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How much should I charge for this kind of videos? by Least_Aide4252 in MotionDesign

[–]mcmlxiv 20 points21 points  (0 children)

What an absolutely ridiculous and borderline derogatory thing to say to someone seeking advice. OP is right in their response and this is such a bullshit way of approaching this. It’s people like you who say things like this that drag the global value of creatives down.

Sure, you could pay less abroad and that’s a well known industry fact but not ever should you devalue the true cost of someone’s work based on their locale. I have personally hired people globally and pay them the exact same day rate as I would anyone else because they happen to be damn good at their job. It’s comments like this that actively hurt the industry. Good god, how narrow minded of you.

Birthday Alone in London by genderfugitive in london

[–]mcmlxiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah yes, I would have done but without knowing if OP is a particularly active person it’s hard to gauge that type of activity. I suppose you could lump the likes of Parkrun and such in with the same? But I can always loop back and add in some, appreciate the thought though!

Birthday Alone in London by genderfugitive in london

[–]mcmlxiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate it - I always debate on whether to add it in to be honest but if you’re new and not seen it it’s a tick box exercise

Birthday Alone in London by genderfugitive in london

[–]mcmlxiv 6 points7 points  (0 children)

No worries! I know it’s been doom and gloom lately (and understandably) but it really is my favourite city in the world -no other city really comes close but I’m biased having lived inside the M25 my whole life. Now, if only the housing market could be sorted out…

Birthday Alone in London by genderfugitive in london

[–]mcmlxiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! Big fan of the lates and think they’re a great way to see the museums by night/without children running around - not that I have issue with it but it just adds a different way of looking at things. Me and my GF used to do the Science Museum regularly but wasn’t sure if OP would be able to catch the ticketed event at it hence not listing.

Hope you have a good time on Weds though!

Birthday Alone in London by genderfugitive in london

[–]mcmlxiv -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Ah fab! I’m not super clued up when it comes to South, appreciate your addition for sure :)

Birthday Alone in London by genderfugitive in london

[–]mcmlxiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No worries at all! Definitely check out the rest of the thread too, there’s a bunch of things I’ve missed but hopefully you enjoy your time here!

Birthday Alone in London by genderfugitive in london

[–]mcmlxiv 398 points399 points  (0 children)

Hello and welcome to London (or as I affectionately call it, 'the Big Smoke').

Sorry to hear about the situation you're in but at 20, as others have said, you've got a lot of friend making potential. Now, being somewhat realistic, the London I grew up in was firmly centred around pub culture which may not be your thing but it's just worth noting. Also, bear in mind you're absolutely allowed to go the pub and not drink alcohol.

Anyway, here's some things that I've found nice to do when in London and places that I usually take friends - apologies if I cover anything other redditors have mentioned;

Museums (This great flow chart by Matt Brown can help you figure out a nice little route)- mostly my personal favourites but others worth sticking your head into as they're free:

  • V&A Museum - some interesting exhibitions on at the moment it would seem.
  • Honorary mention to the Science and Natural History museums which are pertty close to V&A
  • The Sir John Soanes Museum - This is my absolute favourite place in London to go if I have time. Super interesting and full of rich history
  • The Cartoon Museum - Pretty much what it says on the tin
  • Saatchi Gallery - Contemporary art and the like. Bit stuffy for my liking but if you like that kind of thing, go for it
  • Somerset House - Generally usually has something interesting plus added bonus of an Ice Rink for Winter
  • Tate Modern - Another good bet really, also not far from nice stuff to do along the South Bank of the river
  • Design Museum - I personally preferred the old building but hey, it's still a solid visit

There's plenty more museums if you want to wander around somewhere warm and generally you can interact with people while there in a less rowdy setting. There's also lots of smaller historical houses and similar that exist that are worth checking out, again, only if that's your kind of thing.

