1. Know who your target is

Storyboard portfolios can vary depending on what kind of story job you are applying for. Properly researching your dream studio beforehand can be very helpful. The two main categories are Features and TV. In general, for TV storyboarding portfolios, characters should be more posed out and have a cleaner look. The portfolio piece usually has 6-9 panels on each page. For features the storyboard can be rougher – however, the shot selection should be more cinematic; single panels on each page and examples of animatics are preferred for feature portfolios.

Image courtesy of Siti Lu

Image courtesy of Siti Lu

2. Do your thumbnails

Thumbnails are the essential blueprint in the storyboarding process. Usually the first pass of your storyboard is not going be the best solution for the story. Your thumbnail drawings should be super quick and clear enough for you to understand, that way you can test out all the different approaches for the same story within a very short amount of time and then you can pick the best one from there. If you do your thumbnails right, 90% of your job is done at this stage.

Image courtesy of Siti Lu

3. Clarity is key

As a storyboard artist, your job is to tell a story through images, therefore, clarity is the top priority for your storyboard. Always make sure that your boards are 100% clear to your audience. Another mistake that beginner story artists tend to make is trying to kill two many birds with one stone. Keep your storyboard simple and focus on communicating one thing at a time for every panel so that the audience doesn’t get confused or overwhelmed by what’s happening.

Image courtesy of Siti Lu

4. Clean Drawing =/= Stiff Drawing

Your portfolio should include some clean drawings. This is a great way to show your draughtsmanship, but be careful with them. Oftentimes when I see artists clean up their boards they end up losing the appeal of their rough pass. When you clean your boards, make sure it still conveys the same level of impact as your rougher boards. It’s also worth bearing in mind that clean storyboards for TV are very different than feature storyboards. Learn from your favourite artists at your dream studios and see how approach their cleaner boards for their job.

Image courtesy of Siti Lu

5. References are your friends

I know some artists who are ashamed of using references and think that they should be experienced enough to draw everything out of their imagination. The truth is, references are an artist’s best friend – for example, even if you know the whole anatomy of a horse, by drawing from memory you run the risk of ending up with a design that looks too generic. By just pulling up a still image or reference video of a horse, you can be inspired by the real-life energy of a horse that will likely translate to a better-looking drawing. Always learn by taking advantage of references, as it will make your drawings more believable and appealing.

Image courtesy of Siti Lu

6. Diversity is important

We all have our favourite genre or comfort zone for storyboarding. However, including sequences that can represent different genres in your portfolio is a good idea. As a storyboard artist, you can’t predict what kind of sequence the director is going to assign to you, so it’s important to show the studio that you can convey a broad range of styles and emotions, such as comedy, emotional scenes or action.

Image courtesy of Siti Lu

Image courtesy of Siti Lu

7. Life drawing and comics

For a storyboard portfolio, life drawing can be a plus point. You want to show your life drawing ability which is a very important skill for a storyboard artist. This means you can draw a character fast with clear, appealing poses. Another great thing to include are examples from personal comics, as comic storytelling is very similar to storyboarding. With comics, you can show your other storytelling skills outside of storyboards, and studios generally appreciate the inclusion of personal projects so that they can understand you better as a person.

Image courtesy of Siti Lu

8. Keep it short and solid

Your portfolio should show your best work and be as concise as possible. It’s important to bear in mind that recruiters have thousands of portfolios to review, so you don’t want yours to be too long or too average. Make sure to keep your best work presented at the top of your portfolio. Ideally, 50-150 panels per sequence and 3-4 storyboards in total is a good amount for your portfolio.

9. Work balance

Storyboarding is very hard, so whenever you finish a sequence, celebrate and enjoy some boba

Image courtesy of Siti Lu

Good luck!

The post 9 Tips for your Story Portfolio appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

For nearly ten years, Tim Bain has written for some of the biggest and globally popular animated hits within children’s television. His journey led him to work on such acclaimed shows as Go Jetters, Dennis and Gnasher Unleashed, Fireman Sam, Digby Dragon, PJ Masks, Bluey, The Rubbish World of Dave Spud, Thomas & Friends and many more.

We spent an hour talking about his impressive career, how he got started and his tips for any inspiring writers; plus how it felt to work at acclaimed studio Aardman and having created his first series after his hard work.

How did you start your career and how did you get involved with writing for children’s television?

I had a bit of a roundabout career I guess. I was obsessed with animation and cartoons when I was a kid. I saw the Aardman Claymation movies when I was a teenager which just blew me away and got me obsessed with Claymation. I loved the Saturday morning cartoons. I used to draw comic strips with my sister who was my solo audience back then.

I always knew I wanted to work in animation so I did an arts degree followed by a year-long animation degree in which we learnt 2D animation techniques and Claymation. We did animation with sand and glass and we animated with meat products which stunk up the studio after a day under the hot lights. What I found was that I enjoyed the scripting more than the actual animation itself because in Claymation they can fall over and my doodles aren’t that fantastic -, like my drawing skills – but I really love the storytelling aspect of it and I really wanted to make that a career.

But I sort of got distracted in my twenties. I ran a corporate video business and then through a contact I got a job as a comedy writer on a topical news series called Rove which was on once a week which I loved doing, telling jokes for adults on a lot of contemporary views. But my heart was always in animation and I was always working on my own little ideas on the side and I had the opportunity to move to the UK when I was about thirty. The industry over there is quite spectacular, the kids TV industry. They’ve got the BBC, CBeebies and CBBC and Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network and they make such high quality, world class shows, particularly in animation. I really wanted to get into that and it was hard, because I was a small fish in a very big pond and the TV credits that I had in Australia weren’t for kids and no one really knew the shows I worked on back in Australia.

I went to a comedy writing festival and I met a fellow Australian who was directing kids TV over there and she introduced me to a kid’s producer at the BBC via email. I went and met him and he was developing two shows that he created, one called Numtums and one called Go Jetters and he was looking for a writer to help develop those, to write some scripts to expand the bible and really flesh out those shows. I was lucky enough to hit it off with him and he invited me to some workshops for those shows and then to go and write the pilot script and flesh out the bible. It was developing those shows that kind of got the ball rolling.

Once I had credits I think it was a catch twenty-two when you’re starting out in writing because people want you to have an agent I guess. Producers would like you to have an agent to get some confidence in you, but then agents want you to have a credit on a TV show before they’ll hire you. What’s the first step? I was lucky enough through that process that I was able to meet this fabulous producer, Barry Quinn, and his faith in me led to working on those shows and then securing an agent in the UK, which then gave other producers confidence to hire me on their shows.

Some of your writing seems to focus on comedy like The Rubbish World of Dave Spud and Strange Chores. What are the challenges involved with writing comedy and trying to get 6 to 12 year olds to laugh?

That’s a great question because sometimes kids TV can be looked down upon as not as clever and as smart as comedy aimed at adults, but in actual fact it can as I’ve written comedies for adults as I mentioned. It can be tricky writing for younger and younger audiences and I think it can get harder and harder the younger you go, because you’re looking for all these comic buttons on things and jokes, but the line that you can cross gets lower and lower the lower the age group of the audience.

You have to find clever ways to entertain an eleven year old whose quite sophisticated and possibly watching shows like Rick and Morty and Family Guy, but you have to write for them within the boundaries of that age group. There’s definitely a trick to it. I could remember a lot of my own experience as a kid and embarrassments that I had or things I loved doing, jokes that my friends would tell what I found funny back then and it’s drawing on those memories and bringing those into scripts that hopefully will relate to an eleven year old in 2020.

The Rubbish World of Dave Spud

You seem very attached to animated shows as a writer. What is it about animation that appeals to you personally?

I think it’s this almost magical moment of an inanimate object or piece of clay coming to life. It’s marrying that actor’s voice to the animator’s beautiful animation and then suddenly it sparks a character that feels real. So that’s really exciting for me because as I mentioned before Aardman was a huge influence when I was a kid and I saw Wallace & Gromit and a variety of their short films and Chicken Run when that came out and I had the luck recently to be writing for a series of Morph, a classic Aardman character. It’s exciting to be writing stories about the journey that Morph goes through and there’s slapstick you can have with him, see all of this beautiful animation from the talented animators at Aardman bring these pieces of clay to life and imbued them with emotion and bring those stories to life.

You’ve written content for a wide range of audiences, from pre-school to adults. Which age groups do you personally prefer to write for and why?

I love writing for all of them. There’s very different jokes you tell with those different characters and different categories, whether it’s preschool or six to elevens or adults. I love being able, in any given week, to work on a variety of shows for a variety of different audiences and be back and fourth in-between.

I love writing stories and getting ideas down – you put a lot of heart and empathy into the shows at the [pre-school] age group which I love doing, but I honestly love writing for six to elevens because you’re really pushing that line to get away with jokes that you wouldn’t do for younger kids. Like the Rubbish World of Dave Spud, I’m surprised how far we pushed the envelope on that show. It’s been a push on the barrier on what you can get away with that’s loads of fun for that audience. But I love writing for adults because they are my contemporaries and if I can write jokes about stuff that’s happening in the news and vent at politicians or whoever that’s really rewarding as well.

We recently interviewed the animation director for Love Monster and she said that the premise of the series is “to work out everyday problems that hopefully will be reflective of concepts children might encounter – like sharing with other people, or things they might be scared of.” With this, or any other pre-school series you have worked on, what approach do you do to make sure the episodes can be relatable to young audiences?

I wrote a few episodes of Love Monster and that was a lovely shows to do because you’re really focusing on a character’s inner most emotions as he went through each day.

I think it’s that I’m lucky enough to have my three year old twins and understand what their perspective of the world is and how they’re learning every day. Their mind is being blown by the brand new things they are discovering, so when I’m writing for young audiences it’s thinking about the roller coaster that life is. They can spin between different emotions from one second to the next, they can be joyously happy and then terrified the next or screaming about something that’s not fair. It’s trying to see the world through their eyes so I’m developing my own show at the moment which is about three different families with different family dynamics like a family with two gay dads and trying to feel how a child experiences that kind of family and the joys and downfalls of everyday life I guess.

I think it’s also about really putting kids up front and centre in your stories so adults definitely take a back seat. It’s about kids seeking fun or making friendships or all the emotional things they experience in any given day.

Love Monster

As you are also someone who has written television bibles and pilot scripts, what are your key tips for anyone who is looking to break into writing for animation?

You start by cutting your teeth by writing for other shows and that’s certainly how I learnt the trade. I went out there when I was younger, trying to pitch my own shows and get those up and happening first, but I think what was most admirable going to write for other shows. The first preschool show I was hired on was Fireman Sam and I learnt so much from the wonderful head writers Laura Beaumont and Paul Larson, who have been head writers for a few series, and knew the characters so well and the situations Sam and the kids could get up to on that show and guide me through. I would have story ideas that help me shape those stories into something that felt very much like a Fireman Sam story. It was like a personal class with two wonderful teachers.

For a start, I would suggest to try to get hired as a writer on shows that you love. How do you do that? It’s a very good question because as I was saying before producers would like you to have an agent or see prior credits. What I would recommend is you definitely take that baby, that series concept you got, on your own. Write a bible, look at other bibles if you can, any writers that you look up to who you can email and ask if they can share any of their own bibles.

