We are very pleased that Kevin Flach was able to be our guest speaker and he was amazing. Kevin was highly entertaining, well spoken, and extremely informative. He currently works as a freelancer, also working with Ares Productions, and describes himself as a Digital Communicator. His background includes a degree in marketing, then sales, then the Navy for 6 years. He did his Navy service as a pilot and in communications. Upon leaving the service he picked up a Masters in Therapy and Psychology and started learning Photoshop to do some minor creative work. He took a liking to such work and eventually got a job in graphics. He continually worked on his skills and by showing such dedication, the company he worked for provided software, hardware, projects and encouragement. His experience now includes 2d drawing & animation, 3d animation, audio, video, and directing.

Like all of our speakers, Kevin gave good advice to the group. He explained that there will always be people that are better than you, and those that are worse than you. You must find your own strengths and weaknesses. Get to know yourself and your “enemy”, which is anyone that you are working with, not necessarily an antagonist. As a commercial artist you need to do what the client is wanting. But done properly thru recommendations, suggestions, and well presented ideas you will often be able to create the project the way you wish and still please the client, perhaps even more than otherwise. Remember that good communication and customer relations are skills just as highly needed as great creative ability. Always have a backup plan. Plans change; the program you were going to use won’t open, the video you had won’t play, or the sound is static when it should be clear. Be able to adapt and adjust as situations arise. When working with customers, speak their language. They often don’t know what the acronyms are, what programs you’re using, or that a 100x100 jpeg will pixilated when enlarged 400%. Explain yourself in terms that they understand in a helpful tone and manner. Some customers come to you for conveyance, others because you do accurate work, others for a different reason. These are some of the ways to separate yourself from the crowd so that customers want your services because good service is what you provide, and not because you’re the cheapest.

End of the meeting was a Q&A session with Kevin Flach and a small demo reel of his current work. I personally really enjoyed listening to Kevin and our audience was in tune to hearing what he had to say.

We thank Kevin greatly for coming to be our guest speaker this month and we look forward to seeing him again… maybe as a speaker again down the line.

You can reach Kevin at:
Kflach.home.comcast.net
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