Made a music video after a course at IÐAN
"It was such a remarkable experience to learn something I had no faith I could do, and then to discover that I had actually acquired some skill after just a few hours!" says Hólmfríður Hafliðadóttir, who attended Steinar Júlíusson's course in Motion Design in the print and media department at IÐAN this winter.
After the course with Steinar, Hólmfríður used her knowledge to make a music video for her sister Vigdís's first released song. The song, “Segðu það bara” (Just Say It), which Daði Freyr calls an absolute “banger!” on Twitter, has already made it onto the Rás 2 charts. Despite her young age, Hólmfríður is extremely versatile and is accumulating knowledge in many fields: psychology, music, literary studies, acting, and visual arts. And now design.
Got started after the first class
“My sister Vigdís was about to release her first song with the girl band Flott, and the song is about online communication between a girl and a boy, a communication pattern most people are familiar with. She asked if I would be willing to make a lyric video in an online communication style, and I, after one class in After Effects with Steinar Júlíusson and with a clear case of megalomania, said yes.”
Always made up in the end
“We often sing together. Vigdís is incredibly good at harmonizing, so we've often performed at family gatherings and Swedish Lucia festivals. We're also both in Improv Iceland, she's in a performance group and I'm in a practice group, and we sometimes improvise together. This is our first real collaborative project. It could be a bit difficult to separate the sisterly relationship from the professional one, but we always made up in the end.”
Already on the Rás 2 charts
“The song has been incredibly well received! Daði Freyr said it was a banger, and Flott is already on the Rás 2 charts. They are also going to release another song now in January which I think is just as great. The video has also been very well received. Not as many people have seen it, the numbers are nothing like the listening figures. I also think people don't quite realize how much work it is, especially for someone doing it for the first time, so friends and family could definitely praise me more, thank you very much.
Distance learning was a good fit
“I learned EVERYTHING from Steinar, of course. I had never worked with Adobe programs before, so I literally knew nothing about graphic design, let alone animating it. But I had wanted to learn for a long time but didn't have a good enough computer until now. For a complete beginner like me, it was so good that the course was recorded. If I got overwhelmed by all the new concepts I was learning, I could comfort myself with the fact that I could watch it again later. Which I did, and then I could also take proper notes. It was such a remarkable experience to learn something I had no faith in myself to do and then find that I had some skill after just a few classes!”
The guidance was a godsend
“It was an absolute godsend not to have to claw my way through this myself but to get good guidance. I had no idea I could do this! Of course, Steinar also has experience from the industry, so I learned a lot about preparing projects and how to set boundaries for myself and others as a designer; that helped when Vigdís was being difficult. I repeatedly thanked Steinar in my mind for teaching me to make a well-thought-out storyboard and to sort everything into folders!”
Communicating ideas
What fascinates you about design and video making? “Communicating ideas! There's an incredible amount of work behind graphics and animated videos, which means there's a lot of thought behind them. Being able to create something that many people enjoy seeing is also fascinating, creating something beautiful and/or interesting.”
Accumulating diverse knowledge
Hólmfríður mentions that diverse knowledge will support her career. This is in the spirit of what is predicted for the job market in the coming years and the knowledge that the fourth industrial revolution demands of people who want to stay relevant. “I'm going to study acting. But since I know the industry is tough, I've tried to accumulate various kinds of knowledge that could help me as an artist. I've been writing, painting, singing, and now dabbling in graphic design and videos.”
A future chock-full of creativity
What's next for you?
“I'm in my first year of literary studies but have been auditioning for drama schools, which is a test of patience and stressful but fun. I'm also going to work for my mom; she's a coach and has asked me to design various things for her. It's a bit difficult that my first video turned out so well because now she thinks I can do anything! The future is chock-full of all kinds of creativity.”
The next courses with Steinar Júlíusson at IÐAN are intended for photographers or others who want training in recording interviews and making videos, and later this winter there is a course in 3D motion design. The courses are suitable for both amateurs and professionals who want to enhance their knowledge. As Hólmfríður Hafliðadóttir proves, it is interest that brings results.
