more progress

So Due to me being really unwell I decided to take the weekend off from working so I can regain my energy. However I have still done various research on my chosen job role which is character animation.

the week before last I attended a talk on how to prepare for creative interviews with Judy Cult who work with the advertising students in UWL, I made loads of notes which I have included pictures of below of what I took down. I learnt a lot from this, even answering little questions in my head as to what to wear in interviews and things like this.

I had a chance to visit the creative fair in the uni also i was able to meet some amazing people who i look forward to getting in touch with, I was Able to get some amazing information on getting into the industry with this opportunity. I also came up with various other information on the current state of animation, it was a very interesting read it showed me a lot about what is going in the animation industry economically. I also found more internship opportunities with Frame Store and Jobs on Animation Base and Soho Runners which I discovered both on twitter. It was nice to see so many opportunities after reading the article on people losing their jobs in the animation industry. (Links Below)

http://chrisoatley.com/jobs-in-animation-industry/

http://careers.framestore.com/internships_vac.php?id=314 (Closes 12th April 2013)

http://www.animationbase.com/

http://www.sohorunners.com/

progress

To get some more information on this I did some more research by looking at places like AnimationMentor, iAnimate and more, as they are all online schools that teach character animation I thought it would be a good place to go.

I attended a Webinar where a bunch of animators talked about character animation in video games 

the speakers were Colin Graham, David Lam, Michael Carr and Darryl Purdy. It was interesting to listen to because they talked about various aspects of character animation such as the difference between the animation in feature film and the animation in character animation, which was good to know as I am more interested in the video game side of things. They also talked about various other things such as software that could possibly advance the way we animate our characters, I included the link to the Webinar below!

http://vimeo.com/62020684

I also got my Questionnaire checked by Jane (tutor) she liked some of the questions I asked, she told me to be more direct so I am certain that I get the answer I am after, I was also told to create two questionnaires for both concept art and character animation, this was very eye opening for me because it showed me how to look at things in two different perspectives. I decided to put up the Character Animation as it was more interesting to me. I decided to promote it on a few groups such as ASIFA and Animation and Film Jobs on LinkedIn, I got one response which was great to see, I have included a link to the questionnaire below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16p3IDPW7Y3rOf9in6tg7PEuvBeHvKf0CcpH4izt5r1c/viewform

Everything I've done so Far and More

Ok so I went into today's lecture tired as always, due to lack of sleep but that did not deter my dedication on succeeding in this course and getting a good grade!

Me and Jane had a one-to-one tutorial and we discussed various options on how to progress with what I currently have, because I have a been indecisive in terms of what I want to do, Jane was very helpful in giving me ideas on what I can do as I had either the option of choosing concept artist a job or a Character Animator. I am able to do both if I get the time to, which I am quite sure I will, which is great as I had prepared a questionnaire for both job roles, however I was advised to create one for each role, which was easy after adjusting some of the questions by making them a lot easier to answer, so now I can go out and talk to people in the industry.

I was also applying for jobs during the period and I had come across the creative pioneers internship program which was in association with Metro Newspapers, and I was intrigued by it as an opportunity. I talked about this opportunity in a previous post in this blog. It was definitely something different which was a learning curve. Jane went through the video with me and she told me what could have been better and what was good, which was really helpful. Jane gave me a really good idea where I could use a green screen and whilst I am talking I could have my show reel playing in the back ground, as she was telling me this, I had many ideas running through my head about this,such as sitting down on a couch and having the show reel play behind me, as well as maybe sitting on a stool (video below as reference) or maybe even constructing it as an interview, I even thought of making it like it was a session with a therapist but I don't want to come off as a crazy individual to the companies It's an amazing way to stand out from the crowd, instead of just showing a regular show reel of your work in an sequential order. However as great as an Idea this is, my biggest concern is will this distract the employers from my talent? will me being in the video talking annoy them? it's something I will definitely take into consideration and gather opinions.

(idea reference from 00:53)

We also discussed possible opportunities in further education which is going into an Ma program, or possibly going to Vancouver Film School but it would be quite a stretch as it is in Canada and there would have to be a lot of money put into this. I did learn that even by attaining a masters it doesn't jump you a higher position and in knowing that It gives me more knowledge so I can make the right moves!

This session has been great I've learnt so much and I've had so much feedback! I can't wait to do more with this and see my options!

