Maybe I should add here what I done before this day!
My title is a little bit diffuse yes I know, and the alignment I have aswell
(especially if I am talking to people not in this arena)
The background
I have a education within digital animation, and graphics within games and movies. I have for example experience in game-concept, game technics, VFX (visual effects), short movies, UI (user interface) and I also have several bigger projects behind me workwise. (Internship and then employment as a shake-compositor)
I also have experience withing file-structure and project-setup and a little bit pipeline and I also like to find new solutions to things but also to connect already known knowledge on things.
Good knowing! – During my education (that was 2 years btw between 2004-2006)
Game-technics
First group-project in this school.
One of the best groups you could find.
We had some seminars about teambuilding and team-management.
We learned how important it was that you always need different kind of people within a team for it to perfect it!
Because if there is alot of same kind of persons it will crash along the way.
You need different kind of skills for a group to manage
Test me!
So we took a test and I ended up within one superb team.
I was one of the thinkers. The one that see the details, think about new things and keeping the group a little bit together.
But also we learned about the negative things this kind of person had too.
The most important thing is that.. This is why we need different kind of people in a group.
To complement eachother and to keep the project/group going!
I don’t really remember the rest of the specific categories.
(Leader, Thinker/Analyzer, Planner (I think…. ehh 4 of total is it anyway)!
We created a family board game
genre strategy with a mafioso touch!.
It was hardcore, extremely planned and we created all of the graphics, money, characters, game-plan, balance and so on.
And like I said.. A well working group.
This is why this project was also awarded and we “won” with this project.
VFX
We had a director that was about to create a documentary about how hooked we could be within gaming and a couple of shots we should create that showed this specific feeling!
We were ~6 groups (duplicate groups with the same kind of clips a la 2,2,2) and these “dupligroups” fought with their clip to be in that documentary.
We got the shot when the “guy” should be inside a game!
Once again I was in a well working group and our group was one of the “winners”
My role was to light the enviroments (digitally) 3D & 2D, and to grade the whole sequence.
Short movie concept (Friends until Death)
One director once again lectured us
We all had to write our own manus/synopsis (we were around 35-37 persons) and then we had to pick from one of the leading manuscripts (after the director and our teachers read all of them)
I was one of the ca 6-7 movies that would be created.
I wanted to focus on how it feel to be a outsider and alone.
But also to add that other side of it.
Therefore I picked to make it with dual cameras and splitscreen
(The final movie is to be found in the proper project category)
My role was to film this movie (one of them), composite the effects/ grade it and also made a little bit of a music for it.
Game-concept!
To create a gaming-concept with a trailer/ and or a demo, winning concept will have the possibility to fullfill this concept!
This is a good example of when something is not right within a group.
We hade wrong kind of leadership. Already from the start some of our groupmembers started to work in a own direction and with their own vision about the game and never to change their mind even if they said they would.
We had some dropouts within the group (meaning one of the graphical members quit school and the whole group of programmers went MIA most of the project)
The guy with the base-concept about the game went a little bit depressed because the game didn’t went his way.
Lack of communication and lack of energy and motivation in the group.
This group seriously was about to go into the toilet!
BUT!
I took a little bit charge here after a while into the project and turned the group around!
When I saw that this project is about to go big BOOM
I tried to get the group thinking about the focus in this project!
Start to kill your darlings (remove what you maybe love) and show what is cool and focus on this.
Nothing more. Even if that meant no demo (remember, we didn’t have any programmers left) and cut back a little bit in the trailer part and focus more on the concept and technics/ visual itself.
I got the group up and running and motivated. Everyone was on the train again. And saw the goal!
Can say that I also had – animation, lighting, soundFX, story/manuscript and some more plus a little bit project-daddy on my table
Old traditional bastards
After a couple of days they went back to old path, because 2 ppl loved their darlings and the original idea and was good talkers and also did this behind my back – maybe because I would mention and fight about it sooner!
Suddenly we didn’t worked in the same direction again (can say that this was now a common problem plus the lack of presence within the mind and the disrespect to eachother and the project itself)
I could say I stayed quite much extra time during this time in school to try to fix what they didn’t want to do. Try to save the project!
Ontop of this once again they spoke behind my back and on a group meeting It came out that now I was supposed to also present this whole concept and idea to the crowd (around 100 persons) and jury within the gaming arena. I can say that I took it in the end (because I also knew what other group members I had)
I think I should stop here!
And end with a learning plot!
* You need a good leader
(not several wannabies on the same time working in different directions)
* GOOD COMMUNICATION AND HONESTY/ RESPECT
* It is not worth it to add all those extra hours if point 1-2 is not working
* to say no more often!
* To fight more for what I believe in
Yes the group was not perfect..
The final result wasn’t the worst of the existing ones (but it was not good, it went ok)
I was still satisfied what I did in the project (to much in my meaning compared to the rest)
– The teachers was about to give me alone the best grade (they knew that I did alot extra for the group) but I couldn’t show what that extra work was more specific,atleast not enough on the paper (and also didn’t have that extra energy to fight for it) so I didn’t got it! (that was a dissapointment).
–
The bonus boring part
is that I was about to had my own group from the beginning with my concept.
I had a really cool concept and a cool idea, also a little bit new and fresh!
I had all of the members except 1 person
there was another group missing 1 person (not the one I wrote about)
and we had like 2 minutes left to fight and when right above 30 seconds was left, one of my teammembers left because he rather wanted to be with one of his pals in another group (no other reason) and then the other members had to rush for another group because of the countdown in time! .. Funny, not! Suddenly I didn’t have any members left and I had to bail my project and try to find another one as +1 extra and in like 10 sec I found that other mentioned above! – All other groups were full!
My project would had been one of the tops and I can almost guarantee that 😉 – Their loss! 😛
Little bit of what I done in work-wise arena then
Post-Productions and work of 3D integration, colors and VFX withing commercials and some matchmoving against filmed material and also a little 3D assistance. Online assisstance with customer in Shake / FCP and some mastering of film to tape.
Cutdowns for trailers 15, 8 and 4 seconds.
//Mikael Söderberg
