PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE - WORK PLACEMENT

A work placement during college years is vital as you get to learn valuable experiences from the professionals before stepping out to seek for your first real job. It is a perfect chance to let you foresee the world of work. This placement allows you to see yourself better in working environment. What are you good at? What are your weaknesses? What will you do when you face problems? Will you seek for help if you do not understand the brief well? It might seem like a minor issue, but it all happens during working.

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DAY 1 | 11.02.2020

 

Today, we had our first work placement. There will be 4 of us throughout this placement. We worked under a travel company, Ikii. On this very first day, the meeting was held in the office at Geo Avenue Sunway. The meeting was held from 10am to 7pm. In the morning session, the founder, Jacky and his co-founder, Blake introduced to us the product of Ikii which is their smart luggage. We get to know better on the branding, selling points and brand promises after briefing. Besides, we had some short discussion on how we could further enhance the branding and what else can we do to market the brand. 

During the afternoon session, Jacky gave us a few task from the discussion earlier. There were a few projects that he hoped we could work on with. Here are the lists of the projects given :

1.  Video shooting for luggage featuring
2.  Organise a luggage design contest - GIF
3. Stickers illustration for the luggage 
4. Design a new product - travel pillow

Firstly, we decided to start off the projects with video shooting. We had few rounds of discussion and brainstorming on the idea for shooting and we decided to make this a team project. There are a total of eight videos which display the eight features of the smart luggage. Features of the luggage are :

• Alarm - When the alarm feature is on, the phone will ring when there is distance between owner and the luggage
• Weight - The weight of luggage can be measured through the Ikii apps instead of portable luggage scale
• Brake - Brake system is installed at the front wheel of luggage to prevent luggage from sliding off
• Lock - Lock system is controlled through Ikii apps via phone. No longer a manual locking
• Waterproof - The material used is water-resistant
• Smooth wheel - Built with 360-degree Hinomoto spinner wheels which is ultra-smooth, ultra-durable and ultra-quiet
• Drop resistant - The luggage is pretty flexible where it can be thrown down from few storeys and still remain in shape
• Anti Scratch - A new case is designed to protect the luggage. Benefit is there's no need to remove once it is on.

Fig 1.1 Sketches of idea for video shooting

After another discussion, we then decided that due to the limited amount of time, it is impossible for the 4 of us to complete all the tasks given. We came out with a Gantt Chart on list of projects we think is doable as well as a proper working timeline.

Fig 1.2 Discussion and Project Update Timeline

  

 Fig 1.3 Tasks and Working Timeline

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DAY 2 | 23.02.2020

On this day, we proceeded our video shooting project at Sungai Buloh MRT station. We managed to get three videos done. Unfortunately, after reviewing, we decided to only use two of it. It was a pretty fun experience throughout the shoots including the preparation and acting. Chrystal and I worked as the DOP for this project. We worked quite well as a team. But, there was a small mistake that we made which is not preparing the checklist well. Things got a little messy here and there as we need to recall and decide which video to shoot first. Here is where we have our lesson learnt. Always be prepare!

Hence, one of our teammate prepared a checklist at the end of the day to ease our work. In addition, Blake added some new tasks for us to add in for the video project. After consideration, we agreed to add it in our list.

 

Fig 2.1 Checklist for Video Shooting

Fig 2.2 Behind the scene (Shooting)

Fig 2.3 Behind the scene (Shooting)

Fig 2.4 Behind the scene (Shooting)

Fig 2.5 Behind the scene (Acting)

Videos :

Video 1

Video 2

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DAY 3 | 26.02.2020

The video shooting is then proceeded in the college's studio. We did more videos today and also the additional GIF required. Ikii had the plan to released their new Luggage Cover. Thus, we are asked to get the cover shooting done first. It was the new tasks given to us last week.

