Eleven*6

DKirkland Showreel March 2010 from Dane Kirkland on Vimeo.

Updated showreel with some new projects and work from the past couple of months. Still no luck what so ever regarding the job hunt, barely hearing back from the places that I have applied for. I have called some to try and get that extra little bit of notice, but that doesn't seem to work at all. It's rapidly wearing my resolve down; it would be nice to hear back - even if it was just to say that they didn't think I was suited to the role but thanks for your application!

Yes I understand that if I went down there in person that might increase my chances, but at the same time if a studio can't take the time to email you back what's stopping them from just throwing out your dvd and reel the instant the door closes behind you? I'm not saying that would happen, I guess I am just bitter at the moment. The job hunt wears you down, so I guess when it comes time when you finally get a job there will be alot of joy to be had.

Ten*10

Self Portrait Twenty*10 from Dane Kirkland on Vimeo.

Spent today on my entry for greyscalegorilla's 5 Second Project "Self Portrait".

I wanted to do an abstract piece that describes the way that I think. My thought process is often overwhelming - over-analysing, over-criticising and over-imagining things to the point that it becomes a jumble of disconnected processes and concepts. Thus I am forced to separate myself from the process and begin again, with a resolute determination not to get sidetracked.

Stylistically it was nice to do something abstract for the freedom that it lent to the piece and allowed me to play with a simple, edgy 3D style that I am exploring.

Thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating something so short, and also in such a short time period. I thought I would limit myself to 1 day to see what I could achieve and I must say I'm pretty happy with what I came out with. It also acted as a test as to how my new iMac performs with rendering 720p after effects/maya exports - the answer is beautifully. It rendered the final uncompressed 5 second export (350mb) in under 10 seconds.

Like a dream!

Blogging ala. Time Filler/Killer

I am sitting here desperately trying to think of a tagline for part of a advertising campaign for a new (completely fictitious) caffeine-free/sugar-free energy drink for uni. I had the perfect tagline once upon a time but i forgot to write it down thinking - yeh sure i'll remember that. Oh well. The concept is there, it is just a matter of nailing that one line. Here's a work in progress shot of part of the campaign (print side);

Energy Drink Uni Project WIP
Originally uploaded by dane.kirkland

Sorry for the blue there in the image. It's not as horribly vibrant in actuality as it is there, cmyk on the web you know.. =p The general idea behind the concept is that the drink ('Now') allows you to revitalize yourself in a healthier way than say red bull, v, mother etc. and give yourself that boost of energy without the adverse effects of high levels of caffeine and sugar which is degrading to your general health. The idea that this new drink takes you out of the moment and transports you into your 'fantasy' - allowing your mind to relax whilst your body catches up, recharges - gets that boost of energy.

So there's the idea, now how to put it into a cohesive, concise sentence that is both catchy and straight to the point.

Anyway, that's where my mind is at currently. I am struggling to come up with a decent line so i thought blogging may be a nice alternative. Let my own mind wander a bit as i attempt to resolve the issue. A few of my current tagline thoughts follow;

LET IT TAKE YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. NOW.
LIVE THE DREAM. NOW.
LET IT TRANSPORT YOU.
LET YOUR MIND WANDER WHILE YOUR BODY CATCHES UP.
GIVES YOU THE BOOST YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE.
BOOST INTO THE DREAM.
LIVE THE DREAM.
BE THE MOMENT. NOW.

Not really happy with most of these. There's potential there however.

I came across this trailer moments ago;

Looks quite good, although admittedly i am a sucker for post-apocalyptic films - it is nice to see Mila Kunis getting her action star boots on, i have always been a fan of her since That 70s Show. It's also fantastic to see Gary Oldman back as a villain.

