Broadcast designers had different ways in motivating themselves and tips to encourage future designers. Rick Morris, Harry Marks and the Troika Design Group gave a lot of great points about how they work in the design field. Though I don’t plan on going in the design route, I got a lot of great tips from watching videos not only dealing with creating a demo reel, but how important it is to work with people.
Rick Morris gave a lot of great advice on how to sell yourself in the design industry. I thought his advice was the best for an individual that was starting out. For everyday work, he talked about having a proper intro. Editing makes for a lot of the impact. Think about music when you think about the creativity and that it is impossible to edit without thinking of music. Try to show different elements, different approaches. Transitions are also very important. Color coordinate so it makes sense during the whole play through.
When it comes to putting a demo reel together, have a reel and put it up on a website as soon as possible. It doesn’t have to be a fancy website, but you have to make it to where as many people can access it. That’s the only way the word will get out. Tag your reel, put your info on it so people can get in contact with you. Don’t get discourage and be persistent, but don’t be a pain in the ass. Another point that I’ve learned is that even if you don’t get a job, ask about doing volunteer work or ask them to look at your resume and ask what improvements you can make to have a better chance at getting a job.
Harry Marks, whose done work for ABC, talked about how good typefaces are important and that it has to speak to you. It’s important to know the typeface rules. When you know the rules, then you can break them. Working alone is fine, but collaboration is great.
I thought the Troika Design Group was a great video because they spent most of their time talking about collaboration. The Troika Design group specializes in branding for television (Fox, ESPN Sports Center, TruTV, Starz, Oxygen just to name a few). The employees don’t work in individual rooms, designers work together in one room, while writers and the production team work in another room and so forth, so they can bounce ideas off of each other. They have a reference wall where people can leave books that show their interest or research that they’ve done that others might be able to use. They use cork boards on their wall so that people can hang up ideas for others to see. They bring lunch everyday so everyone can hang out together in a lounge area. They have a central network system that can be accessed by any room in the office.
If getting into the broadcast design business or any business is your goal in life, your definitely going to have to work with people. You might not like all of them, but they can actually teach you a few things that can benefit you in the future. Putting yourself out there is also very important. Most jobs are acquired because people know someone in that business or they made the attempt to get in contact with someone. If they know you because you interned for them or you had a informational meeting with them, you have a better chance of landing a job than someone who just sent them a resume and cover letter to human resources.