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)
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.
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!
