A major part of this Responsive module is a cross course collaborative project with the Illustrators and Graphic Designers at Level 5 to respond to a live or competition brief from YCN or D&AD. Before we could get into groups, first we were required to pick a maximum of three briefs that interested us, which required reading through the guidelines of each brief on the YCN and D&AD websites. Out of the roughly two to three dozen briefs available, the one that stood out to me was...
Autism Uncut- National Autism Society
For this brief I would be required to produce a 1-2 minute film/films for the National Autism Society's campaign 'Autism Uncut' which aims to address the stigma surrounding Autism and Aspergers Syndrome in Adults, particularly in regards to the workplace. This is a subject that interests me as I have both friends and family members who are on the autistic spectrum, so addressing the stigma and attempting to normalise the condition and humanise those who have it. I have already thought about how I would go about doing this. Preferably I would like to work on an animated documentary, visualising conversations with people who either have autism or have experienced autism with their friends and family. Not only do I feel this is an effective way of communicating the point of the campaign, but it would give me a lot of freedom with how I could approach the visual side of things; broadening my practice while also engaging in animation in a socially aware and progressive way.
A couple of existing animations come to mind when thinking about this brief, most notably Tim Webb's 'A Is For Autism' which visualises a series of conversations by autistic people, discussing their experiences. I feel this film instills empathy for Autistic people in a very effective way and is definitely something I hope to emulate should I go down the documentarian route, though I am open to other ways of exploring the topic.
One very important thing however to consider when responding to this brief however is the brand guidelines set by the National Autism Society. As a charity which supports people with Autism, there are certain types of words and language, as well as ways of depicting Autistic people which are off limits. It is important that whatever I produce in response to this brief fall in line with these guidelines, as what I produce could have social ramifications.
Pitcha Pitch slides
In order to get into a group with other people who have similar interests and approach to practice as I do, the college has organised all the courses to come to the lecture theatre on the 2nd February for a presentation of everyones work, their inspiration and the briefs they wish to respond to in the form of Pitcha Pitch slides. For this I vetted all the work I have produced since starting University for the work which best reflects my skill set and paints my portfolio in the most positive light. I chose a variety of shots, some taken from animations, others simple background designs for future or potential animations in order to convey the broadest skillset possible, though I did make a conscious effort to ensure the majority of the work featured in this was at least fairly recent.
As for my inspiration, I wanted to convey a set of interest beyond what I had showcased in the previous slide. I was careful in choosing what to display, as this could make or break what group I end up in. One of the images I opted to display was a shot from David O'Reilly's 'The External World'; a 3D/CG animated film, which visually is a far cry from any of the work I have produced myself in my time so far at LCA. I did this as it reflects the standard of work I hope to achieve in the short term as well as the importance I put on conveying different tones in my animation. Another illustrator I decided to include was Don Kenn, whose aesthetic continues to inspire my work, which in a way was my appeal to illustrators, as I do wish to work with Illustrators. Other pieces of work include the Box art to Fumito Ueda's 'Ico', both for the game itself as well as the Box art, which was quite clearly takes cues from Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico. I also made sure to include an image from my favourite illustrator Jamie Hewlett, as his house style continues to inspire me to this day.
Getting into groups
After the botched Pitcha Pitch presentation (some people forgot to put their names on the slides), we were then tasked with getting into groups based on mutual interest. After loitering around the tables in the Illustration studio for a while I was eventually approached by two illustrators; Jay and Molly, who expressed interest in collaborating on the Autism Uncut brief. Their styles, while very different seemed complimentary to eachother, with Jay being more into the puppet making side of things and Molly being more of a graphic/comic artist. Personally I see my own skill-set as a sort of bridge between both, so I feel working as a team would be mutually beneficial to all of us. We exchanged contact information and later agreed to all work together on the Autism Uncut brief, with our first meeting to discuss ideas scheduled for the 9th February.
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