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AND334 Professional Engagement Module Guide

	Module Summary Information
A	Module Title	Professional Engagement
B	Module Code:	AND334
C	Credits:	40
D	Level:	6
E	Pre-Requisites:	None
F	Co-Requisites:	None
G	Faculty:	Arts and Creative Industries
J	HECoS Code:	100057

K	Content Synopsis - Web version
	This module is aimed primarily at guiding you towards employment and develops your showreel/ portfolio. You will explore CV writing, interview techniques as well as the creative and technical skills required for your chosen specialism. You will work on a chosen live brief as well as a piece to showcase your skills and enhance your showreel/portfolio. Employability Day will enable you to meet successful alumni from this and other Design courses and hear about their experiences after graduating and tips on employability. You will create a Professional Engagement Document, which will show how you have interacted over the past two years with industry professionals either through placements, social media, visits to festivals and studios or other networking events.
L	Module Content
	(N.B.  Commissioned work or a work placement, attaining the learning outcomes of this brief may be utilised instead of this brief only with agreement from the module leader.)   This module is designed to showcase your work, in a creative and professional way. Preparing you for employment by establishing a unique identity applicable to your chosen specialism.  You will develop a portfolio that highlights and communicates your skills for entering the animation and games industries in your chosen specialism. Throughout the module you will be encouraged to engage with industry, enter various competitions such as Games Republic and Eleven Second Club, among others and prepare for life after graduation via the development of your professional engagement document (PED). The PED builds on what you started to develop in DES203 via the various activities created throughout, including searching for career opportunities, entering competitions and talking to industry professionals as well as updating materials you have produced for self-promotion (portfolio website, stationery and a CV). The production of the PED is supported by weekly lectures and seminars.  It will be necessary to research your chosen area to develop your creative output to best effect. The module is studio-based and practice-led; personalised and specialist tutorials will predominantly guide you.  Where appropriate, you are encouraged to engage and make contact with established professional practitioners in your identified and connecting fields.
M	Module Learning Outcomes
	By the end of this module successful students will be able to do the following:
1	Demonstrate an ability to evaluate the relationship between designer, clients, markets and processes of creative communication. (PLO 13).
2	Demonstrate specialised, professional, technical and creative skills to be self-reflective practitioners, formalising a professional identity (PLO 15).
3	Demonstrate proficiency in generating and developing innovative ideas, concepts and research through to professional outcomes (PLO 11).
4	Demonstrate a range of professional, transferable skills including inter-personal, creative, self-management and presentation skills; showing accountability in the choice of portfolio works. (PLO 12, 14).

Presentation of Work

Your module is split into elements. All submitted elements MUST have the following:

YOUR NAME.

MODULE CODE - eg. AND334

MODULE TITLE – eg. Professional Engagement

TUTOR NAME – name of person teaching you for that element

ELEMENT NAME - eg. Showreel

DATE  

On the deadline date, ALL work MUST be clearly labelled as above and handed in, in the following format:  

Moving files - 1920X1080 HD resolution on a high quality .MP4 or .avi file, compressed, using a suitable codec eg. H264, uploaded to Canvas. Any issues uploading to Canvas, use  We Transfer.com, One Drive on Microsoft Teams or Google drive. Please note you must label each file with YOUR name and element title.  

Sketchbooks – work to be uploaded to your blog or a digital workbook.

Work must be in chronological order, or dated.  

A digital workbook is encouraged and should be presented in pdf format (guidance on this can be provided, if required), or uploaded to your development blog. This should include all sketchbook and research work. All developmental work must be annotated.

ALWAYS clearly reference work that is not your own to avoid potential plagiarism.  Research should be presented either as a separate pdf file or uploaded to your blog – annotated and clearly referenced as above.

Please BE AWARE that marks will be lost if the presentation is incomplete or does not meet the parameters set out under each assignment.  

WORK NOT CLEARLY LABELLED WILL NOT BE MARKED.

You are encouraged to always back up your work to a personal hard drive or sharefile for your own record. Unfortunately, losing work due to hardware failure does not qualify for mitigation.

