Support with Gillian:
For the support, I had a finished version of the Video Doc, but I just wanted Gillian’s feedback and expertise. I think I could read a thousand books on video editing and visual design, but just doing it and learning is the best way. Trusting your eye can get you to a decent point in editing, applying what I’ve seen in other works and feedback from an expert, and then just taking that forward in the more visual work and editing I do is the only way I can get better.
Gillian pointed out some fixes, like the tone of the captions, and just polishing everything up, and will give further feedback after sending her the rough cut for marking/correction.
Extending Design:
After letting everything run away from me a bit, getting a bit frozen, and then realising that the first draft of the extending design PDF was due the next day, I spent another day just putting on my headphones and bashing it out. Now, I am not condoning my actions, but it was important for me to note that I can now sit down and produce something in one day, be truly productive.
And after doing the same with the DeSimulate poster and social media, it wasn’t just a fluke.
Extending Design Review:
I’ll discuss this more in my Extending Design post, but that project really helped me solidify that this is what I can do and what I want to do after my course, this being client-facing design work.
At the end of this week, my main focus was sticking to the landing with the side project I’ve been working on, DeSimulate. Friday night was the first proper opening of the exhibition, so most of the day was coordinating with people involved, Pav at work and sponsors.
Prototype:
After the madness of Friday and then a day of rest on Saturday, sitting in the run against a tree with the music on was what was needed, but then to ISO on Sunday to get more done.
With lots of help from Pav, we were able to get the project framework up and running and responsive on the touchscreen, and make some changes to the style and movements. I felt it should adhere to the style I’ve already established with the research and the design language developed for the WIP.
Woodworking:
With the plinth designed way back at the start of spring break, which feels like months ago, I got an email saying it was finally ready, so with the next available time booked for Monday, I was in to at least get it assembled.
I used to be confident with woodworking, actually making a physical thing, but I found myself again, frozen, worried I was going to mess it up. Andy was helpful and kind, given that I had said I knew what I was doing, but for some reason didn’t start.
After a helping hand, talking it through, and spending way too much time measuring, I fianlly got into it and it all came back to me, I stopped trying to think about what I was doing and just doing it, what was logical and obvious and maybe some times overly cautious when thinking about security but I just didnt want to get this down to London and open the van to scrap wood.
Assembling the media:
Then, after a morning of assembling physical parts, the assembling of the digital parts came easily. I don’t know why I kept putting it off, and it feels like I’ve wasted so much time now. I don’t know why I wasted so much time instead of just doing it.
So, armed with all the parts and a checklist, I assembled the media for my project, just like the wood in the workshop.
I think sometimes I just need a hand to start, and then I have no problems at all.
The images are approximately the right size for the projection; the writing was taken from the Figma board; all were assigned to their respective scenes; and the final touch was the audio I had collected beforehand, again all assigned to the scenes they were intended for.
Some of the audio was either not good enough, due to strong winds on the days of recording, or the scene would be almost impossible or very unlikely to recreate without it being a project of its own. So with some minor layering of ambient noises and freesound recordings, it seemed to paint the picture I wanted.
With almost all the media assembled, it felt that I had really done something today.
Show & Tell:
With Show and Tell today, it was just a progress report that came so much easier to me now that I actually felt I had something to report and show.
At this point, everything seems to be almost there for the hand-in. I think everything has one more 3rd, just to stick the landing.
If I have a few more days of how productive I’ve been recently, then I’ll be fine, one day to finish extending design, one to fix the Video Documentation and then the rest of the time is finishing the studio project as well as getting to the habit of chipping away at the learning journal and improving the existing things on it as I am now.
Nicholas McLaughlin Blog 
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