Weeks 4 & 5 – Pitching & Sprint 1 ‘Klubbing Pitch Decks and Concept Art’

Table of Contents

Note: The team was in the ‘storming’ period during pitch week. We were not able to perform our pitch deck in front of an audience during the Week 6 Pitch Practice. My first pitch slides and ideas designed to be performed with a team of five during week six is below.

Course Materials: Pitching

A Great Performance

Hannah Gadsby: Nanette, on Netflix

“Delivering a great presentation involves far more than just having something interesting to say. Eye contact, gestures, volume, intonation, fluency, speed of speech and organisation of the contents are all factors in measuring the quality of delivery (García-López et al., 2013). Those who hone their craft and expose themselves to public speaking or performance on a regular basis, have the ability to make even the driest subject matter seem interesting. We can learn a lot from imitating great public speakers (Yingxia et al., 2016). For this activity, you are encouraged to share great performances. The term ‘performances’ is used deliberately to widen the scope beyond traditional public speaking. You have complete freedom to interpret the task in any way that you feel is relevant to your own goals and aspirations” (Falmouth University 2021).

Analysis

Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette (2018) talks about homophobic violence, the delivery, performance and approach are effective in transferring the anger, tension and frustration from stand-up to the audience. Her standup is unique, in the way she delivers her act by deconstructing her show, herself, her delivery and holding and releasing laughter and tension. “Standup comedy relies, of course, on creating tension and release. In Nanette, Gadsby exposes and then destroys that formula… “This tension is yours,” she tells the stunned Sydney Opera House audience. “I am not helping you with it any more. You need to learn what this feels like” (Valentish 2018).

Comics, musicians, writers and performers sophisticatedly share their personal stories for effect, to sell you their message or idea but they can also do it sincerely because it’s real. I chose Gadsby’s Nanette because it’s crucial. It transcends stand-up or performance and becomes something else that I can’t define. It’s a raw transfer of sophisticated empathy from one person to the world. All artists place a part of themselves in everything they create and public speaking is a form of artistry.

“For this week’s challenge, in your teams, you are required to start working on a slide deck for your pitch, which is due in a few weeks. Before you start this task, be sure to review the assignment and familiarise yourself with the rubric. The pitch slides are considered academic writing and so must include in-slide citations and a reference list at the end” (Falmouth University 2021).

Sprint 1 ‘Pitch Decks and Concept Art’

Sprint Goal: Create concept art that will support our pitch decks and environment art for Klubbing.

Sprint Planning

Klubbing Moodboard
Conept Art for Pitch

Slide Deck & Plan

Originally the team split the pitch into:

Introduction and concept (Team Lead, IGD)
Sustainability research (UX)
Accessibility research (UX)
Art direction (IGD)
Unity 5 and Game design (IGD)

Concept Art & Pitching

How will concept art help?

Show a style, and idea of how the avatar, environment and son can look in-game to aid the development
Support the pitch to show how the idea for ‘Klubbing’ can develop
Provide lovely aestetics

We discussed our skills and what we could contribute. As an artist, I offered to create some concept art to help the art direction of the project but also to help pitch the future possibilities of Klubbing. “Using drawings to convey the initial ideas and/or mood is the exact purpose of concept art in the game and film industry. Here an artist uses illustrations and drawings to give an indication of what the finished product may look like” (Habekotté 2019:15)”Three of the interviewees agreed that sketches are always the first step and are essential. They argued that this is due to the speed of creating a sketch and the possibility for many iterations” (Habekotté 2019). Concept art and sketches support cohesion and consistency of style, they also help the team visualise how the project will look when finished.

My Pitch Slides

While writing my pitch, I focused on the rule of three. “Previous research has repeatedly established the “power of three” in several contexts. People like the number 3. For example, a 1979 study found that a message is most persuasive when repeated 3 times, rather than 1 or 5 times” (Mckinlay 2021). I found this quote from Ministry of Sound founder James Palumbo “lights, darkness, music, quiet – everything you wanted” (2018), which I loved and I centred my pitch around the idea of lights/darkness, music and quiet.

Fig 1. Masters 2021. Pitch Deck

Moodboard, Research & Inspiration

The Art Direction Moodboard is a living document, to include images and videos that support the team to keep on track of the game feel. “The authors consider that to maximize the potential effect of mood boards, the boards need to be active and grow with the project” (Mcdonagh and Storer 2004:30). The Moodboard in Miro includes the option to embed videos, I’ve tried to share a range of senses including sound, smell touch, feel and so on. “Mood boards potentially provide the designer with a sensory-centric (i.e. beyond the visual) approach to aid their communication and encourage inspiration/innovation” (Mcdonagh and Storer 2004:30). “In addition, their benefit may be enhanced if they utilize as many senses as possible to aid communication on various levels” (Mcdonagh & Storer 2004:30). The Moodboard is also a place to store any research or aesthetics the team shares.

