Applying internship:Intoxic Studio

I feel very lucky that I followed Intoxic Studio on Facebook and immediately feeling the impact of social media and follow other studios as well. Found that they hiring summer interns! No doubt and less than a second, rushing to get all my portfolio and website ready for the application!

I encountered difficulties when typing the cover letter because I have never done it professionally. My first draft was a bit short and was not saying any reason why I want to apply to this job.  My second attempt was a bit too flattering said my friends so I kept re-typing...

The final cover letter is done! Proofread by a few friends both from the UK and from HongKong. I think it is important to ask people in Hong Kong how job application is actually like in order to prevent cultural difference since I have not applied jobs through email in Hong Kong before so the advice I received from my friends are very useful. I managed to get the website finished and also add an extra page of illustration because Intoxic Studio wants to see an illustration portfolio. After making sure there are nothing left and triple check the spelling and everything... I hit the spend button! I really hope I could get this internship because Intoxic Studio is a famous and potencies new studio in Hong Kong who include cultural elements in their feature films. What I need to do now is to prepare for interviews(if I get one), research more deeply into their studio, practice my introduction and BE CALM!

Logo design

The Animation Wing brand name and logo I used last year was not good. 1. It is old fashioned. 2. I want my name to be my brand instead because it looks more professional. Therefore I want to come up with another logo using my name.

I want to use image of birds/wings/feather since my name is quite unqiue in English. 

After a few sketches, I had this design which is a feather made by the letter W. I really love this mark because of the uniquness and meaning behind. Cleverly includes my name and a relavent icon. However I struggled to find the matching type for it.

These are too chunky.

Eventually I had this thin and slender font which looks much more better than the fat fonts because the logo becomes the focus of the brand also stay clean and clear. I also layered a watercolour texture on top in order to show my interest in meix media. 

In my showreel, I also hand wrote 'Animator & Illustrator' under the logo. I think having some hand writing can soften down a bit and add more fun elements to my brand. 

For the profile of all my social media, I used this abbreviated logo! Very Chic isn't it!

The social media icons in myshowreel is also hand drawn because I can not find anything similar with the same colours. I think this unify the style of my brand and be original!

Studios in Hong Kong(2)

Intoxic
http://www.intoxic.com.hk/contact


They specialise in 2D/3D Animation, Character Design, Motion Graphic, VR 2D Animation and Visual Effect. Our services include TVC, Online Promo, Facebook/Instagram Promo, Animation Episode, Animated Feature Film, Event Animation, Internal Communications, etc. Our works have won numerous awards, including: ANNECY, HKICT, IFVA, TBS Digicon6, GCIA, HKMFF, etc.

Intoxic becomes my most wanting to get in studio in the list because of the main aesthetic and their achievement. They mostly focus on 2D and motion graphics and produces their own short films and projects. On their facebook page, it seems like a very cheerful working environment, not very big but cozy. Only one thing I concern about is that they required professional in illustrator. I do not know illustrator very well and it is time to practice more and get really for the job. Other than that, this is my dream studio for now and really hope I would get a good respond after sending them my CV.

Treehouse studio
http://www.treehse.com/plus/contact

Treehouse Studio provide the entire creative pipeline for animation production.
We do animation, character designs and other digital visual contents
for advertising purposes.

Treehouse Studio is a 3D based studio that there is hardly any pure 2D animation shown on their website. I like this studio because their ideas for commercials are interesting as well as the beautifully created characters. I can see they pay great attention in characters and most of the clips are character driven so the there might be a chance they need character designer. However there is still a big possibility that they look for 3D animator as well so it might be a good idea to start recalling some maya we learnt from second year, just to practice character modelling again before saying I could animate in 3D. Nevertheless, I do not mind to learnt from scratches if they offer training to their animators so it worth a try contacting them as well.

Studios in Hong Kong(1)

The animation industry in Hong Kong is growing slowly and gradually since the last decade. Even the industry is not rapidly developed as other industries do, there are still quite a lot of small animation companies or studios in HongKong. Some are originally local studios and some are branches of overseas animation companies. Most of them I saw on their website focus on 3D which is understandable because it is the trend but still luckily there are still some remind 2D and character based.

Treacle animation post production
http://treacle.com.hk/index.html

A post production animation studio that does:
Video Production

Commercials (TV & Online)
Event Visuals
Corporate Communications
Animation (2D & 3D)
Live action
Motion Graphics

They do a range of different animation and involved in overseas' projects and collaborations such as animation for BBC worldwide. On their facebook page, they only use English and showing a lot of pictures including foreign animators so I wonder it is a studio with mix culture. I think a studio with different people in the world will be very interesting and allow creativity grow continuously and the types of job they received is very diverse and challenging. The only thing I concern is the main focus in post production which means editing will be the majority of the work. There might be fewer original project or character focused animation but i guess it is very difficult to achieve in Hong Kong. It is believed that most of the studios in Hong Kong could survive mainly due to doing commercials... they are not big enough to produce feature films and earn from them. Therefore working on commercials will become the main job in the future I guess so there is no reason to be picky at this point.

