HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE IN THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY!

The animation industry (compared to [lets say] the car industry) is relatively small in this country. Think of it as a cottage industry of sorts.

Generally it’s not what you know it’s whom you know or being in the right place at the right time that will get you a job.

It can be divided up thus:

Commercials.

Feature films.

TV Series.

Computer games.

Interactive CD ROM’s.

Internet.

Corporate.

Educational.

Several of these categories merge into each other. Some have only been around for a few years.

London is known for its commercials. Advertising agencies come from all over the world to have their adverts made. The mentors on the course, are primarily commercials companies. In the eighties there was a lot of money flowing around the industry from large companies wanting to advertise their wares. A lot of animation companies got very rich. It was during this period that most of the post production houses were set up. At first they were mainly film editors who were making the jump into video. By the nineties they were making the jump from video to digital postproduction. Because they are a relatively new part of the industry there is very little union recognition. As part of this progression the companies bought primitive 3D computer packages that were coming available in the late eighties. Ridiculously expensive programs operating on even more expensive computers. So unless you were very lucky or very rich, the chances of being able to use this kit were very low.

The first computer animators were either editors, computer programmers or rich kids who had been able to put themselves on some course. Very rarely did an experienced traditional animator get near any of this equipment. Because these pioneer CG animators were learning animation on the job, the animation wasn't very good. Around the early nineties a whole new type of animation sprung up for traditional animators. Something called "guide" animation. The animation would be drawn first and then a computer animator would move their computer model to the positions of the drawings. The people with the power in this situation were the owners of the equipment and the skills to operate it. Consequently the computer animator was paid substantially more that the drawn animator. This situation doesn’t really exist any more.

Computer animators are much more skilled than 15 years ago and the equipment is so much more affordable. The computer animators who work on commercials work fast, they know the software inside out and are prepared to work all hours God sends to get a job done. This mentality harks back to the days when there were few people skilled in the use of the software and the post production house could only afford a few machines. This is in contradiction of the European working time directive (a law that limits the amount of hours you work a day). I imagine that these animators have signed opt out clauses. (They are also paid very large salaries)!

It always strikes me as being more sensible to buy more computers and employ more animators for shorter hours and perhaps not pay them quite as much.

In the post production houses there seems to be little division of labor. An animator is expected to be a jack of all trades and a master of all. Consequently it is very difficult to get into a postproduction house as a junior with out any previous experience.

Drawn commercial companies are a slightly different case in point. The industry is divided up in order to maximize output and individuals usually work at a single particular skill.

The pecking order is thus;

Producer.

Director.

Storyboard artist.

Layout artist.

Key animator.

Assistant.

Inbetweener. (Not tweener!)

Painter.

Runner.

This means there are more opportunities to join an animation studio at the bottom (and work your way up) than there are at postproduction houses.

At traditional animation studios there are more opportunities on TV series or feature films, because the pace is slower and they are more prepared to take a risk than commercials companies.

Starting as a runner at a traditional animation studio is a good move. I know of one guy who 3 years ago was a runner at one commercial animation studio. Last year he designed and directed a commercial. Not bad progression for 3 years!

Being a runner at a post production house on the other hand could be a really dead-end job. Postproduction houses do a huge amount of different work and their 3d departments are only a small part of the complete package they offer. As a runner you may never get noticed!

Don’t turn your noses up at computer games companies or companies doing TV series in 3D. They tend to be far more adventurous with who they take on than postproduction houses.

They will often take on good drawn animators and train them up. The downside is that they tend to be in bizarre parts of the country. A couple of years at a games company could set you up for life! Be prepared to travel.

NEW TRENDS.

As we get deluged by thousands of digital television channels, the audiences for individual programs have shrunk. Consequently adverts have to be made for specific small audiences or a very large general audience. Often a product may have to have a different advert for each audience. Consequently the budgets for adverts have gone down. Add to this the fact that a home computer will now run a high-end animation program, so an individual sat at home can compete with the best Soho production house (with out the huge overheads), there is a lot more competition for these adverts.

So what is a company based in Soho with several hundred thousand pounds worth of Silicon Graphics machines (that are slower than my laptop PC), a swanky reception area and a lot of full-time staff to do? Diversify!

Companies that five years ago would turn their nose’s up at the thought of animating a TV series or TV special are putting adverts on the back burner and producing entertainment programming!

SO – HOW DO YOU GET A JOB?