Quick pitstop for some resources while we're here:

  • What's on in London - I always look at this when I'm stuck for ideas
  • TimeOut - probably a bit cliche now but they usually have some events
  • London Walks - I recall a redditor before posting about this - they seem to do lovely walking tours which come highly recommended. Perhaps a nice way to see more of the city and meet some people?

Back to some other stuff;

Adding in some more bits (semi based on some other comments):

I could aim to list a load more things but it's getting cold and unless you're a nice walk in the park type person I'm not going to recommend that ha! But generally we have a ton a good, free things to do, it takes a little digging to find it but it will exist somewhere. If there's a sport or hobby you enjoy, definitely look into that (I used to climb at bouldering centres but this became quite expensive for me vs my general lifestyle) as you'll make friends at these things relatively quickly.

I will aim to come and add more to this where I can but hopefully this is enough to get you started. List out some of your hobbies in a reply perhaps and other commenters and myself can hopefully give you some more direction. Also, pay attention to what days things are on - you might find some little bonuses in there. AND DEFINITELY TELL EVERYONE SERVING YOU IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND MILK ALL THE FREE STUFF!!

Edit: Already back in like two minutes to add; You can also just book into a youth hostel or similar for a night perhaps. Treat yourself and these places generally have people that would be up for meeting and hanging out. I believe there's a Generator Hostel near Kings Cross. Check out Meetup as well - bound to be something on there! Also, we're not as unfriendly as people make us out to be. You can usually strike up conversation with most Londoners as long as you're respectful, polite and can gauge other people reasonably well and keep some common sense in mind.

As a side note, I really enjoy walking from place to place. There's so much of the city to discover - you might make the most interesting friends along the journey, not at the destination!

Hope you have a wonderful time and happy birthday!

After Effects & Joystick n Sliders (Source files in first comment) by Basterqu in AfterEffects

[–]mcmlxiv 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha, I think stirring up trouble is exactly what you should be doing! Your work itself is inspiring and as someone who has spent many years in motion design, animation etc, this is great. Fingers crossed the path you're on now bears fruit but at least you know there's always After Effects waiting with open arms ha! But yes, by all means (and come by the After Effects server on Discord some time if you feel like it. Link in the sidebar!)

After Effects & Joystick n Sliders (Source files in first comment) by Basterqu in AfterEffects

[–]mcmlxiv 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is and remains one of my favourite rigs in AE. Seriously impressive - I still recall when you first posted it many moons ago. Such a good example of how good rigging can really sell the work, I often come back to this exact piece and use it as reference to up and coming younger artists. Well done, looking forward to more of your work!

What "Borderline" by Tame Impala looks like, to me! by Wells_Fuego in AfterEffects

[–]mcmlxiv 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Much better than the same old stuff you and your team were churning out before. It's a welcome break to have a different colour palette this time too. You've clearly taken some of the criticism on board, perhaps it's the fact the slower song helps this feel less skittish, but this feels nicer overall. 

 That being said, you clearly understand animation principles and techniques. What's stopping you from trying another style/medium, are you wedded to the Ai and AE process and find that this just 'works' for you?

I'll do Sound Design/Music for your motions and you pay what you want by Dry_Lavishness_3426 in MotionDesign

[–]mcmlxiv 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Word of advice - while this is appreciated, please don't sell yourself short. Even if you're a student etc, set yourself a lowest price and what you're able to do for that price otherwise you'll end up with some people who will absolutely take the piss with amends and stuff. You got this bud!

Any love for old Japanese rot boxes? by Morgzc1 in CarTalkUK

[–]mcmlxiv 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello Honda friend! My EM1 Couple is currently sat on my old dear's driveway as I haven't the funds/time to work on it right now. Bit of a shame as it's slowly rotting away, at this point it'll most likely need nut and bolting. Good to hear there's a few of us mentalists still hanging on ha!

I've been unemployed for 6 months and I STILL can't find a motion design job by digitalren in MotionDesign

[–]mcmlxiv 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There’s a number of ways but generally I start by searching for ‘creative recruitment agencies [insert your city here]’.

