How I got working on this project (April 2022)
Most of my work has come through Upwork, the freelancer platform. This is no different. I’ve been working on a number of projects with Tuba Time (a media studio in the States) and one of their clients is Replicant (a contact center resolving issues with automation). The project is to produce a ‘Thank You’ video from Replicant’s customers who sent in pre-recordings of their thanks.
Workflow & Relationships
I deal directly with the main guy who manages the media studio Tuba Time. In many ways it’s really nice to be under this media studio because I don’ t have to find the clients myself! Of course the down side is that I’m sure that I wouldn’t be earning as much as I could… but I’m happy with this set up at the moment! We mainly communicate via the Upwork platform.
He has also been using Trello to organize projects. It’s been amazing because everything is so clear, so straightforward. I know when the deadline will be, access to the brief, script files if available and updates on the project.
Finally to share the files we use Dropbox. I log into a ‘freelancer user’ he had set up and then there is the option to sync and download locally the correct folder onto my laptop. When I’m done with the project, all there needs doing is to remove the files from my laptop but all remains as is on Dropbox. Absolutely been a great set up to work!
I’ve been also very grateful that after asking him if I could showcase the work I’ve done on my portfolio that he encouraged it, which I truly appreciate.
Assets Provided
- Replicant’s branding
- Script
- Audio files
- After Effects file with simple graphic templates
Key Takeaways
The first draft I sent out was absolutely bland. There wasn’t much movement or background variation, but I wasn’t too sure what they were after so I put the main focus on the audio waveform element. Most of the time, I would prefer to just get some kind of foothold before taking the leap. This way I save myself time and energy; and the client money and energy.
When I received the client feedback, it became clearer that they wanted to play with the background options. They provided an excellent reference video, which then sparked ideas for dynamic movement.
Tips & Tricks learned
Improving Text Animation Skills
Setting up and keying animation for text can be daunting and confusing. This project allowed me to explore and get comfortable with the controls. I was then reminded the need to set up presets and get the hang of that. I’ve been putting it off for ages so I’ve realised it would be a good practice to do so.
Waveform Experimentation
This has been the main bulk of pushing my learning and adapting creatively to make use of this technique visually, bearing the brand in mind. For their company branding PDF, they clearly state their colours and shapes that are simple flowing lines and blobs. This sparked the idea to create two visuals from one waveform.
Thanks to Tuba Time for also providing some good tutorial references:
