1
Contents Motion Designer Creative Personality Manifesto Portfolio Motion Ident Lemme Eat Cake A Fantastic Fear... Fault Lines Current & Future work SCHOW Bibliography Filmography
3 5 7 10 14 16 18 20 22 23 24 3
“The distinction lies where traditional animated film features a story in which characters express themselves. Motion Design can also portray characters, however they do not directly express themselves.” —Motion Plus Design
Motion Designer? Intrigued for a long time by motion design—the umbrella term for motion idents, motion graphics and title sequences—this is the type of work that I aspire to explore in my creative career.
by definition
...with an enthusiasm for creative projects aiming to enhance the way we live and interact with one another, often delivered in the form of stop-motion animation.
I have spent some time this semester trying to pinpoint the definition and roles of a Motion Designer and how they distinguish from a Filmmaker or a Graphic Designer’s. My own take on the meaning of motion deisgn would be something like; A means to quickly communicate a simple message, perhaps more complicated than a single still image can convey, but more straightforward than a film storyline. I guess motion graphic shorts are most commonly associated with type, being the quickest way to communicate clearly and objectively. I do feel like my work resides more within the bracket of Graphic Design, but in any case, designing movement can be another role under the belt of the Animator.
5
Creative Personality ies Joanna
Claire
Mitchell
maker
animator
designer
Stop-motion enthusiast who likes to play with her food, with her paper, and makes life difficult by doing things traditionally.
Enjoys sequentially moving and morphing a form, being creative with each transition.
Designer over director. Works well refining an idea and solving a problem. ‘Green fingered’
7
Manifesto My belief is to justify the use of a medium by creating work that can only be authentically produced in the chosen manner. Engaging physically with a piece of work is a part of the creative process that I find fascinating. It is evident that in order to find work I will need to also be fluent in digital processes, as even handcrafted techniques are digitally mimicked to convey the aesthetic, ensuring that the option to change elements can always be available when working within a strict time limit.
type of design? Motivated by projects that can help society to progress, my style aims to encourage the viewers to interact with or reflect on the content I put out there. Possibly a shy product designer; I want to design outcomes which enhance our lives through communication as a worldwide community.
9
type of designer? Classed as an innovator, I think of myself as an ideas woman, trying to cover new ground by creating hybrids or using unusual materials. I work best when involved in a team where I can give and receive fresh design input.
which hat to wear? Opting to graduate my degree in Graphic Design with Animation, I would position myself aiming conveniently towards the motion graphics sector of the industry. This is what has always excited me; I like to move on quickly with ideas, morphing and changing a form, being creative with the transitions—Motion graphic sequences typically allow a better pace for this. That said, I am also interested in fulfilling animator and graphic designer job roles, including for the web. I feel a sense of satisfaction from learning coding languages and adapting designs as more novel devices appear for online browsing.
11
Fabrication heavy Moulds designed to create the Ident letters
time spent Design & Fabrication 4 weeks + Animation 2 days
Portfolio Motion Ident A 20 second Ident bringing to life my existing creative identity, fabricated from plasticine to illustrate my warm, juicy and playful design personality. Introducing my role as a maker, animator and designer, the cyclical Ident Machine was created to portray the creative ‘personality’ and skillset of each of my names as they are revealed into the scene. I aspired to create a Rube Goldberg style ‘chain reaction’ machine—I am seduced by the thought of creating analog machines
to produce my design for me! Usually these machines function with a linear system, but thinking about my beliefs in ‘green’ design and Cradle to Cradle systems, it made far more sense to create a cyclical machine ...and why not utilise some bike parts whilst doing so?
role Designer, Director & Animator
13
15
directed by Tasha Beesley Bethan Durie Joanna Claire Mitchell
Lemme Eat Cake A short, playful motion sequence created alongside designers Bethan Durie and Tasha Beesley to initiate a research project, asking What goes into making a short film?
role Co-director, editor, hand model
time spent Filming 1 day Editing 2 days
With the time constraint of a few days to turnaround the video for mailing to motion studios and freelancers introducing our project, we received some great responses... about the video itself! Loosely based around the ‘ingredients’ of short film, the idea was to personally deliver cakes to the studios, packaged with a copy of the film, to make a bit of noise about our project and get our feet in the door around Bristol.
