the process as possible. Amend any part of the contract you want to change before any work on the job is done.
Many contracts have a work-for-hire clause that automatically assigns the copyright of any work they create to the employer. This can be negotiated — if you wish to challenge it — but it’s fairly standard for most contracts. This also means that you may not have the ability to show any of you work on your own site or post about it online. And, of course, many studios have adopted specific policies on how employees can use the work they do while at a company on their reels and sites, which is why you see all those production company bugs on artist’s montages.
What to Do
Daniel Savage, who is one designer that got burned after working for six weeks on a project that he now can’t show said, “My advice, besides the obvious of READING a contract, is if you see something like that on a contract, cross it off and initial. IF they say no and you need the money, demand a huge pay increase. Otherwise don’t work with them, there is plenty of work to go around not to put up with that crap.”
Sebas & Clim also dealt with the same problem recently. “The possibility of showing the project or not is always one of our first questions. The budget changes radically if something will have to be completely secret or not … 90% of our work came because someone saw our [previous] projects,” they said.
Since their project, whose title remains confidential, went well, and since they have a good relationship with the client, they asked if they could use it in their portfolio without any reference to the brand. The client agreed, and they used the piece without voiceover and logos, resulting in an impressive animation showpiece for themselves.
Many graphic designers and illustrators also deal with these issues, but their industry works a bit differently than ours. They will often retain the copyright of a piece of artwork, but specifically license it out to clients for specific uses. Much of the advice and standards in the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook deal specifically with how to negotiate these type of contracts. And the AIGA has a section in the explanation of its Standard Form of Agreement For Design Services that notes:
You’ll also want to be able to show and explain portions of the completed project to other companies when you are pitching new business. Sometimes clients who are in highly competitive industries have concerns about this. They may ask for the right to review and approve such promotional activity on a case-by-case basis. If you have licensed the final art to the client rather than making a full assignment of rights, and the work does not fall within the category of work-for-hire (defined below), you are legally entitled to show the work in your portfolio. As a professional courtesy, however, you will want to be sensitive to client concerns.
On a recent freelance job I worked on, I managed to solve this whole problem easily and straightforwardly, by simply by asking the producer to insert one sentence into the contract. It read, “Company agrees that [NAME] may show the artwork created by him for Company on personal marketing reels and on his web site at [URL] only.” So that’s my advice. Get it in writing.
More on this topic:
Jessica Hische – The Dark Art of Pricing
Graphic Artist Guild – Can I Show My Work in My Portfolio When I Don’t Own the Rights Anymore?
AIGA – Standard Form of Agreement For Design Services
Docracy – The Collective Legal Guide For Designers (Contract Samples)
Motionographer – Credit Where Credit Is Due
Apr
23
Shen Jie: Run!
Posted in: General
Apr
21
Nando Costa: FITC Toronto 2013
Posted in: General
Nando Costa takes entomology as a jumping off point for his FITC Toronto 2013 title sequence.
Hat tip to Stash.
Credits
Filmed and animated by Nando Costa
Music by Omega Code
Insects mounted by Don Ehlen & Phaedra Dunko
Apr
20
Célia Rivière: Chérie 25 Channel Launch
Posted in: General
Célia Rivière directs this sophisticated spot for the launch of Chérie 25.
Credits
Agency : Les Telecreateurs design
Production company : Les Telecreateurs
Director : Celia Rivière
Producer : Eric Nung
Character design : Charlotte Gastaut
Postproduction company : Mathematic
Postproducer : Hélène St-Riquier
Lead Animator: Sebastien Eballard
Animator: Nicolas Dabos
Apr
19
Bradley G Munkowitz: Oblivion Screen Graphics
Posted in: Film, General, sci fi, screen graphics, typographyJoseph Kosinski’s latest feature, Oblivion, releases today in the US, and with it comes an impressive onslaught of screen graphics directed by Bradley “Gmunk” Munkowitz.
Like the work he directed for Tron, Munkowitz’s design for Oblivion is brimming with details. Munkowitz and his team oversaw the production of assets for scores of contexts, including an interactive light table, cockpit elements for the “Bubbleship” and HUD elements for various equipment and weapons in the film.
The briefing for the Graphic Language stressed functionality and minimalism while utilizing a bright, unified color palette that would appear equally well on both a dark or bright backdrop.
The function was to reflect the modernized sensibilities of the TET Mainframe computer and would assist the characters with the key components of their duties on earth; be it the monitoring of all Vitals on the ground using Vika’s Light Table, or the various diagnostics in the air using the Jack’s Bubbleship.
For good measure, the team also designed and animated all of the HUD UI for the various machines and weaponry in the film cuz they could, establishing a consistent graphic language that rendered all the interfaces with a loverly cohesion rarely seen in them massive-budget Sci-Fi productions.
Apr
19
Eran Hilleli: ING “Numbers”
Posted in: General
Tel Aviv-based Eran Hilleli directs a lovely realization of illustrations by The Project Twins. Made with Avi Yani, Or Bar El, Lior Ben Horin, and Ori Toor at XYZ Studios.
