Design Skills

[Tom Meegan]

Chaz,

Need and interest are the reasons for my drive to “get” design. I don’t expect to be top notch, or really even expert at most of these disiplines you mention

[Tom Meegan]

Person,

I agree with what you are saying. I also watched your reel and enjoyed it very much. It makes your point.

Best,

Tom

[Del Holford]

Hi Tom
I’ve been editing for more than twice as long as Jeremy but I still have the same feelings. I’m like a dog after a bone when something just isn’t right. I may take just a few changes to get it right or it may take throwing it out and trying something else. Time is a luxury even when the project isn’t under pressure.

I do a lot of one man band projects because I can, but I much prefer to draw on the talents of designers, animators, musicians and anyone else willing to help on a project. That creative collaboritive thing just makes a project better. I started “designing” on a Chryon 4100 with 8 colors, then Dubner Turbo Painter and finally Photoshop and Illustrator. I’m not the greatest designer in town but when the project doesn’t have the budget my work will do. I’ve created my stations on-air graphics since before the turn of the century 🙂 because there’s no money in the budget to hire it out. There are some really talented designers and motion graphics people in Charlotte and I’d use any of their work if we could afford it. Now and then we find the money in a project to use them and I love it. The rest of the time I watch a lot of TV to steal ideas and incorporate them to suit our needs. We have a weekly news wrap-up program (we are PBS) and I stole CSI Miami’s glassy overlay thing and created the open. There may be more sizzle than steak on the :12 open but people know the program they’re watching.

Trish and Chris Meyers have some great material on motion graphics and design as well and they may be among the gurus of After Effects (tho Total Training is great too).

As someone said way earlier, be confident in yourself and I would add be collaborative when you can be. You’ll learn something from anyone who has a clue about their area of expertise. Then try it out, ask friends and co-workers what they think and most of the time they won’t hurl and may even like it. Keep at it!

Del

[Mark Suszko]

Nothing’s stopping you from picking up some used college design texts from Amazon. Also look at magazines like “How”, “Creative Arts” and “Graphis Annual”. My wife is a graphic designer, in the classic fine arts sense, and I crib off her magazines and books and things all the time, picking up terms and concepts. I really should emulate you and follow this up in more detailed fashion, it can only make you a better editor.

[Tom Meegan]

Thank you for the advice and kind words, Del. Thank you especially for the reminder about taking advantage of opportunities to collaborate.

I used to operate a Dubner 20K at the public TV station in Durham, NH. Brings back memories of Pledge Drives Past ;

[Tom Meegan]

Mark,

I’ve been thinking of starting a scrap book of print design I like. I’ve thumbed the magazines you mentioned above