Email: watman@brainwavez.org

Online Portfolio: http://www.brainwavez.org/watman/

1997: I received my 2-year Multimedia Design Diploma from CityVarsity, in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Multimedia Design course was comprehensive, covering:

• graphic design and layout (starting with training in paper-based design and creation, and ending with computer-based training), including design for print (typography, corporate IDs, packaging, DTP, and so on), multimedia, and the Web;
• copy writing (for print, radio, and TV ads, interactive presentations, and journalism);
• multimedia authoring;
• web design and creation;
• interface design;
• sound design;
• art classes/creative design (drawing/illustration, perspective, figure drawing, and so on);
• TV and film basics (including camera work, sound, lighting, scripting, editing, directing, and the history of cinema); and
• animation (basic introduction to 2D and 3D animation).

1998: I received my 3-year Multimedia Design Honours Diploma from CityVarsity.

I researched enhanced CDs for my third year research project and then, in collaboration with students doing other multimedia research, developed an interactive multimedia CD-ROM that also had audio tracks playable in a conventional audio player. (This was before creating an enhanced CD required only a couple of mouse clicks in Nero. It used to be an extremely tedious process. There was also more than one method, as there were different kinds of enhanced CD formats in those days.)

Adobe Acrobat, Adobe InDesign, Adobe PageMaker, Adobe Persuasion, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere
Apple QuickTime 4 Pro
Arturia Moog Modular V, Arturia Storm
Equilibrium Debabelizer
FruityLoops
Macromedia Director, Macromedia Extreme 3D, Macromedia FreeHand
NetObjects Fusion
SoundEdit 16
Sound Forge XP

Copy Writing, Journalism, Sub-Editing, and Proof-Reading

• Seven years' experience in the publishing industry.
• Over five years' experience working full-time for a technology magazine, writing features and opinion pieces, reviewing dozens of hardware and software products, sub-editing news, articles, and reviews, and proof-reading pages, as well as developing and maintaining a style guide.
• Five years' experience in magazine sub-editing (fields have included IT/technology; women's interest, including fashion and beauty; and décor, DIY and gardening).
• Five years' experience interviewing IT-industry and business leaders and writing corporate profiles.
• Complete understanding of British, American, and South African English.
• Complete familiarity with the magazine publishing environment.
• Experience at a multimedia and communications company writing text for emailers and creative rationales for projects.

Webmaster

• General site management, maintenance, and problem solving.
• Liasing with database programmers and network administrators.
• Managing and answering visitor feedback.
• Managing subscriber databases.
• Managing online advertising campaigns.

Web Design (specialising in hand-coded HTML)

• Thorough knowledge of HTML 3.2 and HTML 4.0.
• Thorough knowledge of cross-browser compatibility issues.
• Familiarity with Cascading Style Sheets, JavaScript, and WYSIWYG site-design programs.
• I have created a number of web sites from initial concept through to HTML-based back-end development, including user-interface creation and graphic design of all the elements on the pages.
• I am in the process of teaching myself xhtml and CSS2.

Graphic Design (specialising in the Web and Multimedia)

• Thorough knowledge of 2D graphic design and image optimisation for the Web, including file formats, as well as colour, resolution, and file-size issues.
• Thorough knowledge of graphic design and image optimisation for multimedia.
• Thorough knowledge of graphic design and layout for print.

Interface Design (for Interactive Multimedia such as Web Sites and Multimedia CD-ROMs)

• Through knowledge of the relationship between graphical elements, colour design, and the placement of elements to create an interface understandable and navigable by both beginner and advanced web surfers and CD-ROM users.
• Through knowledge of web site information architecture - both front-end user-interface development and creation of logical back-end data organisation and flow.

Programming (Multimedia Authoring using Macromedia Director, and some Turbo Pascal)

• I always attempt to code CD-ROM projects that are bug-free (by the Alpha release) by collaborating closely with the graphic designers to determine what kind of programming the project and its various elements will require and to figure out how to accomplish this before I write a line of code (I prefer to think before I act, to minimise mistakes).
• I have authored three Director-based projects, one of which, The William Kentridge Interactive CD-ROM, was a commercial release.

Sound Design (Sound Effects, Original Compositions, Sound Editing)

• Thorough knowledge of sound formats.
• Experience with sound editing and sound-effects creation.
• Experience in computer-based music composition using a variety of programs and formats, including over 60 original compositions in the MOD file format (otherwise known as "tracking") from 1992 to 2000, and a number of compositions using Storm and other tools.

3D Design

• Creation of models and scenes using a 3D graphics package (beginner ability).

