S.W.O.T & Smart targets

SMART

• Specific – target a specific area for improvement.
• Measurable – quantify or at least suggest an indicator of progress.
• Assignable – specify who will do it.
• Realistic – state what results can realistically be achieved, given available resources.
• Time-related – specify when the result(s) can be achieved.

SWOT

• Strengths: characteristics of the business or project that give it an advantage over others
• Weaknesses: are characteristics that place the team at a disadvantage relative to others
• Opportunities: elements that the project could exploit to its advantage
• Threats: elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business or project

S.M.A.R.T is a proven and successful way to plan a way to achieve a goal or objective. It is a good way to understand the process of making productive decisions with your work or area of expertise. I would use it to perhaps increase my work rate or to see where I am missing vital steps. It is also a good way to keep your time keeping in check. For example, by planning the way you work you get to see an entire workflow and can manage it easier. This way you can easily determine whether a target is achievable or too ambitious. 

S.W.O.T is a method used to self evaluate yourself. It is more of a personal way to identify where you could improve as well as seeing where your strengths lie. By identifying your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats you can then use that information to better yourself. Rather than just using other peoples criticisms, it is important to know that only you know where your true strengths and passions lie, as well as where your weaknesses are. By getting these things out in the open to yourself you can find that you will work much more efficiently then if you had just kept all of these points in the dark to yourself.

Company Research

Creative Assembly

The head quarters of the creative assembly is based in Horsham. They began in 1987 and began their incredible total war series in 1999 with the smash hit game, Shogun total war and since then the franchise has gone from strength to strength. They started off with 5 team members and now they employ over 250 all around the world.


The Creative Assembly are the creators of the famous game series, Total War. These are massive RTS (Real Time Strategy) games which allow you to control vast armies and command them to fight against others. However they have worked on a variety of different titles ranging from EA Sports Rugby to Rome II.

The Creative Assembly do not offer direct intern ships into their company. And the jobs that are available require the highest of ability in the field of work. However they for some of the jobs available they are entry level. So you don't need 5 years of experience and to have worked on a game that is a best seller. They do ask that you are keen, into games and a quick learner and keen problem solver. I think they are looking for people with a passion for designing games as well as people who have a brilliant understanding of certain programmes. Having said that, it is unlikely that you would be interviewed without a degree in game designer similar qualification.

About 2 years ago I was researching the company and looking to see if they offered internships. I emailed the head of HR Emma Smith, asking about general information and internships. I also explained that i knew i was very young and inexperienced so i did not ask for a job. I just stated that i really like the work they did, that i had been playing the total war series religiously for the past 10 years and i was just wondering about graduate opportunities. To my delight she replied to me saying that she appreciated my understanding and let me know that they do not offer graduate internships. However she said she was impressed with my initiative and said as soon as i get my degree i should send in a CV.



CA Contact information

Emma Smith - HR Business Partner at The Creative Assembly 
emma.cole@creative-assembly.com
01403 756390 (Work)


Published Games 1989 - Present

Title	Year	Platform
Stunt Car Racer	1989	DOS
Shadow of the Beast	1991	FM Towns[41][42][43]
FIFA International Soccer	1993	DOS
Microcosm	1994	DOS
Rugby World Cup 95	1994	DOS
ARL 96	1996	DOS, Windows
International Rugby League	1996	DOS, Windows
AFL 98	1998	Windows
ICC Cricket World Cup England 99	1999	Windows
Cricket 2000	2000	Windows
Shogun: Total War	2000	Windows
Rugby	2001	PlayStation 2
Shogun: Total War – The Mongol Invasion	2001	Windows
Medieval: Total War	2002	Windows
Medieval: Total War – Viking Invasion	2003	Windows
Rome: Total War	2004	Windows
Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion	2005	Windows
Spartan: Total Warrior	2005	GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Rome: Total War: Alexander	2006	Windows
Medieval II: Total War	2006	Windows
Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms	2007	Windows
Viking: Battle for Asgard	2008	PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360
Empire: Total War	2009	Windows
Stormrise	2009	PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360
Napoleon: Total War	2010	Windows
Sonic Classic Collection	2010	Nintendo DS
Total War: Shogun 2	2011	Windows
Total War: Shogun 2 – Fall of the Samurai	2012	Windows
Total War: Rome II	2013	Windows
Total War: Arena	In development	Windows