Simage
https://www.simage.hk/

aim of the studio:
Simage animation and media ltd specialied in the art and technique of creating commercial production for all styles of animation. They persist in the originality and creativity and to tell great stories with fun. 

Short film:SIMAGE has spent over a decade in mastering story-telling techniques by consistently developing new stories.  Every now and then, the team challenges themselves with original short films and experimental creative projects.  With over 20 awards from Japan, U.S., Taiwan, and of course Hong Kong, we have been widely recognized for our exquiste talent in story-telling through moving images.

Pre-production and concept development:


I am so intrigued by this studio! Their diverse style allows so many different genre of work to be created. I love how they look into the latest VR technology and encouraging the team to create original short films from now and then. They also collaborate with overseas animation studios such as Digital Frontier in Japan working on the clothes and hair simulation in Resident Evil:Damnation, 2012. The preproduction also looks awesome and it seems like they hire people with a wide range of style from 2D to 3D.

I think this is a big studio because they produce their own animation and short films also involving in overseas' projects. Also their animations won a lot of awards so it is a relatively well-known animation studio in Asia I think. Since they embrace various styles I think I will be suitable for this studio because my work is quite flexible as well.

CV

I decided to start making my professional CV and there is a template on the E-studio which I think 

is a good starting place. Additionally I looked at my boyfriend's CV for references as well just as to see how different people do their CV.

So after looking at the template I knew that my very first CV was terrible (which I typed during first year). Absolutely a disaster and not professional at all. The format is wrong, no covering letter and so little information I put..do not even want to post it online. Anyway here is the improved version mostly inspired by the template CV

With the big bold name and all the work experience and interests, it is more like the professional CV that could proudly show to others. I am very regretting sending my previous CV to the C-major studio in Hong Kong last year and thinking I should resend this to them again to see if I would get an internship or work experience from them as well as other studios. Mike said the wording of personal profile could be rearranged...it is a bit difficult for me so I might ask other classmates to help me with that.

Being a freelancer in Hong Kong

We had a lecture on being s freelancer. Basically being a freenlancer mean we have to contact and make all the financial contract with the clients by ourselves and to nogatiate all the costs and project aim etc. The powerpoint shows a few important points when recived the job.

1. agreement on the 'trade'
2. Talk about the the costs clearly
3. Identify the content of the job
4. State clear all the fees and costs
5. When is the deadline

The list above is basically the invoice. The invoice is a contract to clearify the trade between freelancer and the client that is way better than verbal contract because it can protect both of the trader with legal power. Everything can be referred back to the invoice therefore it is very important to a freelancer.


I wonder if Hong Kong has the same system for freelancer because there are possiblity that I will be a freelancer for a short period of time if I was not emplyed any animation studio at the first attempt.



There are a lot of guidelines for freelancers in Hong Kong. It is believed that it is better to register yourself as a company because there is a chance of tax inspection. It is illegal and will be fined if freelancer do not pay the tax therefore it is best to do this first. For short term, money loose from paying 17% of the paid but in long term this act keep you away from fining and I can work much more comfortable without concerning everytime.

Other than that, the advises from Hong Kong website is very much similar to the powerpoint we got. Local Hong Kong designers suggest to articulate the type of job, the deadline. Before accepting the job, we ought to set a cost of the product based on the estimated time that will spent on the job. Also always have the lowest cost in mind and dont be afraid to say no to jobs if clients are unwilling to pay your lowest cost.

Normal freelancer job in Hong Kong, clients will pay a deposite to the freelancer which is less than 50% of the job and pay the rest when the job is completed.

Invoice is also a best way to secure the job.

Some people advise 'After services'. For example reflect with the client see if they have any feedback to the work or dicuss the concepts of project if there is a chance to together again. Apparently it could show positive work attitude and responsibility, generating opportunity for the 'repeat purchases'.

I think the advices are very useful bcause I have never thought about that freelancers need to pay tax as well and the method of winning the customers' heart sounds very effective. Actually, for the Caritas funding job, my mum also advised me to registered myself as a brand so that it is easier for Caritas to send me an invoice therefore I think this is something I will surely do once back in Hong Kong. It does not just look more professional but speed up the trading process.

My website!Wing Chiu Animation

Wing Chiu Animation

Please check to access!

I am very happy to present my website to you! It has a simple style and clean layout which I like (it is the default background tho) and consist of shapes and colours and I hope it tells more about me. I was struggling what to put since they are all just student work and not much long animation at all therefore it might be a good idea to add in illustrations as well.

I am very happy with these circles and you can click into them which will link to the video page also if you drag the mouse on top of the circle, the titles will show up.

The illustration and character design are placed below the circles and will expand when clicked. I am 75% happy with this design. It is not the best design and I would like to show more details on the small icons but it will be time consuming. I will revisit them after Easter when I got more Extended done. It could be changed by the size of the columns and the choice of the pictures.

I will update the showreel by adding more work from Extended in it.