Fig 3.1 Checklist for Video Shooting

Fig 3.2 Behind the scene (Preparation)

Fig 3.3 Behind the scene (Shooting)

Fig 3.4 Behind the scene (Shooting)

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DAY 4 | 03.03.2020

Today, we went for an outdoor video shooting. We checked off another two lists today. The waterproof feature and also the anti scratch. In this shooting, we face quite some difficulties as it is not easy to false a rain scene. The outcome does not reach to our expectation. Water that is sprayed out from the hose does not look as natural as the rain. Besides, after each shot we need to dry up the luggage in order to proceed to another shoot. Hence, it took quite plenty tries to get the best shots out of it. Overall, the experience is pretty fun.

Fig 4.1 Checklist for Video Shooting

Fig 4.2 Behind the scene (Shooting)

Fig 4.3 Behind the scene (Falsing rain)

Fig 4.4 Behind the scene (Drying Up)

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DAY 5 | 04.03.2020

For today, we did our best to complete all the videos that mainly focusing on the feature of the luggage. It was an indoor shoot this time to build up the cozy vibes. There were also a few challenges during today's shoot. At first, it was a little messy as there were too much luggage around. The apps got confused at which luggage to connect with. Thus, it was a little troublesome to move all the luggages around and re-connect each and every one of the luggage. Moreover, sometimes when the school wifi was weak, it is slightly harder to connect the luggage through WiFi. So we have to keep switching to Bluetooth connection or other options available.

Fig 5.1 Checklist for Video Shooting

Fig 5.2 Behind the scene (Setting Up)

Fig 5.3 Behind the scene (Shooting)

We followed the timeline planned by our teammate, Zhi En. Everything goes on quite smooth. We had things done according to our timeline. Few days later, Blake came out with a new work proposal. He said he will further discuss it with us during our upcoming meeting.

Fig 5.4 Work Timeline

 

Fig 5.5 Discussion with Ikii

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DAY 6 | 06.03.2020

So we had a discussion with Blake and his designer friend, Jack today. They felt that due to our packed schedule, it might take us quite long time to complete all the previous tasks given. Besides, those projects does not fully enhance our skills and abilities plus it does not benefits both party. Thus, there proposed a new plan and idea to us so that we could come out with project that is more meaningful for this work placement.

They had a plan on further launching their product to Taiwan. In such wise, they needed some Taiwan related content as well as merchandises to market their product on Instagram. Each of us are required to come out with an illustration work. The illustration need to have idea related to Taiwan together with the Ikii luggage in the work. It will be a collaboration between Ikii and Raffles so in the end, the artwork will be credited to us as the designer. After deeper discussion with our lecturer, we all agreed that the illustration project is more interesting and challenging compared to the video shooting project. It definitely benefit us more as it creates an opportunity in gaining exposure. Hence, the video footages shot previously will then be handed over to Ikii's in house designer for further editing.

Proposal :

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DAY 7 | 11.03.2020

Today, we had a brainstorming session with Jack and Blake. We discussed on the illustration ideas to see which one both parties agreed with. This project is an individual project, no longer team work. So in the end they will be 4 illustrations work submitted to Ikii.

For me, Taiwan is really well-known for food and their lively vibes. So, I decided to come out with something related to food. It is true that every country would have their own classic snacks, so do Taiwan. Especially the 7-Eleven, it is full of various types of snacks and 7-eleven is a place where most tourists will hunt for snacks as their late night supper. Besides, Taiwan is famous for the toy-catching machine and mystery box machine. Hence, I have the idea of using the two famous things as the assets in my illustration.

Fig 7.1 Research on Taiwan

Fig 7.2 Idea Sketching

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DAY 8 | 17.03.2020

Due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, for safety purposes, we decided to not have meeting in-person with the client today. We had our discussion via online. Jack will be in charge for this project. For the past week, we did further research on the illustration style and the story that portrays the artwork. The discussion today is to finalise the idea that both parties are happy with.