The Questionnaire and Why I am asking these Questions!

ok so here is a little thing I have drafted up, my intentions were that it would be a questionnaire that would be aimed at both job roles! I will be sending it to Jane (tutor) for reviewing to get her thoughts on it as well!

Questionnaire

1.     What kind of work are the employers generally looking for when looking at a show reel/portfolio? This question I’m looking for a more detailed answer, just than the generic information I would get, which is something that is very common, I’m looking for something that would give me an edge.

2.     In a step-by-step process, what did it take for you to get your foot in the door?

In this question I’m trying to figure out the hard work it has taken, for that person to get into the position they’re in, from the same position I’m in to their current position.

3.     What standard of work would you expect from someone just entering an entry level job? Here I am trying to find out what would they exactly expect from me the second I walk through the doors.

4.     What’s a typical day or week at work like for you? This pretty self-explanatory I am trying to find out what I should/could expect through-out the day working with a company for e.g meetings, collaborating with co-workers and much more.

5.     What are the common misconceptions about this job? With this I am trying to figure out any myths that surround the job, whether it be good or bad.

6.     From your experience what could you tell me, that you think no one else could about this job? The original question, for this was going to be”from everything you’ve learnt what could you tell me about this job, Google couldn’t?” I found this slightly offensive so I didn’t include it in the questionnaire, but I’m trying to find out things maybe only that person has picked up on that may not be out there on the internet.

7.     What are your standards, when it comes to your working environment, from the atmosphere to your colleagues? This more for me to figure out what I should expect from the people and what kind of equipment should be provided when working, and other things that may be important.

8.      What attributes are looked at when employers are looking for employees to progress and take higher positions? I am looking for what kind of qualities would get me into a higher position in the future, again trying to avoid the generic stuff such as leadership, communication etc and more detailed explanations on how and what it takes to get there.

Notes on Character Animation!

So my other interest was character animation an I did some research on specific job requirements these are some of the requirements I found....

- Edit motion capture performances to a high level of quality as determined by the Lead Animator

- Create high quality animations consistent to the character’s personality, design and movement style.

- Meet project deadlines / milestones, as set by the Lead Animator and Production.

- Assist in the integration of animation with designers and engineers to create compelling in-game animation.

- Consistently meet project deadlines in a timely manner without compromising artistic integrity. 

Reading was interesting to me because it involves a lot of communication, which came to no surprise for me but it was a reminder of how important it is, and it got me thinking about what can go wrong when not communicating properly, and also reminded me the mistakes i've made when I was participating in the working world.

I also read this small article on what kind of things employers want to see, what kind of work you should expect, which is not something you would expect to find when reading, it's almost something that I would be expect to be sprung up on me, as soon as I began working but finding this information was very helpful, and made take back and realize my criticism on why this assignment is before the 2nd assignment on making a showreel. 

http://ezinearticles.com/?Tips-On-Character-Animation-Jobs&id=5351051

My next step would be to create a questionnaire, and then get in touch with those people in the position I would love to be in, and may be even meeting up with them. 

Notes on Concept Art!

I watched this interview, and it was interesting to me because, he was very enthusiastic about his job and it was noticeable which is why I enjoyed this it was very informative. In comparison to the interview with Matt Kohr it did seem to be a lot more cynical of getting in to this industry, although it did seem as if he tried to compensate for it by mentioning various teaching programs on how you can improve your self, like Gnomon. These two interviews and show two different  perspectives and I enjoyed look into them both, they both resonated with me in different ways, the Matt Kohr interview had a more harsh aspect to it, showing you the the cold harsh reality of the world, where as the interview with Adam Adamowicz taught me to believe my self more and just make sure you're doing what you love and not take it for granted, both had their values.

http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/455/becoming_a_game_concept_.php

http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/716377/how-to-get-a-job-in-video-games-concept-artist-at-bethesda-softworks/

Blitz Games is a game developing studio, that i came across, I looked into their careers section it was very interesting, because the majority of websites only post the specific job requirements, however when I looked into Blitz games, although it had the specific job requirements It also had a lot of tips on how to succeed and what should be included in your portfolio and this can give you an idea on where you should be concentrating to improve yourself.

http://www.blitzgamesstudios.com/blitz_academy/getting_the_job/art#art-concept-artist

what I've been doing?