And then flesh out your own pilot script based on that bible and I would thoroughly recommend spending the money on a script editor. There’s so many fantastic script editors available for hire you can find very easily online. Look for a script editor who’ve worked on productions of TV that you admire and pay them to guide you through all the steps in that script and the bible. But by working with a script editor you’ve got someone who’s very experienced guiding you through it, helping you shape the script to the best possible script it can be along with your bible. Then you’ve got something that you can for one, certainly pitch, but you might have a bit of trouble getting it up and running without having experience writing for other shows. Secondly, you can use that script as your sample, and that is something anyone is going to hire you will often want to see. If you don’t have an amazing CV with credits, use that sample as your calling card to show the quality of your writing. That sample is going to be your business card, it’s going to be a strong way to sell yourself so if you don’t have credits, I highly recommend emailing and introducing yourself. And hopefully if they are good people and they got time, they will give you a shot and if that script grabs their attention and impresses them, they might give you the opportunity to perhaps let you pitch ideas for episodes or invite you to a workshop on a round-table with writers at the start of a series, but that’s definitely the way to get the ball rolling with your very own script. I think the very best example of your work is your original idea fleshed out into a script.

One of the companies I would like to know what they were like to write for are Aardman. What was it like to have worked with such a massive name in children’s media?

It was an absolute dream come true. Going into Aardman in Bristol was a pinch myself moment. I’ve been there a couple of times now and working with my heroes. I was hired on The Epic Adventures of Morph and it’s a series of five minute episodes about the famous, classic character Moprh and because of my experience growing up watching Wallace & Gromit and Morph and movies like Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, I was quite obsessed.

I got to work with a producer named Sarah Cox who’s a brilliant producer at Aardman and I got to know her from the CMC (Children’s Media Conference), I think I met her a few years ago and we got on really well and she invited me to come in and I met Peter Lord, who’s one of the three founders of Aardman along with Nick Park and David Sproxton. Morph is Peter’s baby and it was amazing. I went in there to pitch this idea and he was very excited about the idea. It was working with him and Sarah in person and a bunch of Skype sessions along the way that I ended up writing six episodes for that series, which is about to premier soon on Sky. It was a dream come true. I couldn’t believe it. It was a career goal I had for twenty years to write for them and now it’s so exciting to know that right now in a studio at Aardman there’s heaps of incredibly talented animators taking my script and breathing life into it. This series, I feel like we really got to push the boundaries of Morph and explore his world.

Morph

As well as having written for Thomas & Friends, you have also voiced for one of the characters, Aiden. How did you get involved with voice acting and were you able to use this unique position to help with writing for the show?

When I was a kid I wanted to be an actor and unfortunately I realised in a school musical I didn’t quite have the acting chops. I was probably a bit too much of an exaggerated actor, but I think that my over the top sort of attitude worked well for animation where you’re encouraged to dial up the volume to eleven.

When I was writing for Go Jetters, the episode I wrote about the Sydney Opera House, there was this yacht commentator character that I thought I wouldn’t mind playing him. I was basically making an offer to the producers to come in and voice this character and they said yes. So I got in there and I got to work with the cast in the studio. The cast were much more talented than me and I needed many more takes to get my lines right. The director had to put me through my paces, but I got a kick out of seeing an animated character with my own voice coming out of his mouth. That’s quite exciting.

When Thomas & Friends came along, I was hired to write some episodes set in Australia where Thomas visits Australia, travels around and has adventures. There was a couple of characters; there was Shane the train and his rear carriages, Aidan and Audrey, and I reached out to the producers and said “Hey, are you interested in me trying out some voices?” They said sure go ahead and so I recorded some on my phone and I sent them in and they liked them enough to say come in and record in the studio. It’s a lot of fun and makes you see a production of a show in a whole new angle and realise how tricky dialogue can be to say sometimes.

Dialogue can be clunky and hard to get your mouth right sometimes. Now it’s made me read my scripts out loud before I send them off, knowing an actor is going to bring my scripts to life and make it sound like credible dialogue. It was a lot of fun to get out from behind the desk and step into a booth and work with a director to bring a character to life in a whole new perspective.

Are there any shows that you would have liked to write for and if so, what were those titles?

Many shows. Back in the day I was very new, but I had a chance to go to a writer’s workshop on The Amazing World of Gumball, which is just a brilliant show. I was so new to that world and it was nice to spend time on the table for a few days. I got a joke or two in one of the episodes, but I didn’t end up staying on to write for the show. Looking back, I would love to apply to that show with more experience that I have now.

Aardman was definitely the one I wanted to write for and had that opportunity recently. I would still love to write for Shaun the Sheep one day, and Wallace & Gromit if ever the opportunity came again.

Feature film is the next point I’m really keen to get into. It’s just a whole other format. You’re trying to tell a story to engage an audience and keep them excited for ninety minutes. The shows I usually write are mainly eleven to twenty two minutes long. I think that would be a really exciting challenge, particularly to tell stories on a big screen with a bigger budget and I just need to find the time to sit down and start coming up with my own feature film ideas. If a producer ever came along with an idea in the works, I’d love to be working on that as a freelancer; a writer for hire.

As a parent and a writer, what was it like to have written for Bluey and put your own experience in a successful Australian production?

I was very chuffed to write that episode (Mount Mumanddad). It was co-written with Joe Brumm, who wrote a majority of Bluey episodes and is the creator, and he’s absolutely brilliant. When I read the bible and read the scripts and watched the pilot they sent me during the start of production it just blew me away. Like you, I just thought “What is this amazing show?”

The comedy is so relatable if you’re a kid or a parent, every episode is full of relatable hilarity. But it’s also got this amazing heart to it where characters have this discovery at some crucial point in the episode where it resolves a problem they might have and have this really heart-warming resolution. It’s just a mix of all those different elements that you can understand why it’s so hugely popular.

There’s just so many relatable situations that come from raising kids and how funny it is and how stressful it can be sometimes and all the games that you play and that’s in the heart of every Bluey episode. I didn’t have that relatability to six year old Bluey and four year old Bingo, but what I did have was memories from my own childhood. The episode I came up with was called Mount Mumanddad, which was based on my experience using my dad as a mountain when I was young and how amazing it was to be small in size and have this huge parent you can climb all over.

So I drew on experience from my own childhood.

Bluey

What are you currently working on?

I’m quite lucky to have my first series Kangaroo Beach commissioned a year or so ago by ABC Kids and we’re well into production of that now. It’s an animated preschool CGI action comedy show and it’s set in a world of lifesaving or life-guarding. I was a little Nipper when I was a kid, which was like a junior lifeguard in Australia where you learn all about water safety, how to rescue people and we play beach sports. It was a lot of fun. My dad was a lifesaver when he was younger.

It came from this idea that kid’s love the beach and they love the swimming pool and there’s no shows out there on TV that are primarily set in that world, but at the same time there’s also danger involved with water. It’s one of the highest risks of death for children and it’s like an education for both kids, and more importantly, their parents. It’s never been explored before in a kids show.

Being an Australian I thought some of the best beaches are in Australia. I’ll set it in Australia and use Australian animals, but ones that live on the beach where a majority of Australians live. So the lifeguards in the show are all kangaroos. Kangaroos are great swimmers and fast on land so they’re perfect for lifeguarding. The cadets, who are the kid characters in the show, they’re learning the ropes from the kangaroo lifeguards and spending a summer at Kangaroo Beach.

That’s hopefully coming out at the end of this year on TV and it’s been a really rewarding process. It’s the first time I’ve created a show that’s going to be on TV and it’s working with a very talented team of producers and actors, incredibly talented designers and animators and other writers bringing the show to life. It’s been a real thrill.

Kangaroo Beach

The post How to Write for Kid’s Animation: Tricks of the Trade with Tim Bain – Q&A appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Finding internships is not easy. And yet, in an increasingly competitive world for graduates trying to break into the creative industries, it’s an important step on the ladder to a successful career.

A successful internship brings experience, networking opportunities, and direct understanding of what is needed to get a job with an animation studio. So, how do you go about finding an internship within the animation industry?

The answer, of course, is hard work and commitment. Expect to send a lot of letters and emails, and expect a lot of rejection. You need to have thick skin in this business. So, forget about internships coming to you – it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get down to work.

1. Start making lists

Start by Googling “Animation internship” and see what comes up. Make a list of all the companies you can find that offer internships, and what their requirements are. Search for the companies you would like to work for, and see if they have an internship programme.

What do they want from you? Most likely they will want to see a demo reel, a CV, and samples of your work. So, your first job is going to involve making lists, and figuring out where you want to apply. Your second job will be to start polishing your demo reel.

2. Polish your demo reel

Lots of students just like you want to get internships. Companies tend to get lots of offers, and they can afford to be picky. So, you need to put your best foot forward. Polish your demo reel and make sure your work stands out from the crowd.

Remember that the secret of a great demo reel is – no mistakes.

3. Get your work online

Got yourself a blog or website? If not, why not? These days, employers won’t wait for you to send them a reel – they want to click on your work.

Make sure your demo reel and artwork is hosted online on your blog or website. If you don’t have one, do it now.

A blog is quick, easy and free. You can also build your own website through platforms such as wix.com, which might take a little longer to create.

Which one you choose doesn’t really matter, as long as it looks crisp and clean and is a good shop front for your talent.

4. Polish your CV

The next thing you need is an up-to-date, short, and easily readable CV.

5. Start sending letters

Now it’s time to start applying. You will need to draft a good cover letter to send to each company that you are applying to. Draft a standard letter, save it, and then start adapting it. Each letter must be tailored to suit the company you are applying for, so it doesn’t read like a generic letter and shows your interest in working there.

What are your key skills? How are they relevant to the position you are applying for? Employers like to see that applicants have done their homework and can explain why they are interested in a career with their company. Be enthusiastic, and show that you know what that company does for a living.

6. Get ready for an interview

Company recruiters want to know that you are enthusiastic and motivated about the industry and the job role you are applying for. You must research the company, and find out what your job will likely be.

Recruiters often ask questions like: “What do you think this job involves?” or “what do you expect an average day to be like?”.

They may also ask what your career goals are. This is a good opportunity to explain your career ambitions. Everyone wants to direct Hollywood movies and win Oscars, but the reality for most careers will be rather different, so be aware of the realistic career opportunities and focus on those first and foremost.

Being aware of what a realistic career in the visual effects industry looks like will win you the respect of the person interviewing you. Saying you want to be the next Stephen Spielberg will not.

7. Exploit your connections

Personal connections count. If you know people who work in the creative industries, ask them about internships. There is no shame in this – many of the jobs you get in industry will be thanks to the connections that make up what we call networking.

Employers want to be comfortable with the person they are hiring, and if someone within the company can personally vouch for the applicant, that counts for a lot.

8. Finally, don’t give up

Be the rhino – embrace being thick skinned. Expect rejection. Keep at it and you will be rewarded.

Alex Williams, has worked on films including The Lion King, The Iron Giant and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He’s the Head of Animation at Escape Studios, a leading VFX, Animation, Games and Motion Graphics academy, based in central London.

The post 8 Steps To Finding An Animation Internship appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Rule 1 – Be inclusive

Include a bit of everything: drawings, painting, life drawing, sketches, scribbles, 3D digital artwork – whatever you have to hand. You never know what the person interviewing you is looking for, so include lots of stuff.

Rule 2 – Go digital

It’s a digital world. Ideally your traditional artwork, such as drawings, paintings or collage, should be scanned (you can use your phone if need be) and then cleaned up in Photoshop and uploaded to a website or blog. If you don’t have a website or blog, consider making one (see rule 4 below).

Rule 3 – Try doing some animation

You’d be surprised how many students apply to study animation but haven’t actually tried doing any. How do you know you will like doing it, if you haven’t tried it? As long as you have access to a computer (and all schools have them these days) you can try out animation in many different kinds of software, such as Photoshop or Adobe Animate. We recommend Blender; it’s free to download, and there are tons of tutorials at YouTube. Follow a tutorial or two and see how you get on.  We don’t mind seeing bad animation – the mere fact that you have tried doing some at all will separate you from the rest of the pack.