Extensions and Extenuating Circumstances  

If you have a genuine reason for your work being late for assessment, you must notify the module leader and your tutor in advance of the module deadline. They may be able to offer an extension of up to 72 hours (including weekends). If you need longer than 72 hours then you need to complete an Extenuating Circumstances Form before the module deadline.  If you have genuine mitigating circumstances, such as health problems, domestic/family issues or other personal reasons which you feel may have had an adverse effect on your performance, then you must notify the Gateway Reception about this at the earliest opportunity on 0191 515 2222, or email: [email protected].    

https://sj.sunderland.ac.uk/gateway/    

Discuss the problem with your support tutor or programme leader and, wherever possible, keep relevant module tutors informed.  It is in your own interests to ensure that whoever is assessing your work is made aware of any extenuating circumstances before the work is marked. The precise details of individual problems can remain confidential other than from the mitigation panel.  

The University’s Extenuating Circumstances Policy can be found on the following webpage:  

https://sj.sunderland.ac.uk/student-information/your-studies/academic-forms/extenuating-circumstances/ 

Plagiarism and Infringement  

All students must abide by the rules and regulations governing assessment. In extreme cases, breach of these rules can result in a student being required to withdraw from University. It is very important that you read and understand the following document on academic integrity and misconduct this also EXTENDS IN THE USE OF AI WHERE YOU HAVE NOT DOCUMENTED YOUR USAGE IN YOUR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT:  

https://my.sunderland.ac.uk/display/AQH/Academic+Integrity+and+Misconduct   

Please note that correct referencing is essential to avoid possible allegations of plagiarism.    

Feedback Received from Module 2019/20  

Students enjoyed the creative freedom and teamwork in developing a game app and acknowledged the relevance of this to the current industry. They also appreciated the freedom to select their own brief and found the alumni and guest speaker talks very useful and informative.

Alongside individual assignment criteria, lecturers will be considering the following grade related assessment criteria which generally apply to all work and performance.  

70 – 100% All set tasks have been completed to an exceptionally high standard.  There is an ability to communicate, visually and verbally and to integrate theory, practice and research at a very high level.  

The work is of an exceptional level in terms of creativity and uniqueness.  

There is a very high level of self-motivation, direction, dedication and involvement.  

There is evidence of a very high level of judgement and selection in the presentation of work for assessment.  

There is an exceptional high quality and quantity of produced work for assessment.  

There is evidence of producing more than expected for the requirements of the module.    

60 – 69% All set tasks have been completed to high standard.  

There is an ability to communicate, visually and verbally and to integrate theory, practice and research at a high level.  

The work is creative and original.  

There is a very high level of self-motivation, direction, dedication and involvement.  

There is evidence of a high level of judgement and selection in the presentation of work for assessment.  

There is a high quality and quantity of produced work for assessment.   

50 – 59% All set tasks have been completed to a competent standard.  

There is an ability to communicate, visually and verbally and to integrate theory, practice and research at a competent level.  

The work is creative and original, although there may be evidence of derivative elements.  

There is a competent level of self-motivation, direction and dedication and involvement.  

There is competence demonstrated in the judgement, selection and in the presentation of work for assessment.  

There is a sufficient evidence of produced work for assessment.   

40 – 49% All set tasks have been attempted and completed to an acceptable minimum standard  

There is a basic ability to communicate, visually and verbally and to integrate theory, practice and research.  

The work has answered the brief but may be derivative in its origin.  

There is a low level of self-motivation, direction, dedication and involvement.  

The competence demonstrated in the judgement, selection and in the presentation of work for assessment is of a low standard.  

There is minimal evidence of produced work for assessment.   

FAIL 0 – 39% All set tasks have not been attempted and completed to an acceptable minimum standard.  

There is little or no ability to communicate, visually and verbally and to integrate theory, practice and research.  

The work has not answered the brief.  

There is little or no evidence of self-motivation, direction, dedication and involvement.  The competence demonstrated in the judgement, selection and in the presentation of work for assessment is of a very basic standard or not evident.  

There is little or no evidence of produced work for assessment.  

