Skip to main content

FAO CGAA Year 1: 'Cinematic Spaces' Submission Checklist & Final Crit Requirements 26/10/2012


What follows are instructions for your crit presentations and reminders of what you need to present and submit.  Please use your network of creative partners to ensure that everyone has seen this information and understood it.  Any queries, please leave a comment and I'll clarify where necessary.

A new CG animated adaptation of a classic story is in pre-production. In response to the source material allocated to you at the briefing, you have been commissioned to produce 3 fully-resolved concept paintings. Your concept paintings should be 16:9 and painted digitally.


You are asked to produce a comprehensive blog archiving and annotating your creative development during the duration of the project You should use the blog to reflect critically upon your own creative practise and the wider cultural and thematic context of the project and engage collaboratively with your creative partners and peers.
Important! Your blog must include:
.    1)  Your 3 finished concept paintings.
.    2)  A minimum of a 100 developmental thumbnails.
.    3)  Research into your source material presented as a Scribd document.
.    4)  Your influence maps.
.    5)  Your creative partnership archived.
.   6)  Reviews of the ‘Space Oddities’ Film programme. Please note – in addition to and support of your own critique, your reviews must include a minimum of 3 quotations from 3 different published sources + poster art + supporting stills.  Please note - Harvard Method must be used for all quotations and all illustrations to be referenced correctly. Reviews are to include bibliography and illustration list.
.    7)  Your submission disc artwork.
.    8)  All Digital painting exercises from Photoshop workshops. 

You will present on crit day from a blog-embedded Scribd document that should, in terms of structure, follow the order of slides as given below.

  1. Title page, giving your name, unit title and date of presentation.
  2. Your designated novel/stories.
  3. Your definitive 'visual concept' influence map(s).
  4. Your final concept painting 1.
  5. Your build-up sequence of concept painting 1.
  6. Your final concept painting 2.
  7. Your build-up sequence of concept painting 2.
  8. Your final concept painting 3.
  9. Your build-up sequence of concept painting 3.
  10. Your three concept paintings together.

Example Crit Presentation - Nat Urwin, 2011, (note different unit title)



We expect a high level of professionalism from CGAA students, so please give the preparation of your crit presentation the requisite care and attention.  Your presentations should be branded, spell-checked and polished. Think creatively about your slideshow, but don't clog your content with unnecessary typography etc.  Your presentation should serve your content sympathetically.  Keep it simple - and only include what you've been asked to include.

While you will present at the crit from your blog, you must also submit a submission disc to me, which must include:
  1. Final 3 concept paintings.
  2. Your final crit presentation as pdf.
  3. PDF archive of blog.  For instructions on how to export your blog as pdf. go here.
You can purchase blank printable discs from the UCA shop, which can be printed with your artwork by a member of the technical tutor staff.  Take your blank discs and Photoshop file to DM0 - but  don't leave it to the last minute! The template for preparing Disc artwork etc. is available on myUCA/Unit Materials.




Your submission disc artwork might derive from a striking thumbnail or digital painting and you should certainly be considering this aspect of your submission now.  What I do not want come crit-day is a bunch of unmarked submission discs or discs pock-marked with scribbled stickers, or worse still, work submitted on USBs. Please don't glue paper artwork to your discs as this kills computers.   You need to take pride in every aspect of your creative submissions and the details do count.  In terms of branding, you should consider building a visual relationship between the submission disc and the crit presentation itself, so that everything pertaining to your project is clearly 'yours'.

Important: please note, your Cinematic Spaces crit starts at 10am sharp - at which point the doors will close.  Latecomers will be disallowed entry after the crit has started, but are expected to join the crit at a convenient interval. Latecomers will join the 'back of the queue' in terms of crit presentations and will present their work at the end of the day in order of their arrival.  Students who have been in attendance since 10am or before will be given the opportunity to leave the crit at this time.  The order in which you'll be presenting your work will be randomised, which means any one of you may be presenting first!

If circumstances beyond your control* prevent you from attending on time, you must contact Jackie Andrew before 10am.  Lecture Theatre 1 will be open at 9am.  Students should seek to arrive in advance of the start time to ensure they are prepared. Your project management and professionalism counts.  Please prepare for your crit as you would for an interview or pitch.  For some 'Rough Guide' style advice re. the stuff of engaging crit presentations, please go here.

And finally...


And a note to any 2nd/3rd years - your input on crit day, as always, is welcome!

*But not issues in regard to last-minute technical problems (including printing of essays and writing of discs etc.) that reflect poor project management. No student should be printing/writing discs/rendering etc. on the morning of crit day.  Thursday is your deadline, not Friday.





Comments