Rule 4 – Be online

The best kind of digital portfolio is a website or blog showcasing your work – it shows you are engaging with the modern, digital world.  Nowadays it is easy to create a free blog and/or website, and start uploading your work.  It’s never too early to have your own online showcase, and it’s completely free to build a website at wix.com. You can also upload your work to Tumbler, which is really a simplified kind of blog.

Rule 5 – Don’t worry if you can’t draw well

Good drawing is a plus, but it’s no longer the essential skill like it was in the old days. Just as important (maybe more so) is a willingness to overcome technical challenges. It helps a lot if you don’t get too frustrated when computers go wrong – which they do all the time.  Software malfunction should be a challenge to be overcome – not a reason to stop work.  Why not download a free copy of Autodesk Maya? It’s the main software we use to teach animation, and it’s free for students.

Rule 6 – Be creative

Animation is not just about mastering the software, it’s about having ideas, and giving a performance. So a sketchbook or a blog full of ideas is a definite plus.

Rule 7 – Be organised

Don’t come to an interview with a jumble of different files in a random folder, which you then can’t find.  We don’t want to wade through your holiday snaps while you find your latest showreel.

Rule 8 – Avoid specialist files

We don’t want to receive specialist program files like Maya files or 3D Studio Max files, or Adobe Animate, or AfterEffects files. Specialist files like this take too long to load up and the person doing the interview may not have the right software on their laptop.

Rule 9 – Do a tech check before the interview

Just like if you were applying for a job, make sure you present your work in a format which is easily opened. Do a quick tech check – do the files actually work? And can they be opened in standard software like VLC or Adobe Acrobat?

Rule 10 – Don’t delay

You don’t need to have a polished portfolio ready in time for submission of your UCAS application. Your portfolio only needs to be ready when you come in for interview (or, at Escape Studios, to one of our Applicant Days). So, apply early, and worry about your portfolio later.

Alex Williams, has worked on films including The Lion King, The Iron Giant and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He’s currently the Head of Animation at Escape Studios, a leading VFX, Animation, Games and Motion Graphics academy, based in central London.

The post Ten Rules to Create an Awesome Animation Portfolio appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

What goes into a great student demo reel? This is one of the most common questions that we get asked by our students at Escape Studios; and for a good reason. Putting together a great demo reel is the single most important factor in whether or not a student will get hired, as it is a showcase for your work.

So what goes into a great reel? Below are our 12 rules for success.

Rule 1: Start strong, and create a great first impression

Put your best work first and last. Most studios will likely invest about ten seconds into watching your reel. If they see weakness at the start, they won’t keep watching. So, start strong, and be sure to grab their attention.

Rule 2: Avoid mistakes

If in doubt… leave it out! If your demo reel has mistakes in it, the studio will notice, and they will weed out your reel. Why? Because they will assume one of two things: either you saw the mistake but could not fix it, or you didn’t see the mistake at all. Either way, your reel is in the bin.

Rule 3: Customise your reel for the job

Don’t have a ‘one size fits all’ demo reel. Re-edit your reel to suit the job you are applying for. If you’re applying for a job at Pixar, your reel should be very different to the one you submit to Framestore. Why? Because Pixar specialise in cartoony animation, whilst Framestore tends to do photorealistic creature work. Customise your reel to suit the studio. On your blog or website you should have a reel for character work and one for creature work. Don’t confuse the two.

Rule 4: Be online

DVDs and paper portfolios are history. Your reel should be easy to find; hosted at your blog or website. Nowadays, you also need to be on LinkedIn. Recruiters live on LinkedIn. Don’t forget to state on LinkedIn that you are available for work, and include a link to your reel.

Rule 5: Polish your work and learn Premiere or Final Cut

You are representing yourself to the studio. Presentation is important, so make sure that the edit looks nice. Learn Adobe Premiere so you can cut and re-cut your own reel.

Rule 6: Gather opinions from people you respect

Find people who understand the industry you are applying for to help you review and critique your own demo reel. They’ll likely spot things you may have missed, and be able to offer a fresh perspective.

Rule 7: Your friends may not be the best judge of your work

You’ve probably looked at your reel so many times that you replay it in your sleep. Your friends and family may say they like your reel because they like you and they do not wish to offend you. So get impartial advice from a pro – and apply their advice to improve your showreel! Tough love will help you in the long run.

Rule 8: Don’t sacrifice quality for quantity

A short reel with a few good shots is much better than a long reel with many weak ones. Remember that studios will not look at a long reel, at least not all the way through. Polish and perfect what you have, and discard the rest.

Rule 9: Show your name and contact details at the front and at the end

Don’t make it hard for people to find you. Include your full name, your website or blog, your email address and your telephone number. Make yourself easy to find. Email addresses should always be professional; avoid things like gr8lover@gmail.com.

Rule 10: Keep it short

Students should have a demo reel that is no more than a minute long. Remember, quality over quantity.

Rule 11: Include a reel breakdown list on the reel at the end

If there is anything on the reel that you didn’t do, make it clear at the end, and give full credit to the creator. Don’t ever take credit for work which is not your own. This is a small industry, and you will get found out. Watch out – don’t use other people’s work!

Rule 12: Don’t use copyrighted music on your reel

You will want to host your reel on YouTube and/or Vimeo. If you use music which is owned by someone else, your reel is likely to be deleted for copyright violations.

Alex Williams, has worked on films including The Lion King, The Iron Giant and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He’s currently the Head of Animation at Escape Studios, a leading VFX, Animation, Games and Motion Graphics academy, based in central London.

The post 12 Rules to Follow to Perfect Your Animation Demo Reel appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Animated content is in the middle of a golden age, with shows like Rick & Morty (recently renewed for another SEVENTY episodes), The Amazing World of Gumball, Bob’s Burgers & BoJack Horseman attracting young audiences that broadcasters crave and advertisers love. On YouTube, channels like HISOE, Dorkly, Frederator, Mondo and a relatively small but significant number of individual creators are pulling in hundreds of millions of views a year. There’s also new animation business like Studio Yotta, made up of creative talent who honed their craft on YouTube and sites like NewGrounds.

If you’re thinking “Tom, it sounds like this animation channel game is pretty sweet and easy right?” you’d be… totally wrong. It’s probably never been tougher, especially since YouTube made changes to their algorithm to favour longer content (10 minutes plus). This is especially tough on animation, as it takes significantly more time and resources to produce much shorter videos.

Crash Bandicoot Falls (Mashed)

However, if this is what you are passionate about, banish the clouds of doom above you and don’t start figuring out your mind-blowing unboxing strategy just yet. Launching and building a channel focused on animated content is still possible, and if you play it right can lead to success and lucrative opportunities. The very fact it’s difficult to do means that compared to other online video staples like how to, unboxing, gaming and vlogs, there is less competition and a potentially huge, hungry audience to devour your content.

Here are some tips and things to think about based on my own experiences running Mashed that should help set you on the path to world domination:

TIPS FOR ANIMATION CHANNEL WORLD DOMINATION

Decide what content you want to make: If there’s a specific area or genre you want to focus on, look at who is successful in that area. Alternatively, you identify a gap in the market or an audience, which you think, is underserved. Figure out what you can do that’s unique, and if that’s not possible what kind of twist you can put on it so it stands out

Make content you are passionate about: If you want to make great content, and stay motivated and grow as you work on the channel, this is so important. If you’re passionate about something, then you’re likely already an expert and you can use that knowledge to deliver quality content.

Sonic Time Trouble (Mashed)

Keep things simple: It’s easy to get overly excited and commit too much way too soon. Make your branding clear and simple so the audience knows what you’re producing before they even click on one of your videos. I would recommend uploading at least once a week, but the most important thing is the quality and consistency of what you create. Once you nail that down, start building out.

Build your brand: Make sure your channel branding looks good and communicates what you do simply and effectively. Have thumbnails that are enticing (Audiences love emotion and expressions, which is why our thumbnails always try and show off a great shot but with strong expressive faces). Have a short but engaging call to action at the end of your videos asking people to like, share and subscribe.

Make yourself visible: It doesn’t matter how good your content is if nobody sees it. So set yourself up on social media, not only to promote your content (important) but to also talk to your audience (even more important). Enter competitions where you know lots of people will be watching submissions. Reach out to people and collaborate so you can combine your audiences. Look for places that are likely to have large audiences already around the type of content you make (Like Reddit & Facebook) and post your work.

Link and Sidon (Mashed)

Evolution not revolution: The biggest mistake I see a lot of channels make when they start becoming successful is that they focus entirely on that one type of video that is popular. This is a great strategy – until for one reason or another that popularity disappears and you have no flexibility with what you create – and what your audience will watch. While you will always have a core type of content that your audience really loves, it’s important to always experiment. Find new ways to approach your subject material, work with new people who will have fresh ideas and perspectives. Constantly evaluate what you have published. What worked? What didn’t? How could you have improved it? Combine your own opinion with those you trust, and dive into the analytics to see what patterns you can see.

Thou shall not be a douchebag: There will be occasions where you may think there are quicker ways to succeed, but ultimately are self-defeating. Don’t take other peoples content without permission. Don’t just copy another creator’s style, tone or format. Don’t use music you do not have permission to use. Don’t take your audience for granted. Don’t forget to credit people properly. Don’t forget to engage your audience and embrace the good comments as well as the bad ones. Doing any of the above is a pretty quick fire way to either get your channel demonetized or shutdown, or effectively to the same thing when your audience abandons you and you get a bad reputation. Nobody wants that.

Fallout TV Takeover (Mashed)

The above should set you up for world domination, or at the very least help you figure out what it is you want to make, know the best way to deliver and promote that content and start to build a successful animation channel online. Go out and get on it!

See the work of YouTube channel Mashed at youtube.com/mashed

The post Growing Your Own Animation Channel appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

It’s advice that we’ve all heard before but I remember ignoring the very same from my uni tutor. He told me to “concentrate on one character and do it really well instead of animating lot’s of characters and animating them averagely.” Turns out he was right but at the time I chose to ignore him.

The idea he tried to communicate was when you sit down with an idea, try to strip it back to it’s simplest form. This doesn’t just help you with a more streamlined project; it will also help you concentrate on what really matters. Make sure you’re showing off what you’re good at. If you’re great at 3D then don’t make the whole film in traditional 2D. Experimentation is to be encouraged but make sure for the most part you’re presenting your best skills. Personal work is your chance to showcase.

A great self-funded example above of a project that was simple and an excellent showcase of talent.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Whether you’re an independent animator, a student or a big studio, ultimately you want an audience for your work. This doesn’t mean you have to make a film with cute fluffy dogs but make sure you have an idea of a market or audience before you start. Think about why and who you want to see it . For example if your making a horror short then are there any horror festivals in the calendar? If so make your deadline for their submission dates. There’s nothing worse than finishing up on your film only to realise that you’ve finished the day after a huge a festival, event or submission date. Error!

My first short ‘The Robin‘ in 2014 was created with the sole intention of gaining me more freelance work so I researched the right people at animation studios to send it to. Also asking for feedback on your work when you send it out is also a great way to make connections within the industry, especially if you’re just starting out. The animation community is small and always willing to lend a hand.

Simplicity is key. Concentrate on what your good at. Animating!

BUDGETING TIME (AND MONEY)

Before we get onto the horrible money side of things it’s absolutely key to budget your time with as much rigour. Time is precious and if you run low, you’ll start to rush, ending up with a film that isn’t what you intended. To make sure you have no regrets, plan dates and milestones before you start, especially if you intend to hit a certain festival. If you’re lucky enough to have others working with you then make sure you know when they’re free. I speak from experience, when you think someones free and they’re not, schedules fly quickly out the window! As Mr Franklin once exclaimed “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” But perhaps we won’t get that dramatic.

