Design Thesis | Week 2.1 - ID Kit Research

ID Kit Research

What do you consider to be your medium, style, and services of choice? Describe why you feel that is the case and links to some examples.

  • I am broadly interested in pre-production concept design for live-action Film and Television. The type of projects that I enjoy developing have a cinematic visual approach and follow a narrative structure with a strong pathos. My services of choice, as related to my prospective field of preproduction concept design for film and television, include user research, ethnographic research, narrative research, visual exploration, landscape design, 3D concepting, and style development.

  • Studios that I aspire to:

  • Work that I aspire to:

    • https://terraformstudios.com/portfolio/

    • https://paintingpractice.com/how-we-work-2-2/

  • Work that I have done that I feel is aligned with this aspiration from a design standpoint:

What kind of skills, aptitudes, and abilities are current jobs in your field requiring, and how do you think your skills align with them? Please provide links and or citations to where you are gathering this information.

  • Communication skills. Understanding needs and developing efficient modes of communication to respect others’ time (MacManus, Didden).

  • Production speed (MacManus).

  • Painting/drawing with the intent of drafting product, landscape, or object ideas (Rhodes, MacManus, Han).

  • Competency in Photoshop, ClipStudio, Z-Brush, Blender, C4D (Didden, Rhodes).

Thinking about after you graduate, what would you (either as a freelancer, employee, or business owner) offer that no one else in your market can? What would be your brand's unique value proposition?

As a prospective entry-level studio employee, I believe my design sensibilities of research and presentation are an advantage in an industry that is largely focused on technical skills. Another highlight is my stylistic flexibility (stylistic flexibility, not industry flexibility). My ability to develop concepts around an emotional or narrative function, rather than tailoring my work to a specific aesthetic genre, is a valuable asset.

Currently, my value proposition stands as this: I am a visual development designer who uses research to create concepts that are socially impactful and culturally cognizant.

Ideally, what kind of clients/industries would you like to serve and work with, and why? Please provide links to a few examples.

I believe in developing socially responsible entertainment that serves a cultural purpose, be it inclusivity, social education, or simply base pathos. Working in the fields of concept development for Film/TV is a way to impact cultural representation, serving as a form of cultural education.

  • Industries I would be interested in serving:

    • Social & Environmental non-profits (See sample organization). Associated clients include: Internal marketing teams for organizations relating to social health, environmental awareness, and cultural equity.

    • Speculative fiction Film/TV (See sample project). Associated clients include: Production Studios, Game Dev Studios, Independent filmmakers.

    • Socially conscious, narrative commercial work (See sample project). Associated clients include: Product design companies, corporate entities (more specifically marketing & creative development teams).

Through your research, please create a list of the kinds of problems you are most interested in addressing after you graduate and why.

  • Equitable education.

  • Equitable narrative structures in film and entertainment.

  • Culturally appropriate concept designs for entertainment.

  • Outdated narrative structures, aimed at linear storytelling.

  • Aesthetic stagnancy in entertainment.

Based on your research, what attributes and services do you think you would need to offer to be competitive in your envisioned marketplace?

  • Competitive Advantage:

    • Understanding of Narrative design and shot composition (namely regarding concept work for Film/TV) (Price).

    • Being able to work with 3D software, particularly when passing concepts off to VFX or production teams, seems to be a valuable asset based on current conversations in the traditionally 2D concept art field (Price, Didden).

    • Geographic flexibility, being able to move around, working remotely (Didden, MacManus).

  • Industry Standards:

    • Hand-drawing and drafting skills, namely relating to physical product design.

    • Curiosity in new technologies and how to apply those to the field (Didden, MacManus).

    • Speed in production (MacManus).

Citations

Price, Andrew. (2018, September 4). Breaking into the concept art industry - interview with Finnian MacManus. YouTube. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEvMJYzLTuE&ab_channel=BlenderGuru.

(F. Didden, personal communication, September 20, 2021)

MacManus, Fillian. (2020, October 12). Artstation Podcast EP.6: Concept art: Games vs. film. YouTube. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD_KLEFtf9o&ab_channel=ArtStation.

BROWN, W. J., & MEEKS, J. D. (1997). EXPERIMENTING WITH THE ENTERTAINMENT-EDUCATION STRATEGY IN FILM AND VIDEO. Journal of Film and Video, 49(4), 30–43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20688157

Rhodes, Matt. An interview with Matt Rhodes, lead concept artist at bioware. CGSociety. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://cgsociety.org/news/article/2974/an-interview-with-matt-rhodes-lead-concept-artist-at-bioware.

YouTube. (2020, January 9). Sketch with Peter Han. YouTube. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik362zDRzmw&ab_channel=PeterHanStyle.

Kubrak, T. (2020, May 2). Impact of films: Changes in young people's attitudes after watching a movie. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland). Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7288198/#:~:text=The%20studies%20reveal%20the%20influence,formed%20opinions%20on%20various%20issues.

https://www.designbridge.com/day-life-motion-designer-design-bridge-london/

Bryan McDonald