The majority of jobs in the traditional animation world are freelance or short-term contract. The jobs done by commercial companies have production runs of around 8 weeks and a crew of about 10. When they get a job in, they are not going to advertise in the Guardians jobs pages on a Monday. They will have lists of inbetweeners, assistants and animators that they ring up when they have a job on. It is your mission to get on those lists, so that when they do have a job, they give you a ring.

TV series, TV specials and feature films will provide you with longer spells of work, but often will pay less money.

Postproduction houses tend to employ people on a full time basis. You are supposed to forget about having a social life though, or you have to enjoy socializing with other animators! You could be asked to work for several days in a row, but you will earn a lot of money.

Computer games and computer TV series will mainly be on a full time basis.

Increasingly more and more computer animation is being done on a freelance basis. Either by people having their computer at home or coming in to work at a company.

You would also need to be on a list to get jobs like this.

So get known.

In order to get known you will have to approach animation studios with your work cold.

The best way to show your work is to be there when a director is looking at your reel and your folio, so you can put over what a nice person you are and what a great employee you would make. Unfortunately, nowadays most studios are bombarded with thousands of budding animators and they won’t see you in person.

So, often you have to send in a show-reel and folio. The folio should consist of good life drawings, drawings of animals, portraits, story boards, character designs, printouts of computer models you have made and some "flips" of your drawn animation (an animated sequence held together with a bulldog clip that a viewer can flip). Your show reel should be on a VHS tape. Unless a studio specifically asks for it, DO NOT SEND IN A CD ROM. No employer is going to risk an expensive computer trying to play back a CD ROM that may have a weird compression format and could be lousy with viruses! This show reel should be short (2-3 minutes at the most) and all the best stuff should be at the start. The reason for this is that a busy person viewing your reel may only watch it for the first few seconds. If they are grabbed by what they see they will keep watching, if not they will switch off and put the next reel on (studios will receive hundreds of reels a year).

It’s always a good idea, when applying for work, to address your letter to a specific person. "Dear Sir/ Madam" just shows you haven’t done your homework. Also, make sure the company does the kind of work you are looking for. All you have to do is ring up the company in question and ask whom a show-reel or C.V. should be sent to. Generally a C.V. on it’s own will not get you a job (unless it gives details of a hell of a lot of animation experience at certain premier companies). The best thing is to send a reel and a photocopied, "cut down" folio (by this I mean a selection of life drawing, character design, models that you’ve built or drawn and some "flips" of your animation) with your C.V. Send with this a stamped addressed envelope, for the company to send your work back and ask for some comments. Even better than this, is to be able to present your work, to a director at the company, in person. That way, they can see what a nice person you are and how you will fit in with their team. This is easier said than done. One way is to ring up and ask if you can bring in your work and show it to this wonderful person. If not, ask if you can leave your work for a few days and then pick it up later. When you do drop it off, do so at a point of the day that would be just before a break. About 9.45 AM (just before they have started work), 11.00 AM (midmorning break), 12.45 PM (just before lunch), 03.30 PM (mid-afternoon break) or 05.45 PM (just before they knock off for the day). The reason for this is that when you drop off your work (and you would have phoned beforehand to let them know when you are coming) you could casually ask the receptionist if any body could look at your work with you. You could say you were worried about leaving your folio or you need your folio later in the day or you really valued their opinion of your work. If these don’t work, leave a "cut down" folio and reel and try to arrange a time when you could pick them up. When you do, try to talk to somebody to see if you can get any comments about your work. It’s just a case of getting your face known. Another trick is to include a photograph of yourself with your CV (a bit cheesy, I know) so they don’t just think of you as a faceless student with little experience (which, to put it bluntly, is what you are to them). Although I’ve heard of one director who sticks these photographs up on the wall and much hilarity is derived from the artistic modifications that are applied to them.

Be prepared to be disappointed, develop a very tough skin. It doesn’t matter how good you are, some animation industry professional (or more accurately "sad hack") at some point will have a great time telling you how crap you are.

Another thing is to hang around in the various pubs that people at animation companies drink at. "The Blue Posts" on Berwick St on a Friday night is good for drawn animation. "The Coach and Horses" on Poland Street or "The White Horse" on(Fridays again) for 3D computer animation. If you hear somebody talking about animation (and most animators are very opinionated and will blab on about animation for hours) see if you can butt in on their conversation. They may have useful information on which companies are looking for animators.

Keep smiling and don't give up. Somewhere out there, somebody want's to employ you to animate!

 

Back to Working in animation.