Money is also a tough thing to allocate. If you’re lucky enough to be a 2D or 3D digital animator (like us) then costs are going to be relatively low, unless you’re hiring other people to lend a hand. With stop-motion and puppetry there’s more costs involved, materials, etc. This is where it’s important to work out roughly how much you’re going to spend. If the costs start to spiral in an initial budget you’ll have time to tweak the story to make things a little easier on yourself. There’s nothing worse than stressing over money during the production. You want to be doing some of that care-free animating!

Another thing to factor in is distribution. If you’re planning on taking your film to festivals then some of them charge to submit! So be prepared. For my first films I lacked this budget so didn’t enter the costly festivals. Therefore missing out.

Rex Factor The Animated Show currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter

CROWDFUNDING

There is one more option for those self-funded short films. The illusive crowdfunding. It’s something Tinmouse is currently doing with our new pilot Rex Factor The Animated Show and I will say right away it takes a lot of time and effort to be successful. If you are starting as a relative unknown in the industry it can be a risky venture. Support for you and your project needs to be drummed up months before going live on Kickstarter or Indiegogo for example. Its naïve to expect instant results by just placing up your project on a crowdfunding site and hoping people will pledge without prior knowledge. Your film could be the most amazing thing ever but if people aren’t aware of it it can be an uphill struggle.

This doesn’t mean it can’t be done though, oh no. If you have the time to put into a campaign then it’s very rewarding. Make sure you create a audience before the launch. As in the ‘Know Your Audience’ section, target the right people and get them excited about your film. Create an email database to keep people up to date and make sure you create some promo artwork to entice all those pledgers. We are currently a 3rd of the way through our 1st Kickstarter campaign so can’t say too much on this right now. However it is very rewarding and humbling to see people backing your project once you’ve launched and certainly something I’d recommend. You’ve just got to be committed. I will return in a couple of months, to tell you how it all went and give you some tips on creating a great crowdfunding campaign.

Tom is the producer at Tinmouse Animation and they are currently self-funding and running a Kickstarter campaign for their new pilot Rex Factor The Animated Show. A show that is bringing history to life, making it fun, accessible and engaging for all. You can find out more about the project and pledge your support at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1958705267/rex-factor-the-animated-show

The post Tips To Self-fund Your Animated Film appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

When people talk about film shot at twice the frame rate (48, 50, or 60 frames per second), they invariably refer to it as a high frame rate. But that’s not necessarily true. They can actually be used to attain lower frame rates. For hand drawn and stop motion animation, this is great news.

Let’s say your deadline or your budget does not allow for animating on 1s at 24fps. The traditional solution is to animate on 2s at 24fps. That helps you meet your deadline and stay under budget, but it doesn’t have the same look. It’s a common conundrum. And usually people split the difference by using a mixture of 1s and 2s at 24fps. But is there another way?

Animate on 3s at 48fps. As you can see in the table below, it’s smoother than animating on 2s at 24fps, but it requires fewer drawings (2/3rds as many) than animating on 1s at 24fps. It’s the perfect compromise.

Alternately, you could animate on 5s at 48fps. It’s smoother than animating on 3s at 24fps, but it requires fewer drawings (4/5ths as many) than animating on 2s at 24fps. Additionally, it’s possible to animate on 7s at 48fps. It’s smoother than animating on 4s at 24fps, but it requires fewer drawings (6/7ths as many) than animating on 3s at 24fps.

And, of course, you can use any mixture of frame rates you want for your project’s needs. There’s a lot of unexplored nuance available at 48fps and, contrary to popular belief, it does not require animating at a full 48fps (on 1s).

The post Animation Tips: 48 FPS for *Lower* Frame Rates appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

“Jobs in the entertainment industry have always been highly competitive” says Alex Williams, Head of Animation at Escape Studios, part of Pearson College London. An institution that is known in the industry for producing high-calibre talent, Alex’s student’s from Escape Studios have firmly found their feet in the industry– going from classroom straight to studio and working around the world on projects for film, TV and more.

So how can you do the same? What does it take to be successful?

Well, look no further! Here are Alex’s 12 Top Tips for Finding Work in the Animation Industry…

1 – Get good at what you do

Your first and most important task is to get really good at what you do. You have to be on top of your craft, and be better than the competition. It takes a while to get really good, so use your time to study hard and practice. At Escape Studios our courses allow a lot of time for online after care, so our students can continue to practice what they have learned and polish their demo reels.

2 – Have a great demo reel

Your demo reel is your shop front – it is how people will judge the quality of your work. The number one rule of demo reels is that your reel should be completely free of mistakes. Your best work should go first, and anything that needs finishing or polishing should be left out.

3 – Make your work easily accessible

Got yourself a blog or website? If not, why not? These days, employers won’t wait for you to send them a reel- a blog is quick, easy and free to start, so you need to get your work online and make it easy to find. Put your name in the URL so that it comes up on the first page of a Google search.  

4 – Scrub up your CV

An up-to-date, short, and easily readable CV should accompany your showreel so that employers can see where and when you’ve been busy working, studying or volunteering.

5 – Research where the jobs are

There are literally hundreds of animation, games and visual effects companies in the UK alone, and hundreds more around Europe. Make a list of companies, or – better yet – create a spreadsheet, so you track where you have applied and when. There is always a company somewhere looking to hire fresh talent.

6 – Be alert… to job alerts

Take a look around online Animation sites that have their own job boards and sign up for their alerts. If you want a job badly enough, you’ll be ready and willing to apply whenever and wherever you are.  And you have to apply fast – most animation jobs go quickly, so your demo reel needs to be ready.

7 – Customise your cover letter

Don’t send it a form letter. Draft a different cover letter to suit the company you are applying for. What are your skills, and how are they relevant to the position and studio you are applying for? Employers like to see that applicants have done their homework and can explain why they are interested in a career with their company.

8 – Don’t be too picky

Finding internships is easier than finding a job, but they are still competitive and it can be an important step on the ladder to a successful career. A successful internship brings experience, contacts, and direct understanding of what is needed to get a job with an animation company. Also, working as a runner, although unglamorous, can be a great way in to a company and getting your foot in the door.

9 – Get ready for interview

Company recruiters want to know that you are enthusiastic and motivated for the industry and the job role you are applying for. Being aware of what a realistic career in the visual effects industry looks like will win you the respect of the person interviewing you. Saying you want to be Stephen Spielberg will not.

10 – Work your connections

Personal connections count. If you know people who work in the creative industries, ask them about internships. There is no shame in this – many of the jobs you get in industry will be thanks to the sort of loose connections that make up what we call networking. 

11 – Keep your ears open!

Keep in touch with your fellow graduates! Your graduating class is a little community of talent, you can keep each other informed about who is hiring and who needs bodies in a hurry.

12 – Don’t give up

Finally, but most importantly – never give up! Expect rejection, it happens to everyone. Keep at it and you will be rewarded.

Hopefully you’ve found these tips insightful – we’ve definitely made a few notes to take away! Whether you’re a professional looking to sharpen your skillset or a newcomer looking to break into the industry, there are always ways to stand out from the crowd.

Alex is currently heading up Animation Master Classes at Escape Studios to help artists do just that. Running throughout the summer, you can still bag yourself a seat by heading over to the Pearson College London website.

The post “Get a job in Animation…” 12 Top Tips appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

It’s such an important element to get right we thought it would be good to ask three of the very best animation composers how they like to work with producers and directors. Their words of wisdom are fascinating as all three have created the musical landscapes for some of the biggest kids TV shows around:

• Stuart Kollmorgen, based in the US who writes the music for Disney’s smash hit Doc McStuffins, Peter Rabbit, Gaspard & Lisa, Imagination Movers and many other favourites.
• Andrew McCrorie-Shand, composer behind the legendary Teletubbies, Abney & Teal, Rosie & Jim, Tots TV  and now Ragdoll’s latest series, Twirlywoos.
• Michael Richard Plowman, writer of such global favourites as Tree Fu Tom, Sonic Boom, George of the Jungle, 1001 Nights and  A Christmas Carol.

Sit back and enjoy their pearls of wisdom…

Stuart Kollmorgen

Stuart, how do you prefer to be briefed before you start a project?

I always ask to see the full bible because I’m usually coming in quite late to the process unlike the producer and director who’ll know the story, the characters backwards. To write the music you need to really understand as much as you can about the project to get into the flow. The bible is a good way of getting up to speed very quickly.

It’s always good to be given references to other shows – for example “it’s like Scoobydoo but edgier”! That tells me a lot right away. But if you do mention a show do tell me what it is you like about it.

Musical references are important too but you have to be careful as often a pop song will be cited and songs are completely different to incidental music – their emotional tone is very driven by lyrics which you obviously don’t have with underscore. The musical reference should be there to indicate the tone or the texture needed in the music. And of course citing a current pop song can be useless because by the time your project is done that song will be old news.

Another thing producers have to understand is what the music actually is there for. It mustn’t be bland wallpaper covering the bits without dialogue or too heavy-handed squashing story points and missing the subtle changes in emotional direction. The incidental music should move the story along without being too noticeable. As a composer, especially in children’s shows, I feel like I’m standing behind the youngsters, helping them to understand the emotion of a scene – nudging them along, providing clues to how they should be feeling.

How useful are spotting sessions?

Spotting sessions with a producer/director are great – when you can look at the animation and go though it scene by scene. For example I am doing a second spotting session today via Skype. This is the second episode, prior to delivery on the first, and we are discussing conventions that will exist series-wide, and the placement of the music. I’m now getting a really good feel for what the show runners want as far as density of scoring overall: where they like me to stand back and let the dialog drive, how out-front they want the music, how hard to hit the comedy etc. I scored a couple of scenes for them so they have a sense of what I’m going to try and do on this series.  A picture is worth a thousand words, so this has informed them, and their reaction, tells me what direction the music will be taking.

And Animatics?

Actually writing to an animatic is actually NOT very helpful. Basically they’re storyboards. The timing of the scenes will be all wrong and there’s not enough action so the composer will end up getting it wrong. I usually only get them for pitching, or if there is a scene where the timing will be critical. For instance a song or a rap or a chant or a march where the music and action needs to stay in time. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received a finished animation where a character is singing and it was recorded wild without reference to any tempo and I’m expected to put music behind it. If the animation is done you are sunk if it is seriously out of time, and most people can’t tell just by listening to the solo voice. Either the music will be drunkenly out of time, unacceptable to our ears, or the lip flap will be off, – equally unacceptable, and unfixable short of reanimating.

I’ve spoken to Holly Gregory about this ( voice director for Dora the Explorer) and she told me, yes these singing chanting rapping moments are sometimes scripted, but often come up improvisationally in the voice record. She encourages it, but is also armed with a click track and a pitch pipe, for pitch and time. I beg the producers when there’s something that needs to be in time, like a march, to animate it against music. Any music! It’ll stay in time that way.

How much guidance/notes do you like getting as you go along?

Early on as much as possible, because in series work, your producer will probably be too busy once the show is on track.

Once I get past the first two or three episodes you need far less direction from the producer. By then the tone should be set and anyway you’re usually rushing so fast there’s no time. Notes are very useful but too many can be very difficult to handle. I’ve had situations where I’ve been given 56 notes for one 11 minute episode. Too much micromanaging without regard for the overall musical flow will create musical chop suey. In that particular case the episode stunk to high heaven and the producer was grasping at the last straw to fix it – which was me! The composer is the last writer on the show, and music can help cover shortcomings in the action, create the illusion of drama to a degree, but it can’t change awful into good. One producer uses the phrase “bolster”, e.g.” bolster the hit when the dog runs into the fence”. You can bolster but you cannot create.

The worst notes are those that say “I don’t like this. I want something else” but don’t give you any idea. Notes should be about the story telling “this is what I want to happen next with the story, at this point we want the characters too feel this….this is the emotion we need etc.” The director is in a key position as they know the story, they know what’s happening and so of course they’re going to spot things that aren’t working.