17
Harold The Hedgehog
The Theatre of Death
role
role
Set build & assistant to lead animator
Cut-out frames and execution of Final replacement animation
A Fantastic Fear of Everything Set building for the main animation sequence alongside the team of Bristol based Collision Films, I earned the chance to execute the final animation of two short sequences for the feature film. An incredible experience; each day was entirely unique. I learnt a lot about the best materials and methods to use for stop-motion, I cut out replacement frames until my fingers cramped and became an expert in plaster mixing. Exposure to this professional level of production taught me a lot about job
roles, teamwork and most of all I realised that I needed involvement to really thrive.
time spent Set build 2 weeks Timmy the Tortoise (paper cutout) 1 day shot The Theatre of Death 1 day test, 1 day final shot Assistant for the duration of the placement. (3-4 weeks)
19
Fault Lines
time spent Storyboard 1 week Set build 2 weeks Animation 4/5 weeks Lipsych shots— 217 replacement cutouts
Winner of the stop-motion animation award in the Shepton Mallet Digital Arts Festival 2010, the success of my first animation An Idiots Guide to Frustration led to my second animation and my first commissioned piece for Hospital Records CEO and electronic artist, Tony Colman aka London Elektricity. Briefed to represent the lyrics of the song Fault Lines quite literally as ‘a tectonic view of a utopian relationship breaking down’, using a low-fi, small scale, hand-made style.
As an experimentation of materials, this is a unique piece; using syrup to emulate the flow of lava created interesting effects against the light and hand-painted text on the set. Described as vanguard and atmospheric by the YouTube audience and Hospital fans, I am happy to have had this work released, despite all of the mistakes and bad design decisions that came with my inexperience at that level—The project ran alongside my second semester in Level 1 at UWE, 2011.
21
Current & Future Work
Neville Monday Club Entertainer 18th Feb 2013
Designers Myrna D’Ambrosio, Fanny Wacklin Nilsson & Joanna Claire Mitchell
The Monday Club
Ocean Acidification
As one third of a team of designers, I am working alongside the Southville Centre and SCDA to make an online promotional film explaining the service for older people.
Still in its early development stages, I am on board a project to create a 2 minute animation for children ages 6-12, explaining ocean acidification and the effects for the planet.
ODE Bristol
A collaboration between UWE, Falmouth University, Shark and Coral Conservation Trust and Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
A short 2D motion piece celebrating the city of Bristol with its creative scene, sense of community and independence. My film aims to draw more attention to the fruitful bristolian scene, as an alternative to London.
23
SCHOW
[something creatively healthy on wednesday]
Biography
mit-schow —[As in ‘Mitchell’ with a cockney accent] Blog created as a new years resolution to release design frustration whilst now having to spend longer on animation projects without producing anything much to show. Weekly healthy ‘food for thought’ style design and sketches.
24
somethingtoschow.tumblr.com
Joanna Claire is a very happy person, especially when involved or wanted. Her calm, warming attitude makes everyone around her feel at ease. She is kind, patient and has time for everyone. One of Claire’s biggest passions is to get involved. Taking the role of an ambassador is certainly her cup of tea—getting involved in projects, group work and social events. She believes in moderation and likes to have rules—“its good to have order.”
After spending a little time with Claire, I have enjoyed her company. With her great listening skills and advice, she will go far in life.
—Alice Dukinfield, amazing friend & animator.
25
Filmography
Thank You
2013
2011
Joanna Claire Mitchell Motion Ident Talent Show [NFTS], Directed by Claire Winter 4seven States [D&AD] Channel Ident
Lemme Eat Cake Motion sequence A Fantastic Fear of Everything [Universal/ Pinewood studios], Directed by Crispian Mills & Chris Hopewell. Fault Lines Music Video
somethingtoschow.tumblr.com joannaclairemitchell.tumblr.com joannaclairemitchell.com
2012 Eric traditional 2D short film A portrait of a Bishop [Bishops Palace Wells], Directed by Sue Elliott
26
2010 An Idiots Guide to Frustration stop-motion film
27
2013 joannaclairemitchell.com