I came out with the idea of using the mystery box machine as the background while replacing the boxes with Ikii luggages. Additionally, to make it feel more Taiwanese, the luggages will be designed using Taiwan 7-Eleven snacks.

Rationale : 

Snacks does not only pleasure your taste buds, instead it is part of life satisfaction. Let's travel around and start our food hunting adventures together!

好吃的零食給你的不只是味蕾上的快樂, 還有生活的滿足感.

讓我們一起到世界各地旅行覓食吧 !

Fig 8.1 Machine References

Fig 8.2 Snacks References

Fig 8.3 Art Direction

Fig 8.4 Discussion with Client

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DAY 9 | 23.02.2020

For today, we had progress update with Jack. Throughout the week, I started to work on the basic asset illustrations based on the proposal I've given to the client. I also made use of the research and reference found. I decided to create the overall look of the poster first, then focused on the details. The progress reviewed go on pretty smooth and he said I'm good to proceed.

Progress update with client :

Fig 9.1 Screenshot of Conversation

Process of illustration the assets:

Fig 9.2 Screenshot of Illustration

Outcome of the assets:

Fig 9.3 Luggage

Fig 9.4 Machine (b/w)

Fig 9.5 Machine (Colour)

The colours and details of machine are yet to be confirmed. It is not the final decision.

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DAY 10 | 30.02.2020

I continued working on the illustration assets for snacks details on the luggages and also the machine. The research on various snacks really helped a lot in my illustration. With the reference, it makes things easier without needing to based on own imagination. Besides, I had my last illustration review with Jack today. He was satisfied with the outcome of the poster.

Process of illustration the assets:

Fig 10.1 Screenshot of Illustration

Outcome of the assets:

Fig 10.2 Luggage

Fig 10.3 Luggage

Fig 10.4 Luggage

 

Fig 10.5 Luggage

Fig 10.6 Luggage

Fig 10.7 Luggage

Fig 10.8 Luggage

Fig 10.9 Luggage

Fig 10.10 Luggage

Outcome of overall look :

Fig 10.11 Machine

After reviewing, Jack felt that the colour is slightly too vibrant. Worried that it will outstand the snacks on the luggage and audience will got mislead. I agreed with him and decided to think wisely on my colour choices. I've came out with a few choices as below.

Progress update with client :

Fig 10.12 Screenshot of Conversation

Overall outcome of version 2 :

Fig 10.13 Colour Choice of Poster

Final Outcome :

Fig 10.14 Final Work

Fig 10.15 Rationale

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REFLECTION

Personal Reflection :

As a digital designer, my role is to combine both technical skills and creativity to develop any kind of digital graphics that appears on computer and electronic games, websites, special effects on movies rather than in print format. (Digital Designer Job Description - JobHero, 2020) However, there are several categories of digital designer, I was in the field of Multimedia Design. Multimedia Designer specifies in putting together wording, sound, animation, photography, and video to form informational and inspirational content. (Multimedia Designer Job Description - JobHero, 2020) It is rather different from print designs as most digital designs are interactive. Maybe not all, but mostly. (What Is Digital Design and Why Is it Important? - Springboard Blog, 2019) In order to kick start career, it is important to prepare yourself with various experiences and skills when it comes to application, especially for graduates. 

I am really grateful to have this work placement during my college year. Coming from a small class, there were only four of us involved in this work placement. We did our work placement under a travel company, Ikii. Throughout this work placement with Ikii, we managed to do two different projects. We first started off as a team work for the video shooting project, and ended it with an individual one, poster collaboration project. Besides gaining experiences, I get to know myself better from this work placement too. I managed to build up my self-confidence. Back in my diploma years, I once did a video shoot project but it did not ended well. The outcome did not turn out to be the expected one. That was when I felt that I lost passion in video shooting and I shall not involve myself much in shooting projects unless necessary. However, after several days of this video shoot, I find myself regaining passion in videography. I find it interesting especially on thinking ideas for transitions from a scene to another. As a multimedia based students, I had learn more on the knowledge of video and audio techniques and storyboarding from my previous courses. It is definitely useful and helpful when I apply the techniques learnt while doing this project. Dr Benjamin Spock once said, "Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do." From this work placement, I then realised that I should not give up so easily just because of a one time failure. I believe by having enough self-confidence, I can produce a better quality work.