What advice would you give producers?

The problem that producers have is that talking about music is actually very difficult. You can steer actors, the designers, the writers relatively easily but getting across what music you’re looking for is difficult because there’s no real language for it. Therefore the best way I believe is for creatives to talk about the emotions they want. And if there is a problem with a scene, tell me clearly what you didn’t achieve with the action or storyline and I’ll attempt to “bolster” it.

Oh yes, and if I’ve written something you really, really like go ahead and let me know! My ego needs it, and I will try to repeat the “goodness”. You know revisions can be crushing drudgery so sprinkling a little sunshine on your creatives will yield positive results.

Andrew McCrorie-Shand

Andrew, What do you need from the producer or director to get you started on a project?

In an ideal world l like to work to a version of the show/film that contains as much finished and approved material as possible. This means a locked picture edit, full FX, actual & ADR dialogue along with any narration.  That’s the ideal of course , but all too often the reality is that many of the post-production elements are being created at the same time which means that as a composer l can’t get the full benefit of the rhythm of the dialogue and FX. Also in the absence of FX there’s sometimes the urge to try to tell more of the story musically than is actually needed.  I am not a big fan of the wall-to-wall music approach and believe the story is often better served by thoughtful music placement, in which l am aided by knowledge of FX, dialogue etc.

How much ongoing guidance do you like?

The more the merrier actually!  Any little thing that helps me create the right textures and sound palette is good.  I’ve worked with temp tracks ranging from Mozart to Green Day and Brian Eno to scratchy snippets of ads hastily recorded on a mobile phone from the TV.  If it helps the producer or director articulate their musical needs then bring it on.

Some producers/directors find it hard to put across their feelings in a technical way but can demonstrate the emotional requirement with pictures or pieces of music or bits of films or TV shows. It all helps to build up a better understanding of where they want the music to go.  Of course it’s not always like that and at the other extreme are the helpful instructions handed out by a particularly hard-pressed director – “It’s 10pm. Do what the **** you want,  just make sure you have it here tomorrow at 8am”.  NOT so helpful.

Does getting the composer involved earlier on help?

Yes, If l am lucky enough to be involved in the project from it’s earliest stages then l will have a deeper understanding of the way it has developed in terms of script and characters.  Coming in later on in the process it becomes a much steeper learning curve. And of course there’s always the last-minute project where there isn’t even time to think.

l do enjoy the back and forth of producer/director notes – picking up on things that l thought worked really well, but not picking up on things that l would have put good money on being chucked out at the next round. A wonderful mystery! In Teletubbies the first complete episode was titled ‘Ned’s Bicycle’, and we must have remade that one ten times over before it was right.  The other 364 episodes were a piece of cake after that.

Once the music is synched to picture l welcome notes/comments/general feedback – anything that means l can get closer to the ideal music for the project whilst hitting all the production briefing points. Sometimes it works like a dream, other times it needs a bit of coaxing, and once or twice it’s a complete nightmare.  Bit like life really.

And would there be any advice to give to a first time (or relatively inexperienced) director/producer in making it work with the composer?

It’s not so much advice but an observation. The great thing is that we all listen to music, have a massive list of favourite songs and pieces of music stretching back to when our age was measured in single figures. Music plays a bigger part in peoples lives than almost at any other time in history.  And everyone has an opinion on how well a particular piece of music works with a particular scene.  It’s all down to hearing it with the pictures. When audio and vision click it’s verging on magic – my job is to make that happen every time.  And l love making it happen.

Michael Richard Plowman

Michael, what do you need from the producer or Director to get you started on a project?

You know apart from the bible and all the other available materials the very best thing a producer can give me is his or her time. I really like to get to know a producer personally and find out what the project means to them. For the way I like to work I find this the very best way of finding out what the project really means to them – and that is the key. Let’s face it this is the producer’s baby and has often been worked on for years and I need to know how they want that child to grow up! Being completely in tune with what the show means to them is the best way to start.  And although that might seem simplistic you’d be surprised how often the composer and the director are actually working on two different shows in their heads because they haven’t connected.

It’s also important to understand of course what the producer likes and doesn’t like musically. So, while the bible, scripts and environments are wonderful for understanding the components of a show, understanding the producers musical approach is crucial. Believe me it saves me going down paths that may hinder the project or even write myself out of the job.

Being given musical references is also very important – as many as they need. For me this process can be a real eye-opener and creatively very stimulating. There has been many times where I am introduced to a style that I am unfamiliar with. It can be a breath of fresh air, the perfect antedote to the overused music that everyone is using simply because it’s flavour of the month.

Of course there’s always the danger that the client wants the music to be exactly like the reference they’ve given. But then, that’s my job to take the reference and balance that with what I think is musically needed to support to the project.

What level of guidance do you like thoughout the project?

Regular guidance and direction throughout the process is essential in getting to a place where we are both happy with the music. To be at this point means that not only are we in agreement about where the music fits technically with the picture but more importantly how it is meant to make the viewer feel emotionally at all those various points.

When I start any project I like to write handfuls of sketches. Short and long. Trying different melodies and instruments. For example on Tree Fu Tom I think I wrote 50 test pieces before writing a single note to picture. Whether I use these or not this process really helps get a relationship with the team and also what I call “getting all the bad ideas out”. I do believe small amounts of music with small amounts of feedback help the bigger picture once you start what can be a very long train ride.

Are spotting sessions invaluable?

Well, spotting sessions can be very useful in moderation. Sometime a great conversation about the overall musical ideas for the project can be much more beneficial though.  On a movie I like to have a spotting session, but on a television series there never seems to be enough time to sit down. When The train starts on a 52 episode run sometimes you only check the tickets once, not at every station! Normally the notes on an episode will help you develop the sound of the show and become a somewhat spotting session for the next episode and so on.

Regarding notes. I really don’t care how many notes a client gives, especially when they are helping the project. At some point of course you run out of time. It is my job as a composer to help guide the client so that giving notes are never stressful for them and  he or she feels like I am listening to them. Never say no to a client, there are always better more constructive ways to disagree.

What advice can you give to producers to get the best results?

 It’s simple really: “Get to know me”. I want to really enjoy the project. This can be a very long process that takes the team on an emotional roller coaster and can last years. So “get to know me” is really important. Why? Because when things get tense the relationship and trust hold it together.  When things are great the relationship celebrates together. So “Get to know me” ! I want to get to know them and them to find out what sort of guy I am. I want to have a personal relationship with them. This way you get a high degree of trust. In fact the founding basis of my business is that clients, producers, directors know they can trust me.

In my book a good composer has to have two skill sets – one the ability to create great music but just as important is the ability to relate to the producers and help interpret their ideas onto screen with as little stress as possible.

The post How To Get Great Music In Your Animated Show appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Four Major Points were covered:

1. The wishful assumptions we make about our ‘dream’ studio
2. That there are other opportunities you may not have considered
3. How small studios foster mentorship and growth
4. How small studios can provide better shots to work on

Now we’re going to explore how they can give you a better demo reel, enable adventure and be more innovative.

Small Studios Can Give You a Better Demo Reel

Great Mentorship + Great shots = Better Reel.

Animation freelancers are digital nomads usually changing companies year after year. You get hired by how impressive your demo reel is. This means you need to appeal to supervisors who are watching thousands of reels a month. It also means appealing to HR, who aren’t typically artists. But both of them are looking for something unique, something entertaining.

If you’ve been guided well on a smaller team and have made the most of great shot opportunities, chances are your reel will stand out. Imagine how interesting your work would look if it showcased a piece from Duet or The Gruffalo:

You don’t have to be Glen Keane or Andreas Deja to pull this off. Showing projects that have a refreshing new style unlike anything seen before can land that next job, and small studios excel at doing things differently. My good friend Joseph Holmark landed a gig at Blue Sky Studios on Rio 2 after showcasing shots from Singapore like this:

Joseph shares his whole jawdropping transition from One Animation to Blue Sky in this podcast, exposing all the lessons he learned at a small studio, his animation workflow, how the job offers came and so much more – in great detail.

Small Studios Are Nimble and Innovate

Perhaps the greatest allure of a young studio is the fact that they are different. This will be what gives your demo reel a unique feel. These places are like a young Pixar doing Toy Story, trying to create what they’ve always wanted to make, not somebody else’s vision. They were taking risks, pushing the envelope, discovering their message and style.

In Pencils to Pixels John Lasseter even points out how Disney rejected 3D and that’s why he went to Pixar. That was back in the 80s when they had fifty employees. While everybody was squabbling on the path to Disney, John traveled the road not taken.

Today, as much as I personally love Disney or Pixar, I have a certain expectation for how their movies will look now, as do the parents who take their kids to the movies, for good reason: Those companies have found their bread and butter, the problem is they are now dependent on it; Asking Pixar to make an R-rated animated film would be too big a risk for anyone there to take.

While there’s nothing wrong with that, this is where small studios can be especially exciting. They are nimble, blazing a trail, taking leaps into the unknown instead of careful steps. Amazing things can happen, and you can be at the ground floor when it does. Or, worst case scenario, you walk away with unique looking artwork.

Think of Moonbot Studios and their Scarecrow Short Film for Chipotle:

Or their vastly different video game project The Golem:

Each project is both appealing and vastly different from the other, challenging the status quo and daring to venture into unknown territory. Even if you only join a studio for one project, when you leave you will be refreshing in the eyes of HR staff and Supervisors at other studios upon seeing your demo reel, because you were part of something unique.

Small Studios Are Fun

Are Nerf gun fights in the office more fun at Disney or at a company of fifty? Probably about the same. There’s a strong illusion that everything’s better at your dream studio, but don’t fool yourself into assuming you’ll be missing out on fun. In a small crew setting you’ll get to know everyone extremely well. It’s the difference between trying to reserve a dinner for forty vs. nine – if you could even get enough seats for everyone, how difficult would it be to schedule? Would you even get to talk to more than ten while eating? By knowing everyone in the office, it’s just more likely you’ll enjoy any project you’re working on, from all the inside jokes and support during stressful overtime to all the shared experiences outside of work. You’re fostering lasting friendships for life that can be crucial to landing new jobs in the future.

Small Studios Enable Adventure and Don’t Have to Be Forever

Another point new artists forget is that we are contract/project based. We can be on a project for three-to-twelve months and then travel to another city or country to work at a new company. Staff positions are a rare commodity these days, and to take full advantage of this you can travel all over. For twenty-four years of my life I lived in Florida, and in three years of animating I’ve either visited or lived in nine different countries. This can lead to a very exciting life if you stay open to possibilities. With smaller companies in vast numbers scattered all over the globe you can literally base your next job on where you might like to live for a year.

Japan? Sure, let’s give it a go for 6 months.
Germany? How about a year?
Argentina? Let’s do it!

Think of the new hobbies you can explore, cultures to soak in, friends you could make across the planet – the doors are wide open. If you ever get tired of some country, or you don’t mesh well with a company’s philosophy, you can move on. Maybe it will be a time then to try out a big studio and see what it’s like with a fresh perspective after your travels. Or maybe you’ve found a country/studio you absolutely love and want to stick around. Staff positions will be more readily available to you, because there’s less competition and you’re valued talent who won’t be running off to Pixar for a while.

Twenty-year VFX Supervisor Veteran Alan Mckay has a great podcast on ‘Traveling the World as a Digital Gypsy’ – check it out for detailed info on getting the adventure into your career.

Ditching BIG Studio Envy

Some of the greatest pressures we put on ourselves can stem from what our family or friends say and do around us. When I graduated from my first animation school I never found animation work. When I graduated from my second school I finished and feared the same would happen all over again.