There has been non-attendance and/or non-submission of work without accepted reason given to the board of mitigation.     

Marks for this module will be divided as shown:

Development/ Digital Workbook + Research (20%), PED (10%) =   30% 

Live Brief, Showreel(or)Portfolio (60%) Game App Presentation (10%) = 70%

INTRODUCTION TO MODULE  

This is a professional practice module which is aimed at giving you a broad insight into the wider creative industry and the many tools you will need at the start of your career. You will work specifically towards:

1. Formulating a specialised creative identity within your work creating one standout piece to be applied into your portfolio/showreel.  

2. Choosing one of the live briefs tbc within the VLE (CANVAS).  

3. Game App Pitch Doc or Playable to submit to Games Republic Student showcase - Additionally an important aspect of any job is presentation skills and you will be required, working in a team of 2 or more, to develop and pitch a concept for a game app aimed at the digital/ mobile industry. This is to be presented via the method you deem most appropriate. However, consider the following; the audience, readability, presentation skills, be confident in how you present and “sell” the concept.

4. You will also be required to research and reflect into the industry through creating a Professional Engagement Document (P.E.D), identifying companies you would aspire to find employment with. This aspect of research and reflection is crucial and must be fed back into your work to help achieve a successful graduate portfolio of work.  

5. Research/Sketchbook  - is everything associated with the planning and development of your work. This includes all the preproduction ie. Character designs and iterations, background designs, story art etc. Your sketchbook must contain many pages of ideas, rough thumbnails etc. You are required to annotate your sketchbook so whoever is marking this can understand the reflective process and your thinking. A good sketchbook is like a journey, we should be able to observe the initial ideas and how they develop into a final product. Document everything, emails, rough doodles, photocopies etc. and if you have found reference ideas online then document those and reference them clearly.  All research and developmental work must be evidenced in your sketchbook/digital workbook or uploaded to your blog.  

You will be expected to create your own blog, which will help to develop your skills in selecting, presenting and critically evaluating your own work and research.   

Remember to always reference material that does not belong to you.   

1. SHOWREEL/PORTFOLIO 

One of the major issues facing graduates every year is suitable employment. Finding that perfect job after three years of study can be very difficult, considering there are many other graduates with the same goal in mind.   

One of the key aspects in finding and securing any position is your showreel/portfolio.   

A showreel is your opportunity to highlight your skills to employers and get yourself on their radar.   

When you are looking for a job, nearly all studios ask for a showreel or portfolio and the ones that don’t will require some evidence of your abilities (eg. link to a website or online forum).  Every animator you speak to has created a showreel of some kind and updates their reel regularly.  

This is an opportunity for you to create a passport to the world of animation and games.    

“The most important element of a show reel is content! It is absolutely vital DO NOT pack out your reel with work that shouldn’t be there. Be bold and confident with each shot that you showcase…. Question or reflect the work/s. If you aren’t happy with it - why include it? I would rather see 30 seconds of quality work than 2 minutes of varied substance. You want to be remembered for the right reasons…. Be clear on what your skillsets are, be clear in your understanding out the various tools, processes and pipelines applied, it is not enough to just know to do something. It is vital for graduates to be able to slot into a production pipeline. Character Animator, CG Generalist etc. Artists who are comfortable with who they are and know their own strengths is encouraging.”  

Leanne Loughran, CGI Department, Aardman Animations Ltd   

SHOWREEL/PORTFOLIO – brief requirements 

You are required to develop a singular piece of work to be embedded into your portfolio. This will form a standout piece that will stand centre stage within your work. Your showreel should inform the industry of your creative identity ideally it should be well considered and should be used as a primary tool in gaining you employment. The key is to create artwork or an animated sequence that stands out from the crowd that aligns to your specialism – it must have the ‘Wow!’ factor, it should be researched and clearly reflect your specialist area of interest. You should be researching into the industry and via this observation this work should be informed by your inquiry and exploration. The work must demonstrate your strongest skills, whether they are in character design, background design, 2D/3D  animation skills or use of a range of digital software. Some of you may want to start your own business, others may wish to freelance, and some of you may wish to start a career in an animation or games studio. Whatever your intent, your show reel/portfolio is the first step towards this goal.    

