Nicholas Mckay Portfolio

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Contents Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst German Academic Exchange Service / DAAD

p1

001/003

Filho de Capoeira / Son of Capoeira

p2

002/005

4AD / Starling Jukebox

p3

003/007

Joint Association of Classical Teachers / The Journal of Classics Teaching - Issue 27

p4

004/009

Sun Printing & Publishing Ltd. / 2008 Calendar

p5

005/012

Sun Printing & Publishing Ltd. / Desk Calendar

p6

006/015

Cable & Wireless / 2006 CXC Booklet

p7

007/017

Business Focus / Bi-Monthly Magazine

p8

008/019

Huevo / Short Film

p9

009/021


001 / 004

p1 3D Modelling Digital Editing Typography

DAAD Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst German Academic Exchange Service

MOTION GRAPHICS This project was an entry into the DAAD competition. The brief was to illustrate using any type of media what the future of Germany would be like in 50 years. In 2051, Germany, like the rest of the world could change in numerous ways. While it isn’t possible to emphasize every aspect of the country that would change, it is possible to highlight some areas of interest, which would illuminate the future transformation of Germany.


001 / 005

The motion graphics animation produced focuses on several scenarios of a German household. The size of a family, advancements in technology, the design of a house and how the automobile of tomorrow would carry us to our required destination.

By taking into account all of these scenarios and how they improve life for the everyday household, we can gain an understanding of what Germany would be like in 2051.

daad - motion graphics


002 / 006

p2 Cinematography Video Editing Photography Script Writing Sound Editing

FILHO DE CAPOEIRA Son of Capoeira

DOCUMENTARY FILM Inspired by documentary shorts that illuminate cultures, talents and people’s beliefs. This project was a collaboration between a designer and a martial art instructor. Filho de Capoeira (Son of Capoeira) is a documentary film based around the everyday life of Brazilian martial artist, Bicudo (Elias). The film was developed to show what life is like for Bicudo after moving away from his home in Brazil to start a new one in England.


002 / 007

filho de capoeira - documentary film

The story is told partially by Bicudo narrating the beginning of his life and explaining what he thinks of Capoeira and how it is improving while the other half focuses on his students from Kingston, who have trained under him for several years. The film tries to touch on every aspect of Capoeira, which is seen from the outside as a form of dance rather than a respected martial art form.

From the music, movements, language and respect, Capoeira shows its’ homage to the struggle of the slaves who practiced the art form during oppression. Through the students the film helps you understand not only what is Capoeira about but also what type of person Bicudo is as a person, teacher and friend.


003 / 008

p3 Particle Generator Typography

4AD Starling Jukebox

INTERACTION DESIGN The Starling Jukebox is an interactive digital visualization music sampler that displays several songs in a particlegenerated environment. The songs are represented by clusters of particles, that can be interacted with to play songs found on the sampler. The particles found in the environment react to the audio in unique ways depending on the variations in treble and bass, creating a visual performance.


003 / 009

The final animation illustrates the movement and reaction to the music created by two 4AD artists. Some functions found in the sampler consist of free movement around the digital space, interaction with the songs by tapping once to play and twice to stop, and the ability to manipulate how the particles react to the music.

4ad - interaction design


004 / 0010

p4 Layout Typography Photo Editing

Joint Association of Classical Teachers The Journal of Classics Teaching Issue 27

PRINT DESIGN The Journal of Classics Teaching is the leading journal for teachers of Latin, Ancient Greek, Classical Civilisation and Ancient History in the UK. It has a broadly-based membership including teachers in the primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors.


004 / 0011

JACT - print design


004 / 0012

This project consisted of redesigning a biannual journal for the Joint Association of Classical Teachers. The client wanted a modern but minimalist design that allowed as much text as possible to be displayed clearly.

JACT - print design


005 / 013

p5 Photography Typography Layout Photo-Editing

SPPL Sun Printing & Publishing Ltd. 2008 Calendar

PRINT DESIGN This colourful calendar was designed as an end of the year promotion to help show customers the quality of designs and professionalism the company was capable of during 2008. Several photos were taken myself while others were stock images bought online.


005 / 014

sppl calendar - print design


005 / 015

Each image represented the colour of the seasons found in the Caribbean along with meaningful quotes, which would uplift the spirit. The overall design was developed to evoke a bright or happy emotional state within the viewer for every month.

sppl calendar - print design


006 / 016

p6 Photography Typography Layout Photo-Editing

SPPL Sun Printing & Publishing Ltd. 2008 Desk Calendar

PRINT DESIGN This desk calendar was part of the promotion for Sun Printing & Publishing Ltd. As a follow-up to the wall calendar, the desk calendar was another design that would be delivered to offices around the country.


desk calendar - print design

006 / 017

As seen in the desk calendar, the pictures are contained within circles similar to the cover of the wall calendar. On the right side of the calendar, each month is laid out in descending order with the corresponding holidays. The months were displayed in English and Spanish, as Spanish was a common language spoken in the country.