A short description about myself, copy straight from Linkedin. not sure about the gif here. 

I have all my contacts in here including email, facebook, youtube, linkedin and my blog.

I think wix is a very easy to use web creating device, there are clear instruction and lots of choices of backgrounds or layout. I love to use it again to produce website for different use. One disadvantage is the wix logo on top.. you can only get rid of it by paying the Premium membership... I might upgrade it later when I get paid because I think showing the information is the most important aim now. I posted it on facebook as well so more people can reach out to my site.

Invoice

We had a PPP lesson saying the use of invoice. On internet, it says the invoice is a written verification of the agreement between the buyer and seller of the goods or services but basically it is just a way getting paid. I made my own invoice with my logo and try to package everything. I use clear font with pale yellow colour to make the words stand out but it might be better if I do not use black. 

This is better! Now I am prepared to be paid!

Interim Evaluation 28/4/2017

Things to hand in: CV when we come back from Easter
A presentation on the 18th of May before the deadline

But other than that, I still have a lot to catch up during Easter. I need to update all my online portfolio, some work in progress on facebook and update my website. I would also want to revisit my showreel because it feels immature after the showreel induction with Annabeth, it could be neater and be improved by putting more recent work in. A finished CV before Easter finishes, I think this is the most important work because it stops me from reaching out to studios in Hong Kong. The experience last time when I asked for an internship in C-major studio was no good at all. They asked for a proper CV and showreel but I wasnt prepared at all last year and it turned out I did not have anything professional to show them. Therefore this time I want to get everything well prepared before reaching out with better qualities of work also with better layout. I also want to create a vimeo account also an invoice. Also more studio research and what is the animation industry like in Hong Kong, is being an animator the only way to survive in the industry? or is there more alternative path to reach to where I want to be?

There are a lot to catch up and revisit and blog about them... I will spend time in Easter attempting to finish at least half of the list above. In time wise, it is achievable if I do it in spare time and it should not take long to just updating stuffs. I hope everything will come together more after the holiday so I could have a clearer aim of what I want to do after graduated. 

Caritas HSBC funding Project: Teddy Beibei project

The Hong Kong Bank Foundation supports a broad o project focused on education, environment and the health/wellness in HongKong. The foundation prefers to fund specific projects rather than general funds and locally-registered organisation under Section 88 of Hong Kong's Inland Revenue Department.They consider about the objectives and proven need for the project, the outcomes, the feasibility and planning and project management also budgets and cost efficiency as well.

Caritas Lok Miu Early Education & Training Centre is a branch of Caritas Hong Kong. It successfully apply the HSBC funding and set a project of creating a series of product of a character, hoping to encourage parents to appreciate and care about the children more often. The project outline includes introducing the story of the character Beibei and produce a variety of products like stamp books and stickers and a story book that could be told to the students in every training centre.

The reason why I could got involved is because my mother is the creator of the story. She gave me an opportunity to become the illustrator of this project which I am so honoured. Before starting the character design or the plots of the story, we came up with the story together as the starting point of the project. Since the aim of this project is to raise the awareness of generating confidence in Children through supports from parents and teachers, it is also important to teach the children that they should appreciate themselves as well.

Storyline:
Beibei was an unhappy teddy because he was shy and quite. He though he did not look pretty enough and not talented enough to have any friends. However the teacher of the class noticed his strengths and good qualities and compliment about them and soon beibei's parents appreciate that too. Beibei gradually gains confidence and start helping others more and eventually became a happy teddy.

A very simple story showing the plots clearly and directly to the children and the parents. Since the clients are not just normal children but also children with special needs like the one who suffered from autism syndrome, the characters also better to be neat and expressive. I did some tests and produced the first product which is a stamp book.



I found it interesting how the staffs in the training centre did not give much feedbacks on the characters design which is so different compare to other creative work company. I guess having different kinds of clients really change my style of work also this time, unlike Bear Music Company, I am more limited by the look of the characters. I do not dislike it but it definitely had set a challenge. What is more, Lots of the characters I found it looks cute or reach the aim turned out not very popular among the staffs. The age group of the clients and the tendency of them alter the end product but at the same time since they are the professionals so I changed the designs as they told.



Try to use illustrator but I struggled...ending up using photoshop for the whole project.

There is also a lady who is in charge of contacting the printing companies and editing so I have been contacting her a lot. It is very happy to see all my illustration made into physical products. I like the idea of including animation as teaching material for education, it is likely that I would get similar job next time but animating the characters instead.


At last, it took me 2 months to finish the storybook. We had so many ideas and concept art before hand and also many corrections before reaching the final final book. I appreciate the fact that I could use my favourite painting method in photoshop and use a wide range of colours in the book. This is going to be the first book have my name on it! So thrilling just to think about it!


I want to do this job is totally due to an urge of experiencing different types of job. I also know that if this project succeed, more people in the education industry may know my name due to this book. There are continuous opportunities in this area of the industry which I would love to keep exploring especially they are educational and meaningful.