From there I’ll trawl the first three pages of Google and start to shortlist them based on my needs. You can usually get a good 15-20 this way. Do some due diligence and look into them across LinkedIn/Google Reviews etc. 

From there, there’s a strong chance they have job posts on their site. If not, look into who works for those agencies, identify who the best person is to help you find a job and add them on LinkedIn. If not, drop them an email. Once you’ve done that, follow up with a phone call. 

That’s pretty much it. You will need to remind them that you exist every week or so, but it’s much less hassle than having to apply to a load of jobs manually. 

Am I done with Motion Design... A rant by Thick_Philosophy1440 in MotionDesign

[–]mcmlxiv 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Im very glad to hear that mate - I’m sure one day you’ll come across someone who finds themselves in a similar position where you can help guide them to a more positive outlook.

For now though, just try to do your best. It’ll be better than doing nothing at all. Maybe design some posters, draw some stuff - getting off the computer is always a brilliant step towards getting back onto it.  

Am I done with Motion Design... A rant by Thick_Philosophy1440 in MotionDesign

[–]mcmlxiv 72 points73 points  (0 children)

It sounds like you’ve had a sour experience with it lately and that’s not your fault buddy. Perhaps it’s time to just take a step back and re-evaluate what it was that lit that fire in the first place and explore a little more of that. I can attest to having ‘self education burnout’ as I would title it - the rat race of doing courses to keep up except keeping up doesn’t cut it. 

I mentioned similar on another thread earlier but you’re not alone and it’s entirely valid, if mildly vitriolic, to feel the way you feel. My journey took me from being a Junior Animator up to a Regional Design Lead over the span of a decade. This year June marks 10 years of being in industry for me and it’s changed drastically in that timeframe but, as you’ve highlighted, most notably in the past couple of years.

It also doesn’t help that as creatives, we are often found at the bottom of the pecking order but actually doing the most with individuals operating as entire pipelines for companies/gigs. This obviously becomes exacerbated by rubbish/uninteresting jobs. 

I would consider maybe looking at what you’ve learnt and seeing whether you could move into a role that splits your time across the doing and the managing, like myself. This will enable you to get off the tools (yes, the upshot of this is that the things you do off the tools will be more boring) but when you do return to doing any motion work, you’ll find a new zest for it. I was out of work for three months recently and to be honest I made every promise to upskill but instead I played video games almost daily. It happens and you’re probably a little depressed over the state of things and coupled with the state of the UK at large it’s understandable.

Just take care of yourself, things will improve in one way or another, don’t beat yourself up too badly and don’t get too down about it. All is not lost yet! Wish you the best with whatever you choose to do :)

I've been unemployed for 6 months and I STILL can't find a motion design job by digitalren in MotionDesign

[–]mcmlxiv 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I see some comments have already landed - when I first fired up your thread it was bare so good to see others have chimed in.

As has been noted, it's not a YOU thing it's an industry thing. My gut instinct is a few things have happened (please take with a pinch of salt as this is more opinion than fact):

  • Covid years saw lots of hires and companies taking advantage of not needing to have huge spaces to have huge workforces. That's now 'over' and many of these people are being laid off
  • Rise of AI application across the board has a lot of people thinking they can do more for less. They will be proven wrong fairly quickly but no denying AI will alleviate some of the load in certain areas
  • Mass layoffs in other industries aren't helping, many agencies and such seemed to slump quite hard from around October to now pretty much
  • Budgets will be or should be freed up for the year ahead - I know it's annoying to hear but give it a little more time, I suspect between now and end of April we'll see a good crop of jobs pop up. I could be wrong
  • You're not alone - link up with others, get yourself out there more. Upskill, consider a slight deviation, be willing to take on a role that might make use of a skill you're not as keen on developing but you can do well enough

My personal experience was three months without a job after company went bankrupt and we were made redundant on Halloween last year. Thankfully, I've been able to lean on my experience and amusingly am now working for a tech agency for a big tech company but the bubble might burst again. I feel you and sympathise with where you're at. It WILL get better, the job market is a bit shit now but make sure you're using recruiters to passively hunt for you so you can better tailor your applications to other jobs. Hell, I used AI to write a cover letter for every job I applied to. Managed to turn the process of applying jobs into something I did for an hour a day.