The key to a successful portfolio/reel is reflection. Feedback. Feed-Forward. And guidance.   

Why include a particular piece of work? Is it strong? Does it demonstrate your ability? Does it highlight your strengths? Be objective, be bold, question its inclusion in your decision making. Be clear on what area you aspire to gain employment in.

If your focus is animation, focus on animation. If your specialism is 3D environments, focus on those etc. It is crucial to centre your portfolio/reel around your strengths.   

GET FEEDBACK OFTEN. FROM STAFF. SHARE WORK WITH YOUR PEERS. INVOLVE YOURSELF WITH CREATIVE COMMUNITIES TO GAIN FEEDBACK BEYOND YOUR SPHERE, BUT CRUCIALLY DEMONSTRATE HOW YOUR FEEDBACK HAS BEEN ACTIONED.

REFLECT. SHARE VIA DISCORD. SHARE ONLINE. AND CRUCIALLY SHARE IT WITH

INDUSTRY VIA YOUR DEVELOPED ONLINE IDENTITY AND PRESENCE.

FEEDBACK IS CRITICAL TO GUIDE AND ASSIST YOU, IT IS HOW YOU ACTION THAT FEEDBACK THAT DEFINES YOUR PORTFOLIO.    

The brief is open to give every individual an opportunity to focus on their STRENGTHS.   

2. LIVE BRIEF.

You are required to choose one live brief – these will be supplied by tutors via canvas module space throughout the module. An alternative live brief of your own choosing is possible. However any alternative brief must be approved by your tutor.  

3. THE PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT DOCUMENT (PED)    

Engagement with the design industry is essential for all students on the design degrees. The nature of that engagement can take many different forms and occur at different times during the course. The professional engagement document will record these experiences for each student during their last year of studies. There are various key aspects which all design students should have completed during their course to prepare them for applying to work in the industry. These are:  

1. Professional experience and Networking with Practitioners

2. Example cover letter in response to a job listing

3. Curriculum Vitae  

4. Thorough and detailed freelancing/ business or employment plan.

5. Artist statement

3. Research and development.

All research must be clearly presented in a logical manner. Your showreel and connected research should clearly align towards your specialist interests. There should be a clear distinction between both the development that has occurred within your work actioned via feedback, iteration and further development.

Tips for Showreels 

• Research each company to get specific requirements for submitting work and to ensure that you understand what they are looking for – eg. Smaller companies often use people who can multitask while larger studios will have more specialised job roles.  

• Use imagery that is original and memorable for titles, cover notes, packaging etc. Ideally this would link visually to your business cards.  

• Put best work first – the first 15 seconds in a showreel are crucial and often it can come down to a section of work you do or don’t include. Highlighting the importance to reflect and question your work objectively. What you include is of paramount importance in showcasing to employers what you can do. 

• Your showreel should identify your particular skills. If you worked as part of a team you must list who did what. 

• End your showreel with a strong piece of work and finally ending with your contact details. 

• You need to demonstrate basic skills which show that you can be trainedup – eg if you want to be a character animator, draw and learn anatomy, develop your acting skills and include strong life drawing sketches.  

• For digital modelling, pose the characters on a 360 degree turntable so they can be seen in the round.  

• Use panning and zooming camera moves on static images.  

• DO NOT pad your reel out with average work – if in doubt, leave it out.  

• Your reel should serve as a teaser, like a trailer, and should leave the viewer wanting to see more. 

• Music – can be very off-putting if too loud or inappropriate – keep it basic, low-key and unobtrusive. It should not detract from or intrude on the visuals.  

• FILES SHOULD BE RENDERED 1920X1080 25FPS  

(MP4 files are usually best and offer quite low file size and work across mac/pc and mobile) 

• Online reels. Think professional. VIMEO is a fantastic video channel. 

• Send your reel with a personalised cover letter (email if sending online link), stating the specific job title (or your ideal position if sending a speculative enquiry).  

• Be creative and original. Pay attention to details and ensure that everything is legible and playable. Check for typos.