So I've been doing some research on what I want to do, I've been doing research on 3D generalist jobs,I came across many show reels from various people, and it showed various skills that are involved in being enrolled for this position. It made me think is this a role that I actually want to spend doing for the next 40+ years of my life, which is what I think this assignment is really about and the big question, would I do this job for the rest of my life? I thought about what I enjoyed doing and things I may enjoy doing and it's kind of something that really should be done, I've created a list below of things I like to do what I like about it and aspects I may not like about it, I'll also make a list of things I'd like to try and approach.

Things I enjoy Doing - (in no particular order)

Illustrating - Drawing characters, props and just drawing in general, it's something that I've always enjoyed. character design would be a good job to compliment this skill.

Creating Characters/ Stories - creating characters with various personalities and story lines is something I'm always doing daily.

Character Animation - This is something I enjoy doing, there are tedious aspects to it, but the end result is something I do look forward to and work towards. this includes using quadrupeds and not just animating human characters.

Things I want to Approach -

Digital Painting - is something that has always fascinated me and is a practice I want to try as it could coincide with creating characters and illustrating. (this includes digital matte painting)

Rigging - this generally something people don't like to approach, I did it give it a go in my previous assignment and it was something that I thought was interesting, the mistakes I made really made me realize there is a lot I can learn about the human skeleton.

This really showed me that you have to separate what you enjoy doing from what you can do, I am also able to use fluid dynamics and mental ray among other skills, and they don't bore me in anyway but I couldn't see my self working on that particular aspect for the rest of my career. 

SWOT Analysis and Job/Internships.

Ok so for the past week I've been doing various things such as applying for internships as well as jobs at various places. However before this I did a SWAT Analysis, we were asked to do this in the lesson however we didn't get a chance to complete it and we only go around to doing one persons Analysis, so I decided do a really brief Analysis myself.

Strengths

My strengths in terms of attributes over my skills are, the ability to push through failure and having high expectations for my self and my belief of the fact I will succeed at some point, in terms of Skill I am more confident in my character animation skills as well as that I also believe that because I am a 'generalist' my improvement in other areas such as modeling, sculpting, lighting, rendering, as well as being more competent in other software such as Real flow has allowed to be more confident.

Weaknesses

In terms of weaknesses, I do believe I can be less distracted by things around me e.g social media, when working, and when I think I can work longer in terms of the amount of hours I put in, which is a big weakness in my eyes! In terms of Skills I think even though I am a generalist I can still improve in them areas, and even though illustration was a strong point for me at one point I think I can improve on that more as well. I also believe I can learn new things such as matte painting and rigging! I think another weakness I have right now is the fact I don't have a showreel/portfolio that I can show which is one of my current priorities!

Opportunities

The city I'm currently is an Amazing opportunity in itself, because London is so big and there is so many people I can make connections with. As well as making connections there are many internships and Job opportunities offered by many companies such as Blitz Games and Disney. I've also had various people contact me for storyboards for music videos which has also been an opportunity that I haven't been able to take up! University also great opportunity as I can find a lot of opportunities posted on Blackboard for me to apply for!

Threats

I guess the main threat I have right now is that I have a lot of competition within the City and in general considering the people studying the same or similar course I am in! as well as that I think the grade I come out of university and the experience I have in the field I am studying!  Not having as many connections I want is a great threat to me as well but with this module its giving me a possibility to change that.


Jobs/ Internships!

So during the first week back into the second semester I started to apply for jobs and Internships, I didn't hear a reply to any of applications I applied for however I didn't let this get to me because It was early days.

I decided to take a different approach and I decided to build a LinkedIn Profile (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bhimal-ladva/66/26/174) it was very helpful because It directed me to people who were in similar people as well as people who were in position I was achieving to be in.

I also saw a Link on Blackboard for internships via Metro newspaper, It had a job board for various positions even though there was only on one opportunity for Animation I still applied for positions in creative positions, we had five positions we could apply for.

The application process was different process than I was used to, we had to make a 60 Second Video of why we were a Creative Pioneer, I ended up doing a 132 Takes for a minute video which was interesting, I had many hick ups and many takes that were close to being used but I wanted this to be perfect word for word, I wanted to show that I was dedicated and Passionate about what I do, and I think  I displayed that to the best of my ability.

We also had to express on the brand or company that we thought were Creative pioneers, my choice was pixar simply because of how it has really changed the animation industry as a whole!!!!

As well as talking about pixar I was also asked to talk about the gadget/app that has effected me the most! and my gadget that has effected me the most was the iPhone because of how simple and amazing it is. I have the world at my fingertips and the normal functions of a phone are still there and easy to access as well as being enhanced!