Storytelling In Today’s Media

Here is a link featuring Kevin Smith going toe to toe with David Jaffe (God of War) and Tom Bissell (Gears of War; Judgement) about game writing vs. film writing.  Great insight.

http://www.gametrailers.com/full-episodes/0aq5zy/bonus-round-storytelling-in-today---s-media




Thanks Henry for the heads up.

Artistic Development - Excerpt from Guillermo Del Toro

This link talks about artistic development by director Guillermo Del Toro:
http://movieline.com/2012/06/06/guillermo-del-toro-stanley-kubrick-tom-cruise-mike-goodridge/

Thanks Focal Press. Check them out: http://www.focalpress.com/creativity.aspx

Motivation & Inspiration

An analogy, "You are what you eat". How we function is determined by consumption. You have also heard the words, "Crap in, crap out". If you want to succeed as a creative person you have to keep filling your mind with amazing material. Not only that; you have to know why something is amazing.

Whatever your passion is, seek out the good stuff. Read good books, watch good movies, listen to good music, read great comics. Soak it in on the first run. Then, go back and break down what was cool and why.

Was it a choice of sound, the way an image was composed, use of color / lighting / texture, the way something moved, the choice of words, pacing /  the way the action was delivered or described. Brake it down, analyze and apply what you discover to your own ideas. That is what the true artist do.

“Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.”
― Bruce Lee

The "Wow" Factor

Came across this link that I found inspiring when it come to creation of fantastic art and product.

Check it out: http://bestanimationbooks.com/animation/updated-the-wow-factor

This is an except from an upcoming book from Focal Press which by the way is a terrific resource for art, animation, audio, film and graphic design books.

http://www.focalpress.com/creativity.aspx

Are you on the right track

Here was an interesting tid-bit on self evaluation from a credible source.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/06/the_clearest_path_to_the_career_thats.html

Practice Makes Perfect - Strength and Weakness

You have done your subject matter research for both inspiration and technical skills. Now comes the time to put all this effort to the test and go for it. Whether it be drawing, 3D modeling, music / audio, programming etc. Whatever your interest is,  just do it. Take the learning and apply it! Don't give up.

The first attempts may not be great but look objectively and see what is wrong. Even better is to have an "authority" critique your work. Have a mentor or instructor do an honest critique. Find a professional industry group on LinkedIn and post your work for feedback. Compare your work to the pro's whose work is online; refer to your inspirational research.

Remember to work at what you are not good at. Our default / safe strategy is to do what we know. You will not get better if you do not work on your weaknesses. Find what you are not good at and practice until you get better. That will make you a more well rounded and quality artist in the end. Practice makes perfect. The more you practice the easier it gets.

Becoming a Subject Matter Expert Part III: Technical Aspects

OK. Will assume you now know who are the top people are in the area you want to pursue. Next step is to look into what hardware and software is needed for the job. Do you have a firm grasp of these tools. Are there any special techniques that will give you what you want more quickly.

Having classes teaching you the basics is essential but you need to go further. What resources are there to teach you more? Search for online tutorials or books that go deeper. Sift through YouTube. Do Google searches on subject matter / technique. Find forums / user-groups that ask the right questions and give good answers. See if the experts you discovered have created resources or are pointing you in a certain direction. Use industry related sites to see how the technology is changing and what is now being used. Read reviews on books / people who supply information and specify the sites and resources that give you maximum info with minimal fluff. Start bookmarking the the best sites you find.

 If you can afford it there may be some tutorial sites that provide a wide amount of info for a monthly charge in multiple disciplines. Try these three as a start; http://www.lynda.com/, http://www.vtc.com/index.php, http://www.totaltraining.com/. Seek out which ones are the best and give them a go.

More to come.

Becoming a Subject Matter Expert Part II: Inspiration

Frazetta: A personal source of inspiration

Who is your source of inspiration? What persons work set your mind on overload and got you started thinking about entering this field? For me it was Frank Frazetta and work from other EC Comic geniuses. What are the influence of your idols? Have you ever look into who they are? It's a mind blower to see how those influences have changed and shaped your idols. Do the research to find these sources of inspiration. See if your favorite artist has a site or blog. Blogs reveal the mindset of these artist. This information can possible give you more insight and content expertise to explore. Also it will allow you to see trends and where they might be headed. If you can predict a trend then capitalize on it. You will now have the edge.

Becoming a Subject Matter Expert Part I: Getting Started

Todd Howard -Creator of Fallout

David Jaffe - Creator of Twisted Metal

Tod is also responsible for Elder Scrolls

Sorry folks for being away for a bit. Will try to do better on this. Life as we know can be a bit hectic.

As we know, the nature of business and technology means things are moving at a much faster pace. It is up to ourselves to keep up on the latest advancements and changes. We must be plugged into the right resources to keep ourselves viable. In other words we have to become our own Subject Matter Experts in things relating to our field.

Who are at the top of the field you are trying to get into? If you are a gamer do you know who Tod Howard or David Jaffe are? If you are into audio do you know Jim Stout or Rodney Gates? What about art or programming? Find out who the top people are in the area you are interested in. Start checking credits in the games you play and movies you see. Do these people tweet, have blogs or do tutorials. Blogs and tweets will show you the mind-set of these people and possible give you insight on where the industry might be going. If you want to be in the mix you will have to attain a similar mindset to the people at the top.

More to come.

Using Social Media for Jobs and Networking

Came across an interesting article entitled, " 10 ways to use social media to get a job".

Check out this link: http://newgradlife.blogspot.com/2010/04/get-job-business-jobs-graduate-jobs.html

Thank you LinkedIn. Which by the way, if you are serious about professional networking and job searching, it's the way to go. Create an account which is free, and join groups in your area of expertise. Make connections as well to other people in the business.

Also, a good friend and social media master by the name of Robert Starks Jr. has an excellent site on maximizing job searching using technology and social media. Check this link: http://careertipster.com/

Some more good topics to come. Keep tuned in!