The Creative Assembly - References - Website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creative_Assembly#Games



8poundproductions

Cryteck

Cover Letters and CV

CV

1. Contact Information
This should be included in the header or nicely organised at the top of the page including;
-address
-contact information
-name

2. Small opening paragraph
This should be brief and should be elaborated more in your cover letter

3. Work experience
It should be in reverse chronological order. Include information like:
-employers names
-project titles
-explain roles and responsibilities
-should be ordered into neat sections

4. Education
Reverse chronological order. Include dates and grades of your degree and A levels and institutions.

5. Hobbies and interests.
-detail activities outside of work and education
-include personal projects (youtube, speedpaintings)

6.Cover letter
No longer than 1 side of A4. Don't waffle, stick to the point.



Cover letter

1. Show your knowledge of the industry.

2. Show that you understand the culture.

3. Do the research on your dream company.

4.and 5. Know what you are applying for AND show that your skills are transferable.

Knowledge and passion are key tickets into the industry AND most importantly you must also show that you are qualified. 

You should proof read and check for grammatical mistakes. Poorly constructed senescence and spelling mistakes are a sure sign that you will be chucked out of the pile.

Task 1

My interests

I have been particularly interested in drawing and character creation. However, as i am progressing through my learning i have been more keen to get into 3D modelling. I really want to start creating and sculpting characters in Zbrush and get a better understanding of 3D programmes in general such as maya and 3ds max. Part of creating characters is knowing how to rig them and get them ready for animating so i would like to start researching and experimenting in that field further. 

Blitz Game Studios

 http://www.blitzgamesstudios.com/careers#

Braking In

3D Cutscene Artist

A 3d cut scene artist will work closely with other conceptual artists and follow a storyboard to generate a highly detailed and polished sequence based on the storyboard and the concept artists ideas. They would either render a full screen animation or use the in game engine to create a cut scene that is scripted in game. Depending on the level of cut scene required, it may well even be outsourced to a different animation company. For example, Blizzard Entertainment do all of their work in house. Smaller companies may find it easier to out source this type of work so that they can focus on the game itself. In game cut scenes are usually done in the studio as they don't take as much time to make as the full screen cinematic. 

I have a great interest in CGI movies and short cinematic films. I think that these are the sellers of the game or film. They are visually stunning and if you look at games such as, Planetside 2, Halo 5, World of Warcraft and many more, you can see that these are highly polished, fast paced, epic sequences that are meant to grab your attention and tell you a short story about the game or film. I also like the idea of working on CGI sequences in games because it leads to other opportunities such as working on film.

3D Character Builder

As a 3D character builder you would mainly be working on exactly that. Modelling characters in programmes such as Zbrush and 3ds max. Part of being a character builder is still very challenging. You have to keep in mind things like how will this be animated. The most beautiful character in the game could be wasted if it is poorly constructed for animation. However, motion capture is become ever so more popular in games as it has been used in movies. So after an actor has completed the sequence in motion capture, the movement is then applied to the 3d model. This can give them a more realistic finish as they are moving like a human would do in that situation. 

I am really enthusiastic about this whole process. Especially the motion capture part. I have seen in dev blogs for a game Rome Total war 2 that they used motion capture for some of their kill animations. This really gives a sense of realism in battle. It makes the whole game seem a lot more real. The 3d models in the game are stunning as well. With both very detailed units and the motion capture, makes me want be able to be a [part of that process to see a really clean and realistic finished game.

3D Character Animator

http://archives.igda.org/breakingin/