After its previous editions were fully held online, Media Max returned with a hybrid set-up of its Max Lab series of workshops on April 3 to 5 at the Design and Arts Campus and via Zoom. Students were in for a creative treat as they picked up new skills and tricks from professionals and esteemed students in motion graphics, portfolio creation, storytelling, and more.
Spearheaded by the Multimedia Arts organization of Benilde, Media Max, Max Lab is a series of workshops and webinars on various multimedia topics to train and enlighten aspiring creatives, with speakers ranging from experienced students to esteemed professionals in their respective fields. The three-day workshop series had segments that were set face-to-face and online.
Getting creativity in motion
Max Lab opened with its first day of workshops that were held face-to-face. These included “The Creative Process” segment in the morning and "Get in Motion with Motion Graphics” in the afternoon.
Kick-starting with The Creative Process, speakers EG Albor (@egalbor) and Arielle Carpio shared their expertise in creating worlds of awe and wonder through the motion studio of Rezonate. They placed weight on how being creative isn’t limited to visual mediums but it’s navigating one’s way through creative challenges. To illustrate, Albor and Carpio showed the audience a past sample project they had with Kraft Mac & Cheese. The duo highlighted the importance of identifying keywords, knowing your brand, finding relevant references, and doing extensive research. Certainly, attendees were able to pick up new ways to streamline their creative processes.
Next is the Get in Motion with Motion Graphics talk with John Paul Cabagtong, ID120 AB-MMA student and Graphics Head of the Benilde Culture and Arts Unit - Cultural Promotions Team. He imparted his knowledge of motion graphics and gave a brief crash course on Adobe After Effects.
Learning about the software became less overwhelming with Cabagtong’s guide and demo. Moreover, attendees learned some tips on common text animation presets in motion graphics such as data stream, typewriter, fade-up characters, and many more. He also emphasized the importance of saving files, precomposing layers, and properly sorting assets. This made creating motion graphics projects more organized and easier to do.
Clients and clout chasing
The talks were held online through Zoom during the second day of the Max Lab 2023 series. It started with a talk on portfolio-making, titled “Catching the Client’s Eye” with ID 120 AB-MMA student Danni Lim (@dvnnilim). She presented what she’s learned in personal branding through her work as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator and the roles she’s taken up in her organizations.
Lim gave her insights on making a great portfolio which emphasized knowing one’s strengths and skills, the audience one wants to reach, and the clients one wants to work with in the future. She also highlighted how quality is more important than quantity, as having quality portfolio pieces will increase the chances of getting clients for creative work. With that in mind, Lim ended her talk by stating that one’s portfolio is never final and it’s crucial to keep evolving and creating to develop one’s skills.
In the afternoon session, viewers learned about merchandising for local artist alley conventions with Cyrill Acuña (@awkwardbutable), a freelance artist who regularly participates in artist alleys for convention events. In this Set Sale: Merchandising for Conventions talk, Acuña allowed viewers a glimpse into local art market conventions and how one can start participating in them. From deciding on the type of art merchandise to sell, like prints and stickers, to buying materials for convention table set-ups, participants were surely equipped with the knowledge they needed to start selling their works.
Additionally, Acuña gave some tips to participants on promoting themselves to garner customers for their table in their artist alley. From Acuña’s fellow artist friends such as HARA (@haranikala) and JC LO (@jcdelic), their tips included creating promotional posters and product catalogs, knowing your artworks’ market, being approachable and friendly during conventions, and greeting people when they pass by your booth. These were just some key takeaways from Acuña’s talk that kept viewers wanting to know more.
Resonating stories and sounds
As Max Lab 2023 wraps up with the last day, attendees dove into The Art of Storytelling with renowned illustrator and comic creator, Rob Cham. Cham passed his knowledge on creating worlds through some of his methods, such as the inside-out and outside-in methods, which involved creating elements like characters, themes, and stories first or figuring out the actual world in which the elements reside.
Moreover, Cham also stressed how immersion is key to storytelling as this allows readers or viewers of a story to feel like they’re a part of that world too. As Cham ended his talk, the audience was able to grasp more ideas and methods in storytelling that will help them build their own worlds with their own mediums.
Lastly, the DUB-le Check voice acting webinar was held, featuring Vanille Velasquez, a prominent Filipino voice-over actress who’s known for their roles as Jelly in the PBS Kids original cartoon, Jelly, Ben & Pogo, Zeri in League of Legends, and Neon, the first Filipino agent in the first-person shooter game, VALORANT.
Velasquez brought the audience on a trip down her journey as a voice actress through a contest she joined and the connections she made. She underscored how the audition processes for voice acting differed from acting since voice actors would have to go through auditions regardless of their level, as roles weren’t exactly handed out to them.
She also shared with the audience that aspiring voice actors could find open calls for casting on social media websites, casting or freelancing websites, and through joining communities. Furthermore, she gave her own tips on beginning a voice acting career, such as not investing immediately in equipment and taking classes to help one better control and maintain their voice.
As this year’s Max Lab series came to an end, students were able to learn a variety of things across various multimedia fields. The lessons they picked will definitely help them in becoming better and more inspired creatives throughout their career in the creative industry.
Sure enough, the Benildean community can hope to see more of Media Max’s Max Lab series of enlightening and educational talks in the near future.