Ummmm. What else was i going to mention? Ah yes, so this is the final week of my final uni holidays and it is strange to think that after this there will be no regimented holidays or schedules that dictate my year as such. No month gaps of leisure that are pre-determined and organised by others - it will all be reliant upon my employment (status) and other circumstance *cough* money *cough*. I am positive that i will be completely unsure as to what to do with myself at the end of this year. Although i do have a solid plan for moving from Wagga, i shall be departing permanently when i go home for Christmas (whenever that may) and then hopefully between Christmas and New Years I shall wander up to my temporary accommodation in which i will be staying until Liz and I can get ourselves sorted and set up. Which will also hopefully be relatively hassle-free (although i have my doubts). Some random cool videos that i want to remember about rather than having a billion bookmarks.





Also a picture of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's upcoming film that i am sure i have mentioned, Paul - i found these over at collider.com;

RWE Energy Giant

I love creative and different ads.

Upcoming Projects

There are many things that I have always said that I will do, or will get around to and ever really do. Not through inaction but rather through a lack of a reason or the rise of other, more important and necessary things that push what I want(ed) to undertake. Holidays have always taken a similar path for me; I mean to do a bunch of exciting things but never actually get around to it and then once uni starts again I really wish that I had done something about it whilst I legitimately had ‘free’ time. So sitting here looking at 5 weeks of possible freedom to do whatever I wish the question arises – what will I actually do with my time and will it be productive.

With the new course structure for Graphic Design only being introduced this year (my 4th and final year) I feel that there may actually be benefits to the upheaval that the new subjects are placing on the long-standing assessment tasks that have been used year in and year out. Essentially I only have one subject left to do until I will graduate which is a portfolio subject in which i may do whatever I would like to (within reason) in regards to products that will reflect my chosen field. That is where the issue arises; I do not really wish to work in Graphic Design but I am wanting a job that allows me to put those design skills and principles into use in motion (i.e. motion graphics). There was an off-handed comment that this could be applied to the subject, I imagine that there will still be a required amount of actual ‘Graphic Design’ but am hoping that there is the opportunity to introduce some motion into the assessments.

I have a few ideas for that which will hopefully tie in with the research component of the subject but I will write up a separate post about that. Although there are a few more projects that I am beginning the pre-production/development stages of which will hopefully take off in the next couple of weeks. One is a short animation titled “Haunt” about a ghost, see the production blog for more details (www.haunt-production-focus.blogspot.com). There are a few other short pieces which are basically things that I wish I had done during uni but chose other endeavours over these as well as a couple of things that I would just like to do.

I plan on re-doing my 2nd Year animation that I undertook with a friend of mine, but reshaping the story towards something, which has more substance and an actual ending. I also plan on doing something similar to the visual interface present in Minority Report, Iron Man and also this short film that I discovered recently; World Builder (below). Basically this is just something that I have always wanted to do but have lacked the time, essentially it fills the role of something more for my showreel at the end of the day.

World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo.

Gigs

Alot has been happening in the 3 weeks or so that I haven’t posted so I have got a few catch up posts to do. I have been working on the website for SYMPOSIA09 which is an annual design symposium held in Wagga Wagga similar to AGIDEAS and SEMI-PERMANENT. The little edits and tweaks of the information are the most time consuming, including several alterations in regards to the pricing alone! But this is something that is inherently unavoidable in this particular industry. I have also been working on concepts for motion titles for the event which will introduce the speakers and their work, as well as brainstorming for another motion graphics project that I can’t really speak about as of yet.

These are progressing at an acceptable rate, which just happens to be a rapidly as is allowed. This combined with my final graphic design assessment for the semester (environmental design) is taking up the majority of my time, whilst trying to fit in bits and pieces of things that I enjoy.

I have been to 2 gigs at the Uni Bar in the past 3 or so weeks; Faker and Josh Pyke. Both were incredibly enjoyable, although I was surprised that Josh Pyke pulled a larger crowd than Faker. One part of Faker’s performance that I greatly appreciated was their attitude, it’s great that bands make an effort to come to the smaller centres (such as Wagga) and they obviously enjoy coming; obvious with the way that Faker interacted with the crowd, not dissimilar to Gyroscope’s efforts last year. Josh Pyke had a similar reaction to Wagga and the uni, and his performance was better than what is on his albums – which is definitely something that you look for in seeing a band live, otherwise what is the point in going to a concert?