Skills that I find useful in preparing myself for work placement:

1. Teamwork
As we come from a team of four, teamwork is very important for me to work with others in this work placement. As I come from Multimedia based, the way I work may be different from the three of them who are based from Graphic Design. Everyone works differently, so it is best if we can tolerate with each other and find the best way to work things out and get the job done effectively in different circumstances. (Top 10 Qualities and Skills Employers are Looking For, 2015) During the work placement, time management is one of my weaknesses. Therefore, to ensure the work if done efficiently, one of our teammates took up the responsibilites to plan a timeline for this project. She also remind us a day before when we have shooting ongoing. By helping each other, we can ensure to produce a better quality work.

2. Problem-solving
There are definitely challenges when it comes to a new task given. By having problem-solving skills, there will be no fear for any upcoming challenges. It will help me in capable of having initiative and trying to get things work by seeking own solutions. It does not leave a good impression if we constantly lean on shoulders of our employers or someone who are more experienced. Improving ourselves in decision making habit will also serve us well further down the line. It may lead to a good leadership and management position in future. (11 Key Skills You Can Gain from Work Experience, 2018) In this work placement, there are several problems faced by us too. One of it was the communications between us and clients. Due to misunderstanding, client thought it was okay with the amount of workload added for us. They then felt that it was too time-consuming. After a clearer communication where we voice things out, we decided to proceed to the poster collaboration project. This new project then benefits both client and us.

3. Time-management
Being able to manage your time well is also an important skills to do well in work placement. There is no way to always have someone looking over your shoulders in every tasks you do. Meetings scheduling, keep up with targets and deadlines, and maintaining work-life balance. Moreover, this work placement is done together with other subjects during one semester. It is not easy to deal with all the workload at once. It is important to make sure that all works are done productively and efficiently. Time can be wasted easily just like that if it is not well-planned. As a student, I must admit that it is easy to get distracted by little things around us. For example, food, smartphone, tv and games. However, time management skills can be picked up with remote gig tactics such as creating a day-to-day to-do lists, setting reminders, and sticking to a timetable. This helps in building a good reputation and open up opportunity to future collaboration. (Lock and Lock, 2017)

This work placement was quite a fun project. Even though there are a few challenges throughout the project, I am glad we managed to go through the whole thing. Throughout the whole work placement, what I enjoyed most was the video shooting process. Although it was tiring needing to stand under the hot sun during shooting, it was all worth it when the outcome turns out to be good. The efforts that we've put in, from finding for references and doing a lot of test shots to make sure we get the best out of it, it actually build up my passion again towards videography. I am glad I did not lost this passion because of a failure and I hope I have the chance to do more video shooting projects. Besides, I enjoyed doing the poster collaboration project as well. Coming from a Multimedia based student, my design skills are always not as good as my teammates. It was a great opportunity for me to explore more on creating this poster. It was full of excitement as we were given the freedom to design anything up to our liking as long as it relates to Taiwan and Ikii. This project was definitely fun and meaningful as I have not done much posters back in my diploma time.

However, what I find least favourite among the task given was the content of video shooting. I find it a repetitive work as we were asked to do featuring video for the luggage. There were already plenty of featuring tutorial videos posted on their social media. It is unnecessary to keep repeating them. In addition, those videos does not give us much chance to unleash our creativity. It was pretty direct and 
straightforward.


