Anyone in a design or art-related degree (including VFX, animation, etc) will have to present your work in a formal way at some point. If you’re a master’s student, your progress and even degree can depend on how well you do this.
One of the main weaknesses I’ve seen over the years in students is in how they organize their presentation. Here is a quick rundown of a tried and true method that I’ve taught many students over the years.
Concept and background – this includes inspiration, original idea, how the idea developed over time (sometimes including sketches and progress reports) , as well as research and references in other work.
Process and approach – how you are creating the work, what techniques, software, skills are you using and why are they a good fit for the original project? (It’s important to use industry vocabulary in this and all stages of the discussion.)
Challenges and solutions – this section covers the difficulties you’ve run into whether they’re artistic or technical or research-based AND how you’re solving these difficulties. The solutions can vary depending on project but often include technical ‘fixes’, tutorials online, research or some combination.
What you’ve learned and next steps- this may not always be part of the presentation but in midpoint reviews, it often comes up. What do you know how to do now that you didn’t at the beginning? How is your technique better? What mistakes won’t you make next time?
And then what are you going to do next to make the project even better and bring it to a successful conclusion?
