General Goings On

Things have been pretty busy. Lots of opportunities and everything is in a stage of flux right now. So what have I been up to?

About a week ago, I officially finished the extension of Scottish Screen/Skillset's course G.A.S.P (Generating Animation Skills Programme). Whilst the original scheme, which started in September 2008, focussed on training in animation, the three month extension was based in experience and training of multi-platform and new media productions. That lasted from November 2009 to January 2010. And it's been an interesting few months as i've come to realise that dealing that web production is a very different beast to animation production.

My first placement on the extension saw me at the desks of Me and the Giants; a Glasgow based collective made up of Dave Sapien and Will Adams. I was helping them to develop toys for Babylook; a range of iPhone based games for 0-18 month year olds. The Babylook products entertain me endlessly, which either means I have the mentality of a toddler or they're just plain ol' fun. I like to think it's the latter.

You can read an article in The Times about Babylook and Me and the Giants here. And check out this Started For Six video which features a gormless me, playing Babylook Tickle.

Whilst I was mainly helping with design at Me and the Giants (i've uploaded some of my work from Me and the Giants to my Central Station profile), I also got to dabble in Flash. Have to say, that was hard for my non-coder brain to handle but it was a great experience to have.

My second placement was quite short but sweet, which was at Central Station (hence the welcomes and general loitering on this website!) for three weeks. I haven't really encountered anything like this site before and maybe because there isn't really anything like it out there. But it's taught me quite a bit about who goes on behind a site as big as this and how much is done. And you know...it was quite nice being paid to look at art and research my favourite sound artists all day! ;).

So, yes...now i'm wild and free in the freelance world. Pretty exciting but a little scary. Let's see what it'll throw at me.

P.S - I recently found out i've been shortlisted for Digicult's 2010 Digital Shorts competition which, quite frankly, is freakin' awesome. The story I submitted is based around my experiences of growing up with an autistic sibling and will be developed with Digicult for 2 months. Then, i'll have to pitch the idea again and if they still like it, it will go into production and i'll have my first chance of directing and animating a short film. With a crew! And everything! So maybe the future is bright, eh?