Credits
Production House: XYZ Studios
Producer: Katie Mackin
Director: Eran Hilleli
Illustrations: The Project Twins
Modelling & Riging: Lior Ben Horin, Eran Hilleli
3D animation: Avi Yani, Or Bar El, Lior Ben Horin
2D animation: Ori Toor
Compositing: Eran Hilleli
Apr
19
Feature: GMUNK: Oblivion GFX Montage
Posted in: Animation, cg, cinematography, Design, features, Motion, typography, vfxThe mighty Joseph Kosinski invited Munkowitz to the GFX party once again, this time for his spring blockbuster feature film OBLIVION … Predictably, the list of graphic assets to be created was obscene, so munko assembled and led another super team of GFX mercenaries and descended into the lovely confines of Crater Lake Productions to generate the aforementioned fuckload of graphic content…
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Working with Joseph always brings out the best in Munk and Company, and this time around was certainly no exception… OBLIVION © Universal Pictures, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
GFX METHODOLOGY :
The briefing for the Graphic Language stressed functionality and minimalism while utilizing a bright, unified color palette that would appear equally well on both a dark or bright backdrop… The function was to reflect the modernized sensibilities of the TET Mainframe computer and would assist the characters with the key components of their duties on earth; be it the monitoring of all Vitals on the ground using Vika’s Light Table, or the various diagnostics in the air using the Jack’s Bubbleship… For good measure, the team also designed and animated all of the HUD UI for the various machines and weaponry in the film cuz they could, establishing a consistent graphic language that rendered all the interfaces with a loverly cohesion rarely seen in them massive-budget Sci-Fi productions…
OBLIVION LIGHT TABLE UI :
One of the most widely seen Graphic elements was Vika’s Light Table, which allowed her to guide Jack Harper through his tasks as a Drone repair man in the field of duty… The table itself was built practically, so most of the visuals were captured in-camera, lending a beautiful optical touch to the design ( thx Joe & Claudio )… The table consisted of four screens: A main map that Vika used to monitor the Bubbleship, Drone, and Scav positioning, a Drone Monitor which tracked all their key vitals and fuel status, A Hydro Rig monitor that displayed the collection progress for the large resource gatherers over the ocean, and finally a Weather Screen which showed the Tet’s online status and also key vitals of the ever-changing weather systems… A couple extra tasks had the team designing another Map Diagnostic screen on a milky-white breakfast table top and a few key standalone windows that were analyzing Rogue Signal feeds that were key story points in the film…
OBLIVION BUBBLESHIP UI :
Jack’s helicopter, a remarkable Daniel Simon creation called the Bubbleship, was Jack’s paramount vehicle in the film… The UI appeared as a hologram embedded within the spherical glass cockpit, done to perfection by the lovely folks at Pixomondo, and functioned to assist Jack in his flight and combat duties throughout the film… The team researched a grip of Flight simulator and Helicopter Combat interfaces and sought to modernize the aesthetic while still delivering key functionality that would mimic real-world flight tools… And of course the team didn’t want to fuck up Simon’s baby with ugly UI, the German wrath was implanted deep within and ultimately, the Bubbleship UI was by far the most researched and pampered graphic task…
OBLIVION HUD GFX
The team also designed all of the Machinery HUDs and various Gauges in the film, be it the Drone Machine Vision, Jack’s Gun HUD, all the Scav equipment and some of Jack’s smaller vehicles… The interfaces again stressed functionality over excess, keeping the Greeble under control and communicating key story points throughout the film.. All of these graphic elements were ingested by the VFX Vendors and ultimately integrated seamlessly into the live-action plates; many thanks mighty peoples…
OBLVN Light Table UI Credit list
Production Facility: Crater Lake Productions
Oblivion Director: Joseph Kosinski
Oblivion Producer: Steve Gaubs
Oblivion Assistant Producer: David Feinblserbr
Graphics Design Director: Bradley G Munkowitz
Lead Graphic Designers: Bradley G Munkowitz, Jake Sargeant
Graphic Designers: Joseph Chanimal, Alexander Perry
Lead Graphics Animators: David Lewandowski, Joseph Chanimal
Graphics Animator: Alexander Perry
OBLVN Bubbleship UI Credit list
Graphics Design Director: Bradley G Munkowitz
Lead Graphic Designers: Bradley G Munkowitz, Joseph Chanimal
Lead Graphics Animator: Navarro Parker
Graphics Animator: Joseph Chanimal
OBLVN HUD GFX Credit list
Graphics Design Director: Bradley G Munkowitz
Lead Graphic Designers: Joseph Chanimal, Bradley G Munkowitz
Graphic Designer: Alexander Perry
Lead Graphics Animators: Navarro Parker, Alexander Perry
Graphics Animator: Joseph Chanimal
OBLVN Process Montage Credit list
Production Facility: Autofuss
Design Director: Bradley G Munkowitz
Lead Editor: Ian Colon
Director of Photography: Ian Colon
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