Inspiration – Yi Lui, Sci-fi Concept Art Atari Gaming Hotel, Modern Club Design, Real Clubs

Environment Concept Art

Retrospective on Sprint

Anxiety about the upcoming pitch has blocked some of my progress
I prepared my pitch on the art direction this week which has taken away some time from the prototyping and concept art
I discussed the IP issues with re-creating an exact replica of the Ministry of Sound with our Team Leader. I suggested instead that I create something inspired by what the Ministry of Sound wanted to do.
The team leader has started to organise the project this week, and suggested using sprints. We were all assigned tasks last week, so I started my own sprints at sprint 0 and the team are now working towards sprint 1.
As an intensely organised person, I am struggling with documentation not being appreciated. I know I can be overly concerned with ticking off boxes and writing lists so I am trying to stay out of the way. I am worried that a lack of organisation and planning may lead to communication issues.

How to Improve

Next sprint I will focus on the prototype, learning new 3D skills, blocking out levels and starting to set up the lights

Reflection on not pitching (week 6)

Some team members were absent during the pitch week but the team did not feel unified to come together and present the team leads idea so the slides were not used. Personally, I was disappointed not to pitch although I agree that while we thought the concept was fantastic and the progress was satisfactory (considering our late start); there was a severe lack of communication and organisation as well as an unpleasant atmosphere and we were not in a position to present.

Sincerity and honesty are two important things to me, I struggle to participate in situations where I am uncomfortable or where I feel that I am being dishonest. During the pitch week, I realised this is a personality trait that will affect a whole team. While other members might carry on (perhaps rightly so) I ask for answers. I dislike conflict and I find it very stressful but I also feel that an open and sincere atmosphere is instrumental to a functioning team.

List of Figures

Figure 1. Sarah MASTERS. 2021. Pitch Deck.

Figure 2. Sarah MASTERS. 2021. Moodboard.

Figure 3. Yi LIU. 2021. A.D. 2047. ArtStation [online]. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/andd [accessed 21 August 2021].

Figure 4. Atari. 2021. Atari Hotels. Atari [online]. Available at: https://atarihotels.com/vision/ [accessed 21 Aug 2021].

Figure 5. Mixmag. 2021. The Art of Club Design. Mixmag [online]. Available at: https://mixmag.net/feature/the-art-of-club-design [accessed 21 August 2021].

Figure 6. Ministry of Sound. 2021. No title. Ministry of Sound [online]. Available at: https://www.ministryofsound.com/ [accessed 21 August 2021].

Figure 7. Sarah MASTERS. 2021. Concept Art

Figure 8. Sarah MASTERS. 2021. Concept Art

References

Falmouth University. 2021. GDD730 Co-Creative Design & Development Practice. Available at: https://flex.falmouth.ac.uk/courses/913 [accessed on 20 June 2021]

GADSBY, Hannah. 2018. Nanette [film].

HABEKOTTE, Jitske. 2019. ‘Concept Art; Are We Doing This Right?’ [online]. Available at: https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JitskeHabekotte/20190620/345121/Concept_Art_are_we_doing_this_right.php [accessed 24 Jun 2021].

MCDONAGH Deana and Ian STONER. 2004. Mood Boards as a Design Catalyst and Resource: Researching an Under-Researched Area, The Design Journal, 7:3, 16-31, DOI: 10.2752/146069204789338424

MCKINLAY, Thomas. 2021. ‘The Rule of Three in Persuasion’. [online]. Available at: https://tips.ariyh.com/p/rule-of-three [accessed 14 Jul 2021].

LUTYENS, Dominic. 2021. ‘How Nightclub Design Evolved’. [online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180524-how-nightclub-design-evolved [accessed 30 Jun 2021].

PALUMBO, James. 2018: Dave Simpson ‘How We Made: Ministry of Sound’. 2018. the Guardian [online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/nov/13/how-we-made-ministry-sound-london [accessed 27 Jul 2021].

PALUMBO, James. 2013. ‘James Palumbo: “I’m Going to Fight for My Right to Party”’. [online]. Available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/reveller/clubbing/james-palumbo-i-m-going-to-fight-for-my-right-to-party-8938625.html [accessed 27 Jul 2021].

VALENTISH, Jenny. 2018. ‘Jenny Valentish ‘“I Broke the Contract”: How Hannah Gadsby’s Trauma Transformed Comedy’. the Guardian [online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jul/16/hannah-gadsby-trauma-comedy-nanette-standup-netflix [accessed 22 Jun 2021].