7 Things I Learned from Working on the Film ‘Kick-Ass’
1) The more rushed you are, the easier it is for things to get sloppy.
Of course I knew this already, but I don’t think I had ever experienced such an intense design (vs. artworking) workload as I did with Kick-Ass. When starting a new job it’s hard to speak up because you don’t want to rock the boat, but it’s important to communicate with your Project Manager when a timeline isn’t realistic. A Project Manager’s job is to negotiate and it’s imperative that a company supports and trains their PMs to go to bat for the Designer. Even if you consider yourself a meticulous designer, 9 times out of 10 doing things quickly will result in errors. So…
2) Don’t be a control-freak. Ask for help.
As I mentioned in the last post I love things to be perfect. For me, nothing’s worse than seeing a project you worked really hard on printed and noticing that something isn’t quite centered or there are two spaces after a period or god forbid! there’s a random dog paw in your artwork (don’t ask). Sure, for the most part nobody else will notice, but it’s enough for me to bury the project in a drawer and never look at it again. It’s because of this that I often follow the mantra “I may as well just do it myself.” But this is destructive behaviour…. well at least, destructive to your artwork. There will be plenty more little mistakes that annoy you if you’re biting off more than you can chew. Yes, it’s possible other designers might not care about the space between paragraphs as much as you do, but if you spread out the workload you’ll have more time to make sure what you are working on is perfect. It will also give you time to….
3) Always check over Freelancers work.
Of course, this doesn’t apply to every design role and yes, in an ideal world your Art Director, Traffic Coordinator and/or PM should be checking everything that goes out, but if a freelancer is helping you roll-out a project you designed and you want to put it in your portfolio, take the time to check over what they’ve done. Often you’ll notice things that somebody who isn’t close to a project won’t notice.
4) Artworkers are a Designers best friend.
They really are. Those in the business of Artworking (as oppose to new graduates who take on the role in hopes of one day getting a design job) are everything many designers are famously not. They are detail-oriented, take care to avoid spelling and punctuation errors, are excellent at file organization, have a keen eye for typography and are well-versed in the prepress process. Many design houses and agencies don’t think they can justify hiring Artworkers or incorrectly hire the aforementioned new-graduate-designer-wannabe as Artworkers in hopes that they’ll be able to quickly take on major design responsibilities. I think this is a mistake. If you have a lot big projects like Kick-Ass that have quick turnarounds and lots of components that look similar, an Artworker will help streamline the process, reduce errors, get things to print on-time and with the correct specs, and reduce stress in the studio. So designers… just a tip, if you have your pick of companies, choose the one where you’ll have Artworkers on your team!
5) Detach yourself from your work.
Detaching myself from my projects was definitely the hardest thing for me to practice. The reason why I became a Designer was because I loved the idea of a finished product I could be proud of. The thought that something I could labour over for months until *finally* it had met the client’s satisfaction could still end up ugly, was beyond me. Surely with each round of amends my design would improve until it’s at the very best it can be, right? No. And of course, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has worked in marketing. But I found it hard to accept. I was so excited to be working on such a fantastic project that it was hugely disappointing when, for example, they ended up choosing a concept for the UK packaging that had taken no time to create and was based on a theatrical poster, or when I found out that we would have to make due with medium shots of the cast when my design called for full-body images, or that a concept we had worked on for a month was being shelved. It made me feel defeated — as if all my hard-work was for naught. I still haven’t figured out the best way to manage my disappointment, but I do know that recently, when a client requested I Photoshop in a hot water bottle hanging from the heading (!!), I just laughed it off and included another solution in addition to their ridiculous request which thankfully, they chose.
6) Summer hours (unfortunately) don’t apply to Designers.
Picture it… it’s a beautifully sunny afternoon and your boss has generously allowed the company to finish early so you can grab a pint with your coworkers on a nearby patio. Then a client calls with an urgent (they’re all urgent) request. As much as you’d love to say “I’ll do it first thing Monday morning”, you can’t. After all, if you don’t do it, somebody else will, or in the future another agency will. Which reminds me: you know that vacation you planned months ago? Unless you’ve mastered lesson #5, maybe you should cancel it. Kick-Ass is one of many projects I’ve been on where I’ve returned after a few days off only to find out that the entire design has changed. If you’re really committed to a project, be available and if necessary, postpone any trips until the project has gone to print. Which leads me to my final lesson…..
7) Once it has been printed, it’s as good as done (unless YOU want to pay to have it reprinted).
Ready to send your file to the printer? No pressure, but it better be perfect! *gulp* It’s unfortunate that in the case of fast-paced projects prepress is allotted the least amount of time, especially since it’s probably the most important step. Of course, if you’re one of the lucky Designers who work with an Artworker (see #4), your company most likely realizes the importance of ensuring quality control before a file goes to print, but even then, mistakes can happen when a frantic client is on the phone demanding the final file to be uploaded to the printer NOW. In my opinion, it’s impossible to remember to check everything on very involved projects without a checklist, so if your company doesn’t have one, make one! Put as many details on the checklist as possible (i.e. specs, colours, spelling, finishes, extra pages, logos, legal etc, etc). Print out the document and get a supervisor to sign-off on your checklist and print-out before uploading. At least this way you can’t take all the blame if that extra paw slips past your radar and becomes another character in the movie you’re promoting.
© 2011 Universal Studios, Kick-Ass and MarketMe
