SVAD by Students is the YouTube channel that showcases student work relating to the School of Visual Art and Design.
My work has been featured here many times from my projects in the Media Management course to my videography internship where I focused on fine-tuning and revamping previous student projects for public viewing.
My primary responsibilities were video editing, creating motion graphics, and updating university branding assets. Maintaining the University of South Carolina's branding throughout each project was paramount to effectively communicate the highlights of the School of Visual Art and Design's curriculum and resources to prospective students.
To competently edit your own work is a skill. To open another team's work in revisions is completely different. Ideally, you have all the assets the previous team used. Realistically, you work with what you have.
Post-production is one of the last stops a piece of media will make before it is ultimately kept or scrapped. This is my favorite part of the process even when fixing small mistakes.
During my videography internship, I was the go-to person for green screen keying and color correction. Using color theory to emphasize or hide certain qualities of the media you have always helps. I found this to be especially true when I had to color correct flushed skin or use warm colors to make an interview feel more comforting to the viewer.
While at the University of South Carolina, I have been assigned many projects designed to test my technical skills in camera operation, sound, and lighting, as well as to strengthen my role as a video editor. Each project varies between short films, interviews, art-house projects, and more commercial-based projects.
These projects strengthened my technical abilities in handling equipment, planning creative projects, and learning the skills to quickly solve issues when they arise on set. When you are making individual projects they are unlikely to be perfect when completed. However, the importance of creating personal work is that from each mistake you learn from it.
Individual projects prime you to work from a strictly planned guideline or an abstract feeling or idea. My individual work allows me to explore my range of creativity.
The Deluge
My passions lie with film and video editing but I also believe in learning as much as possible in regard to design. In my sophomore year of college, I took a 500-level video game design course where I collaborated with five other students to create one level of a video game.
Our team was comprised of three designers, one music composer, and two game engineers. Together we created the video game concept, mechanics, and aesthetic.
My role on our team was as the Background Designer and to design various game objects as needed.
Overall game layout
Initially, I planned for our game level to be set in a building that resembled a hotel. Our 'evil government' entity's name was Deservir so I used a desert color palette.
Overall game layout
To achieve a sleek, uniform design I remained in constant communication with the other designers and game engineers. The original layout of the level was hand-drawn and then created in Adobe Illustrator where many drafts and revisions were made to ensure that the quality, sizing, and style were cohesive.
Motion Graphics
As someone who clearly loves working with video editing programs, I love motion graphics. When working at a university or company you must abide by branding guidelines to create a cohesive, representative image. However, there is always room for innovation.
Being an intern at the School of Visual Art and Design provided me with an opportunity to help represent the creative values of the University of South Carolina. When you have no speaking subject or voice over, using motion graphics is a nice way to catch and maintain the viewer's attention.
I believe that motion graphics should be dynamic and fluid. I try to push the boundaries of what's possible to see what a graphic is capable of doing. From there I fine-tune the motion speed and work out any jittery animation.
Even if every draft is not a winner, each new idea gives the designer, present or future, a new lens to look at the project with. This is the story of creativity and innovation.
Intro card created for SVAD student and alum profile videos. All elements created in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Draft of motion graphics
Approved draft
Approved title card revision using alternative colors in the UofSC branding toolkit.