Speed and Direction for Digital Creatives

SCAN Computers and Intel are proud to have worked with the inspirational artist Trish Meyer in selecting the talented winners of Velocity 2014 Motion Graphics & HDR category.

MoGraph & HDR Runner-up – Chris Johnson-Standley

www.roguerobot.co.uk         

MoGraph & HDR Runner-up Chris Johnson-Standley “Chuffed and stunned!” to snatch second place in Velocity 2014.

Since 2012 when Rogue Robot relocated their studio to Hebden Bridge Town Hall in West Yorkshire, they have been producing work for a diverse range of high profile clients such as VISA, AXA, eBay, TalkTalk and many others. But it was a personal project that brought Chris to our attention. ‘Eratosthenes’ was built in After Effects making extensive use of Element3D on a PC self built, co-incidentally, with Scan-bought parts (well done, Chris!). Felix, Chris’s 8 year old son, provided the perfect voice over. You can follow Chris on Twitter @chrisroguerobot or www.facebook.com/roguerobot

Check out Chris’s winning entry on Scan Pro Video’s YouTube Channel

“The runner-up animation, ‘Eratosthenes and the Circumference of the Earth’ from Chris Johnson-Standley, managed to be both entertaining and educational,” said Head Judge Trish Meyer. “I would have preferred not to see any static frames though (remember that it’s called “motion graphics” for a reason – keep things drifting!), but that didn’t detract from its charm.” Head Judge, Trish Meyer

When I spoke to Chris he had this to say on hearing he was the Velocity 2014 MoGraph Runner-up.

“Chuffed and stunned! It was quite weird because I don’t enter many film competitions for this sort of thing. I think I saw it in Shooting People and the closing date was approaching really quickly and I thought I’d give it a go… the really nice thing about it was that it was a really simple one to enter; there was no complicated process, just put the Title card on, send it up and go. It’s worth a punt isn’t it as there’s nothing to lose. Then I got your email and I was like ‘Oh my god! Second place. Fantastic! ’ So I was really pleased. Brilliant news.”

Who did you first tell?

“The first person I told was my 8 year old son Felix who did the voice over [on the Erastothenes animation]. I picked him up from school after I had the news and told him I’d come second. He cheered and said ‘What have I won?’ His enthusiasm dipped when he realized there was no Lego in it for him, but he was really pleased.“

Chris studied Media Production at Newcastle. During that time he was also writing scripts for 2000AD and Judge Dredd Megazine. After Uni he started work at Trafford Centre Television, eventually running the TV studio there, producing motion graphics, ads, short promo films and filming live events. Finally in 2008 Chris went freelance and Rogue Robot was formed. His workflow is all Adobe CC and C4D. Chris knows his way around an NLE system,  and is more than happy to self-build custom NLE rigs, but says that next time he’ll let the Scan system build engineers do it for him. A wise decision.

So how are you going to use the opportunities that Velocity is offering?

“I’ve won some really nice prizes and FX packages that will be really handy in the studio, but mainly it’s the exposure we will get that I think is the biggest benefit.  We already work with some great clients, but hopefully this will net us a few more, plus it’s encouraged me to take time away from paid work and do personal projects. Not only does it get you away from the day-to-day jobs, it can be a chance to stretch the creative muscles. Coming runner-up in Velocity 2014 has been a real validation of what we do and could drive extra work our way.”

We think external validation is important too. Fear of public and peer review can debilitate. Every piece of work you release into the wild acts as an ambassador for your studio. What are the next steps for you?

“Is to make time to do something personal, creative and different to our normal studio work for clients. Saying that it’s been a few months since I made ‘John – A Portait’  so it is hard to make time, but in the future I’d like to do a larger project.”

What would you say to someone considering entering the competition next year?

“Don’t bother. Give it up and just leave the field open to me (lol). Is that an alright answer? Like I said at the start, this was a spur of the moment entry and I had no expectation of winning, but you’re never going to win if you don’t enter – plus it was a very clear and simple process; I don’t have to pay a fee, no massive forms to fill and no age restrictions (16+). Scan wanted to see what work people came up with which is really nice. On top of that you’ve got brilliant judges looking at the work. It’s a cliché that you never know what’s going to come out of it, but I’m definitely going to have another go next year if you are running it. I thought the comp was a really nice alternative. And we all love Scan Computers J.”

“To all those whose work made the shortlist, well done! And I would encourage all creatives to enter competitions like these; you’ll never get in if you don’t enter! If you feel your skills aren’t there yet, then take some classes and then practice some more. If you don’t have a client yet, then be your own client; give yourself a scope of work that is challenging but do-able then complete it to the highest standard you can muster at this point in time. When you find yourself saying “I can’t do that thing…” simply add the word “yet”, as in “I can’t do that yet…”. Then keep at it. And never forget that luck is when preparation meets opportunity!”

 Trish Meyer

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