007 / 018

p7 Layout Typography Photo Editing

CABLE & WIRELESS 2006 CXC National Awards Ceremony Booklet

PRINT DESIGN This booklet was designed for the 2006 Caribbean Examination Council National Awards Ceremony. The telecommunications company in Antigua, Cable & Wireless was sponsoring the event that year. This was a way of congratulating all the students in each high school throughout the country for their hard work during their studies.


007 / 019

Throughout the book, each page highlights a high school along with the students’ name, what score they received in a particular subject and the award they would be receiving. Other pages consisted of the minister of educations’ congratulatory message and other students who may not have obtained the top scores in each subject but still made a valiant effort with the grades they earned.

cable & wireless - print design


008 / 020

p8 Typography Layout Photo-Editing Photo Manipulation

BUSINESS FOCUS Bi-Monthly Magazine

PRINT DESIGN The Business Focus magazine was a bi-monthly publication that covered everything business related throughout the Caribbean. Business Focus Antigua & Barbuda is a product of Regional Publications Ltd. It is compiled by the professional team, which also produces the Antigua & Barbuda Yellow Pages, and Paradise Antigua & Barbuda.


008 / 021

This freelance project consisted of assisting the lead art director with page layouts and advertisement designs. As this was a freelance project, there were a few bi-monthly issues that didn’t require my assistance.

business focus - print design


009 / 022

p9 Animation Cinematography Lighting Digital Effects Editing Photography Script Writing

HUEVO Experimental Film

SHORT FILM Huevo is a short film based on the subject of human enhancement and what the future holds for our species. Human enhancement is the ability to alter any part of a human beings body to improve its base function. The film addresses the most debated aspect of this subject concerning the human race obtaining the ability to evolve at will, rather than abiding by the rules of nature.


huevo - short film

009 / 023

The film revolves around an individual from the future who has the ability to broadcast messages to the past. He informs the viewers of the state of our future, which revolve around the subject of human enhancement while not being too specific about the details. What will the future be like for the human race and what are the social, cultural, economic and historical changes we can expect in an uncertain future? Huevo gives you a glimpse into the future.

“The film addresses the most debated aspect of... the human race obtaining the ability to evolve at will.�

In order to create a film based on the future of this particular subject of human enhancement, research was conducted on the topic, which revealed several varied theories. Many theorists had different beliefs and opinions on the subject of evolved humans. These differing opinions on enhanced humans all pointed to the similar interest of humanity evolving and becoming greater than what it is currently. After examining these articles and films, several points were gathered in order to create an essay, which focused on this concept of enhanced humans.


009 / 024

huevo - short film

After creating the essay, it was edited in the format of a script. Following the development of the script, the visual idea for the main character of the film was also formulating. A short synopsise of the character was developed, which consisted of personality, costume, diction, attributes and physical characteristics. With the script partially finalised and the concept for the character realised, cinematography was the next focus. Through this research it was noted that a rotational dolly would be needed to help achieve smooth panning, zooming and tilting camera shots.

With the dolly built and fully functional, it was time to scout for a location to shoot the film. When searching for a place to shoot the film, the ideal room would have to be a wide-open space with either no windows or small ones to make sure there wouldn’t be any unnecessary light illuminating the room. It was decided to use a room in the youth centre building at the Epsom Baptist Church, mainly because it was free and had an open space as required. After these issues were dealt with, it was time to begin shooting.

“...a rotational dolly would be needed to help achieve

smooth panning, zooming and tilting camera shots.”


009 / 025

A delicate balance was required when shooting the film, which was in part due to booking the equipment, making sure the room was available for the same day, having someone transport the equipment and shooting the film when the actor was available, since he also had a play to rehearse for during specific times in the week. Most of these problems caused delays in filming but the main issue, which could have helped during these times of delay was having a few people available to help with setting up the equipment and altering the set when needed. There were a few people recruited to assist in filming but because of the other delays with the actor and the availability of the room, they were unable to help as desired.

“A delicate balance was required when shooting the film.�

Due to shooting at night, filming could not begin until 8pm but setup took longer and less time was available to shoot all the scenes in the film. Because of this, numerous scenes were not recorded for the film and the planned storyboard was almost totally scrapped. Various digital effects and images were added to fill in for the lack of footage and most of the film was salvaged because of the last minute planning and editing. However, the film still demonstrates what was originally planned and the script still explains the concept of a future filled with enhanced humans while describing some of the social, economic, cultural and historical issues found in the future.

huevo - short film



THANK YOU contact me hello@nicholasmckay.co.uk view more www.nicholasmckay.co.uk


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