What does an animator need to know to break into the business and suceed?

Hello Peds~

Established animators all seem to agree: as tough as it may be to get
a job *anywhere* in Hollywood, animation is the most difficult
position to get started in. The competition is fierce. Most animation
jobs are completed in-house, which means it?s tough to get anyone to
even consider your work.

Katherine Lawrence (?The Secret of Mu-Lan,? ?X-Men Evolution,? etc.)
says, ?I wouldn't suggest anyone try and break into animation these
days, unless their first love is the SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS age group.
That part of animation is still doing moderately well, or so it seems.
My personal favorite, the action adventure genre, is now limited to
only a few shows and those story editors tend to (for good reason) use
the writers they've worked with before.? (?Animated Insights for Non
Artists:
Interview with Katherine Lawrence, "Freelancing Away from LA," Digital
Media FX, http://www.digitalmediafx.com/Columns/ShannonMuir/katherine-lawrence.html
)

Nonetheless, for those who have a passion for animation, hope is out
there. Experts recommend that you don?t focus on sending out scripts
or story boards. Instead, they say you should make up a demo reel?a
sample of a project you think is ready for an audience. This is how
?South Park? and many other animated works were originally sold.

But before you send your demo to anyone, be sure that you present
yourself as a professional. Do some research on the company. Do they
produce the sort of animation your demo displays? Who in the business
should you contact? Prepare your materials on a per-company basis;
don?t use a form cover letter. Each letter should be tailored to the
business you?re approaching.

Make sure everything is labeled clearly, too, with your name and
contact information. You want to make it as easy as possible for what
you hope is your new boss to reach you.

Your demo reel should not only show off what you?re best at, but it
should be relevant to the organization you?re sending it to and the
type of job you want. Many companies will make determining this easier
by including a list of things they want to see on their website or a
company fact sheet. (For example, see ?What Do We Want To See in a
Demo Reel?? at LucasArts: http://www.lucasarts.com/jobs/demoreel.htm 
) Generally speaking, your demo reel should only be about 3 minutes
long.

Include a demo reel breakdown sheet. Says Pamela Thompson, ?A demo
reel breakdown sheet is mandatory and should clearly spell out your
involvement with each piece. The breakdown sheet should include a
title/description of each shot, what the applicant was responsible
for, software used, and any special extenuating circumstances.
However, never include ?works in progress.? You will be judged based
on the work on your reel, not what someone might conjecture you can be
capable of. A demo reel breakdown is simple with a short sentence for
each shot. For example, Shot 1: Project: Wizard of Oz feature film-
Modeled melting witch with Maya. Animated witch melting using
Softimage. If you did everything on the reel, enclose a note stating
that. If you worked on a group project, be clear about your specific
role on each shot.? For more information on being business-like, check
out ?Career Coach: How to Impress a Recruiter? by Pamela Kleibrink
Thompson, http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=2091 
and ?Career Coach: Demo Reel Dos and Don?ts? by Pamela Kleibrink
Thompson, http://mag.awn.com/index.php?article_no=16

You should also know that it?s not likely you?ll be able to freelance
as an animator. Shannon Muir (?Invader Zim,? etc.) says, ?Personally,
I only know two people who successfully freelance outside the Los
Angeles area, and only one of those from out of the state. Both are
writers.? So expect to move to the L.A. area if you want to break into
animation.



For a good overview of do?s and don?ts for breaking into animation,
check out the book ?How To Get A Job In Computer Animation: Create an
Amazing Demo Reel and Get it to the Right People? by Ed Harriss:
http://www.edharriss.com/getajob/xsibase.htm  This book discusses the
basics, from making a demo to choosing software to job hunts and
interviews.

For a bunch of tips on CG animation, also look at ?Breaking into
Animation,? http://www.spicycricket.com/SCA/SCA_anim.html . Use the
?next? and ?back? buttons, or the drop down menu, to find articles.
There?s some terrific info here about average pay and hours,
must-have-skills, and more.

You will also want to read ?Animation: Some tips on getting started in
the business? by Michael McBride,
http://www.michaelmcbride.com/DOCS/article.html , which discusses
creating your own animation ?studio.?

And ?The 3-D Career De-Mystified,? CG Networks,
http://www.cgnetworks.com/story_custom.php?story_id=434&page=

Finally, do read the long, but helpful ?How to Succeed in Animation?
by Gene Deitch, http://genedeitch.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=cover

Good luck!
Kriswrite

RESEARCH STRATEGY:
"break into animation"
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"breaking into animation"
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"how to" animation
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animation ?demo reel? ?how to?
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The short answer is to have some work to show at interviews. (But
never send samples cold, they end up in the trash unscreened.) The
easiest way to get something to show is to take a course or twelve.
Unless you have a degree from a college with a good program and plenty
of stuff to show, don't try for a position like "Animator First
Class." Start as an intern or in the mail room. You are really
pursuing two careers: 1) animator and 2) finding work as an animator.
Be sure you know the history of your craft and the current who's who
in detail and by heart. Build a resume: Do shows, do shows, do shows.
You can do anything that you believe you can do, but as the old
fellows said, "Faith without works is dead."

I would like to comment that working in "indie/indy" or indepedent,
animation might be a great way to start, no matter what part of the
animation process you want to be a part of.

A man in Japan in the last year or two (Makoto Shinkai was his name I
think) wrote, directed, acted in and animated his own 25-minute short
film, "Voices From A Distant Star". He did everything on his G4
Macintosh computer. Amongst Japanese anime enthusists in the US, he
has managed, with this one film, to become one of the
most-talked-about figures, and his work was so good that it acheived a
professional English-language release in the US! If he can do it, so
can anybody with enough talent, drive, and determination (and a decent
computer).

You will find many animation and Japanese anime enthusists online who
are willing to write, act or even storyboard for you, completely for
free, just because it is what they love to do. Just like in the film
industry, the more work you get done to show what you can do, the more
work you'll get when you turn "pro". In fact, if you're willing to do
Japanese-style animation, and/or willing to do animation coloring (our
animator works fastest when she only has to worry about the basic
animation and not color or shading), I might have some good experience
for you! My online "studio", Studio Yokai (http://yokai.vze.com), is
working on an indie animated series, though right now even casting's
not finished and we have only one animator and may have lost the two
or three storyboarders we had last year when we were first beginning
work on the series. It's not paying work, either, but it'll be great
experience and practice (especially at 20 episodes, with a possible
second season of 20 episodes; and that's just THIS series - we've got
plenty of ideas for other series, films, and short films in
development, too!), and plus, I guarantee that not only will any
animator, color artist or storyboarder's name will be prominent in the
credits, but also that if you wish to use ANY animation or storyboards
you do for us for your personal portfolio, you most certainly may, and
if you do especially good work, I'd even write letters of
recommendation shoudl you need any (yes, we need arists very much, but
I also am always glad to help artists out, I admire them for their
talent and drive and whatnot -_^).

In any case, you'll find plenty of work online as an animator if you
"put out", so to speak - write it in your online signatures, make an
occasional post about it, mention it in replies related to animation,
search out writers and so on online who want or may want the services
of an animator or whatnot... you'll eventually find work. ^^ Build up
enough indie work, and you have a full-fledged portfolio for any
future "pro" needs ^_^.


-Jamie White,
Founder and then some, Studio Yokai