I saw awesome friends literally go off to Pixar, Sony and Blue Sky. They deserved it, yet at the same time I couldn’t help but be jealous. With a gnawing hunger to succeed as much as they did, when I accepted my first job in Singapore as part of a small team I doubted its worth. Instead it changed my life. Slowly, as I lived the experience, the jealously evaporated and I became extremely grateful. I realized my dream was to be a great animator, and create amazing art for the world. I believe that’s what you are here for too, and you can find a way.

How to Choose Your Path

It will take some research to choose the studios you’d like to work for and then decide how best to prepare for them, but it’s worth it. To help with your journey, here is a free PDF with a list of studios big and small all over the world I have compiled, some you may not have even heard of.

Remember to ask yourself these questions when deciding on studios:

• Who could I learn from?
• Where could I learn the most?
• How much stronger will I be after?
• What kind of a demo reel will I have after?
• Do I want to travel?
• What experiences do I want to have?
• Where would I like to live for a year?

If you’re still thinking you have to choose big studio or small, remember the world is not This or That – it’s ALL of the above, so try everything – you’re not stuck anywhere.

Feel free to ask any questions (I’ll respond to all of them) and share in the comments what one studio you would like to start at, and why?

The post How Small Studios can be your BIG break – Part 2 appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

It’s the same with animation. When you’re just starting out, it’s easy to be in awe of big studios like Pixar, ILM or Disney – you believe they are the only answer to your dream career. Like my Florida Sushi, I grew up hearing all about Pixar and thought that was all there was, but after two animation schools, four years of learning, and one full year of waiting for a ‘big’ studio gig I finally woke up. After a series of chance events, a small studio unveiled a much better world than I ever imagined.

I like doing everything. That’s why I came to Pixar as opposed to Disney or any other studio – it’s small. At the time I started I was, like the tenth person in the animation group, and we all had to do everything. That’s the way I like it, keeping it fresh

– Pete Docter, back when Pixar had fifty employees

Then it hit me that I didn’t need Pixar to have a dream animation career, in fact I realised that there is a huge sea of animation opportunity and life-changing experiences out there (including mind-blowing sushi). To get started in uncovering what small studios have to offer, let’s begin with rethinking what you think you know about ‘big’ animation studios:

Disney – a place so magical everyone who works there must float on clouds. Imagine all the bragging rights! These thoughts are so powerful a lot of people get lost in trying to find a poorly-defined dream that doesn’t exist or impress others through their movie credits. This is all surface level, don’t get caught up in it – you became an animator to make amazing art and to have a career that always challenges you, to never be bored of your work even when you turn 98. To make a little kid cackle in the theater or a grown man bawl. I’m not saying give up on your dreams, but do challenge your fantasy. ‘Big’ studio dream goals like Pixar or Disney are totally worth having, going for, and getting but they aren’t the only options to get what you’re truly after. Smaller studios are perfect, especially when staring out, and in a lot of cases have more advantages.

How Small Studios Enable Big Opportunities

Pixar dominated my mind for all five years of education. After school ended my applications to Pixar, Disney, and BlueSky were all met with silence – I knew I had to go somewhere else. I needed experience, to keep learning – and getting out of my parents’ house and living independently would be a nice plus too. So I opened up all possibilities to small studios anywhere in the world. Opportunity arrived where I least expected. Singapore, at a studio of about fifty international and local artists creating long pantomime skits with Looney Tunes style gags. The tests for the project were entertaining and it were supervised by a veteran animator, so I jumped on a plane, saw two sunrises from the air in thirty hours and found it was far better than anything else I could have done. Not just for my career but my life. Flash forward a year later – I was completely changed.

Small Studios Enable 1-on-1 Mentorship and Growth

The most important thing you can do as your career starts is become a better artist. Raising your game to a high professional level ensures job after job down the line, and having a mentor will accelerate your skill. When a veteran sits down time and time again to pick apart your work, you learn to spot what they look for. The lessons they have learned through years of struggle are distilled down for you in months or even weeks. This is effective learning. Smaller companies are more capable in this regard not because their veterans are necessarily better than those at Disney or ILM but because they have less on their plate; When there are approval screenings, in-house meetings and hundreds of people on staff to look after one-on-one mentoring doesn’t make sense.

Other approaches you can take are internships and apprenticeships. Studios like Disney have an Apprentice Program where you can work under the guidance of a mentor, provided you’re a recent graduate. These I’m sure are amazing for new artists and, if you have the opportunity, make the most of it! It may land you a permanent position or at the very least one hell of an experience. But there are a few downsides to this approach as well.

• With big name companies like Disney or Pixar there is huge competition, probably just as much as – if not more than – regular openings. Students all over the world prepare killer art to land them, thousands of demo reels a week from people already animating at a Disney level.

• Assuming your internship goes fantastically and they have room to hire you after those three-to-six months, then you may still be at the low end of a totem pole you’ll need to work your way up, among a lot of talented artists.

I wouldn’t suggest avoiding internships, but small studios can skip all of these downsides. Provided the supervisor understands the power of fostering a strong team, you’re bound to learn a lot more from them – constantly. It’s the difference between animating on Tangled with Glen Keane assisting the entire forty-plus Disney animation crew and being one of the three Animation Assistants with Glen Keane on Duet. Imagine how much more you would absorb being one of three animators next to Glen Keane. How often could you see him work, hear him talk, get his feedback?

Just listening to this master talk for a few minutes, as with the interview above, and you start thinking on a whole new level. These are the kinds of opportunities that come and go right under our noses. It doesn’t have to be someone as renowned as Glen either and frequently it wont. Simply look for someone who has more experience than you in an environment where you can interact with them constantly. In Singapore, my first supervisor, James Chiang ensured I became a better artist. He held me to a higher standard, squeezed every ounce of emotion out of a pose, saw my personal struggles, hosted after-hours breakdowns of Woody Allen movies, and took thirty minutes out of his day to draw over my animation frame by frame. That kind of repetition day to day, month to month, makes anyone excel. I reached out to James to get his opinion:

This would all have to be qualified of course, but yes, I believe that in a small studio, you have a much greater opportunity to grow and learn. However, the atmosphere must be designed to enable artists to grow – if the mindset is still that of a robotic production facility, size won’t matter. If done right however, smaller teams allow for much greater collaboration, more innovation and chances to think outside of the box. In larger teams, supervisors are often overburdened with meetings and their own production quota to allow for more personal relationships and richer development. Even as a director, I found that I could grow with a team, rather than just guide the team when the staff count is manageable. I was also able to work with younger artists personally, helping them advance their skills or when needed address unique issues because I made room for one-on-one mentorship. After all, you’re not just setting an example for learning skills for a career, but for life too – helping and giving is a concept to be learned and applied. I think for young artists starting out, they’ll get a better picture of the whole picture.

– James Chiang (Supervising Animator, Director, Character Designer, and Animation Mentor Instructor)

Small Studios Can Give Better Shots

Mentorship compounds your growth when you get challenging shots. Animations or work that pushes your ability in complexity, speed, or entertainment is what takes you to a higher level. Like bench pressing – the struggle to go from lifting 160lbs to 200lbs is what makes you stronger. The same is true for shots – you have to take the opportunity to push yourself but also have a challenge ahead.

Let’s assume you’re a new animator arriving at Pixar, where there are loyal pros who have spent literally decades earning their position, learning from their mistakes, and gaining the trust to work on the most crucial, complex shots. In your first weeks, who do you think is going to get the money shot, You or them? Great shots work down the chain of trusted employees. Out of eighty artists, the most senior people will get the pick of the litter, and by the time it reaches you there will only be table scraps. Sometimes these scraps (eye blinks, head turns) are exactly what you need starting out, but you’ll quickly outgrow them. Being part of a smaller team lets you sidestep these growing pains. You don’t have to spend years proving yourself before getting a chance. If you’re one animator of twelve instead of eighty, you instantly become more indispensable to the company. There is more work available because there are only a few of you to get it all done. This typically means longer, more complex or just more mouth-watering shots. All of these will showcase much more appeal and skill on your demo reel. Back in Singapore at One Animation, a crab fight shot I did on Oddbods was a great example of something fun, challenging and fairly long, a seriously rewarding opportunity for an entry level animator.

Recap and Whats Coming Next

To sum it all up, here are four questions to ask yourself when considering studio jobs in the industry:

1. Take a hard look at your ‘dream’ studio – why is it truly your dream?
2. Are there other studio options?
3. Who can you learn from there and will they have time to mentor you?
4. Will you get great shots?

These questions will make you look at your future in a new light and clarify what’s truly important. In Part 2 you’ll discover even more benefits of small studios, such as how they can give you a better demo reel, enable adventure, and be more innovative. By the end you’ll have a clearer understanding of where you want to truly work and why.

The post How Small Studios can be your BIG break appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Chris is the author of Film Festival Secrets, an essential guide to the circuit, and runs the accompanying site filmfestivalsecrets.com which holds tonnes of info including podcasts, blog and the first two chapters of his book. Fittingly, he is also Operations and Marketing Director of Atlanta Film Festival, one of the most innovative and inclusive events on the circuit. With these roles as a base, Chris works tirelessly to make the world of festivals accessible and relevant, always reaching out to newcomers with help and guidance.

As other contributors this week have highlighted, and Chris will explain in greater detail, building an online profile is about including everyone. It’s about using the wonderfully democratic benefits of the internet to connect with people, who will hopefully then connect with you, and then your work.

An example of going that extra distance online can be found in how I first met Chris. I made a short film, and like many directors new to the festival scene, I felt lost and quite alone. After the initial festival rejections, which can be devastating, I reached out to anyone who could get me on the right track. Of all the emails I sent out, the one who responded with the reassurance I needed was Chris. He watched and assessed my film, and offered praise combined with constructive suggestions on how to proceed. He wasn’t looking to be paid for this advice and, heck, I’d already bought his book, he just saw someone who needed the answers that he could give. His generosity with time and clarity of advice meant I immediately signed up for every list and feed on his site, and so he gained a genuinely loyal follower.

I know having followers is the language of cults, but as a creative online, that’s what you want. People who are engaged in what you do, and who are waiting for the next installment. You want to build an audience who feel connected and will share what you do, much as I’m doing here with Chris. Online, nearly everyone is projecting a persona. Chris is, I am, everyone on this site is. It’s not wrong or ingenuous, and it’s mostly done in the best of spirits. As you’ve read this article, what you need is take note of what you see online, different peoples approaches, and find what works best for you…

Chris’s thoughts on promoting yourself online…

My thoughts on finding and building an audience have been much the same for the last two decades of working in the film and technology industries, but the specifics seem to change monthly if not weekly! After years of plugging away at my blog and inconsistently tweeting into the ether, I have come to recognize my two stodgiest assets — my book and my email list — as two of the most effective and reliable marketing tools I possess.

In no particular order, here are some thoughts/tips that I hope will be useful:

• If you’re not trying to grow your personal email list of fans/friends/followers, you’re doing it wrong. Social media followers are fine but there will always be the possibility that the social media site itself will decide what those followers should and shouldn’t see. Email is as “close to the metal” as your message can get, so don’t let anyone else come between you and the people who are interested in your work. (Just don’t engage in spammy behavior.)
• Adopt the “drug dealer” mentality  – to excess. If you’re a content creator, you have to give content away over and over and over until you build a fan following rabid enough to pay for content just because they want to support you. You can also offer something that realistically can’t be offered for free (like a printed book or a gold-plated statue of your main character), but first people have to want to buy them. That only comes from giving away enough content that your fans fall in love with you and that thing you do.
• Be consistent about where and when you release new content. (This is one I really struggle with. I’ve had a podcast for 5+ years and I’ve only released 20 episodes.) People really respond to the idea that they’ll find something from you every week in their inbox — if you publish at random times in a number of different media, it’s harder for your would-be-fans to add you into their habitual behaviors. Automate where you can, and bank content (or republish old content) for those slow weeks.
• Set aside time to just be helpful. I regularly go onto Twitter and answer filmmaker questions about festivals, or to offer words of encouragement to people who are submitting their work for the first time. I don’t try to drive traffic back to my site or ask them to follow me, though some of them do anyway. Sometimes I even answer emails from filmmakers… at length.

