C.V

Curriculum Vitae

Address:

The Tall Barn

1B Berry Lane

Wootton

Northampton

NN4 6JU

Mobile: 07812755968

Email: millie_proud@hotmail.com

Personal Profile

I am a graduate from Birmingham City University, where I studied BA (Hons) Theatre, Performance and Event Design. Through this course I discovered a love for model making, technical drawing and concept design for film. I am ambitious, very conscientious, and eager to learn.

Before university I travelled the world, which helped me become independent and confident in my own decisions. I go to as many live music events as possible and spend a lot of time developing my photography skills using 35mm and digital SLR cameras.

Skills

I am very competent on computers (Mac OS X and Windows) and have used software such as:

Photoshop CS4, Illustrator CS4, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro

Flash Professional CS4, Sketch Up, Pro-Desktop and AutoCAD

In the past I have produced high quality work using the following methods:

Model Making, Poly Sculpting, Filming using a professional HD camera, Technical Drawing,

as well as using a CAD machine for laser cutting and engraving.

I have a full clean driving licence.

Education

2003 - 2005		Roade School Comprehensive English (AS Level) Design (A Level) Mathematics (A Level) Geography (A Level)
2006 - 2006		Northampton University Art and Design Foundation Diploma Passed (Merit)
2007 - 2010		Birmingham City University BA (Hons) Theatre, Performance and Event Design First Class Honours

Job History & Experience

Sculptor	-	Festival Republic Latitude Music Festival June 2010
Art Department Assistant (work placement)	-	Ruby Films Production of Toast June 2010
Lighting Assistant	-	Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Brilliantly Birmingham November 2009
Sculptor	-	Live Nation Download Festival April – June 09
Designer & Maker	-	7 inch Cinema Flatpack Festival March 2009
Production Design Assistant	-	Royal and Derngate Theatre The Vikings and Darwin December 08 – January 09
Paintshop & PropShop (work placement)	-	Royal and Derngate Theatre Wizard of Oz October – December 2008
Scenic Painter	-	Merlin Entertainment Sealife Centre, Birmingham June – July 2008
Computer Advisor	-	Weedon Road Dental Practice July 2005 – January 2006

Awards

Sir Barry Vincent Jackson Award

2010

References

Ross White Prop Maker Royal and Derngate Theatre 07926 984512

Paul Barrett Course Director Birmingham City University 01212021100

If required I will get references for any of the others above

Interests:

Outside of work my main interests lie in films. I spend a lot of time reading up about the ones I've seen and future releases. As previously mentioned I am also an amateur photographer and love experimenting with different compositions and settings. ThisI has sparked an interest in cinematography within films too. I love to cook, listen to music and knit. Finally, I love to read, I have a list of books ranging from biographies to Science Fiction that I'm looking forward to reading.

Airman Final Concept Work

This is my concept work for Airman. I built a 1:2 scale glider with a 10ft wingspan using traditional techniques such as laminating to create the wooden form and sugar starch to maintain rigidity in the material.

My Final Airman Brief

Through considering a wide range of directors styles and designs, I will take the role of Production Design for Airman, and create unique ideas for the potential film. I am drawing influence from books and a variety of films, such as Studio Ghibli's Laputa : Castle in the Sky, and Matthew Vaughn's Stardust to make sure I attract the right audience.

My design's will be aimed for a 12A certificate, keeping with the book's target audience as this will be the main demographic who have heard of the story initially. It also must be appropriate for adults, so they want to take their children to see it. I will look at films that have successfully achieved this; Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and try to understand how they used cinematography, visual effects, colour and atmosphere to make it appropriate for both.

I want to keep the adaptation true to the book, which I found very dark. It is definitely too dramatic to follow the action/adventure genre too closely. Little Saltee needs to feel cold, dark, damp and like a living hell. Great Saltee on the other hand needs to feel warm and safe. There is an image toward the end of the story of the villain getting dragged out of a window in the glider after being shot, with his blood dripping all over the streets below. If done without showing too much blood this could be very disturbing, without upsetting the younger audience.

The design’s must be appropriate to the Victorian era and demonstrate available materials and construction methods for this period. They must inform but not overpower the narrative and support but not control the characters actions.

I will consider how colour and cinematography tricks might help enhance the mood during certain points of the book. As it is set on two islands I want there to be an apparent difference between the two; this might be achieved through filters, different formats, or colour palettes. Website such as cinematography.com are very useful for looking at how other films achieve such effects. I want to achieve a very bright and colourful atmosphere, with soft lighting at the beginning of the film. When it turns very dark the colours could be much blacker, mainly relying on harsh lighting and textures to add variation on screen. Grain could also be added to create a sense of realism.
When designing it is important to consider what shots might be appropriate to the target audience and to allow for the visual effects to seem more realistic. If CGI is used my instinct would be to avoid too many long shots, but keep it jerky and quick to suggest an action rather than allow the audience time to notice any small discrepancies.

By studying the Production Designer’s role closely I will need to show an understanding of the processes and criteria that must be fulfilled to clearly inform other departments at the pre-production stage.

I will keep in mind budget, deciding what might be the best way to keep costs down through CGI or model making techniques. I will need to look at how visual effects have been achieved in the past, and whether they are suitable for Airman. Although a budget is not set, I want to make sure I am considerate of how much I could potentially be spending were the production to go ahead. This will need to be achieved through charts and material costings, as well as scheduling how long it would take a design team to produce the required pieces.
When looking at materials to use for the models, I need to choose based on how they would come across on camera, if shortcuts can be made by using a slightly cheaper material than suggested in the book; it is ok to do so as long as it is realistic under scrutiny of the cinematic screen.

I need to think about location within the budget. As the book is set in a real place, albeit a deserted place, filming there could be considered. However, as it would be completely over budget to create an entire kingdom, it could probably be explored for research purposes, and surrounding shots. If shooting could be achieved in Oxford or Edinburgh with postproduction CGI for wide shots, and studio filming for specific designs for example, it would save production time and budget.

The Victorians

I have now set about compiling all my research for Airman.

The book is set in 1878 to 1894/95 so I've been looking at the Victorian Era.

As I am going to make a 1:2 version of the flying machine I will have to consider the technology around at the time, the materials available and the restricted manufacturing techniques. I am also looking into costume, transport, inventions, lifestyle and the social and political stand point; considering how they might be appropriate to The Saltee Islands.

I have also been considering films that are aimed at a similar target audience, to see how the directors and production designers approach the demographic differently. I have looked at colour, cinematography, lighting, shot type and visual effects for films such as Stardust, Harry Potter, The Brothers Grimm, Spiderwick Chronicles, Christmas Carol and Lord of the Rings.

It's going well, and by the beginning of next week I should be looking at starting to design my glider! I will post finalised sketches up shortly.

I have just chosen my final major project which involves designing a few sets and making a full scale prop for the book 'Airman' by Eoin Colfer.

At the moment all I am doing is research, as soon as I have any designs I will pop them on here.

First Blog

This is my first blog. Lets see how it looks..