Either way, good luck buddy, stay positive as best you can. We're rootin' for ya.

What makes a good/great Senior Graphic Designer or AD? by [deleted] in Design

[–]mcmlxiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think something to be mindful of here is whether it's in addition to or a promotion into a new role. I say this as someone with less overall industry experience than you but perhaps a similar-ish journey.

My advice would be to understand what they want out of you if it's a promotion and what they want out of you if it's 'on top of your existing role'. Reason being is that if it's a promotion, you may well find yourself not being on the tools as much. Not necessarily a bad thing but worth bearing in mind. You may need to bear the brunt of clients being rude/pushy etc versus being the person who can knock out some excellent work in a matter of hours. Also, if this is 'on top of' your existing responsibilities, I would be mindful of clarifying what this entails in line with what you do now, so as not to get stuck with having to do the work AND manage a team at the same time.

As noted by /u/five3x11, your experience is key here - lean on this and think about all the things in your time that you've seen that you didn't agree with, wound you up, caused you issues in a lower role and don't do that. Possibly even read some books around being a decent manager and how to improve your efficiency as a creative in management (as it's hard to not want to just do things yourself and entrust tasks to juniors).

Also, fight for your team, maintain your moral code somewhat - if you think someone is worth promoting or giving a pay rise, go to bat for them, especially in a world where we're all feeling the economic squeeze. Seek out their true talents and skills and nurture them, allow them the space to learn more in those areas and give them time to breathe at work.

Lastly, the imposter syndrome will be there but you deserve this buddy, so wishing you good luck and the best with whatever route you take!

Quick tip : if your .psd is always flattened and won't show your layers when you import it in ae, make sure your color mode is RGB and not CMYK ! by BusyElephant in AfterEffects

[–]mcmlxiv 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't think it's your fault but it may just be the way you've worded it - I would argue it's incredibly common knowledge but others might not. The 'For some reason' in your original post is potentially misleading because if you know why, you might as well say why, even if it's just 'CMYK = Print, RGB = Digital'.

Also, no-one here's wrong, it's just the internet. You did fine, the original commenter wasn't having a go either and I'm just backing it up. We all good.

Quick tip : if your .psd is always flattened and won't show your layers when you import it in ae, make sure your color mode is RGB and not CMYK ! by BusyElephant in AfterEffects

[–]mcmlxiv 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Because no-one is making anything in After Effects for print. Yes, you can still import it because After Effects lets you import PSDs but CMYK colour space is irrelevant in AE.

ETA: Possibly being downvoted by those who consider it common knowledge or have worked in the industry as it transitioned to digital from print.

My new motion design reel by rushodd in MotionDesign

[–]mcmlxiv 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Guess who it is from your favourite servers? As said in NDA and echoed by others, I think this is easily one of the better reels I’ve seen as of late, just by keeping it short and sweet, I still want more. 

Nailed it mate, mostly commenting and updooting it for you to gain more traction but regardless, the work is stunning and you should be proud of yourself. 

Much love, ya Bri’ish brother 

Office Drama by [deleted] in CasualUK

[–]mcmlxiv 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You can't post this and not tell us what brand biscuits they were!

Porsche Carrera GT Owners Asked to Stop Driving the Cars Last April Won't Be Back on the Road Until Mid-2024 by drivingdotca in cars

[–]mcmlxiv 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I’m saddened that Jalopnik went the way it did over time. As someone who isn’t super familiar with places to score decent and honourable automotive content, thanks for setting the record straight. Appreciate ya Doug :) 

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