You can view the other “How To Boost Your Online Presence” articles here:

• #1 Animation Company, Blue Zoo – BAFTA winning creators of TV series and commercials
• #2 Animation Director, Patrick Clair – Emmy winner for True Detective Titles Sequence
• #3 Illustrator, Andrew Rae – Founding member of Peepshow Collective and creator of Moon Head
• #4 Digital Journalist, Rob Munday – Film reviewer and curator at Short Of The Week
• #5 Film Festival Consultant, Christopher Holland – Writer of ‘Film Festival Secrets’ & curator at Atlanta Film Festival

The post How To Boost Your Online Presence #5: Film Festival Expert, Christopher Holland appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Let’s start with his most impressive contribution… As Head of Programming at Short Of The Week, Rob has helped the site to forge a huge online following, standing tall as one of the key influencers in the short film world. For film makers, a selection by SOTW is a laurel to be very proud of. In this role Rob is clearly key to selecting films and animation, but each week he also writes a couple of the site’s well considered reviews.

If his name is familiar, there’s a good chance you encountered Rob Munday as I first did – while trawling Vimeo. Robs nonstop passion for films is a vital part of his online personality, and Vimeo lays bare this characteristic like no other platform. Every time I’m enjoying a new video, Rob’s already been there, commented on that before anyone else. He epitomises the Vimeo spirit, not only leaving a trail of positivity in his wake, but thoughtfully connecting with every film he comments on. He has liked almost 4,500 videos on the site, a number my own 180 pales in comparison to.

This may seem like no big deal, but this dual role of curator and punter is why Rob, and others like him, are so vital to the creative community. He doesn’t just cherry pick the film festival darlings, or promote his mate’s latest creation, he genuinely engages with all and judges on merit.

Rob also keeps himself busy as writer, editor and curator on the great site Directors Notes. Not forgetting his activity on Twitter of course, a logical extension for his role as online champion of short films. But don’t worry, he does get away from the computer in the day, albeit teaching Online Journalism at Bournemouth University (the same Uni that produced Blue Zoo, our first contributors in this series).

As you’ll find out below, Rob’s a man who preaches what he practices. By rolling his sleeves up, by fully engaging with the content and supporting others, he has created a valuable position for himself in the world of filmmaking. Most of all – he clearly loves doing so!

What are the best ways you’ve found to boost your online profile?

This is actually something I’ve given quite a lot of consideration – in my day job I teach Online Journalism at Bournemouth University and one of the most vital things I hope my students take away from my lessons is the importance of building a portfolio and maintaining a network of contacts online.

I think for many this question is seen as a bit of an enigma, but in all honesty, I think it comes down to quite a simple approach. For me it’s not really about boosting your online profile, but embedding yourself into an online community. If you take the somewhat blinkered approach of just looking to boost your own credibility online, I don’t think this is going to yield the best results. As corny as it sounds, like with most things in life, it isn’t just about what you can take out, but what you can put back in. For me what has worked best, is taking an open, friendly and hopefully engaging approach to my online activity. If I just focused on self-promotion all the time, I’m not sure people would be that interested. The internet provides us with a fantastic portal to open discussions and meet fellow-minded people, so I think we should all use it this way – although I am open to being sent the odd funny cat video as well!

Focusing on filmmakers specifically, I think what works best is actually devoting the necessary time to being part of the online video community. If you think you can just slap your work on Vimeo/YouTube and expect people to find it, you’re going to be disappointed. As an online curator/journalist, one of my main concerns with filmmakers is that they don’t seem to give their online release the same consideration as they do with festival distribution and I don’t really understand why this is still the case. I understand that the main focus of every filmmaker who uploads their work online will revolve around getting the most views for their films as possible, but I’ve found the people who understand online distribution best are the people who devote that essential time to being part of this community. Watch other people’s film’s, give them feedback, share work you love, reach out to the filmmakers, follow them on Twitter – people are going to find you much more interesting online if it isn’t always “me, me, me”.

If I could give filmmakers one piece of advice when it comes to creating an online portfolio/profile it would be to think long and hard about why you are making films – whether your long-term aim is getting full-time employment or just finding an audience for your work, the internet is going to be an essential tool in reaching this goal, so treat your online activity with the importance it deserves.

You can view the other “How To Boost Your Online Presence” articles here:

• #1 Animation Company, Blue Zoo – BAFTA winning creators of TV series and commercials
• #2 Animation Director, Patrick Clair – Emmy winner for True Detective Titles Sequence
• #3 Illustrator, Andrew Rae – Founding member of Peepshow Collective and creator of Moon Head
• #4 Digital Journalist, Rob Munday – Film reviewer and curator at Short Of The Week
• #5 Film Festival Consultant, Christopher Holland – Writer of ‘Film Festival Secrets’ & curator at Atlanta Film Festival

The post How To Boost Your Online Presence #4: Film Reviewer, Rob Munday appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Andrew’s illustration portfolio covers all bases, including graphic novels, editorials, magazine and book jackets, and posters of every size. Skwigly readers will also be pleased to know he shares a passion for animation, a passion that dates a decade back to his days as art director on BBC3’s Monkey Dust. He went onto direct, write and illustrate a short film, ‘The Stunt‘, for Channel 4, and recently art directed a section of the feature film ‘A Liar’s Autobiography‘.

To compliment his international persona, Andrew is very much part of the London Illustration scene. Not just attending the usual book signings and fairs, but also performing with his band, Owen And The Eyeballs, at such key industry events as ‘Pick Me Up’. Not forgetting his live drawing at ‘Heavy Pencil‘, a night of illustration and music he helped to run.

As well as these very personally driven pursuits, Andrew is also a founding member of Peepshow, London’s influential illustration collective. The team of eight illustrators and one animator have been a leading creative force in London for 15 years. Like Andrew, many members posses s an individual instinct for self promotion, but when they work collectively the energy they generate makes them irresistible to the creative press. Through exhibitions, talks, events, self published books and their ram-packed newsletters, the collective have built and maintained a phenomenal reputation in the UK’s creative industry.

Going into Andrews archives, he clearly understood the benefits of sharing and promotion before the internet commonly offered those functions. Starting in1998, Andrew created a series of weird and wonderful fliers for ‘Perverted Science’, a night at the 333 club in Shoreditch. They soon became collectors ‘ items, spreading Rae’s unique vision around the most creative corner of London.

Flash forward to 2014, when Andrew challenged himself to write and illustrate his first graphic novel, ‘Moonhead and The Music Machine‘, published by Nobrow. Andrew took considerable time away from his comfortable Illustration career to complete this elaborate epic, a brave move in itself. Not to mention, of course, the book signings, interviews, social media, music video and even album (written by Rae) to accompany the book!

It’s clear to see, Andrew’s no slacker. But then maybe he doesn’t view it all as work, with much of what can be classed as promotion naturally flowing into his daily life. An undeniable strength across his career is his willingness to try so many platforms, so let’s hear how this transfers to the world of building an online presence…

Andrew’s advice & tips for online success…

“I use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and a Cargo Website, not to mention the Peepshow Collective site and blog. I also have an agent, B&A, who also has a site and blogs. They charge me an annual fee to promote my work online and through print. I’ve just started using Behance as well and I’ve started getting a response from it, but so far only in the free work for exposure category – “no thanks”.

At the moment I try to put up an image a day on Instagram which helps boost the number of people that see them. But I’m a bit wary of click-baiting and getting obsessed with the number of followers and likes. It would be possible to get thousands of followers by putting up cute pictures of kittens, but still not get any work if none of them are art directors or art buyers. What I’ve found really interesting using Instagram and twitter to get some feedback as to which images people respond to. But again, I don’t want to end up drawing cute kittens just because Instagram likes them.

I’ve found the best way to increase my profile is by making good self initiated work. For instance, I had a rush of work last year. This was after I spent about a year working on my book ‘Moonhead and the Music Machine’, published by Nobrow. At the same time I illustrated two art history books ‘This is Dali’ and ‘This is Warhol‘ , for Laurence King. They all came out within a month leading to lot’s of write-up’s on blogs, which in turn lead to a rush of work. So ironically, it seems the best profile builder for me online has been the traditional route of making books.

One of those jobs that came in was for Stoli Vodka with The Martin Agency in Richmond, Virginia. I know that some of the ideas they’ve sold to the client have been directly inspired by personal work of mine that they saw on my website. The result has been a really good job as we have such a similar sense of humour.

You can view the other “How To Boost Your Online Presence” articles here:

• #1 Animation Company, Blue Zoo – BAFTA winning creators of TV series and commercials
• #2 Animation Director, Patrick Clair – Emmy winner for True Detective Titles Sequence
• #3 Illustrator, Andrew Rae – Founding member of Peepshow Collective and creator of Moon Head
• #4 Digital Journalist, Rob Munday – Film reviewer and curator at Short Of The Week
• #5 Film Festival Consultant, Christopher Holland – Writer of ‘Film Festival Secrets’ & curator at Atlanta Film Festival

The post How To Boost Your Online Presence #3: Illustrator, Andrew Rae appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

‘Stuxnet, Anatomy of a Computer Virus’, an animated infographic, exploded online in 2011 (view at the end of the article), and set a new cinematic standard in the genre. The piece soon became a huge influencer in the design world, but Patrick initially used momentum from other online communities to propel ‘Stuxnet‘ on its course. After the piece aired on The ABC, Australia’s public broadcaster, Patrick dedicated days to sending the clip to all the usual design blogs, but crucially also to niche geek and techy sites. It was their interest that helped it reach a few hundred thousand views in a few days, eventually building to a whopping 1.6million Vimeo views. Clair was immediately inundated with offers of work, including a that hallowed call from Hollywood.

Courted by LA, Patrick signed up to one if its leading agencies, and has now relocating there with his family. Since Stuxnet, Patrick has built an impressive and varied body of work for high profile clients, including Adidas’s post World Cup celebration and Ubisoft’s high concept viral for Tom Clancy. With such success plus an Emmy on the shelf, using the web to build his profile seems less important these days. But does he think the hard graft and shrewd approach to online promotion is the key to a young directors success?

Advice & tips for online success

“Ultimately, I think a lot of online success comes down to luck. I mean, there’s whole industries devoted to building brands and views – but really the web is a wild and unpredictable place.

Certainly, though, getting views helps to spread content and build your career as a filmmaker. Not only that, it’s just satisfying to know that the work you’ve made is reaching people – that’s why we make it right? So that it can been seen and tell people stories.

The main thing to keep in mind is that people watch things they want to watch. What I mean is… people won’t neccessarily watch something cause it’s pretty, or cause it’s polished and high quality. The content that spreads most is content that is interesting. One thing to take from that is that you should identify the audiences that will respond well to your content. ‘Stuxnet’, my story about a computer virus, gained a lot of momentum by views from computer security blogs. Those viewers aren’t directly related to my work as a design director, but the views they added helped to give my video the momentum it needed to reach more people in the design community. Those viewers that have ultimately become clients or collaborators in the creative industries.

One thing worth noting – the web is run by algorithms, and those algorithms want to figure out what’s interesting right now. That means, more hits in a shorter time span is the most powerful way to snowball views. 100K thousand views over a week won’t get you very far, but a 100K views in a day will rocket you along – and that might increase your final audience by a magnification of 10 or 100. On the web, popularity works exponentially.