Job Responsibilities Reflection :

Throughout the video shooting project, I was mainly holding the position of Director of Photography who is responsible for the direction, shooting and editing video footages that could be used for various projects like advertisements, movies and shows. (Videographer Job Description, 2019) It might sound like an easy job, however they are plenty to consider. It is not about just a few clicks on the camera, it requires lots of thinking and planning on the mood and feel on each scene. The composition and use of lighting and shadow is very important to create a nice shot. Besides, it is quite tiring to do shooting especially during sunny days. It is quite hard to squint the eyes to make sure the shots are clear and good. In addition, it requires enough patient to get a perfect shot after multiple tries.

Every work comes with certain challenges, same goes to this one. As the DOP, besides being passionate, it is vital to be able to work under pressure. Our timeline has already been very packed as we have other assignments and courses going on at the same time. After receiving the task from the first meeting, we have already proposed to client the workload and timeline that we are able to provide. They agreed to it at the first placed, hence we proceeded the works according to schedule. However, during the second shooting, the client joined us along to check on our progress. They then added a few more tasks for us. This causes extra workload and extra time needed to complete everything, but there is not much time left. As the videographer, I have to make sure the time for each shooting is manage efficiently. (Videographer Job Description - Artisan Talent, 2020) As a student we felt bad for rejecting client's request as we think it is our responsibility to accept every tasks given.

This then leads to an issue as client felt that the workload will be okay for us. Later, they then felt that we spent too long time to complete this project. We were worried that we might have disappoint the client. We have learnt that it is indeed important to know how to deal and communicate with the client to avoid misunderstandings like this. Negotiation skills will help a lot in current situation. There are few ways to reject client if you think it is out of your capability. First, listen to their request genuinely. If things are out of your control, tell them politely that it is unfortunate that you will not be able to handle it. Next, offer multiple ways that may help them out. At the same time, always focus on the things that you are able to do. Do not simply shut them down that may burn the bridges. (9 (Polite) Ways to Reject a Customer, 2014) A good negotiation skill is important in order to avoid future conflicts. Both parties will be satisfied with no obstacles for future communication. (Negotiation, 2020)

Work Placement Reflection :

After completing the whole work placement, there are few things that can be improved. If I have master more skills, it would've help me better in my work placement. Lacking of these soft skills will somehow limit the chances of career success. The founder of Boston career-coaching firm TurningPoint, Kathy Robinson once said, "Soft skills are essential in building relationships, increasing visibility and gaining more opportunities for advancement." (Soft skills to help your career hit the big time, 2020) Communication is one of the key employers will look into wisely when hiring. Employer tend to look for people whom they are able to work efficiently with. Someone who are able to maintain an open and healthy conversation, being mindful, considerate and not overly wrapped up in ego. (What employers look for #1 | David Airey, 2011) Besides, good communication helps to understand better what a client wants. At points of conflicts and imbalance,communication helps to encounter the tension and resolve whatever different on opinions. (Top 7 Behavioral Skills to Develop Within your Employees, 2017)

It is also important to improve flexibility and adaptability in work. It will definitely be a plus point if one can manage few projects or tasks at the same time and can adapt to various working conditions, management, rules and environment. (Top 20 skills you need to develop your career, 2013) "Things do not usually goes as planned, successful leaders are the one who is able to pivot and find alternate ways when problems arises," says Robinson. (Soft skills to help your career hit the big time, 2020) This actually shows the person’s commitment to the company, and will impact to their career progression.

Apart from that, this work placement do benefits me in my future career. One of them is experiential learning. It is the process of learning by doing it and reflect upon the experience, rather than by listening and reading only. In this way, it helps to detect the strengths and weaknesses, which is crucial for your professional development. Next, work placement is a good opportunity to grow. Working in real world can be way complex than studying.One may need to be competitive enough in variety of areas. It also helps to identify the skills needed to brush up on by based on your experiences. People always say, "practice makes perfect". The skills can be brush up by engaging yourself in more of the task that requires the use of those skills. By having your skills polished, it will increase your confident in the future career. (Five ways that work placement will help your future prospects | News | Waterford Institute of Technology, 2018)

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