PC and Macintosh Troubleshooting

• I have been a home and SOHO computer consultant for over 12 years and have extensive experience with both the PC and Macintosh computing platforms.
• I have installed, re-installed, recovered, upgraded, and configured a wide variety of software programs including various operating systems, performed general hard drive maintenance, data backup and data recovery, set up Internet accounts, installed hardware, and done general PC problem solving.
• I have also taught novice users (of a variety of ages) how to use specific software or perform certain tasks with their computers.

Available upon request

For five years I worked full time at a technology magazine. I now work for various publishers on a contract or freelance basis, primarily as a copy editor, but sometimes also as a journalist.

Associated Magazines

• Femina [2006]
• I assisted with the copy editing of the July 2006 issue.
• COSMOPOLITAN (South African Edition) [2004 to 2006]
• I assisted with the copy editing of eight of the 12 issues published between February 2005 and January 2006.
• In 2006 two articles I wrote were published in the magazine: one on easter eggs in software and movies, in the April 2006 issue, and one on South African female gamers, in the July 2006 issue.

Media24

• Home [2005 to present]
• I have edited the copy of all the issues of Home magazine since it was launched in April 2005.
• I have written a number of technology-related articles for Home and its sister magazine Tuis.
• Woman's Value [2004 to 2005]
• Complete copy editing of the six issues from October 2004 to March 2005.
• An article I wrote was published in both Woman's Value and dit in the February 2005 issue.

Plus 94 Communications Cape [July 2004]

• Creation (xhtml design and copy writing) of a number of emailers.
• Brainstorming and copy writing for projects and tenders, including creative rationales.

Corporate Research Foundation [2001 to present]

• 2001: I wrote two profiles that were published in the Top ICT Companies In South Africa (2001/2 Edition) (Zebra Press, Cape Town, 2001, ISBN 1-86872-333-X).
• 2003: I wrote four profiles (three were published) for the Top ICT Companies In South Africa (2003/4 Edition) (Corporate Research Foundation Publishing, Cape Town, 2003, ISBN 0-620-30639-4), and was an initial research contributor to The Best Companies To Work For In South Africa (2004: Top Companies Series) (Fourth Edition 2003, Corporate Research Foundation, Cape Town, 2003, ISBN 0-620-30917-2).
• 2004: I wrote two profiles for South Africa's Most Promising Companies: 2005 (Corporate Research Foundation Publishing, Cape Town, 2004, ISBN 0-620-33141-0).
• 2005: I wrote three profiles for the Top ICT Companies In South Africa (2005/6 Edition) (Corporate Research Foundation Publishing, Cape Town, 2005, ISBN 0-620-34020-7) and I wrote a profile for The Best Companies To Work For In South Africa: 2006 (6th Edition) (Corporate Research Foundation Publishing, Cape Town, 2005, ISBN 0-620-34377-X).

SA Computer Magazine [February 1999 to June 2004]

• Full-time employment as Online Editor of SA Computer Magazine and webmaster of the new (at the time) SA Computer Magazine web site (ISSN 1605-6353). I managed the content and maintained the site, including editing the news, and I also proof-read and wrote features and reviews for the print magazine (ISSN 1018 9564). I also managed the Dr Boot interactive Q&A forum.
• In 2001 I designed and became the manager of the Singapore Computer Magazine web site, and I was promoted to sub-editor of SA Computer Magazine.
• I retained my role as sub-editor of the magazine and Online Editor of the various web sites until I left the company in 2004, and wrote for every issue of the magazine while I was employed there. I also developed and maintained a style guide for the writers.
  * Please note that as of February 2005, SACM is no longer being published by the company that I worked for.

Other Projects (Social Contribution)

• 2001: I co-designed the theatre programme for the College of Magic's September 2001 show "Flight Of The Stars".

CityVarsity [1996 to 1998]

• Various student projects (paper-based graphic design and copywriting, and multimedia authoring), including The Endless, a cross-platform (Macintosh and Windows 95) interactive CD-ROM.
• I was part of a team that designed and created graphics for two insurance companies for use with their in-house training and presentations.
• I authored the program and edited the sound for The William Kentridge Interactive CD-ROM, a cross-platform (Macintosh and Windows 95), interactive CD-ROM of William Kentridge's work, published by David Krut Publishing (ISBN 0-620-21585-2).
• I assisted in the authoring of Rubber, a cross-platform interactive enhanced CD (my third year research project).
• Co-designed and coded the new CityVarsity web site. (This version is no longer online.)
• Researched enhanced CDs for my 3rd year project.

2000

My September 1999 feature for SA Computer Magazine, entitled "The Buck Starts Here", was a finalist in the 1999 South African Science and Technology Journalism Awards in the category "Best Feature in a Specialist Periodical".

Aode Users Group South Africa (Previously The Macromedia Users Group South Africa)

• Member of the Cape Town chapter since April 2003 [web link].

Internet Society (ISOC)

• Member of the Internet Society South African chapter since February 2004 [web link].