Projecting at OFFF
I think my brain is back from Barca
Firstly, I want to thank everyone for all the kind messages about my last newsletter. It seems to have struck a chord with a lot of people, which is great. I’m glad some people learned a bit about autism from it, and it is now something they’ll hopefully make me more aware of going forward in everyday life.
Where’ve you been?
With 3 weeks before it started, I decided that I would in fact go to OFFF in Barcelona this year. I had no plans to go until I saw that flights had come down to less than £100. And once I found accomodation for an ok price, that was that.
The plan I had for this year was pretty simple; chat to as many people you don’t know! And I’m glad to say I stepped fully out of my comfort zone and really made an effort to meet new people. I spent the week leading up to OFFF browsing LinkedIn, seeing who was hosting parties/meet-ups/coffees. I managed to find one or two, and luckily got a ticket to them. The main ones I hit up were the Creative Lunch Club, spinoff by Hatch Conference, and coffee with Oddfellows. I got to meet a tonne of other creatives, not all motion designers, who were all lovely.
Talking to people I don’t know has always been a struggle of mine. People would put it down to shyness, but I now know it was a trait of being autistic. So knowing this is tougher for me, I’m trying my best to build it up. The last time I tried to network, I had to leave after 10 minutes as I was on the verge of a shut down*. I think I did well at OFFF though. It does help that most people are creative and work in the design industry, so it’s an easy way in.
Another good reason to go was that myself and Nathan Hughes had an animation be projected on the side of the Disseny building! It was such a buzz seeing it up so large, and a photographer managed to snap a great photo of it amongst the skyline of Barcelona that you can see above. Nathan put together a great behind the scenes look at how it all came together. I had a lot of fun creating my little scientist, and making him bust out some interesting dance moves! 😂
Aside from that, I got to see a good few talks, soak up the sun (with SPF 30!), and even got a smug run in! Very much went at my own pace this year, and I'm happy with it all. Definitely came back with a lot of inspiration for work and how to move forward in my own career. In short, do the work!
*A shut down is when someone becomes ‘zoned out’ and unresponsive to the environment. - Autistica
What I’ve been working on
Waiting for feedback on a 60 sec piece for a new NGO service. It’s been a while since I’ve worked on an animation without character work so it took a while to get back into the classic motion design workflow. Simple shapes mean things! 😂
First video in a series is sent over to the client for review. It’s great to finally be at this stage of the project, as I’ve been working on it for a few months now. And once this video is signed off, the style and designs will be set, so I can start on the remaining 4 videos.
I’m about to start work on a set of videos for a cinema back in Dublin. This should be a fun little project with a collage design style.
Apart from that, I’ve had a few work enquiries come in. To be honest, and I hope this doesn’t sound egotistical, but I’d rather have a short break. I’ve a big life change coming up that I know will take a lot of time and effort from me, so it would be nice to not worry about work and clients at that time. I’m also itching to get back into Rive and learn all of the newer features that have been released over the past few months. Data Binding looks amazing!
What I’ve read, seen, and heard
🥷 Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
🦸♀️ Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely
🌕 The Moon is Following Us Vol.1 by Daniel Warren Johnson and Riley Rossmo
🕷️ Ultimate Spider-Man Vol.1 by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto
The Brightening Air by Conor McPherson. We saw this at the Old Vic theatre in London. We went down specifically for this play and wern’t dissapointed. Main cast included Brian Gleeson, Rosie Sheehy, and Chris O’Dowd.
🎸 Sinners (No spoilers, but the music scene in Sinners is one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had in a cinema. If you’ve seen it, you know what I mean)
⭐ Andor S2
🌺 The Last of Us S2
💌 Taskmaster S19
What’s Bran up to?
He got the Big Snip this month. He’s nearly fully recovered now, and honestly, I don’t think he even noticed he’s two testicles light now! He HATED the donut though.
Thanks for reading. I will hopefully have some big life news this time next month!