So, for me, the best plan when releasing content is… identify niche audiences that want to watch your stuff. When you launch… chase them, shamelessly but politely. Invest the effort to email everyone at once, and let them know the content is there and ready for them. Don’t pester people, but do contact bloggers and editors and let them know you’ve made something cool you’d like them to watch. After that, it’s all up to the crowd.

Elastic, my representatives, are my favorite people – they care for me, they protect me, they find cool projects for me. They are my partners in all my work, and I rely on them hugely. That said, you’re the best person to get your own work going – and the best way to get good representation is to spend time building your own career. If you invest the time yourself early on, chances are that you’ll land with a quality agent in the long run.”

You can view more of Patrick’s work at the following sites:

• Patrick ’s own site Antibody:: http://www.antibody.tv/projects.html
• Patrick’s agency Elastic: http://www.elastic.tv
• Titles for True Detective, & an interview with Patrick: http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/true-detective/
• Stuxnet on Vimeo:

You can view the other “How To Boost Your Online Presence” articles here:

• #1 Animation Company, Blue Zoo – BAFTA winning creators of TV series and commercials
• #2 Animation Director, Patrick Clair – Emmy winner for True Detective Titles Sequence
• #3 Illustrator, Andrew Rae – Founding member of Peepshow Collective and creator of Moon Head
• #4 Digital Journalist, Rob Munday – Film reviewer and curator at Short Of The Week
• #5 Film Festival Consultant, Christopher Holland – Writer of ‘Film Festival Secrets’ & curator at Atlanta Film Festival

The post How To Boost Your Online Presence #2: Director, Patrick Clair appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

So, here comes the bummer. Who is the one with the responsibility to deliver an animation on time? Well. Bad news. You. Yes, you, the Animator. The fate of humanity rests on your shoulders, think of yourself of a Hero on a journey that needs a couple of tips to make the adventure more enjoyable and short.

1. HAVE A HIGH APM (Actions Per Minute)

To be faster at anything, you need to have a way to measure Actions Per Minute. There are two ways to copy and paste anything in the virtual world. Navigating to the EDIT Menu, and select COPY, then move your mouse again all the way to the EDIT menu, and then click on PASTE. Or! You can press and hold the CTRL key on your keyboard (CMD on Mac), and rapidly press “C” then “V”. Right? Using your keyboard can get a higher APM than navigating through menus.

Use Shortcuts! I’ve seen some professionals navigate through menus to get things done, it’s embarrassing. Believe it or not, just by using shortcuts, I’m 20% faster than other animators. So what? Well, when I do freelance projects, clients hire me because they know I deliver ahead of time, because, even though we do the same things sharing the same process, I do it faster (using shortcuts).

Customize Shortcuts. Some software like After Effects doesn’t allow you to customize your shortcuts, but if you can, DO IT! The best Keyboard Profile is the one that handles your most used shortcuts near your right hand. The less your right hand has to move from left to right on the keyboard, the better. That’s why you should try to have all the major functions close in your keyboard “mapping”. Examples could be: CTRL+F, CTRL+G, CTRL+TAB, CTRL+SHIFT+W, SHIFT+3, ALT+SHIFT+3, etc. They are all close together.

Consider using a Gaming Keyboard, Gaming Mouse or Gaming Keypad. The one I recommend the most is the Gaming Keypad (like Razer Orbweaver or Logitech G13) because when the software doesn’t support shortcut customization, you can customize your Keypad to have all the major functions next to each other, and better yet, instead of pressing 3 keys (like CTRL+SHFT+P), you only press one single key on your keypad.

Automate using Macros. You can do this if you have a Gaming Mouse, Gaming Keyboard or Gaming Keypad. A macro is a sequence of key presses that can be automated into a single press of a dedicated key on your keypad. For example. In after effects

2. OPTIMIZE YOUR ANIMATION PROCESS

Optimizing means to make the best use of the resources at your disposal for your project. So the best way to approach your animation process is by handling the 2 most important things in any project. Your Pipeline and your starting Keyframes

Optimized Pipeline. The folder structure of all your files is vital to handling the project with ease. Have folders separately for your sounds, music, pictures, video references, characters and project files (toon boom, after effects, etc.). In our studio, if we do a bit of motion graphics, we have them in a folder named AFTER EFFECTS, and the main project in a folder named TOON BOOM, then the edited animation on PREMIERE. So if any changes have to be made, we know what folder to look, and if we need an audio file, we know exactly where to find it. Every Animation school is teaching the importance of this, and is not just because it looks cleaner and more beautiful, but because it works.

Set Up Key Poses first, handle details later. Yes, yes, you want to impress your boss or your friends, with how expressive your characters can be. It’s better if you block (pose your character) the important keyframes first, the starting position, the middle of the action and the aftermath. And then add additional animation later on.

3. USE A GOOD RIG (Avoid unreliable ones)

Using a good quality rig is essential, having to modify keyframes and poses only means that the rig is not good and is making you waste time. A good rig allows you to be free and more creative, because you can make your character change it’s posing with ease, so your animation process is more dynamic. If you are unable to come up with a good rig, then outsource (have someone else do it for you) or use the rig only to get the key poses, then, forget about the rig and handle additional animation (like hands, tail, hair) manually.

One quick way to know if the Rig is good, is by understanding Inverse Kinematics, and having them in your rig. If you don’t know what inverse kinematics means, check this video: http://vimeo.com/96444901

4. RECYCLE WHAT YOU CAN

Recycle Keyframes. Don’t waste time blocking the character again, when the pose is very similar to one previously blocked, you can copy and paste keyframes and tweak them. For example, if you have a fighter giving a low punch, and you later need a high punch, copy and paste the pose, and then modify it. You will have the correct hip rotation, foot position, and will only need to modify the height position of the fist and maybe the torso. That’s faster than having to block everything.

Recycle Animations. I’m referring to a sequence of keyframes here. The most common example is eye blinking. Instead of manually opening and closing the eyes in the timeline, you copy and paste keyframes across it. Another example would be a walk cycle: if you need to have the character walking and doing something with the hands, like giving orders to other characters, you can recycle the animation, but delete the keyframes for the torso, hands and head, and animate them. This way, half of the work is already done

Use Older Animations as Reference. Sometimes the timing is perfect and the animation curves (for the interpolation) give you the smoothness you were looking for, but now, you are working on another project and are having problems, you just can’t figure out what you did. This is when a previous animation can help as a reference. All you do is check the number of frames between keyframes, to get the timing right, and check the animation curves.

Instead of wasting time trying to achieve the same result, you can save time by getting the correct calculations checking a previous project. Like the timing and interpolation for the keyframes of the legs in an Angry Walk Cycle, in which every step was so energetic that made kids burst into laughter.

The post 4 Ways to Speed Up Your Animation Working Time appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Anyone creating work in 2015 needs to use the web to promote it. Fact. You may not choose to show every stage, hiding the development in a place no one will ever see. But at some point a version should be unveiled, and the web needs to be central to that.

The internet being the wonderfully rich and exciting place it is means that it’s not enough to simply upload your work. Who’s gonna find it amongst the infinite distractions? You need to direct eyes to your content, and that generally means building an online presence.

So if, like me, you have work you want to share, and a bunch of old methods that just don’t cut it, then you need to get some advice from the experts. So, on behalf of Skwigly, and for the benefit of creatives everywhere, I asked 5 industry pioneers to offer just the advice we need… “What are the best ways you’ve found to boost your online presence?“

The five experts offering advice are:

• Animation Company, Blue Zoo – BAFTA winning creators of TV series and commercials.
• Animation Director, Patrick Clair – Emmy winner for True Detective Titles Sequence.
• Illustrator, Andrew Rae – Founding member of Peepshow Collective and creator of Moon Head.
• Digital Journalist, Rob Munday – Film reviewer and curator at Short Of The Week.
• Film Festival Consultant, Christopher Holland – Writer of ‘Film Festival Secrets’ and curator at Atlanta FF.

Each day this week Skwigly will bring you words of wisdom from these fine folk on how they’ve used the internet to build their online profile, and ultimately drew the worlds attention to their work.

Our first insight, comes from BAFTA-winning indie outfit, Blue Zoo; one of the UK’s most successful animation production companies.

Started fourteen years ago, by three friends from Bournemouth Uni, the company is still headed up by its original founders and they recently cemented their position in the business world by reaching The Sunday Times “Ones To Watch” list of rising companies.

On top of all this, Blue Zoo somehow find the time to improve the landscape for the wider UK animation industry. In 2014 they were instrumental in making the British market more appealing to investors through their campaign to implement tax breaks for local animation companies.

The team regularly appear at animation conferences around the world, giving talks on financing animation and championing the UK industry, and in 2014, founding member Oli Hyatt was awarded an MBE for services to the British Animation Industry.

In short, Blue Zoo are a case study of what can be built through creativity, passion and hard graft.

But, as we’ll learn from this week’s instalment, a key factor to building a profile is getting active and sharing it. With this much activity, Blue Zoo have plenty to share. Let’s hear from founding member Tom Box about how they go about that…

Tom Box, Blue Zoo:

The internet is incredibly noisy, and to get noticed you need to stand out and give people a good reason to follow you, so here are some of my tips for companies:

Don’t under post

To build a good online following you need to make sure you are outputting a steady stream of content, so people have a reason to follow you, if you only post one thing a month then you will struggle.

Don’t over post

One way to stand out is to be very noisy yourself – but this can backfire easily. It takes a lot of time to filter the good stuff or risk over-posting to the point of clogging up people’s feeds with rubbish. At least find unique stuff and don’t post yesterdays news; the internet moves fast and if you post a trailer or short that went viral last week you’ll look a bit slow and behind the times, which won’t reflect well. I find a maximum of 2 posts a day on each channel is a good balance.

Keep it new & engaging

As an animation studio, the best thing we’ve found to do is create original content, both our own and collaborating with others, while posting behind-the-scenes/making-of blogs alongside it. This has the benefit of pushing our work into new areas, not just keep making the same looking work clients request. This means your company feed isn’t just a sleep inducing churn of corporate press releases! But this does require investment & time but the benefits are huge. For example we collaborated with DBLG to animate 3D printed animation “Bears on Stairs” which clocked up half a million views in a few days. So keep playing creatively & share it!

Keep it relevant & in the right place

Make sure you chose the right place to post your work, you want to make sure your work has the best chance of getting discovered & shared by peers. So picking Behance over WordPress for visual blog posts, or Vimeo over Youtube for videos can greatly help your exposure due to the way the websites help curate and share good work. Also don’t automate too much –  for example using Instagram to post to Twitter usually ends up with a description being cut short, which looks lazy. So it’s best to customise each post to each channel/platform, it only takes a few minutes and looks a lot more professional!

Get organised

I find the best way of ensuring all of the above happens is to create a colour coded Social Media Calendar spreadsheet. You can then share this with colleagues, so when anyone has a new project, event or work-in-progress they want to talk about online, anyone can drop it in the spreadsheet and get an instant glimpse of how much and what kind of content the company is sharing. Here’s an image of our social media calendar from December to get an idea of what ours looks like:

You can view the other “How To Boost Your Online Presence” articles here:

• #1 Animation Company, Blue Zoo – BAFTA winning creators of TV series and commercials
• #2 Animation Director, Patrick Clair – Emmy winner for True Detective Titles Sequence
• #3 Illustrator, Andrew Rae – Founding member of Peepshow Collective and creator of Moon Head
• #4 Digital Journalist, Rob Munday – Film reviewer and curator at Short Of The Week
• #5 Film Festival Consultant, Christopher Holland – Writer of ‘Film Festival Secrets’ & curator at Atlanta Film Festival

The post How To Boost Your Online Presence #1: Blue Zoo Studio appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.